How a 34-year-old Stanford and Harvard grad built Stitch Fix into a billion-dollar company that just went public
Lake previously told Inc. she strives to build a truly forward-thinking company. "I wanted to work at whatever company was going to be the future of retail," said Lake.
"I want her to have a huge positive outcome because it does something really important for female entrepreneurs and, specifically, founder-CEOs," Rent the Runway's Jennifer Hyman told Recode. "I want her to have this success because we work in an industry where pattern recognition is still the name of game."
Source: Recode
Stitch Fix's shares opened Friday at $16.90 and the company is now valued at $1.63 billion, according to CNBC. So far, Stitch Fix is the only woman-led tech IPO of 2017.
When the news was made public by Axios, Lake did not address the situation with Caldbeck specifically but released a statement saying: "It's important to expose the type of behavior that's been reported in the last few weeks, so the community can recognize and address these problems."
"At the time, she was working to raise a round of needed funding for Stitch Fix and was well aware that Lightspeed could prevent that deal from taking place," Recode's Kara Swisher and Jason del Ray wrote.
However, the road to the IPO hasn't been easy. According to a report by Recode, Lightspeed Venture Partners coerced Lake into silence by having her to sign a non-disparagement agreement after she reported sexual harassment from former Lightspeed partner Justin Caldbeck. He was the firm's observer to Stitch Fix's board of directors.
In the 2016 fiscal year, the company brought in $730 million, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Source: Los Angeles Times
When it comes to her own style, Lake told the Star Tribune that her personal fashion sense is "classic with a twist." "I want to feel comfortable and confident and don't want to have to think too much about what I wear every day," she said.
Source: Star Tribune
In the early months of Stitch Fix, users would fill out SurveyMonkey forms to identify their preferences. Lake would then deliver the clothes herself.
Source: Inc
According to Inc, she was inspired to found her own company by her sister, who worked as a clothing buyer and would send Lake outfits.
Source: Inc
Before Stitch Fix, Lake worked at tech company Polyvore and management consulting firm The Parthenon Group.
Source: Katrina Lake's blog
However, when she began attending Stanford University, she became mesmerized by economics. Lake earned a B.S. in the subject and went on to receive her MBA from Harvard Business School.
Source: Katrina Lake's blog, The Los Angeles Times
Lake told the Los Angeles Times she was "risk-averse" growing up in San Francisco and Minnesota. The daughter of a physician and a teacher, she thought about pursuing medicine.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Star Tribune
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