Katrina Lake
Born 1982 · Age 43
American entrepreneur, founder and chairperson of Stitch Fix, a data-driven personal styling and fashion subscription service; led Stitch Fix from founding (2011) to IPO (2017) and served as CEO until 2021.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in San Francisco, California
Katrina Lake was born to a Japanese immigrant mother (a public school teacher) and a father who is a transplant hepatologist and medical professor.
Family moved to Minneapolis (age 15)
Lake grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Minneapolis at age 15 (reported in profiles).
Attended Lowell High School (San Francisco)
Attended Lowell High School (listed as her high school in biographies).
Began Stanford University (economics, pre-med)
Started undergraduate studies at Stanford University, initially on a pre-med track before switching to economics/business.
Joined The Parthenon Group (management consultancy)
Started working at strategy consultancy The Parthenon Group after graduating Stanford; consulted for e-commerce and retail clients.
Graduated Stanford University (BA, Economics)
Received bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 2005; had shifted interest from pre-med to economics/business.
Left The Parthenon Group (approx.)
After roughly two years at Parthenon, Lake moved on to other roles including private investment and later internships (approximate timing).
Worked at Leader Ventures (private investment firm, timeframe)
Worked at private investment firm Leader Ventures between consulting and graduate school (timeline reported in profiles).
Enrolled at Harvard Business School (MBA program)
Started Harvard Business School's MBA program in 2009 (class of 2011).
Summer internship at Polyvore (marketing & blogger outreach)
Pursued a summer internship at Polyvore during her MBA, working on marketing and blogger outreach; this influenced her fashion-tech thinking.
Expanded Stitch Fix product lines (women's to men, kids, plus-size — expansion phase)
Under Lake's leadership Stitch Fix expanded beyond women's apparel into men's, kids', and plus-size offerings (expansion reported across profiles; exact rollout dates varied).
Earned MBA from Harvard Business School
Completed Harvard Business School MBA in 2011 (class of 2011), where she conceived the Stitch Fix idea.
Founded Stitch Fix (in San Francisco, from her apartment)
Launched Stitch Fix while a Harvard MBA student, combining data science and human stylists to send curated clothing 'fixes' to customers.
Early Stitch Fix operations: SurveyMonkey & trust-based billing
Ran early operations manually, collected style data via SurveyMonkey, hand-selected items and at times relied on customer trust to pay without online billing.
Hired Eric Colson as Chief Algorithms Officer
Introduced to and then hired Netflix VP of data science Eric Colson, who joined Stitch Fix to develop algorithms and data science capabilities.
Married John Clifford
Married John Clifford, an investment professional, in 2014.
Named to The Business of Fashion's BoF 500 (member since 2016)
Included in Business of Fashion's BoF 500 list of people shaping the global fashion industry (listed as member since 2016).
Stitch Fix revenue milestone: ~$730 million (2016–2017)
Stitch Fix reported approximately $730M in sales for 2016–2017 timeframe (company growth milestone).
Named to Fortune's '40 Under 40' and Fast Company's '100 Most Creative People'
Recognized in Fortune's 40 Under 40 (2016) and listed among Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business.
Appointed to Grubhub Board of Directors
Joined the board of Grubhub (was the only woman on the nine-member board at the time).
Only woman to lead an internet company IPO in 2017
Lake was the only woman who led an initial public offering in technology/internet in 2017, a noted milestone for gender representation in tech IPOs.
Stitch Fix stock pop and close at $15.15 (post-IPO volatility)
On the day after IPO Stitch Fix shares retreated after a pop and closed at $15.15 (reported by CNBC), signifying early market volatility.
Held 16.6% stake in Stitch Fix (post-IPO)
As of November 2017 Lake reported a 16.6% ownership stake in Stitch Fix; Forbes noted this made her one of America's richest self-made women.
Stitch Fix initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ
Stitch Fix went public (IPO). On the day, the company raised nearly $120M and shares popped; Lake became the youngest woman to take a company public (internet/tech) in 2017.
Named Retail Dive 'Disruptor of the Year'
Received Disruptor of the Year recognition from Retail Dive for her work at Stitch Fix.
Company retention metric reported: 70% return-rate
Stitch Fix reported high customer engagement metrics, including that ~70% of customers returned for a second 'fix' within 90 days (company performance KPI cited in profiles).
Company scale: data scientists & stylist counts reported
Reports noted Stitch Fix employed over 85 data scientists and more than 3,700 stylists (company headcount milestone reported in profiles).
Appointed to Glossier Board of Directors
Joined the board of beauty company Glossier (reported June 26, 2018), signaling a strategic retail partnership and industry alignment.
Debuted on Forbes' America's Richest Self-Made Women list (top 100)
Entered Forbes' ranking of America's Richest Self-Made Women (appeared among the list in 2019 following stock gains).
Owned ~13 million shares of Stitch Fix (reported around mid-2019)
Profiles noted Lake owned roughly 13 million shares in Stitch Fix in mid-2019, underpinning her net worth estimates tied to share price.
Net worth jump after earnings beat (June 6, 2019)
On June 6, 2019 Stitch Fix beat expectations and Lake's net worth rose by ~$45M in one day; Forbes reported her worth around $375M after the move (based on ~13M shares owned).
Appeared as guest 'Shark' on Shark Tank (Season 11, Ep 14)
Appeared on ABC's Shark Tank on March 6, 2020 and partnered with Lori Greiner on a deal for Pair Eyewear.
Named a billionaire (stock surge) — Forbes reported
Forbes reported on Jan 25, 2021 that Lake's stake in Stitch Fix and stock performance pushed her net worth above $1 billion (temporary peak tied to share price).
Surpassed by Whitney Wolfe Herd as youngest woman to take a company public (context)
In 2021 Whitney Wolfe Herd took Bumble public at age 31, surpassing Lake's 2017 record as the youngest woman to take a company public.
Announced stepping down as CEO of Stitch Fix
On April 13, 2021 Lake announced she would step down as CEO; Elizabeth Spaulding succeeded her as Stitch Fix president and Lake transitioned to executive/board roles.
Net worth re-assessed to approx. $205M (June 2022)
Profiles reported substantial decline in Lake's net worth to around $205M by June 2022, reflecting Stitch Fix stock price fluctuations.
Ongoing roles: Chairperson/board positions & public profile
After stepping down as CEO, Lake continued as Executive Chairperson/board member at Stitch Fix and served on boards including Grubhub, Glossier and Recruit Holdings; remained active in fashion-tech and speaking engagements.
Became Independent Director of Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.
In June 2023 Lake joined Recruit Holdings as an Independent Director (international board role).
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