Stichfix: Bringing New Heights to Everyday Styling

Author: Malin Phelan '23

The world of business has typically been made up of a male-dominated workforce, and the job of an entrepreneur is one that is even more challenging. When Katrina Lake founded Stitchfix in 2011, the stereotypes of business were ever-present. Typically, we hear the word businessman far more often than we hear the word businesswoman. So, the fact that her company, Stitchfix, has grown into a multi-billion dollar company and has gone public on the stock market has always been particularly intriguing to me. For her to break out in the clothing and fashion industry, that’s arguably been done in a thousand ways, is awe-inspiring.

Stitchfix asks customers to fill out a survey on their website and then uses that data to match customers with style experts who send packages of clothing on either a regular basis or when specifically ordered. Customers then have the option to send back any clothing items that they don’t want to keep, and they only have to pay for the items that they keep. Being an entrepreneur in a field that has a set way of purchasing its items, Stichfix was a new concept that broke out due to its approach to clothing.

While still in business school at Harvard University, Lake began shipping Stitchfix’s first packages out of her apartment. This balance of school and work is impressive to me, as founding your own company while managing your schooling on top of any family/friend responsibilities is no easy task. Lake was able to do this successfully, forming a company with a unique approach to clothing that hadn’t been done before. This concept takes the stress out of finding your own clothes while utilizing modern technology and statistics and incorporating several different fields of study.

Now, Stitchfix has grown to be a public company on the stock market under NASDAQ. The company continues to be a female-run company, with Katrina Lake as the CEO and has expanded, catering to men's, children’s, maternity, and plus size clothing. Many companies have followed her example, and have created these send-outs of clothing, based on data that the customer provides. Stichfix has proven that women have amazing and profitable ideas, know the business world well, and can grow and adapt to changes over time. As growth occurs, adjustment is needed, and Katrina Lake did just that with Stitchfix.

Image Credit: weareteachers.com