She Built the Fashion Empire M.M.LaFleur—Then She Had 3 Babies Within 6 Weeks
Sarah LaFleur became a mom to three babies during in 2020, while running a multi-million dollar company.
When fashion mogul Sarah LaFleur was diagnosed with a “unicornuate uterus” she knew that becoming a mother was not going to be an easy journey. But she didn’t know that her path to parenthood would include IVF, surrogacy, and ultimately, three babies born within six weeks.
Her babies were born in the summer of 2020 during Covid—precisely when running a brick-and-mortar business became even more complicated.
Take a listen to Episode #215 with Sarah LaFleur to hear the full story:
Sarah started a women’s workwear fashion company in 2013 with $70,000 of her own funding.
It was an uphill battle to get investors to see this as an opportunity. Fundraising, she said, was one of the most challenging parts of building her company. Despite having Miyako Nakamura (the former head designer of Zac Posen) and Narie Foster on board to launch M.M.LaFleur, most venture capitalists in 2013 were skeptical, she said.
“I think I found it especially tiring because a lot of people who were sitting on the opposite side of the table didn't relate to the problem. I was selling a product that served busy working professional women, and most venture capitalists are not that,” she explained on the podcast. So they would say, “Well, let me ask my wife about that. Let me ask my girlfriend about it. Let me talk to my sister about it.”
“Back when I was fundraising for the first time in 2013-2014 … I was trying to get these people to understand a problem that they couldn't relate to. It was really like pulling teeth.”
Today M.M.LaFleur is a $10M+ fashion brand known for introducing Power Casual into women’s workwear.
Sarah had always wanted to create better clothes for women, especially because of her experience working as a management consultant at Bain & Company and more. She kept thinking, “someone should do something about this at some point. I didn't really think that person should be me.” But after consistently finding lackluster options, she realized that it might have to be her. She became an entrepreneur despite a prominent partner telling her that she would “know deep down” that she was an entrepreneur.
After a seven-year entrepreneurship journey, she started thinking about motherhood.
Her journey to parenting was completely different than she could have expected. She was unexpectedly diagnosed with a “unicornuate uterus,” and was told that becoming a mother was not going to be an easy journey.
Sarah didn’t know that her path to parenthood would include IVF, surrogacy, and ultimately, three babies born in six weeks — but she wouldn’t change a thing.
These days, Sarah describes herself as a part-time CEO and a part-time mom. She built a team that she could trust to run the business in her absence, which allows her to be present as her children grow up. She acknowledges that her approach doesn’t fit the mold of the Silicon Valley hustle culture entrepreneur, and that’s okay. Sarah and Sarah also talk about how it is to be both a CEO and a parent, and how it can feel like you’re barely doing either.
In Episode #215 of The Startup Parent Podcast:
Sarah LaFleur’s top advice for entrepreneurs.
Inside her radical pivot during the summer of 2020 and what she had to do to make sure the business survived Covid.
Why there is absolutely more than one way to be an entrepreneur.
The limitations of the “Mark Zuckerberg, 150-hour-week” vision of business leadership.
What Sarah did to stay focused and keep her mindset solid when she faced people who didn’t believe in her or her vision.
The absolutely difficult challenge of being a parent and an entrepreneur—and how both Sarah and Sarah feel like they’re failing, and what has changed in their lives as a result.
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Take a listen to Episode #215 with Sarah LaFleur to hear the full story.
— Sarah Peck
CEO & Founder
Startup Parent