Stitch Fix

The founder

Katrina Lake founded Stitch Fix in 2011 while a student at Harvard Business School, building a data-driven styling service that combines algorithms with human stylists to send curated clothing boxes to subscribers. She led the company to its Nasdaq IPO in November 2017 at age 34, becoming the youngest woman to take a company public in U.S. history at the time. She served as CEO until 2018 and later returned as interim CEO in 2023 before stepping back again.

How it was taken public

Stitch Fix priced its IPO below the initial $18–$20 target range, at $15 per share, raising $120 million and valuing the company at roughly $1.6 billion on November 17, 2017. It was notable as the first tech IPO led by a woman that year, and shares popped on their debut before settling.