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Within the corporate world, it is always refreshing to see a woman at the helm of a company. In the case of Katrina Lake, not only is she the founder of Stitch Fix, the wildly successful online personal style service, but she also functioned as its CEO (until stepping down this August with president Elizabeth Spaulding assuming the reins). During her tenure as Chief Executive, Lake took Stitch Fix from humble beginnings in her Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment while at Harvard Business School in 2011, to a net revenue of $2.1 billion and nearly 4.2 million clients in 2021. At the tender age of 34 in 2017, she gained the distinction of becoming the youngest woman in history to lead an IPO. In 2021, Bumble founder and CEO, 31-year-old Whitney Wolfe Herd, superseded that honor.
Today, Katrina Lake is regarded as one of the wealthiest women in America. In fact, Forbes listed her as #37 on its 2021 list of the wealthiest self-made women in the country. However, at times it has been an arduous slog for Lake. At her own accord, she faced discrimination in the corporate world because of her gender. Moreover, in 2017, it was reported that Lake had filed a sexual harassment complaint four years prior against then-partner Justin Calbeck of the powerful Silicon Valley VC firm, Lightspeed Venture Capital.
Factoring in the incredible success and growth of Stitch Fix, for years people have speculated about the actual net worth of the company’s founder. Therefore, we here at Sophisticated Investor endeavored to answer the question, “What is Katrina Lake’s net worth?” To answer this question, we assembled all the publicly available information, and have provided approximations to her actual net worth.
Katrina Lake | |
---|---|
Date of Birth | December 24, 1982 |
Nationality | American |
Title | Founder, Entrepreneur, Investor |
Companies Founded | Stick Fix |
Best Known For | Being one of the wealthiest self-made women in America |
Net Worth (USD) | $760 Million |
What Is Katrina Lake’s Net Worth?
Based upon research, Katrina Lake has a net worth of approximately $760 Million. In an August 2021 Forbes profile, the magazine cited the figure, thus in all likelihood being the most accurate amount. This figure represents the valuation of Stick Fix, coupled with the 16.6% stake in the company held by Lake.
Because of her business acumen exhibited by the resounding success at the helm of Stitch Fix, Lake appeared on season 11 of ABC’s Emmy-winning Shark Tank as a “guest shark”. Save for a mere handful of individuals including Mark Cuban and Richard Branson, Katrina Lake is one of the wealthiest people to ever appear on the show.
Katrina Lake Biography
Katrina Lake was on December 24, 1982, in San Francisco, California. Her mother immigrated from Japan and worked as a teacher, her father was a doctor. Lake also briefly flirted with the idea of following her father’s footsteps into the medical profession as a physician, but pivoted, and studied economics at Stanford University.
After university, she worked at a VC firm and also as a consultant. However, she was bitten by the entrepreneurship bug and entered the MBA program at Harvard Business School. It was in 2011 while still at Harvard, that Lake birthed the idea for Stick Fix. A self-described “data science nerd”, the company utilizes algorithms based upon survey results, then expert stylists assemble boxes of clothing for each client. As of 2021, Stick Fix has over 4 million clients worldwide.
The phenomenal growth of Stick Fix, coupled with Lake’s astuteness as an entrepreneur lead to her position as a “guest shark” on Shark Tank in 2020. In the aforesaid episode, she partnered in a deal with series regular Lori Greiner, which proved to be an enormous hit with fans of the Emmy-Award-winning reality show.
How Did Katrina Lake Build Her Wealth?
Katrina Lake accumulated her wealth largely because of the astounding growth and success of Stick Fix. On September 21, 2021, the company released its Q4 and full fiscal year financial results. In the fourth quarter, Stick Fix had net revenue of over $571 million, representing 29% year-over-year growth. Full-year fiscal figures, the company enjoyed a 22.8% increase in year over year net revenue at $2.1 billion.
How Is Katrina Lake’s Net-Worth Calculated?
Seeing that Katrina Lake was (until stepping down in August 2021) CEO, and founder of Stick Fix, which is a publicly-traded company, it is obligated to release its financial information in compliance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. Given that Lake holds a 16.6% stake in the company that she founded, in all likelihood her net worth falls within the cited range.
Additionally, public disclosures are combined with Lake’s other publicly-known assets such as her primary residence, secondary properties, vehicles, etc., then subtracted by her publicly known debts to arrive at the aforementioned figure. Thus, by all approximations, Katrina Lake’s net worth falls within the range of an estimated $760 million.
Who Else Invests Like Katrina Lake?
Not all investors have the same style. To compare investors like Katrina Lake check out these investor profiles:
- Sara Blakely
- John Paul Dejoria
- Arlene Dickenson
- Bethenny Frankel
- Kevin Harrington
- Abigail Johnson
- Rohan Oza
Want to Invest Like Katrina Lake?
Having a net worth north of $700 million like Katrina Lake may not be a feasible reality for most investors. However, despite not having investment capital tantamount to that of Ms. Lake’s, one can still adopt an aggressive investing strategy with a diversified portfolio.
Diversification with alternative investments like gold or cryptocurrencies, that aren’t correlated to the stock market, is the best method toward enjoying portfolio gains. See how you can enjoy long-term, tax-free wealth that protects you against market volatility by having a look at our reviews for Precious Metals IRA companies, and Bitcoin IRA companies, respectively.