She's On The Money From $60k in Debt and Lying About Being Unemployed to Becoming the Lazy CEO Behind Showpo’s $100 Million Empire
Dec 14, 2025
Jane Lu, founder of the $100 million fashion brand Showpo, candidly shares her journey from being $60k in debt to entrepreneurial success. She opens up about the pressures of societal expectations and how she secretly built her business while working in libraries. Jane reveals the accidental viral moments that skyrocketed her brand and discusses her 'Lazy CEO' approach, focusing on delegation and sustainable work practices. Her insights on overcoming early failures and the importance of support systems are both inspiring and relatable.
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Early Pop-Up Failure Taught True Costs
- Jane Lu started with a pop-up store during the GFC while working as an accountant and studying the business in cafés and the State Library.
- The pop-up barely broke even and taught her the cost of unpaid time and opportunity costs early on.
Hiding Unemployment While Building Shoppo
- After quitting her accounting job Jane pretended to still work and spent days building an online store while hiding unemployment from her parents.
- She worked in cafés and the State Library, juggling stock and stockpiles while fearful of admitting failure.
Left Alone, She Scaled Fast
- Jane's co‑founders left twice, once after redundancy and later because Showpony was failing, leaving her to buy the business for $20,000.
- Solo, she scaled from $5k to $140k monthly within a year and cleared personal debt rapidly.
