How I Built This with Guy Raz

M.M.LaFleur: Sarah LaFleur

Feb 3, 2020

Sarah LaFleur, the Founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, shares her journey from corporate frustrations to launching a successful clothing line for professional women. She discusses the initial overwhelm of choices, her collaboration with designer Miyako Nakamura, and the challenges of fundraising in a male-dominated industry. LaFleur highlights the importance of fit and functionality in women’s workwear, as well as her innovative marketing strategies. Additionally, poet Taylor Mali introduces Metaphor Dice, a tool that helps inspire creativity and ease the writing process.

01:14:43

Episode guests

Sarah LaFleur

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

From Setbacks to Style: The Entrepreneurial Journey

21min

Navigating the Fashion Landscape

10min

Navigating Fashion and Finances: A New Entrepreneur's Journey

4min

The Art of Fit and Funding

10min

Navigating the E-Commerce Landscape

17min

Fashion Value and Entrepreneurial Challenges

9min

Navigating Name Confusions and Marketing Strategies

3min

Unleashing Creativity with Metaphor Dice

4min

10.

Engagement and Opportunities in Entrepreneurship

3min

When she was working corporate jobs in New York City, Sarah LaFleur hated getting dressed in the morning; the choices in her closet felt overwhelming, many items didn't fit right or wore out too quickly. So in 2011 she launched a line of clothing for working women that would be simple, elegant, and well-tailored. She had no experience in fashion but partnered with a top-line designer, Miyako Nakamura, to create M.M.LaFleur. Today it's a multi-million dollar company with loyal customers from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. PLUS in our post-script "How You Built That," Taylor Mali explains how he created Metaphor Dice, which ease the pain of writing the first line of a poem. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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