Strategy: How a 34-year-old Stanford and Harvard grad built Stitch Fix into a billion-dollar company that just went public (SFIX)

The life and career of Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake, whose company just went public.

• CEO Katrina Blake has run Stitch Fix since it was founded in 2011. The company held an IPO Friday.

• The 34-year-old Stanford and Harvard grad was "risk averse" as a child and initially considered becoming a doctor.

• Lake is the only woman to lead a tech IPO in 2017 so far.

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Friday, Katrina Lake became the only woman to lead a tech IPO so far this year.

Lake is the CEO of Stitch Fix, a subscription-based fashion startup. It works by having customers fill out a detailed questionnaire on their personal style, pick a shipment date, and pay a $20 styling fee. Stitch Fix stylists then pick out outfits to match your style, and if you like your outfit enough to keep it, you pay for the clothes.

The San Francisco-based company has around 5,000 employees — 3,500 of whom are full and part-time stylists, according to the Los Angeles Times.

According to CNBC, investors and analysts were concerned about Stitch Fix's profitability in the wake of troubles at meal subscription company Blue Apron. Forbes reported the IPO raised $120 million.

Here's a look at how Lake went from a prospective pre-med major to an entrepreneur on a quest to blend fashion and tech:

Lake told the Los Angeles Times she was "risk-averse" growing up in San Francisco and Minnesota. The daughter of a physician and a teacher, she thought about pursuing medicine.

Source: Los Angeles Times, Star Tribune

However, when she began attending Stanford University, she became mesmerized by economics. Lake earned a B.S. in the subject and went on to receive her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Source: Katrina Lake's blog, The Los Angeles Times

Before Stitch Fix, Lake worked at tech company Polyvore and management consulting firm The Parthenon Group.

Source: Katrina Lake's blog

According to Inc, she was inspired to found her own company by her sister, who worked as a clothing buyer and would send Lake outfits.

Source: Inc

In the early months of Stitch Fix, users would fill out SurveyMonkey forms to identify their preferences. Lake would then deliver the clothes herself.

Source: Inc

When it comes to her own style, Lake told the Star Tribune that her personal fashion sense is "classic with a twist." "I want to feel comfortable and confident and don't want to have to think too much about what I wear every day," she said.

Source: Star Tribune

In the 2016 fiscal year, the company brought in $730 million, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Source: Los Angeles Times

However, the road to the IPO hasn't been easy. According to a report by Recode, Lightspeed Venture Partners coerced Lake into silence by having her to sign a non-disparagement agreement after she reported sexual harassment from former Lightspeed partner Justin Caldbeck. He was the firm's observer to Stitch Fix's board of directors.

Source: Inc., Recode

"At the time, she was working to raise a round of needed funding for Stitch Fix and was well aware that Lightspeed could prevent that deal from taking place," Recode's Kara Swisher and Jason del Ray wrote.

Source: Inc., Recode

When the news was made public by Axios, Lake did not address the situation with Caldbeck specifically but released a statement saying: "It's important to expose the type of behavior that's been reported in the last few weeks, so the community can recognize and address these problems."

Source: Inc., Recode, Axios

Stitch Fix's shares opened Friday at $16.90 and the company is now valued at $1.63 billion, according to CNBC. So far, Stitch Fix is the only woman-led tech IPO of 2017.

"I want her to have a huge positive outcome because it does something really important for female entrepreneurs and, specifically, founder-CEOs," Rent the Runway's Jennifer Hyman told Recode. "I want her to have this success because we work in an industry where pattern recognition is still the name of game."

Source: Recode

Lake previously told Inc. she strives to build a truly forward-thinking company. "I wanted to work at whatever company was going to be the future of retail," said Lake.

Source: Inc

The life and career of Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake, whose company just went public. Read Full Story