Lake started working on Stitch Fix during her second year at Harvard while doing her academic research on retail industry. In the early days of Stitch Fix, Lake asked friends of friends in the Boston area to fill out style surveys. She’d then go out and buy clothes on her credit card, and drop off a box at people’s homes. They’d write her a personal check for what they wanted to keep, and return the rest. Lake would keep track of stores return policy to reduce the risk of unsold inventory. She would then track people’s preference in an Excel spreadsheet and stored the inventory in her apartment.

Several investors dismissed her idea and eventual Venture capitalist Steve Anderson made his first investment in 2011. This investment enabled Lake to officially launch her company. After some initial challenges, the business took off and Stitch fix has become one of the few success stories in the subscription shopping industry. They continue using data from the customer preference to manage their inventory and also provide a world class experience to their customers.