Lauren Wallett: Creative Anarchist, Pleasure Activist and Certified Coffee Addict

Meet Lauren Wallett, a creative anarchist, pleasure activist, and self-proclaimed coffee addict. Lauren is on a mission to construct the world's inaugural prescriptive AI, giving users a powerful new tool to analyse data and provide specific recommendations or actions.

That tool is known as Creatrix SaaS, and We Are Founders are excited and looking forward to seeing it go from success, to success.

With over 18 years of experience in content marketing, Lauren has collaborated with some of the globe's most prominent brands. However, her true passion lies in nurturing emerging talents brimming with potential.

Lauren's philosophy revolves around the idea that when each individual radiates their utmost brilliance, we collectively illuminate the world. She's dedicated to forging a future characterised by creative excellence, where everyone is welcome to partake.

Here's her journey, in her own words.

Can you tell us about your journey as a founder? What inspired you to start your own business?

I'm a serial entrepreneur and by 26 had already sold 2 businesses. Then I pivoted from my Marketing Agency, to open Create Business Academy to mentor solopreneurs on how to optimise their businesses through content and community. I saw myself as a support role, guiding others to step into the spotlight and stand out as the star they are.

I'd been the pitching coach for TechStars, taught around the world, spoken internationally, and worked behind the scenes with hundreds of business people - and I loved being of service to big dreams and bold visions.

It was only at TechStars Foundercon 2022, watching 20-something boys on stage that I realised: I've got +20 years of expertise in marketing and business and actually, I have what it takes to be a founder too! I got back to Los Angeles and started preparing to build my software.

Two weeks later in October, I flew to New York City to do a recce to confirm it was the best place to establish my start up. I moved in Jan and by April had bootstrapped the first part of my MVP. At 40, I followed my big dream and became a solo founder in NYC.

What challenges did you face in the early stages of your entrepreneurial journey? How did you overcome them?

Growing on a shoestring is always a challenge because you have to do everything yourself. Then you get used to it and so getting support feels inefficient and ineffective - but you can't do it all alone and teething problems are part of the handover process. I see business as an extension and expression of who I am so it's deeply personal and a reflection of my philosophical values.

"I got sober which is a game changer in clarity and trusting your intuition. And I've had to stop having unhealthy relationships and friendships."

There's an art to creating a business like this - you follow your heart even when it doesn't make logical sense. For me, that meant following my bliss and peace of mind. It's been a removal process of people, places, things, habits, and activities and replacing ideas that don't serve me with ones that offer more compassion and acceptance.

For example: I left my home Country of South Africa because I wanted to expand into my potential in Los Angeles.

I got sober which is a game changer in clarity and trusting your intuition. And I've had to stop having unhealthy relationships and friendships. Boundaries and self-respect have been very important. Knowing that my worth isn't dependent on how much money I have and that big dreams take time to come to fruition.

I have to hold a vision for the future that doesn't yet exist and treat myself as a person who's capable of achieving impossible things so that I'm motivated to keep going.

The bigger the risk, the bigger the leap of faith so I've had to become mentally and emotionally strong. "Brave" was my mantra so practicing courage and showing up even when I didn't know what I was doing is how I landed up in incredible places.

I got a green card for exceptional ability as a celebrity entrepreneur which was incredible and costly (+$12500) and when Trump was president he shut down the processing department so I was delayed 3 years in actually getting the card which was super stressful.

Undoing my internalized misogyny was important in overcoming my limiting belief that I was a "helper" instead of a leader.

How did you identify the target market for your product/service? What made you confident that it would resonate with customers?

Marketing needs an upgrade and it is my industry. I know the struggles, challenges, and massive problems shared with solopreneurs, small businesses, and massive global conglomerates. I combined insights from my marketing agency and business school and built a super tool that supports all the people I've served over 20 years. I built the tool of my dreams.

It would have changed the game back for me in the day and it encouraged me to reopen my marketing agency now (As a media agency) because I finally have the effortless support I've always wanted (basically a team of 13 in one SaaS product).

What were some of the major obstacles you encountered while building your business? How did you navigate through those hurdles?

If you go a traditional path you'll encounter obvious problems. Proving yourself to VC's who want traction but not to pay for product build-out (the same VC's who fund less than 2% of women). So I explored the options and found all of them awful.

I didn't want to do the accelerator I was offered and give away 7% of my company for $100K - so I bet on myself and took the financial risk. I lived with a roommate in NYC and when that didn't work out, I moved to live with my sister in London. I decided to build in public on social media and attract people organically.

I'm building this business based on personal relationships that offer win-win solutions for all of us. I've had nothing before. I know how to handle it so I don't have any delusions of grandeur about how this needs to appear to others. I'm a non-conformist.

Security to some feels like suffocation to others and the picket fence life wasn't for me. My businesses and books and my babies.

I want an alternative life so traditional rules don't apply to me. I don't feel the pressures of a biological clock ticking or the need to be married again. My life's focus is on creative expression and creating businesses is a huge part of that.

Could you share a specific moment of doubt or failure you experienced along the way? How did you bounce back from it?

I think I move so fast because I'm scared all the time. In the ancient performance art form of traditional "clowning," there's an idea that Christopher Bayes phrases as "The speed of fun" It means that you go faster than you can think - so you don't think, you just do. I move like that.

And when I'm faced with a problem, like an unsafe living situation, I swiftly pivot - I'm okay with extremes.

I'm used to chaos and living through what others consider terrifying experiences. I don't advocate this life for everyone, but for me, there's no other way to live. I couldn't NOT do everything I'd dreamed of.

I don't see the point of holding back. I'm always bouncing. It's how I roll. Most recently it meant relocating to London. I didn't see that coming.

Turns out it was the best thing that's happened to me, personally, and for Creatrix. I trust the process of creation and that includes lots of confusing blurry times. I know it's part of the heartbeat (contractions and expansions) of birthing something into the world.