Natalie Gordon: CEO and Founder of Babylist

Most venture-funded startup founders begin their journeys with grand ambitions from the outset. Such was not the case with Natalie, who started Babylist in 2011 to improve upon her own experience setting up a baby registry while expecting her first child. Now almost a dozen years later, she has both a tween and a company who are maturing rapidly. From those humble beginnings Natalie turned her side hustle into a force in online commerce, where Babylist now manages a registry for nearly half of expecting parents in the U.S. Her lessons learned and plans for future growth will inspire anyone who has a side project that they dream could one day become their main thing. Her personal growth, from engineer & expecting mother into CEO, and the growth of Babylist from side hustle to juggernaut, both offer models for personal and professional development that the rest of us can follow.