A Multimillion Dollar Deal, a Product Recall and a New Chapter: Gwen Whiting on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Acquisitions

Founders often talk about an acquisition as the ultimate business goal. But Gwen Whiting knows M&A isn't always the fairytale it's made out to be. Gwen cofounded The Laundress, grew it into a cleaning empire, and sold the company to Unilever for a reported $100 million. But then... the product recall happened. Gwen tells Nicole about the scrappy days of launching and scaling The Laundress without investor capital, and the cautionary tales from the Unilever deal. Gwen talks about how she's approaching her new venture The Fill differently— and why she's not building it to sell. Then, Gwen opens up about her experience as one of the survivors of sexual assault by Dr. Robert Hadden, and what talking with other survivors taught her the power of collective action. Learn more about The Fill Unilever's response to the product recall Gwen's piece about learning her OBGYN was a predator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices