A Discussion with Lauren Salz, Co-Founder and CEO, Sealed

Emily Chang: Hi. I’m Emily Chang. Author of Brotopia. Welcome to the SHEconomics series honoring women who are blazing trails as CEOs and founders. Today I am joined by Lauren Solz, co-founder and CEO of Sealed, a wellness company for the home—on a mission to modernize homes with smarter more energy-efficient technology.

Lauren, thank you so much for joining us. It's so great to be here with you.

Lauren Salz: Thank you so much for having me today.

Emily: Let's talk about the technology. How do you make homes smarter?

Lauren: We figure out the opportunities in someone's home to make it more energy-efficient and get them more modern HVAC systems.

Emily: What does that involve? Is it, I mean, is it just heating and cooling? Is there more to it?

Lauren: There's a little more to it. So, it's heating and cooling. It's also things that make the home more comfortable—things like air sealing and insulation. We do smart home tech and there are also things that make homes cleaner and better for the climate.

Emily: What impact? Can you quantify the impact that it's having on climate? Can you quantify how much energy you're saving?

Lauren: Yeah. It depends on the home and what we do with them, but can save anywhere between 25% to 70% in terms of their carbon footprint.

Emily: And how do you make money? Tell me about the business model.

Lauren: Yeah. The way we make money is we pay up front to install the improvements, so the homeowner doesn't have to come out of pocket at all, and then we only get paid back based on the energy reductions.

It's a way to kind of align our interests with that of our customers' because if we're recommending the wrong set of improvements or the wrong attractors, we don't actually end up making any money.

Emily: You're in four states right now. I know also New Jersey which is where you're personally based. What's the goal for expansion?

Lauren: The goal for expansion is to be everywhere—all throughout the U.S. and we're really on a mission to take all homes off of fossil fuels.

Emily: Tell me about growing up in New Jersey. What kind of kid you were, your upbringing, your family?

Lauren: Yeah, so I grew up in New Jersey. My parents were both physicians. And then actually going in further back, my grandparents, three out of four of them were immigrants who were political refugees from their various countries of origins.

Emily: You're Chinese and Jewish, right?

Lauren: Yes. Chinese and Jewish, yes. And, you know, they had kind of lost a lot of what they had when they came over to this country. And because of that, there was a really big focus on education in my family. So, both my parents are physicians and then it was an important value that we really grew up with. But I think my parents would describe me as a child who was very stubborn, right? Who had a very strong will and nobody could tell me what to do.

Emily: Well, on that note, I understand you were the tallest person in your class, definitely the tallest girl, sometimes taller than the boys.

Lauren: Always taller than the boys until around eighth grade.

Emily: What was that like? I mean, what kind of influence do you think that had on you and your personality and sort of the person that you've become?

Lauren: So everyone always treated me like I was older than I actually was and then among my peers, other people of my classes always looked at me for a leadership role, right? And it was because of that, that I kind of naturally, one, became pretty independent and kind of took on some leadership qualities despite the fact that actually as a child and still now I have a stutter.

And sometimes people think about people with stutters and it kind of can be antithetical to being a leader. But actually, for me, that's a core part of what makes me a strong leader.

Emily: How so?

Lauren: So I had these really strong personality traits and a lot of things to say, but sometimes I struggled to get it out. What it actually forced me to do is put myself in situations that were kind of scary, right? Things like performing. Things like in college I had a political commentary television show, right? I did public speaking.

One summer, I spent time being a street musician and it really just like pushed me to do things that made me uncomfortable because I had things that I wanted to say, things I wanted to do and having an obstacle that people were aware of and pointed out just kind of made me more bold.

Emily: The more I talk to you, the more I feel like you really have had nine lives. I didn't know about the political commentary show. You took a year off before going to college. You worked for a political campaign. You didn't go straight into work after college. You were a street musician. You're a competitive weightlifter. How does all of this fit together?

Lauren: You know, I think the theme throughout my life is that I don't always go with the thing that's expected outta me. And I think when I look back and reflect on it is that I usually do whatever I want that I have a lot of conviction in doing.

And a lot of those things don't necessarily like fit along like one linear path to kind of get me where I am today, but like the big theme is that sometimes I just have a strong gut feeling that I should be doing something and I typically follow that instinct.

Emily: So how do you think that's influenced your path to entrepreneurship?

Lauren: So entrepreneurs have to have a vision for the future that doesn't exist yet today, right? That's why you start new things. And you have to go against conventional wisdom because otherwise you wouldn't have a new idea or figure out a different way that hasn't been done before.

And you have to be willing to take risks, right? And you can't just follow like a straight linear path because I'll tell you, you know, Sealed has had a lot of success, but it hasn't been like straight up and to the right. We've had a lot of bumps along the road. And to really be successful, you have to be doing something differently especially in our space where a lot of people had tried and failed to get more people to adopt these technologies, and like we had to figure out how to do something differently.

Emily: Now, you did do something conventional in that you went into consulting and worked at McKinsey...

Lauren: I did.

Emily: ...after college, after being the street musician. Walk me through that decision.

Lauren: So there's been, in my life, a big search for finding meaning in the work that I'm doing. And I had a lot of internships, job experience studies, where I was kind of looking for a way to make an impact. And ultimately, some of the things I did failed when I was trying to have an impact. And my learning from that is to really have an impact, you have to acquire skills that are relevant in certain fields.

Emily: Tell me about the things you did that failed.

Lauren: So I took some time off before I went to college and for part of that year, I spent time doing volunteer work in developing countries because I thought there are children at these orphanages in Asia and Africa and I'm gonna go there and I'm gonna help them.

And when I got there after staying around for like quite a while, I actually realized that some of these orphanages aren't really sustainable places for children to live and it was causing some social problems even within the community. And I actually, looking back on it, even when I was there towards the end, I realized that I wasn't actually driving a positive impact, because I just didn't know what I was doing. And throughout college, I was kind of searching for ways that I could dedicate my life to something that had meaning.

And I was kind of at a loss for the best way to drive impact, so I knew I needed to graduate college with a job and support myself and I thought McKinsey would be a good way to pick up some skills, so I'll kinda do that.

Emily: It does pay the bills for sure.

Lauren: It pays the bills. And also, one thing that's great about McKinsey is they have really smart, passionate people working there. And some of the advice I give to college students who wanna get into climate tech or other spaces that drive a big impact is that one of the most important things is that you acquire skills, right? And go and find those amazing, smart mentors wherever they are and go and learn from them even if you wanna end up in a different industry.

Emily: So at what point did you say maybe I should start my own company and what gave you the courage to actually do it?

Lauren: So I actually had a mentor at McKinsey who encouraged me to quit and start my own company.

Emily: Really?

Lauren: Yes. I think he was looking at some of my personality traits and some things I was good at and some things I was less good at. He was like, "Look, I think you would be better off, you know, starting your own company. That would be the best way for you to learn and drive impact."

And the other thing too is definitely when I graduated from college, I was not one of those people who were like, "Oh, I need to be doing this specific thing. This is the path I'm going to get there." I only knew that I was looking for a way to like, one, have impact, and one, I wanted to love what I did and I didn't know what that was gonna be. And I was on a pursuit to find that. Entrepreneurship interests me, so I figured that's something that I should try next.

Emily: How did you decide what problem you wanted to solve?

Lauren: That's a great question. So after I left McKinsey, I was meeting up with different founders in the New York City area, seeing what ideas were out there, just learning the startup ecosystem. And I actually met a lot of people through AngelList, which I think was a little bit different back then than it is now, and I ended up meeting my now co-founder Andy, who had been in the energy efficiency space for a while.

And right away, like one, I knew this is the person I wanted to work with. I actually think that's the most important thing. One, starting a company is the people you're working with, and two, what really inspired me about the climate space is that it was an area that was really ripe for innovation.

And people have tried and failed for like many years to get people to adopt these types of technologies and I was really intellectually intrigued why that would be, right? They're cost-effective. They improve the quality of people's lives at home and I thought that it was a problem that could be solved. And I thought that was a problem that could be solved by me partnering with Andy.

Emily: So, what's that first step? You find someone. You figure out the problem you wanna solve or vice versa, you know, then what do you do?

Lauren: I mean, you have to do a lot, right? But the number one thing you have to do first is figure out a product that people wanna buy, right? And actually that is a really difficult stage. And actually, for Sealed, it took us a long time to find our product-market fit. It took four years to find it actually.

Emily: That's a long journey.

Lauren: It's a really long journey and it had a lot of ups and downs. And there was plenty of points where we weren't sure if we would figure it out.

Emily: How did you find the motivation to keep going?

Lauren: We just had a strong conviction that, one, we could figure it out, but two, that it had to be figured out. Like it was a necessity because homes drive around 20% of carbon emissions in the U.S. We're like, someone has to figure it out and we think we can do it. And it just, it has to be done.

And with a lot of problems that are out there, I think a lot of people are like, "Oh, someone else will like figure it out," but sometimes you just say, "No, we are going to figure it out."

Emily: You recently raised a new round of funding, also just had your first baby. Congratulations on both.

Lauren: Thank you.

Emily: Talk to me about that process—raising money while being pregnant and a young entrepreneur.

Lauren: Yeah. Well, I'll say that any founder will tell you that the fundraising process can be very stressful, right? Even when things are going really well for your company like they were for Sealed. And then being a first time CEO and first-time pregnancy, it kind of like compounded a lot of the stresses there.

I actually enjoy a lot of the aspects of the fundraising process because I'm really proud of what Sealed is doing, but I wasn't sure how I'd be doing it pregnant. And also, you can't control pregnancy—when you're gonna give birth, etc. And I know I was a little bit self-conscious about being a pregnant CEO for sure while fundraising.

Emily: Why?

Lauren: Most investors are men and you know, either... I think consciously one of the things I was worried about is that would being pregnant impact people's investment decisions. So, I think I was nervous and a little bit self-conscious about it because like even when you got to fundraise with, you know, great metrics and a great story, you never know what's gonna happen. And I wondered like, "Oh, like if we're not successful, is it gonna be because I'm pregnant?" And I was definitely worried about that, especially as a first-time mom.

Emily: Yeah. How did you overcome that?

Lauren: Well, Zoom is a great equalizer for pregnant women actually. So I didn't have to... I wasn't forced to bring it up or it wasn't an elephant in the room, but ultimately, the investors that you wanna work with, the best investors, are not gonna care about that stuff, right?

And actually, one particular investor ended up leading our series B. I just had conviction he would be a really strong partner for me and my company. And, I, you know, made sure to let him know I was pregnant because I also thought like if someone doesn't wanna invest in my company because I'm pregnant, I don't want them as an investor.

Emily: Absolutely.

Lauren: And it turns out he had just had his first child a couple of months ago, so was super empathetic and understanding and I'm glad that, you know, he knew and was a good start to the relationship.

Emily: Now, you also actually had the baby in the middle of the fundraising process.

Lauren: I did.

Emily: Tell me about that.

Lauren: That was one of the craziest experiences of my entire life. You know, the baby ended up coming a little bit early, so I thought I had more time than I did. And I had a really difficult delivery as well and was in a wheelchair for a while afterwards. So, it was just a really crazy time, but I was determined that we would, you know, complete the round in time.

But I did some really crazy things, in retrospect, that I might not have done. But I was literally responding to things while I'm in the hospital with a newborn.

I did an investor call on the way home from the hospital because I was... so I was so determined that being pregnant and having a baby would not impact work in like any way or I would not be one day behind because I had a baby. In retrospect, it was like pretty crazy.

Emily: What was the reality?

Lauren: The reality that it would've been fine to say, "Oh hey, I'm gonna be offline for the next couple of weeks because I went into labor and I just had a baby." I should have just done that, and the company would've been fine. The fundraiser would've been fine and I think, you know, everyone would've been less stressed out.

Emily: So if you could do it all over again or if you do it all over again, how will you do it differently? Or will you do it differently? What's sort of the lesson learned?

Lauren: Yeah. I think the lesson learned here is that I would just be more open about everything and I would... sometimes women have babies and it's okay if they're not gonna be available when they're in the hospital with a newborn, right?

And what I realized too was all the pressure I put on myself. Everyone actually was very understanding about the whole situation. It was something that because I was worried about it, that I made into something that it actually didn't need to be.

Emily: But look, sexism in tech investing is not in your imagination.

Lauren: That is true. That is true.

Emily: Two percent of venture capital in 2021 went to women-founded companies, 2% out of 100%.

Lauren: That's wild, 2%.

Emily: How does that number strike you?

Lauren: I mean, it seems really low, but it also doesn't surprise me given what I see out in market. Most venture capital investors are men and actually, most founders and CEOs that I know are men as well, including the people that I surround with and I'm friends with.

And actually, I was having dinner with a female investor last night who's a partner at a firm and she was asking me what my support system was like of other CEOs. I'm like, "Oh yeah, I have... you know, I speak for this person. Oh, and that person, they are really supportive." And then I realized actually there was not one woman on that list who I'm calling.

But then I'm realizing this is just the people that I'm meeting. This is actually most of the other entrepreneurs at our stage of the company and it's because there's less investment going to female founders. And I also think that fewer women are becoming entrepreneurs because of both the perception and reality of what it's like to be a female entrepreneur.

Emily: So what do you think needs to change this? How do we get more Lauren Salz out there?

Lauren: So one is more female investors and the other is reaching into networks of potentially capable entrepreneurs and helping them because one of the things that's really helped me is reaching out to people for advice and mentorship.

And I think that one thing that I wasn't good at when I was a younger woman is reaching out for help and advice because, I was a young founder and CEO and I didn't have an amazing network for people. And I think for many years, I actually think we would have found our product-market a lot earlier if I had reached out to other people, for example.

And one piece of advice I give to all young people and also older people as well is that people do wanna help you, men and women, but you have to make the ask, right? And people tend to be really receptive to it. And I know like people have cold-reached out to be over LinkedIn and I'll talk to them.

Emily: I mean, that's admirable because you're busy. You're a mom. You got a job. You got a company to run. How do you find the time to do that?

Lauren: Well, one, it's important. And two is I enjoy it. And I think the person seeking advice sometimes thinks that the person they're getting advice from is doing them a favor, but also they are helping the person who's giving the advice because actually sometimes when I'm speaking and giving people who are the younger versions of myself advice, I actually learn a lot by reflecting back on the things that I'm saying. So when people are reaching out, I would just encourage them to have a different frame of mind about it.

Emily: So how has your leadership style evolved from those days on the playground when people were expecting you to be a leader to now where you are the leader?

Lauren: Well, I'll say the stakes are a little bit higher now. People are really counting on me. You know, we have over a hundred employees now so the stakes are a little bit higher. But I'll say, over time, and this is just about maturing as a leader and scaling with a company, is that I can't do everything myself. And, even back when I was leaders of student groups in college, I just wanted to do everything myself and that doesn't scale, right?

And so, what I'm learning over time is, you know, to hire great people and trust them to, you know, work with you and do their jobs really well. And the other thing is asking for advice and help. That is the number one thing that's different about me today than three years ago.

Emily: So what are your goals for yourself as a leader? Let's say five years from now, where do you wanna be?

Lauren: Okay. So five years from now, I want to have a wonderful, happy family. That's kind of one of my number one priorities. And two, I want Sealed to have had a really big impact on the climate tech space. And, you know, to do that it'll mean yes, scaling the company, but the number one thing I think about and probably to my number one job as the CEO of Sealed is building a really great team around me and really nurturing people through their careers.

Emily: What would you say to women who think they can't have a family, a young family, and start a company at the same time?

Lauren: You absolutely can do it, but I will say it's really hard. And you should only do it if you have a lot of conviction around what you're doing because, for example, and I think I could have taken more time off than I did after I had a baby, but it would've been impossible to take a traditional maternity leave and that's a big sacrifice, right? And you have to really believe in what you're doing to make those types of sacrifices worth it.

Emily: So where do you want the company to be in five years?

Lauren: In five years.

Emily: And how will you manage those sacrifices along the way?

Lauren: So five years from now, we'll be all over the U.S. and we'll have expanded to some international markets and we'll have provided opportunities for people to take their homes completely off of fossil fuels. So that's kind of the big picture for the company and how to do that along the way is make sure that I'm hiring the right people for the team so that I don't have to do it all, right? That's the number one thing.

And the other thing too that will help me achieve the happy home life is just making sure to have the support I need at home and I have an amazing, wonderful husband who's also an entrepreneur, but we're true partners and it really helps me accomplish what I need to at work and having... grandparents are the best thing in the entire world.

Emily: Absolutely, 100%. I agree. Well, it's amazing to see what you've accomplished so far and I look forward to seeing the results after five years, Lauren.

Lauren: Thank you.

Emily: Lauren Salz, thank you so much for joining us. It's been great to have you here.

Lauren: Thank you for having me.