Did the "Girlboss" narrative kill my company?

Marisa Meltzer's "Glossy" got me thinking-- this is what watching the media eviscerate girlbosses did to a young female founder.

First, let me get one thing straight: no one thing led to my decision to close up shop about a year ago.

In my peak at Food52 where I got to actually be on-camera and not just behind the scenes. It absolutely went to my head. You can tell because I kept this screenshot of an ad that I got starring myself... Normal…

When I started Goldune, I was 26. 26! I had just spent about 5 years at Food52, getting to journey with them through a majority stake acquisition in 2019 and a whole lot of growth. By no means did the timing feel great to start a business— I had originally wanted more work experience before starting my own thing, and it was the beginning of the pandemic. The Great Unknown, on multiple levels.

At the same time, I was in a unique position: I was living with my parents and had nothing to do and no expenses. The only calls back I was getting as far as job applications went were from tiny start-ups with half baked ideas who didn’t have much money to pay me with. (This is a theme in my career that I wish would go away. I am still sitting here waiting for a Google-esque salary and benefits package and an in-office cafeteria.)

At some point, tired from a long stint in start-ups, I decided if I was going to work my ass off for no pay to make a start-up happen, why not let it be mine? I felt like I’d worked hard to make other people rich the last few years. Why not me?

But I felt paralyzed by the way female founders were falling like dominos. At the time, it looked like Emily Weiss of Glossier might be cancelled alongside the likes of the Away, The Wing, Nasty Gal, and Outdoor Voices founders. (This is not a comment on what those founders did and if I think it was okay or not but more so the absolutely skewed media fixation on women who run businesses.)

I’ve been thinking more about this since Marisa Meltzer’s Glossy became all anyone could talk about. (Don’t get me started on what I think about this book... spiciest Goodreads review I’ve ever left.)

Before I even officially incorporated my business, all I could think about was it ultimately getting me cancelled.

Pre-launch, post-idea, another pandemic-era work day at my parents’ house.

I think my trepidation, though unspoken, showed throughout every stage of running a business. I remember my mom telling me at the start: