I quit my job in media while pregnant and battling an autoimmune disease. It led me to start my own company.

Aug 18, 2026 12:01 PM - 1 day ago 5

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Alex Taylor, the 39-year-old cofounder of women's wellness supplements marque Perelel. It has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

I landed successful activity roles very early successful my career.

At astir 29, I became president and executive editor successful main of Clique, the media location that publishes Who What Where, Byrdie, MyDomaine, and different publications.

I loved the editorial work, but I worked very agelong hours. I was the first 1 successful astatine astir 7 a.m. and the past 1 retired astir 7 p.m. Back then, it was important to show up successful the office.

I was besides young, and I didn't person the obligations of having a family. If an email came done successful the mediate of the night, I would respond.

Like a batch of women, I compromised my health and the things that really mattered to maine successful the process.

Autoimmune illness diagnosis

While my master life was thriving, my wellness started breaking down. In 2016, I started having weird symptoms.

I was losing hair. I had ever been a greeting person, but suddenly, I had utmost lethargy. My tegument had been affected. I was cloaked successful this chaotic encephalon fog each the time. My fingers were incredibly inflamed, and I was gaining weight rapidly.

I ignored it and kept going.

Then I collapsed retired successful shingles. That yet sent maine to the doctor. I was diagnosed pinch an autoimmune disease: Hashimoto's Disease. My physicians judge it was partially because of the utmost accent I was under.

I was having a challenging clip getting pregnant astir that time. That's erstwhile I realized what I had done. I had ever envisioned starting a family, truthful I blamed myself.

I decided to alteration my environment

I changed my diet to make it much anti-inflammatory. I sewage started connected a medicine medication that helped pinch the autoimmune disease.

When I sewage my diagnosis, my doctors told maine I needed to trim my stress. I wondered really I was expected to do that while starring a company. Then it clicked — nary occupation was worthy my health.

I decided I needed to alteration my environment. I near my domiciled astatine Clique and was recruited by URBN to lead the activewear brandPeople Movement. I yet sewage pregnant during my past fewer months astatine Clique and joinedPeople erstwhile I was 7 months pregnant.

I was location for astir a year. But I knew erstwhile I started the occupation that thing felt off. I felt this propulsion to commencement thing of my own.

Launching our supplement marque for women

Around the clip I gave commencement to my son, I recovered myself piecing together a vitamin regular from aggregate sources and sorting pills from different bottles. My obstetrician, acupuncturist, and naturopath were each giving maine different advice.

Then I met my cofounder, Victoria Thain Gioia, whose girl was calved pinch a nutrition-related cleft lip. We learned really captious definite nutrients tin beryllium during pregnancy, and decided to commencement a business successful the supplement space.

We group our eyes connected fundraising. But then, COVID hit, and everyone's checkbooks slammed shut. So we decided to bootstrap.

We launched the business successful September 2020 pinch 5 different products meant for different stages of pregnancy. We did fundraising after, pinch a seed round led by Unilever Ventures and Willow Growth. In consequent rounds, we had Selva Ventures and Prelude Growth Partners participate.

By that time, I had had my 2nd child, a daughter. My partner worked successful the movie manufacture and would person to beryllium distant for months astatine a clip connected location to support our family.

I was grateful to unrecorded adjacent to my family successful Los Angeles. My mother and mother-in-law often came to thief maine pinch the children because, successful those early days, I couldn't spend a full-time nanny.

How I support my accent levels debased arsenic a mother and founder

Five years on, we now person an agency successful LA and an astonishing team, and we've expanded our supplement scope to support group going through perimenopause and IVF journeys.

Managing my accent arsenic a mother and laminitis is not easy.

I meditate almost each day. I spell to furniture astatine 8 p.m., correct aft I tuck my kids successful — they're now 5 and 7 years old.

Reading has been astir helpful. I utilized to publication a batch of self-improvement books and nonfiction, but I realized I person to extremity over-optimizing myself. I've realized I recovered a batch of joyousness successful reference fiction.

I've besides gotten a Brick telephone fastener to thief maine get much subject pinch my phone. I realized astir of my stressful moments came from trying to multitask during bath clip pinch my kids while responding to squad Slack messages.

My profession travel has taught maine really to stay eager without compromising my values aliases putting my wellness into turmoil.