‍At A Glance

Megan Larsen is the CEO + designer of Glass Ladder, whose elegant and innovative bags are tailored to fit the lifestyles of modern women. As you read her story, you’ll see how intentional she has been about everything from the features of her bags to the structure of her company. It’s inspiring to see not just what she’s built, but how she has done it.

‍Who is Megan

Meet Megan Larsen, CEO and designer of Glass Ladder

About Glass Ladder & Co.

One of the company’s strengths has been the willingness of its founders to adjust. The original plan for Glass Ladder was a subscription-box model, but the numbers didn’t pencil. They switched to E-Commerce. The company had one product at launch: a portfolio clutch. More portfolios followed and then work totes in a catalog that is ever-changing. 

Megan’s entrepreneurial journey

Megan founded Glass Ladder & Co., in 2017, with Daniel, who was then her boyfriend and is now her husband. Megan had a background in fashion, marketing and public relations. While she had no formal design training, she’d previously sold purses for Michael Kors, and she had a strong understanding of what was missing from the array of work bags on the market. “Everything I was seeing out there was either very childish or it felt very masculine,” Megan says. “I didn't feel like there was anything in the middle that felt feminine and elegant, but also professional and organized.” The biggest design breakthrough was actually the byproduct of a small disaster. Megan had placed an iced coffee inside her work bag only to have it spill, ruining not only her bag but the laptop that was in there.

“I kind of had the light bulb moment there,” she says.

She designed a bag with a built-in beverage container, which has become what Glass Ladder is  best known for. After two years of steady but slow growth, sales took off during the pandemic and today Glass Ladder has a well-earned reputation as a thriving female-founded company that practices sustainability through its use of vegan leather, we offer both vegan leather options as well as LWG certified top grain leather, both options have their benefits and customers who prefer one over the other for a variety of reasons

Instant opportunity‍

Megan points to two things she loves about E-Commerce. “One, the potential is unlimited,” Megan says. “If you’re in a retail store, it’s limited to foot traffic, who’s walking past, who sees you, who has the time to come into the store. With E-Commerce you can reach people anywhere in the world at any time of day.” The second thing she loves about E-Commerce? “The ability for things to be instantaneous,” Megan says. As an example, Megan points to the launch of a work tote that was fairly lackluster. At least it was until she decided to post a TikTok just to make sure she’d exhausted every avenue of promotion.

“I went in my backyard with my work tote,” Megan says, “and I filmed a video and just went to bed. It blew up overnight. It went over a million views, for sure. Sales went through the roof, and it took a launch that was not successful and made it successful. In an instant, too. Overnight.”

Glass Ladder team structure

The company has come a long way since being founded in a 600-square-foot apartment. First came the move to an office with a 2,000-square-foot warehouse. They outgrew that, too, and moved to a 6,000 square-foot warehouse with the team scaling up to 12 members. Then came a realization: Megan didn’t want to be in charge of a bigger office or a larger team. “I want to focus on the business,” she says. “I don't want to focus on managing a physical place and an in-person team and having to work in the warehouse.” At the beginning of 2024, Megan and her husband began scaling down the warehouse, utilizing third-party fulfillment for orders and switching to more remote work. “I have a choice as a founder to build the business the way that I want it,” Megan says. “So we took an opportunity to say, ‘Let's build this the way that we want it.’ “

The CX factor

Megan says the customer journey will be a primary focus for the company as it moves forward. When it comes to the customer experience at Glass Ladder, the expectation is very clear: under promise, over deliver. “We never promise what we can't do,” Megan says, “and then we try really hard to go above and beyond that.”Little touches like a handwritten note or an extra accessory also help.

The extra mile

A few years ago, Glass Ladder began offering dexterity tags, which make it easier for customers to pull open things like zippers. They’re a convenience provided at no extra cost, the customer just needs to ask. Well, one customer asked for dexterity tags in an order she was having shipped to her mother, who suffers from arthritis. Her mother lives in another state, though, and the customer worried she might not be able to attach the dexterity tags on her own. “We installed them all for her,” Megan says, “and then shipped it to her mother with them fully installed.” Little steps like that establish a personal connection.

Putting growth first

Even after founding Glass Ladder, Megan kept her corporate marketing job for the first year or so, serving as a consultant. That additional income was important because early on, any revenue Glass Ladder generated was being reinvested. “For us, we poured everything we had back into it,” Megan says, “and just continued to invest in the business, and I think that really helped it grow.”

Personal touches

Megan says that providing a custom, personalized feel is increasingly important for Glass Ladder as it makes a conscious effort to engage with its customers at ever deeper levels.“We want them to feel like they're participating in the product design,” Megan says, “In the building of the brand, and getting a look behind the scenes so they’re taken along on the journey.” Even elements like product packaging and customer-service inquiries are opportunities to make sure customers know they’re not a number on a ticket, but a priority by providing a unique experience tailored to them.

Megan’s advice to other entrepreneurs

Just get started already, says Megan. The planning phase is important, but it can also be a trap, and if you’re waiting until you feel completely ready, you might be waiting forever. “Take the messy action,” Megan says. “Do it. It's not going to be perfect, and you have to be OK with that. It will vastly improve over time, but you can't get better unless you start.” That advice isn’t just for people looking to get started. It applies to business owners who are looking to scale and grow their operation. “There’s often that thing you know you need to do,” she says. “You know what it is in the back of your head that you're putting off. Like, ‘I don't want to be the face of my business,’ or ‘I don't want to go on social media.’ ‘I don't want to go to conferences and network.’ “Whatever it is, you probably already know what it is that you've been resisting. Take the messy action.”