Lee Mayer, founder and CEO of Havenly, on redefining interior design

The Juggernaut Interviews: Founders

In 2013, Lee moved from a small apartment in New York City to a five-bedroom home in Denver. She struggled to furnish her new place, because she couldn’t find an interior designer who fit her budget. That’s when she decided to launch Havenly, a Denver-based company that matches designers and customers of all budgets. Several years later, COVID has changed her business, which has raised over $85 million. More people are working from and spending more time at home, but the company also faced a war for talent: people could now work for any company globally without leaving Denver.

Lee shares the challenges of working with family, what needs to change to create space for more diverse founders, and her lessons from the coronavirus pandemic.