# Laura Behrens Wu

> Laura Behrens Wu is the founder and CEO of Shippo, a San Francisco-based shipping platform that she built after getting frustrated trying to ship handbags from her own e-commerce store. What started as a personal pain point in 2013 became a unicorn company valued at over $1 billion, serving 100,000+ merchants with a multi-carrier shipping API. Born in Germany and raised across four continents - China, Ecuador, Egypt, and Germany - Laura dropped out of her master's program at University of St. Gallen to move to San Francisco, interned at a Y Combinator startup, and co-founded Shippo at 28. She tracked 125 investor conversations, absorbed 115+ rejections, and raised $154.3M in total funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Union Square Ventures, and D1 Capital Partners, including a $50M Series E in 2021.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Shippo
- **Organizations:** Shippo
- **From:** Germany
- **Nationality:** German
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Economics, University of St. Gallen, Master's program (dropped out to pursue Shippo), University of St. Gallen
- **Known for:** Built Shippo from a personal shipping frustration into a $1 billion unicorn company, Raised $154.3M in total funding across 5 rounds from Bessemer, Union Square Ventures, and D1 Capital, Named Forbes 30 Under 30 - Enterprise Technology (2017)

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Born in Germany to a diplomat father and Taiwanese mother
- **1998-2010** — Childhood spent across Beijing (6 years), Berlin (2 years), Ecuador (2 years), and Cairo (2 years) due to father's diplomatic postings
- **2010-2013** — Studied economics at University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where she met future Shippo co-founder Simon Kreuz
- **2013** — Moved to San Francisco; interned at LendUp (Y Combinator-backed fintech); learned the 'painkiller not vitamin' philosophy from its founder
- **2013** — Co-founded Shippo with Simon Kreuz after experiencing firsthand the frustration of shipping packages for an online handbag store
- **2014** — Raised $2M seed round led by SoftTech VC; won 'Who's Got Next' by Lioness Magazine
- **2016** — Raised $7M Series A led by Union Square Ventures; named LinkedIn Next Wave Top Professional 35 & Under
- **2017** — Named Forbes 30 Under 30 (Enterprise Technology); raised $20M Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners
- **2018** — Spoke at WTO Public Forum alongside Jack Ma; EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women honoree
- **2020** — Raised $30M Series C led by D1 Capital Partners amid e-commerce boom
- **2021** — Raised $45M Series D (Feb) and $50M Series E (Jun); Shippo achieves unicorn status at $1B valuation; named Inc. Female Founders 100
- **2022** — Announced major partnership with Shopify; interviewed by Ben Thompson on Stratechery
- **2024** — Shippo reaches $51.2M annual revenue; serves 100,000+ merchants worldwide

## Achievements

- Built Shippo from a personal shipping frustration into a $1 billion unicorn company
- Raised $154.3M in total funding across 5 rounds from Bessemer, Union Square Ventures, and D1 Capital
- Named Forbes 30 Under 30 - Enterprise Technology (2017)
- Named Inc. Female Founders 100 (2021)
- LinkedIn Next Wave: Top Professionals 35 & Under (2016)
- EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women honoree (2018)
- Spoke at WTO Public Forum 2018 alongside Jack Ma of Alibaba
- Grew Shippo to serve 100,000+ e-commerce merchants globally
- Expanded Shippo with Irish office creating 120 jobs
- Secured major Shopify partnership (2022)

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Shippo reaches $51.2M annual revenue, serving over 100,000 merchants globally
- **2022-03** — Announced major partnership with Shopify, expanding Shippo's reach to millions of Shopify merchants
- **2021-06** — Shippo raises $50M Series E from Bessemer Venture Partners, achieving unicorn status at $1B+ valuation
- **2021-02** — Shippo raises $45M Series D at $495M valuation as e-commerce booms post-pandemic

## Links

- Website: https://goshippo.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabehrenswu
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/laurabehrenswu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurabehrenswu/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goshippo

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/laura-wu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-25