M.M.LaFleur is a New York-based direct-to-consumer womenswear brand that coined the term 'Power Casual' and built its business around solving a single problem: getting ambitious women dressed for work without wasting their time. Founded in 2013 by Sarah LaFleur, designer Miyako Nakamura, and Narie Foster, the company pairs thoughtfully engineered professional clothing with a free personal-styling service called Bento that curates a box of pieces around each customer. After a near-collapse during the pandemic, the company was rescued by a syndicate of women investors and refocused on the wardrobe needs of a hybrid working world.
Francesco D'Alessio is a UK-based productivity media entrepreneur and co-founder of Tool Finder, a platform and YouTube channel (400,000+ subscribers) dedicated to helping people discover, compare, and master productivity software. Starting at age 15 with app reviews, he built Keep Productive into one of the most trusted independent productivity media brands before rebranding it as Tool Finder in 2024. He has reviewed over 1,000 tools, co-created the Bento Focus iOS app, and reached 120,000+ monthly readers through his writing and newsletter.