How a Founder’s Biggest Career Breakthrough Started With a Personal Health Crisis

How a Founder’s Biggest Career Breakthrough Started With a Personal Health Crisis

Sometimes your biggest setback becomes your best business idea. Just ask Perelel co-founder Alex Taylor.

BY NETTA JENKINS, FOUNDER, OF HIC; LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCE FIRM | AUTHOR OF SUPERCHARGED TEAMS

Alexandra Taylor. Photo: Courtesy subject

Alexandra Taylor was at the height of her career when her body started sending warning signs she could no longer ignore.

At the time, she had built an impressive résumé at institutions including Vogue, L’Oréal, Google, and Who What Wear, where she served in leadership roles such as president and executive editor-in-chief. She was also recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

From the outside, it looked like a defining moment of success. Privately, she was dealing with hair loss, unexplained weight gain, exhaustion, and recurring illness.

“I kept pushing through because I thought that was what high performers were supposed to do,” Taylor explains. “But eventually, my body forced me to stop.”

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After nearly a year of searching for answers and visiting multiple doctors, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid and is significantly more common in women than men.

The diagnosis changed more than her health. It changed the direction of her career.

A personal health crisis exposed a larger problem

Taylor said her experience revealed how difficult it can be for women to receive timely, comprehensive care for symptoms that may appear unrelated on the surface.