Good morning, Broadsheet readers! House Democrats plan to introduce a bill to codify reproductive rights, Citibank expands its paid parental leave offerings, and Guild founder Rachel Romer shares more about her recovery from a stroke at 34. Have a reflective Wednesday.
- More to the story. In April, I wrote in the Broadsheet about Rachel Romer, the founder of the $4.4 billion education startup Guild, who had a stroke at 34 years old. For a refresher: Romer was sitting on her patio on an August evening last year, when she fell to the ground. Her right side was immobilized; she couldn't yell loud enough to get help and waited all night until her aunt, who lived nearby, found her during her morning walk. She was rushed to the hospital, where she spent the next three months; her recovery has included three brain surgeries and working to regain use of her right side.
I was blown away by the response to that piece. Readers gravitated toward Romer's story—more so than I've seen in a while. People celebrated all that she achieved, building a startup valued at $4.4 billion with customers including Walmart and Disney by her mid-30s. People sent their support to Romer and the rest of Guild's team, appreciating that the startup had put a strong leadership bench in place so that a founder's serious personal setback didn't risk the business. And some took the opportunity to talk about founder health and well-being and the controversial b-word: burnout (more on that later).
