Guild’s Rachel Romer saw her $4.4 billion startup as her ‘other child’ during her stroke recovery

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).

So I was glad to have the opportunity to visit Romer and Guild's new CEO Bijal Shah in Denver last month for an expanded version of the story published in the most recent issue of Fortune. In person, we talked more about Romer's personal experience, from what was going through her mind as she waited for someone to find her on that warm August night to the strength required for her recovery. Her goals are to walk again, and to do her twin daughters' hair for ballet.

I also got to delve deeper into Romer's journey founding Guild—the problems she saw in the American vocational education system and the need for workforce upskilling—and what's next for Guild under new leadership. Guild is reckoning with some of its own challenges, from the advent of ChatGPT and its impact on knowledge workers to its own layoffs (after this story went to press, Guild laid off 25% of its workforce.) Romer's personal experience has reinforced her belief in the need for change in the health care training system, which she's brought back to Guild.

Romer also wanted to set the record straight on "burnout" assumptions; she says burnout wasn't a factor in her stroke and that the idea has only been raised by those who don't know her. She viewed Guild as her "other child" and felt strongly about ensuring its continuity in her absence.

Read the full story here.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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