A Detailed Case Study Of Former Guild Founder Rachel Romer Carlson

Do you know that ex-Guild CEO Rachel Romer comes from a family of politicians? She learned that the power of the mind is better than anything else in the world. This reason led to the founding of Guild (formerly Guild Education).

This article provides a detailed case study of former Guild founder Rachel Romer Carlson. She is an inspiration to young ladies worldwide. Romer, Karine Brunet, Beth Galetti, and Shivon Zilis are a few visionaries individuals.

Rachel Carlson is a visionary woman who founded a unicorn organization at a young age.

Meet Romer’s Family: Deep Rooted History in Education and Legislation

Based on her family’s history, it is no surprise that Rachel made a name for herself. So, let’s meet her family members.

Rachel was born on June 1, 1988, to parents Chris Romer (father) and Laurie Romer (mother) in Denver, Colorado, U.S. The eldest of three daughters, she has two younger sisters, Paige and Grace Romer.

Romer belongs to a well-to-do family, and her parents are renowned figures in Denver. Her father is an entrepreneur and former state legislator.

Chris is a former CEO of Denver-based “Project Canary,” a SaaS-based data analytics company. Meanwhile, Rachel’s mother, Laurie, worked to support the Denver Public Library and Emily Griffith Foundation.

Guild Founder Rachel Romer Carlson. Image Credit: Social Media.

Romer occasionally visited and participated in the campaign of her grandfather, Roy Romer, who served as the 39th governor of Colorado from 1987 to 1999.

In 2011, the Denver native worked as the finance director for her father’s unsuccessful mayoral candidacy.

Regarding her education, Rachel finished her primary education at East High School. Afterward, she received a B.A. in Political Science, an M.A. in Education from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

She Worked For the Obama Administration

Rachel took a small break from Stanford and assisted in Barack Obama‘s campaign. Similarly, she also worked at the Office of Presidential Personnel in the Obama administration.

Similarly, Guild founder Rachel Romer Carlson created a Student Blueprint app during her MBA program. It assisted community college students in finding employment. She was the chief executive of the app.

Career Highlights Before Founding Guild Education

Romer started working at an early age. She landed her first swim lesson instructor and lifeguard job at Virginia Vale Swim Club at age fifteen. She also became a synchronized swimming coach at the same club from May 2005 to August 2009.

Moreover, Rachel joined her alma mater, Stanford University, as an admissions associate in 2009. She worked there for one year before becoming a finance director on her father’s campaign for mayor. From 2011-2021, she worked as an associate for The Parthenon Group in the group’s strategy consulting firm.

Rachel is a Trustee for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, a 9/11 Memorial & Museum board member, and a Hunt Kean Leadership Fellow focused on U.S. Education Policy.

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Founded Guild Education In 2015

At 27, Romer co-founded Guild Education with Brittany Stitch, her former classmate. Before venturing into the business, Guild founder Rachel Romer Carlson researched for more than two years with Stich regarding low graduation rates.

Slowly and steadily, the private company gained pace. In November 2019, Guild Education closed the $157 million Series D round, joining the unicorn elites.

Guild Founder Rachel Romer Carlson. Image Credit: Social Media.

Multibillion-dollar companies such as Guild, Melanie Perkins‘ Canva, and Whitney Herd‘s Bumble are some of the world’s highest-valued women-led startups.

Back to Guild, the company made the 2020 CNBC Top 50 disruptor list. In 2023, the company dropped education from its name to rebrand as Guild, introducing a new career coaching product that aims to help employees outside of skills-based training.

Business Strategy

Guild Education serves large corporations and contracts with adult education providers. It provides marketing services and receives paid from schools only when students enroll.

The employers also receive a tax advantage. CNBC stated in June 2021 that Guild Education hopes to profit from the expected increase in labor displacement due to automation.

Clients, Shareholders, and Investors of Guild

Rachel has created a fantastic portfolio with her 1000-employee team. Some of the firm’s major corporate clients include Dollywood Parks and Resorts, Sunrun, Macy’s, Walmart, and Target Corporation.

Similarly, Guild’s educational provider clients are North Carolina A&T, Paul Quinn College, Pathstream, and Purdue University Global. Google has also made Google Career Certificates available to firms that employ Guild.

Shareholders and investors include the Lumina Foundation and media proprietor Oprah Winfrey.

Guild Founder Rachel Romer Carlson Was Married to David Carlson

Romer married David Kurtti Carlson in 2024. He is the son of Douglas Carlson and Jane Carlson. According to multiple sources, the couple met for the first time in 2008 at a dinner party.

Guild Founder Rachel Romer Carlson. Image Credit: X.

David and Rachel studied at the same institution, Stanford. David is also a graduate with an MBA. After the marriage, Carlson took the bride’s surname as his middle name.

Similarly, Rachel became a mother of twin girls on May 2, 2018. Their names are Lily Carlson and Magnolia “Maggie” Carlson. Unfortunately, she divorced her husband in 2023.

Carlson’s Net Worth Over The Years

Ex Guild founder Rachel Romer Carlson’s fortune is valued at billions of dollars. Thus, people are excited to learn about Rachel’s personal wealth.

Forbes estimated her wealth to be around $500 million in 2021. Similarly, the bank balance stayed constant for a year but later declined to $320 million.

Rachel Romer’s net worth in 2024 is yet to be calculated. Still, the number must be in the millions and could even be higher than her worth in 2023.

Furthermore, Romer is also a strategic advisor of Stop The Spread.

Similarly, why don’t you read about Teradyne CIO Shannon Gath?

Multiple Awards And Achievements Are Testament To Her Success

Rachel Romer inspires young and aspiring women who want to make a name for themselves. Meanwhile, the multiple award-winning entrepreneur has been recognized with several honors for her contributions.

Guild co-founders Rachel and Stich appeared on the Forbes 30 under 30 list 2017. Similarly, Rachel became the 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year. She also received EY Entrepreneur of the Year – Mountain Desert region the same year.

Guild Founder Rachel Romer Carlson. Image Credit: World Economic Forum.

Furthermore, the American national made it to the Forbes list of Self-Made Women in 2021. A year later, she appeared in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Hall of Fame and was 84th in 2023 on America’s Self-Made Women list.

Suffered A Stroke In 2023: Not All Days Are Rainbows and Sunshine

2023 brought Rachel Romer a few prestigious honors. However, the year itself was completely not good for her. She separated from her husband and suffered a stroke on August 17, 2023.

Rachel then spent two weeks at Swedish Hospital and another ten more at the Craig Hospital.

After her discharge in November 2023, Romer has been doing outpatient therapy at Craig several days a week and at home. Further, she shared her recovery journey in April 2024, too.

She was in Denver when she fell, and the right side of her body was immobilized.

Despite that, Rachel’s mind was fully functioning. Her ex-husband and her twin were next door, but she could not generate the energy to call them.

But, as fate would have it, Romer’s aunt walked her dog past the house most evenings. She found Rachel and rushed to the hospital. She spent the next three months in the hospital.

After nine months, Guild founder Rachel Romer Carlson stepped inside the Guild’s conference room. She stepped down from being CEO after the stroke.

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