Serena Lo is an entrepreneur taking a firm seat at the table. In this instalment of our empowering series, we interviewed Serena to find out what inspires her at work, her goals for this year and to unveil her career story so far.

Can you introduce yourself?

I’m Serena Lo, an Assistant Vice President of Strategy at a Los Angeles-based bank by day, and by night, I step into my role as the founder of Klero, an intimacy essentials brand. The inspiration behind Klero came after I realised that sex and pleasure is still very much a taboo topic today, making the journey surrounding it confusing and shame-filled for many. My ambition with Klero is to help rewrite the narrative surrounding sex, creating both products and a platform that contribute to dismantling stigmas and normalizing attitudes toward this fundamental part of the human experience.  

What did younger you want to be when you grew up? 

An Egyptologist! I was fascinated by Ancient Egypt and the afterlife. Watching ‘The Mummy’ a few too many times probably contributed to this… 

How different is that from where you are now?

Considering that I have yet to discover mummies or handle artefacts…I’d say it is pretty different!  

Can you tell me about your career journey so far?  

I got my start at a boutique fintech investment bank based in San Francisco. Then I moved on to a fintech startup, where I helped small businesses obtain SBA loans. From there, I entered the world of consulting when I joined a company that offered corporate innovation services to corporations. After that, I ended up at Accenture, where I served as an Associate Principal on the corporate venture team. 

Eventually, I left the firm to reassess where I wanted to take my career. This is where I decided to join the SexTech School, which is a sex-tech bootcamp for founders and other folks interested in entering the industry. This was where I really solidified my interest in building a business within this space. Now, I’m wearing two hats as the founder of Klero, while also serving as an Assistant Vice President at a bank in Los Angeles. 

Have you ever experienced gender discrimination at work? 

One instance that stands out was when I was a lead on a consulting project for a client in the electronics industry. It was the kick-off meeting and I realised that my clients were pretty disengaged, but when my male colleagues made brief remarks, they received full and undivided attention. It was only when it became clear that I was driving the project that they started to interact. This experience underscored a stark reality for me: respect is readily granted to men, while women have to earn it. 

How did you find your courage to step out on your own and become your own boss? Or if you’re employed, how do you approach negotiating salaries and promotions, and what advice would you give to other women navigating these discussions in their own careers?

• Career: The best way to get a meaningful pay raise or/or a higher title is to switch jobs. But, if you want to stay at the company you’re currently at, I would recommend the following: 
  • Find a mentor within the company that is at the same or higher level than the role you are eyeing; ideally, this would be your manager but it doesn’t have to be   
  • Have frequent (bi-weekly at least) with your manager to discuss what it takes to get to the next level and make sure that you’re on track. What skills or attributes do you need to show to get that promo? Or what kind of projects do you need under your belt? This will ensure that you’re on the right path to promotion.  
  • To whoever will speak to your successes during promotion conversations with HR – make sure they have all of the information they need to tell your story  

• Entrepreneurship: I decided that I’ve learned enough from my career to feel confident enough to start my own business. I absolutely don’t have the solution or plan for everything, but I have enough experience to know that I’ll be able to roll with the punches as they come. 

What is your biggest achievement to date? 

Making the jump to start Klero. I have zero experience in e-commerce, consumer products, or sexual wellness. I remember when I was first starting, a manufacturer asked me “What’s your MOQ”? And I was like, “What’s a MOQ?”. I’ve come such a long way from the beginning and I’m proud of myself for jumping into the unknown.       

What is the biggest mistake you’ve made in your career so far? 

I wish I took more risks earlier in my career and started a company sooner. I always knew that this was the end goal for me, but I felt like I had to know everything before I could pull the plug.  

How did you overcome that?

After talking to a ton of people who have started successful companies, I learned that, especially at the beginning, most of them are still trying to figure things out. They don’t always have the answers and they’re in a constant state of experimentation. Especially for something like building a business, I learned that the best way is to just do it. 

What’s the one thing you wish you had known prior to embarking on your career/journey as an entrepreneur? 

• Career: Do not be humble about your successes – shout it from the mountain tops and mention it wherever possible! Otherwise no one will remember it. Especially for women, we’re conditioned to not take up space and to downplay our accomplishments, which is detrimental for us as we move through our careers. Overcoming this might feel unnatural initially, but broadcasting your achievements is crucial for career advancement, especially in the corporate world. 
• Entrepreneur: When you’re first starting out, it’s okay to keep your day job to fund your business. See it as one form of obtaining capital for your company.   

Do you think taking a seat at the table/building a career in a male dominated industry is hard?  

Absolutely. 

If yes, why? 

Women have to put in so much more work to even get invited to the table.  On top of this, it’s common for companies in male dominated industries to have a boys club culture that we have to learn how to navigate.  

How do you advocate for gender equality and inclusivity within your workplace/in your business? 

Klero is all about helping women feel confident with their bodies and empowered to embrace their sexuality. Oftentimes, gender inequality is brought up in the context of the workplace, but it also comes up in our sexual experiences. There’s things like the orgasm gap, which describes how heterosexual women are much less likely to reach orgasm in comparison to their male counterparts. And, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had women tell me that they’ve never orgasmed despite having a long-term male partner, or how it feels inimaginable to tell their partner what feels good to them. This isn’t something that men generally have issues with. By pairing Klero’s content with expert insights, I’m committed to empowering women to advocate for their own pleasure in the bedroom. 

Also, we lean toward creating partnerships with other women-owned, POC-owned, and LGBTQ-owned businesses. Currently, over 90% of our business partners belong to these underrepresented groups. We want to play a role in closing gaps by deliberately choosing to collaborate with other diverse business owners.

What encourages you to not give up?

My dream of retiring my parents and sending them around the world to travel! They immigrated to the U.S. from Cambodia and Vietnam during times of war and were able to build such a wonderful life for my sister and I. I can’t even begin to imagine the courage this took and the sacrifices they had to make. Even though it’s not expected, the ability to pay them back for all of this is a huge motivator for me. 

If you could tell the younger you three things, what would they be? 

1. You don’t have to know everything. Just trust that you will figure things out because you always will.
2. Go to therapy. There’s nothing wrong with it and you will find so much growth from doing this.  
3. Ask yourself what success really means to you. Because making good money and having a fancy title at a fancy job didn’t feel like success to you in the long-run.  

Who or what inspires you the most? 

My sister! She has always been so grounded in who she is and is one of the most creative problem solvers I’ve ever met. I truly think that she could figure out how to move a mountain with a knife and a spoon. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have her support and advice over all of these years.  

What is a mantra, quote, or idea that you live by? 

 “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take” by Wayne Gretzky. Fear of failure is something that I’ve struggled with a lot and leads me to be avoidant with things I should be doing. This quote is a reminder that inaction will stifle success every single time. Because even if you tried something, and it doesn’t pan out, you still learned a ton in the process – and that to me is still a win.  

When do you feel your most empowered? 

I feel most empowered when I’m able to help people feel better about something that they’re struggling with or when I can teach them something life-changing that they didn’t know before. When someone says something like “I really needed to hear that” in reference to something that I said, I really feel that it strengthens my sense of purpose.    

What do you think the key to success is? 

Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. My most valuable and rewarding career experiences happened after I finally mustered up the courage to step out of my comfort zone. And, I’ve learned that the more I’ve done this, my comfort zone would get bigger and bigger. This is still something I have to remind myself of everyday.  

Do you think you’re successful?  

Frankly, the idea of reaching ‘success’ was such a source of constant stress for me. At a point in my life, I thought it was about making a ton of money and having a job that would ‘wow’ people. But over the last few years, I’ve started to redefine what ‘success’ actually means to me. Am I learning something new? Have I exposed myself to new experiences? I’m starting to see success as a continuous journey and not a final destination and have been doing so much better since seeing it through this new lens!   

How do you prioritise self-care and work-life balance in your demanding career?

By reminding myself that my work output will not be good if I’m not feeling good. Commiting to self-care, which to me is allowing myself to not feel guilty about having a night out with friends or staying in to watch Netflix, is also a form of productivity. The goal here is to build a business that feels sustainable to me, which I’m still working on figuring out! 

How can we, as readers and potential customers, support you in that? 

I would be so grateful for a follow on Klero’s IG page (@byklero)! I’ll be announcing more details as I get closer to launch in Fall 2023.  

Anything else you’d like to say? 

My door (aka DMs) is open to collabs, or if someone just wants to meet to chat about career or business.