Shan-Lyn Ma

Shan-Lyn Ma was going to weddings almost every weekend and getting into fights with her registry.

Gifts were arriving while couples were on their honeymoons.

Nobody knew what was coming or who sent it.

Returns were a nightmare.

She vented to her friend and former Gilt Groupe colleague, Nobu Nakaguchi.

“I can’t believe how bad these sites are,” she said.

He laughed and told her it was even worse as the couple.

That was the moment Zola was born.

A modern registry.

No inventory.

No big box partnerships.

Just intuitive tools, flexible shipping, and one goal: make it joyful again.

But building a wedding company during your peak wedding-going years is not as fun as it sounds.

Shan was doing it all: raising funding, designing a product, shipping gifts.

Then, in 2016, she got in a car accident so bad she thought: “This is it. I’m dying.”

She couldn’t walk, let alone lead.

Zola’s future hung in the balance.

But Shan used that moment to recalibrate.

“I learned to live life more in the present,” she said.

She came back with more clarity, more resilience, and a roadmap for how to lead during chaos.

That roadmap was tested again in 2020 when COVID hit.

Thousands of weddings vanished overnight.

Her team built postponement tools, editable invites, even Zoom wedding integrations.

Fast.

“Most of it didn’t make money. But it was the right thing to do.”

Lesson? Crises don’t build your brand.

How you respond to them does.

Today, Zola has served over 2 million couples, raised $150M+, and become a $600M+ category leader.

Her hiring filter? “We look for humble, kind people with high standards.”

Her leadership style? Clear, direct, no mixed messages.

“We always align behind closed doors before we ever walk into a room.”