Disclosure certainty 4/5 debate potential 1/5

Dugan lost money on every hand-printed textile order before Serena & Lily

Serena Dugan · Serena & Lily: Serena Dugan and Lily Kanter. They Built a $20M Brand—Then One Investor Almost Destroyed It · Aug 3, 2026 · at 20:37

Serena Dugan, co-founder of luxury home decor brand Serena & Lily, discusses the economic unviability of her early textile printing operations before partnering with Lily Kanter.

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“I had an assistant who was block printing, and I swear I was losing money on every order because it had to be pretty perfect and contiguous yardage.”

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Disclosure
Serena Dugan stepped down from executive role six months after restructuring
“Well, initially I stayed on in my role, but my role was redefined. And I lasted maybe six months, and then I left and had essentially a part-time role that was external.”
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