Lady Startup

What happens when you have the ‘perfect’ corporate job at a top-tier firm with a clear path to partnership, but deep down, you feel a pull towards something else? For Alex Marks, the founder of New York’s cult-favourite ‘Sushi Counter’, that pull wasn’t just a distraction - it was the catalyst for trading a high-flying legal career for a world of total uncertainty. Before she was serving thousands of rolls a day, Alex was a successful M&A lawyer at the top-tier firm Herbert Smith Freehills. She loved the late nights, the adrenaline, and the "in the trenches" camaraderie. But a dream transfer to New York became the catalyst for her pivot when she faced an immediate culture clash. Realising the US corporate world was an "individual sport" she didn't want to play, Alex was faced with a choice: Stay in a job that wasn't a fit, or risk it all. She chose risk. Pouring her entire $100,000 USD life savings into an idea, she quit her job and, a week later, signed a lease for a t