About
Jane Lu is a Chinese–Australian entrepreneur best known as the founder and chief executive of online fashion powerhouse Showpo. Born on 12 June 1986 in China and raised in Sydney from the age of eight, she turned a side-hustle in her parents’ garage into a global e-commerce brand that now ships to more than 120 countries and has cracked the A$100 million revenue mark.
Beyond fashion retail, Lu has become a familiar face on television as an investor on Shark Tank Australia. She was one of the fresh line-up of “sharks” in 2023 and returned for the 2024 season, bringing a social-media savvy perspective to the panel.
Away from the cameras, she hosts The Lazy CEO podcast, where she chats with founders about small-business wins and fails, and she chronicles her own lessons to an audience of hundreds of thousands across Instagram and TikTok.
Before Fame
Lu’s parents—an engineer father and a banker mother—emigrated from Beijing to Sydney in the mid-1990s, taking cleaning jobs while they adjusted to a new life. A studious child, she earned a place at Sydney Girls High and later completed a commerce degree at the University of New South Wales.
After graduating, she secured accounting cadetships with KPMG and Ernst & Young. Cubicle life, however, left her restless. A first try at a bricks-and-mortar fashion pop-up collapsed, plunging her roughly A $60 000 into debt. Instead of retreating, she doubled down online: in 2010 she launched Showpo (originally “Show Pony”) from her parents’ garage, relying on social media rather than big budgets to spread the word.
Trivia
- Self-styled “Lazy CEO.” Lu jokingly uses the nickname to underline her belief in working smart, not just hard.
- Networking with wine. In 2015 she co-founded the tongue-in-cheek founders’ group Like-Minded Bitches Drinking Wine, which now counts tens of thousands of members worldwide.
- Award magnet. Honors include Cosmopolitan Entrepreneur of the Year 2015, Forbes Asia 30-Under-30 2016, and multiple appearances on the AFR Young Rich List.
- Business “baby.” In late 2023 she announced plans for a second fashion label, calling it her “business baby” and documenting the build in real time for followers.
- From failure to fandom. A TikTok clip of her trying on a too-small mini dress in the Showpo office went viral in early 2025, a reminder that she still fronts the brand’s content herself.
Family Life
Lu married long-time partner James Waldie in a seaside ceremony in October 2019. The couple have two children: a son born in 2020 and a daughter, Rosalie, born in late 2022.
Balancing toddlers and a fast-growing company, Lu often shares candid motherhood reflections, stressing that “not everything needs perfection” and encouraging other parents to ask for help.
Her parents remain an inspiration; she frequently credits their sacrifice and resilience for her own drive to build generational wealth and opportunities.
Associated With
- Shark Tank Australia. On the show she invests alongside Robert Herjavec and Davie Fogarty, swapping global-scale tech insights with down-to-earth e-commerce tips.
- Podcast guests. Lu’s The Lazy CEO mic has welcomed fellow Shark Robert Herjavec, who opened up about immigrant grit and business setbacks.
- Gen George. Her collaborator in the Like-Minded Bitches network, George is a recruitment-tech founder who shares Lu’s passion for lifting other women in business.
- Forbes & AFR circles. Regular appearances on entrepreneurial power lists put her in the same conversations as Australian start-up success stories such as Melanie Perkins (Canva) and Cyan Ta’eed (Envato).
Jane Lu’s story shows how a bold pivot, a social-media lens, and plenty of humour can turn a garage start-up into a global fashion force—all while juggling nappies, investors, and a growing personal brand.
