By Bree, Founder
Last updated October 2026
In our Mothers of Invention series, we introduce you to the inspiring women creating products that make life better for women everywhere.
Know someone we should feature? Email connect@evelynbobbie.com
After years building brands and leading teams inside big organizations, Lynette turned everything she’d learned into a new way of working: smaller, more collaborative and built around talented people she trusts. She shares how she decides what’s worth saying yes to, what responsibility comes with shaping how women see themselves, and why she’s still inventing her next chapter.
Q/ What was the moment you knew you were ready to bet on yourself?
I’m not sure I ever had a moment when I thought, “I’m ready.” I had spent years inside big organizations, building brands, leading teams and learning how creative can actually move a business forward. Then suddenly I had the opportunity, or maybe the necessity, to figure out what came next.
What I realized was that I had built something incredibly valuable over those years: experience, relationships and a network of really talented people I trusted. in*houseco grew out of that. It was less about betting on myself alone and more about betting on everything I had learned and the people I had met along the way.
Q/ How do you think about the responsibility that comes with shaping how women see themselves through a brand?
I’ve always believed that women can tell when a brand truly sees them and when it’s simply marketing to them. There’s a big difference.
Especially in categories like fashion, beauty and intimates, we have an enormous responsibility in the images we create, the women we cast and the stories we tell. I’ve always been interested in showing women with dimension: strong and vulnerable, sexy and smart, aspirational but still recognizable. Women don’t live in one dimension, and brands shouldn’t portray them that way.
Q/ What made you build in*houseco as a collective, and what has that taught you about leadership?
I had spent years working with incredibly talented people, and I knew I didn’t want to build a traditional agency with a huge staff and all the infrastructure that comes with it.
I wanted to bring together the right senior talent for the right problem. The collective model lets us stay small, nimble and very experienced. Our clients aren’t paying for layers of people between them and the work. They’re working directly with people who have spent their careers building brands.
It’s also changed the way I think about leadership. I don’t need to be the smartest person in every room. My job is often to bring the smartest people into the room and create the conditions for us to do great work together.
Q/ How do you decide what’s worth saying yes to?
At this point in my career, I’m much more interested in the problem than the size of the project.
I want to work with people who genuinely value creative thinking and who are willing to have an honest conversation about what their brand needs. Sometimes that’s a complete rebrand. Sometimes it’s a campaign, a retail experience or simply helping an internal team find a better way of working.
The best projects for in*houseco are the ones where we can make a meaningful difference. If we don’t believe we’re the right people to do that, it’s probably not something we should say yes to.
Q/ What would you tell a woman with decades of experience who is wondering if she could build something of her own?
I’d tell her not to underestimate what she already knows.
When you’ve spent decades inside companies, it’s easy to think of your experience as simply your job. But you’ve built judgment, relationships, instincts and a way of solving problems that took years to develop. That has tremendous value.
I’d also tell her that building something of your own doesn’t mean you have to know exactly what it will become. in*houseco has evolved enormously since I started it. You begin with what you know, stay open, surround yourself with smart people and keep figuring out the next version as you go.
Q/ To wrap up, what does being a "Mother of Invention" mean to you?
To me, being a “Mother of Invention” is about reinvention. It’s taking everything you’ve learned, the successes, the mistakes, the relationships, the experience, and figuring out how to turn it into something new.
That’s really what in*houseco has been for me. I didn’t throw away my corporate career and start over. I built on it, but created a different way of working that felt more like me. Smaller, more collaborative, more flexible, and surrounded by people I genuinely respect and want to work with.
I also think invention comes from staying curious. You can have decades of experience and still be learning, changing and figuring things out. Maybe that’s the part I identify with most. I’m still inventing what comes next.
Reinvention isn’t starting over. It’s building on everything you already know.
Thank you, Lynette, for reminding us of that, and for helping us tell our story with so much heart.
Stand tall and lead from the heart,
Bree McKeen | 34G
Founder & CEO
