The humans

We're a small team.

Will built a tool so Lani could build their own website. Then it turned out other people wanted it too. Hi.

Lani Marsden

Lani Marsden

CEO
they/them

“I'm glad you're here.”

I spent a decade in global philanthropy and a decade at McKinsey, and I kept coming back to the same question: who’s building real support for diverse women and queer leaders? That question led to co-founding Our Space Berkeley, and eventually to Lanlan. I coach leaders at lanimarsden.com. Lanlan is named after me — it was my childhood nickname.

Jean Hsu

Jean Hsu

Builder
she/her

"I'm the one who makes things work."

I spent 15 years at early-stage startups — Pulse, Medium, Range, Productable — building engineering teams and the culture around them. More recently I co-founded Noodle Labs to bring embedded leadership support to startups, and I write about engineering leadership at jeanhsu.com.

Brittany Murlas

Brittany “Britt” Murlas

Strategic Advisor
she/they

“I care deeply about the world and the people in it.”

For the past decade I’ve run LittleFeminist.com — a social enterprise that publishes and promotes diverse children’s books. I’m the co-founder of Our Space Berkeley and also work as a fractional Chief Marketing Officer for mission-driven businesses. Lanlan is that: a tool with a mission, for people doing real work in the world.

Star Doby

Star Doby

Product Support
she/her

"I'll help you build the vision!"

I'm a website builder with a love for human-computer interaction, ready to help you build your dream website. From nonprofits and Stanford students to private clients in arts and entertainment, I've helped all sorts of creators design and launch websites from the ground up. LinkedIn →

W

Will Chester

Technical Advisor
he/him

“I built the prototype because I wanted Lani to have it.”

I’m a developer with a background in civic tech and participatory design. I built the first version of Lanlan because I wanted Lani to have it — and then it turned out other people wanted it too. I stay involved as a technical advisor and occasional bug-fixer. Also Lani’s spouse, which makes team meetings interesting.

How we got here

The origin story.

Britt and Lani co-founded Our Space Berkeley, and Jean was a Founding Member. When it came time to build our website, Lani asked Will — software developer, spouse — for help. Will didn't build the site. He built a tool so Lani could build it themselves. Then it turned out other people wanted it too. So here we are.

When you go the in-depth way

Meet the Design Team.

You're not meeting us. You're meeting three or four AI specialists we built — a brand strategist, a visual designer, sometimes a copywriter or audience researcher. Each one has a point of view and opinions they'll defend.

They talk to each other about your project. They push back, disagree, ask you questions, find consensus. The conversation sounds like a real design meeting — except the specialists are AI personas.

The site you walk away with is the one that conversation produced. Not a template. Not a wizard output. A real design conversation, for the kinds of businesses that don't usually get one.

This page was built with Lanlan, in about an hour. So can yours.

Start your site