Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Wells.
Hi Sarah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m Sarah Wells, founder of Sarah Wells Bags and founder and Executive Director of the Center for Modern Commerce Policy. I live in Fairfax, and both of my organizations started here in Northern Virginia.
My career began in policy, not retail. I spent years in nonprofit leadership, first as Vice President of Women In Government, working with women state legislators, and then as Executive Director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care. When I became a mom and went back to work, I found myself pumping in an office with a bag that didn’t fit my pump, my parts, or my life. Nothing on the market looked like something I’d want to carry. So I designed my own.
Sarah Wells Bags started small, with one bag and a lot of learning. I taught myself sourcing, manufacturing, and how to sell online at a time when Amazon was just growing with independent brands. Fourteen years later, we’re a category leader in breast pump bags, sold on our own site, on Amazon, and at major marketplaces across the country. Our team is small and mighty, and we’ve built the business on one idea: working parents deserve gear that supports them.
Every bag we make goes to a mom figuring out how to go back to work and keep feeding her baby. That still drives everything we do.
Running a small business for that long taught me how much public policy decides whether a business can grow. Tariffs, tax rules, compliance requirements, and new regulations at the federal and state level all land on small business owners, often without clear guidance on how to comply. I found myself testifying before Congress and the FTC and showing up in rooms where small businesses usually aren’t represented.
In 2026, I launched the Center for Modern Commerce Policy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded and run by digital sellers to advocate for federal policies that help small businesses grow. Modern Commerce brings e-commerce and omni-channel small business owners into federal and state policy conversations so the rules work for businesses like ours.
My policy career and my business career turned out to be one story. Now I get to use both to help the next generation of founders.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. Fourteen years in, I can tell you the road has never been smooth. It just gets bumpy in different places.
In the early years, the challenge was learning everything at once. I came from policy, not product design or manufacturing. I had to figure out sourcing, factories, inventory, and selling online while raising young kids. There was no playbook. Every mistake cost real money, and with a small business, every dollar counts.
As we grew, the challenges got bigger. Managing cash flow, planning inventory months ahead, and keeping up with a market that changes fast are constant work. I couldn’t have done any of it without my team, especially my COO, Heidi, who has been with me for nearly ten years. Big things take a village, in business and at home.
The hardest stretch came with tariffs. When tariff rates kept changing, we had no way to plan. We moved our manufacturing to Cambodia to keep the business steady, which is a huge undertaking for a company our size. Sarah Wells Bags also joined a federal lawsuit challenging the tariffs, and we have been working through the government’s refund process ever since.
That experience showed me that some of the biggest challenges facing small businesses don’t come from the market. They come from policy.
That’s what pushed me to found the Center for Modern Commerce Policy. I knew other small business owners were dealing with the same uncertainty and didn’t have time to figure out where to raise their voices. Now that’s our work at Modern Commerce.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Sarah Wells Bags designs breast pump bags and accessories for working parents. We’re known for bags that carry everything a pumping mom needs, including the pump, the parts, the cooler, and her laptop, and still look like a bag she’d choose to carry anyway. Pumping at work is hard enough. Your gear shouldn’t make it harder or announce to the whole office what you’re doing.
What sets us apart is that we started with a real problem. I designed our first bag because I was a working mom who couldn’t find one that worked. Every bag since then has started the same way, with listening to moms. Our customers tell us what they need, and we build it. Many of our products came straight from customer feedback.
We’re a small team based in Northern Virginia with remote employees around the country, and we’ve grown into a category leader in breast pump bags. You can find us on our website, sarahwellsbags.com, on Amazon, and at major marketplaces across the country. Sarah Wells Bags was also named one of the National Retail Federation’s Top 25 Retail Champions for 2026.
Brand-wise, I’m proudest of the trust moms place in us. They carry our bags through one of the most demanding seasons of their lives, and many come back for their second and third babies.
I want readers to know that behind every Sarah Wells bag is a small business that understands working parents because we are working parents. And if you run a small business yourself, I also lead the Center for Modern Commerce Policy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded and run by digital sellers to advocate for federal policies that help small businesses grow. Modern Commerce makes sure small business owners have a voice when the rules that affect us get written.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Yes. Here’s what I wish someone had told me.
Learn the rules early. When I started, I focused on product and sales. I didn’t think much about sales tax, import rules, product safety requirements, or the compliance that comes with selling in more than one state. Those rules apply to you from day one, whether you know about them or not. Find a good accountant, ask questions early, and build compliance into your business before you need it.
Listen to your customers more than anyone else. Advice will come from every direction. The people who buy from you will tell you exactly what they need if you ask and pay attention. Our best products came from moms telling us what wasn’t working.
Build your village. Nobody does this alone. Find a business partner, a team member, a group of other founders, or a spouse who believes in what you’re building. I meet regularly with a group of small business owners, and those conversations have saved me more than once.
Plan for things you can’t control. Costs change, suppliers change, and policies change. Keep a cushion where you can, and don’t build your whole business around one channel, one supplier, or one assumption.
Use your voice. Small business owners often think policymakers won’t listen to them. They do. Your story as someone running a real business carries weight with the people writing the rules, and you don’t need to be an expert to share it. You just need to show up.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.sarahwellsbags.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahwellsbags/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahwellsbags
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-wells-advocacy
- Twitter: https://x.com/SarahWellsBags
- Other: http://www.moderncommercepolicy.org
