I was too pregnant to pitch my business on 'Shark Tank.' My husband and Pete Davidson went instead.

Allison Strumeyer was too pregnant to pitch at "Shark Tank" so she sent her husband and Pete Davidson.

Courtesy of Allison Strumeyer Allison Strumeyer wanted experience in finance and a startup before launching her own.

She says working for BlackRock showed her how to work to a high standard.

She launched a sock company that does millions in annual sales.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Allison Strumeyer , cofounder and CEO of doublesoul .

It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was in college at the University of Pennsylvania , I had a side hustle selling T-shirts.

I would connect with local artists to feature their work and sell the shirts on campus.

I also did pitch competitions with my now-husband, Ben.

I've always felt very native to entrepreneurship, and I knew I wanted to start my own business.

Yet, when I graduated, I chose to work at BlackRock .

It was intentional: I believed working with a global finance company would give me insights valuable to me as an entrepreneur.

BlackRock also taught me how to perform at a high level, in everything from communications to project management.

I was at BlackRock for about two years, then joined Mirror, a startup that was acquired by Lululemon .