Meet Lisa Donovan: The Founder Behind Beloved Astrology App The Pattern

Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who've made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.

About three years ago, a new app emerged that quickly found its way onto the phones of and into the hearts of millions. Founded by Lisa Donovan, The Pattern was born out of a journey of profound self-discovery with the goal of offering solace and comfort to users. The Pattern is rooted in astrology, but instead of breaking down your birth chart with planets and houses, it provides "patterns and timings," which unlock keys to your personality traits by offering clarity on the ways in which you operate in the world and relate to others. The Pattern instantly gained recognition through its mind-blowing accuracy. In fact, after launching quietly in 2018—without any PR or marketing—Donovan woke up one morning to over 30,000 downloads.

Since its launch, The Pattern has garnered over seven and a half million users, including notable fans such as SZA and Channing Tatum. The Pattern is a true labor of love, as Donovan spent six years developing the intricate system and writing every single passage in the app to ensure that she was creating a platform that fostered real connection. The app also has plans to expand with a dating feature, Connect, where romantic compatibility can be found.

There's no doubt that Donovan's years of work developing The Pattern are shown in the app's burgeoning success, but it may come as a surprise that astrology is indeed Donovan's second life. Previously, she had a career in many forms of entertainment as an actress, a popular YouTube creator (you may remember her channel LisaNova), a producer, and co-founder of Maker Studios—a talent-focused technology and media company, which she ended up selling to Walt Disney in 2014 for almost $700 million. Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Donovan not only found healing through astrology but also was able to share it with the world. 

And if you haven't downloaded The Pattern yet, this is your sign to do so. 

Up next, Meet the Inspiring CEO and Founder of EveryStylishGirl, Nana Agyemang