Ill Boss didn't start as a nonprofit. It didn't start with a mission statement or a board of directors or a 501(c)(3) filing checklist.

It started as a woman telling her story online because she couldn't find anyone telling it for her.

Before the programs and the Discord and the domain — it was @shopillboss. A simple page built off the back of Ashlee's main website. Visitors could read her story, buy merch designed around the reality of chronic illness life, or donate directly to help cover out-of-pocket medical bills. That was it. No infrastructure. No strategy deck. Just honesty, a Shopify link, and the hope that one day there'd be enough to build a community fund to help other people with the financial weight of being chronically ill in America.

The merch wasn't cute product for cute product's sake. It was a statement — I am still here. I am still a boss. My diagnosis doesn't disqualify me. Wearing it was an act of reclamation.

The community fund was a dream. A "one day" thing. A seed.

Ill Boss

Reclaim what illness tried to take.