Built Together Surrogacy was never supposed to be a business. None of us set out with the intention of running a surrogacy agency. Honestly, ask anyone who owns one, and they’ll probably try to talk you out of it! It began as a series of Zoom calls between people who had already given years of their lives to this work. We all came together simply to create space to grieve the collapse of an agency we had poured our hearts into. There was no plan. No agenda. Just late nights, shared concern, problem-solving, a few good cries, and a collective refusal to abandon families and surrogates who suddenly had nowhere to turn.

Our phones never stopped ringing. Families were scared. Surrogates were confused. Systems we had trusted completely had fallen apart. So we did what we’d always done. We showed up. We rebuilt what we could, piece by piece, without expecting a paycheck. Somewhere along the way, an uncomfortable truth became impossible to ignore. We were the heart of that agency all along. We were the connection. Not the owner who disappeared and left everyone else to pick up the pieces.

In the beginning, the surrogacy community rallied, and it was genuinely beautiful. Agencies worked together. Pro bono support networks formed. Financial assistance appeared. Real help flowed in for the hundreds of families impacted by the fallout. During one of those early weeks, Sarah texted Corinne and said, “I think we can make something beautiful out of this.” The seed was planted, even as we kept our focus on being a steady, consistent presence for surrogates and intended parents.

As time passed and the immediate crisis settled, that support began to shift. What had once felt like collaboration started to feel more complicated. Many displaced staff members moved on to other agencies or new paths to rebuild their livelihoods after abruptly losing their jobs over Thanksgiving 2025.

Three of us remained steady, and we were fortunate to have small sources of income outside of the pro bono work that allowed us to keep showing up while helping families finish their journeys. Eventually, we were left with hard questions. Do we walk away from surrogacy entirely? Do we place our trust back into another agency and hope for the best? Neither option felt right.

We knew the work. We knew the risks. And we knew exactly what happens when ethics and transparency disappear. So we asked a different question. What should an agency actually look like? What if surrogates and intended parents had access to the full picture, without gatekeeping, without hidden agendas, and without being treated like transactions? We liked our answers enough to build something around them.

Built Together Surrogacy exists because we believe surrogacy should be grounded in trust, honesty, and putting people before profit. Families and surrogates deserve clear information, realistic agency fees that reflect their unique journey, and partners who don’t vanish when things get uncomfortable. Doing the right thing shouldn’t be rare, and information shouldn’t be treated like leverage. This collaboration was built on community, accountability, and the belief that when people are supported and informed, incredible things can happen. We didn’t set out to start a business. We set out to make sure no one was left behind. And here we are, and we are so damn proud of what we have created together.