January 22, 2025 • 39 mins
Emma Grede is no stranger to hard work – from her first newspaper route at age 13, to the talent and marketing agency she launched at 26, and her hand in the wildly successful Good American and SKIMS brands, Emma is not afraid of the hustle. Fresh from the launch of her newest brand, Off Season, with Kristin Juszczyk, she talks to Martha to talk about building a business - finding talent, listening to instincts, protecting a brand as it grows, and the myth of “work-life balance.” Spoiler alert – these two entrepreneurs find a lot of common ground.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Emma Greed is a serial entrepreneur who started her career
in the media business and has gone on to launch
multiple companies, including Good American Skims, and she is about
to launch a brand new venture called off Season. She
is a recurring shark on Shark Tank, I Love You
on that show, and she co hosts Roku's hit series
(00:27):
Side Hustlers. Emma and I share a passion for entrepreneurialism
and I am so pleased to talk to her today.
Welcome to my podcast, Emma.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Oh my goodness, thank you for having me. Well, I'm
dying right now.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
It should just be said. I'll get it out of
the way. I've done the fangirling thing. You've signed my cookworks.
I really am having a bit of a moment.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
So you've just launched a new business venture, your fourth
venture as a co founder. Tell us about off Season.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Well, you know, I have to say it's probably I
would say maybe my business venture if you count everything
that was in media prior to me starting the you know,
apparel businesses. But this is a really special one because
I'm a huge, huge sports fan, and I think that
there's this unbelievable opportunity as sports becomes such a hit
(01:16):
in culture to do something where you're putting quality at
the forefront.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I mean, for too long we've been wearing.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Sports gear that's just about a logo slap on a
pretty cheap garment. And what I do is really, you know,
specializing where the culture meets some kind of quality.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
And so I'm excited to do this.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Well, I I'm a fan girl of Kristen from day one.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Day one you came to my dinner. She was like,
so excited to meet you.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
CHRISTI hu check. How do you say your last name?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Check?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Use check?
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Really, I've learned because I'm very dyslexic, and just seeing
it written, it doesn't say use check.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So used check.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
She is the wife of a San Francisco forty nine ers.
I met her the first time last year after already
commented many times on her Instagram. I met her lest
year at the Super Bowl and I applaud her entrepreneurialism
because she was the first person private person to get
a license from the NFL to use their logos on clothing.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I mean, honestly, she is a force to be reckoned with,
and she hunted. She gorgeous, first, beautiful and so talented.
This is a girl that taught herself to sew, has
no fashion background whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Absolutely went through so many people.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
To find me and she said, I want you as
my business partner, and here's the opportunity. And for someone
like me who kind of you know, I used to
be that person trying to knock on all the doors
and get people to work with me.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I've never been more impressed by someone.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Well, as you launched this business, how are you defining
your audience and marketing to them?
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Well, you know, I think what's so interesting is the
sports has such a built in fan group. But coming
up in England, you know I went to soccer every
single week being in La. I have you know, season
tickets at the Lakers. But you know, when I started
going to football, to American football, you just look around
and you see everyone wants to support their team. And
I think that we're at this point in culture where
(03:08):
everybody is really they really, really really want to wear
these clothes outside of supporting their team.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
And so I think it's a built in audience.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
To get back to your question, but you know, it's
really about being where the fans are at and thinking
not just about marketing but about distribution.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
But what about the other manufacturers of all the NFL
licensed goods, What do they say about your high fashion?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
I mean, I don't know what they're going to say.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
It's going to be it's very competitive.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
It is competitive, But I think any business that's worth
being in, as you well know, is competitive. And rather
than worrying about competition, I always worry about what's my
point of difference? What am I doing so uniquely that's
not out there? You've got to focus on quality. And
I honestly believe that people want to be they want
to feel different, they want to feel differentiated, And we're
going to bring a real unique design proposition and give
(03:57):
you something that you want to wear on any day,
not just on game day.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Well, you're and the clothing that Kristen makes is charming,
isn't it. Yeah, it's a little true. I can't wear
so many bare midress.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
You'll be at me neither. Okay, those days are over
for me too, for children.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
But I must say it is incredible how how artistic
she is, yes, and how clever with the logos and
the colors and the banners and everything else she puts
on those things.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And that's the point of differentiation, right, We're going to
do something that you can't just find in any old
team shop and make it really special.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
So we are you selling it?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
We will sell it on our own sites good and
then we'll be in some of the team shops and
distribution will grow from there.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
But we have I see, I see a shop in
every city.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Don't you Just thank you?
Speaker 1 (04:43):
But you out there, you have to have a couple
dressing rooms just to try and mine for ladies.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
And we want to do things that are cute and
you feel good in. You know, we don't want some
schleppy t shirt.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
This is the furthest from Schleppie. Absolutely, So your retail
ventures started with Good American. But let's go back. You
attend in the London College of Fashion, which is a
fantastic school. It is what did you learn there and
why did you leave before graduating? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I ain't that the case?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
So actually I did business there, and I mean what
happened for me is I just I didn't have the
financial means to keep it going. You know, I was coming,
you know, an hour on the train to college. The
tic train ticket was so expensive. I was trying to
work three days a week and go to college the
other four days of the week.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And I just couldn't make it work.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And what happens when you're working in the middle of
London you meet a lot of people. I met stylists
and I met, you know, people that were working in
fashion shows. And I just decided that it would be
better in fashion to just get in and start doing
the work and have the work experience then have a qualification,
and so I just had to go.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Well, like most entrepreneurs, you started working very early as
a new when you were thirteen.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I've had the most jobs after there.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
You know.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Actually, I think that's what kind of gave birth to
my lava food, one of my like I still think
of it as one of my favorite jobs. I worked
in a deli when I was fourteen, and so, you know,
and I probably I made the best sandwiches. I learned
to slice the meat so perfectly, the name of every cheese,
every olive, and I always took pride in any of
those jobs. So I have been working for a long time,
but I'm a person that can take something from any situation.
(06:17):
And I learned how to deal with customers. I learned
how to please people I learned how to present things beautifully,
and so I feel like there's so much of that
that's come into the work that I do today. And
so I feel like all of those jobs were, you know,
part of making me who I am.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So you started a talent agency at twenty six and
what made you do that? Where did you find all
this talent that you.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You know, A fin on the ground, I have to
say I was making up half the time. I feel
like the pattern in my career is that I've leveraged
everything that I've done.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
In Ted Lasso, Oh I never.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Watched Ted last night, everyone told me I should have watched.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So there's a young woman and she's crazy, little blonde
girl who becomes like the talent Asians.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
For me, what I specialized in was really the commercial partnerships.
So my job was actually representing brands and partnering them.
There you go, maybe they've got maybe they've got big,
somebody call them, oh my royalties.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Well what did you learn about the power of celebrity?
I mean you must have learned a lot right away,
you know, I really did.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I understood the power of leveraging a talent's name, image, likeness.
I also learned about the acceleration and what that can
mean for a brand.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
And I think in a.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Very crowded marketplace, and if we go back fifteen years,
they weren't the deals that you see now right, They
were very very different, namely people putting their names to
fragrances and fashion brands doing a day photo shoot and
off they go. There really wasn't the integrated marketing that
we see now with levels and levels of different things.
And I learned social media didn't exist at all then.
(07:52):
But what it actually taught me is how powerful you
know the idea of being able to get a message
out to popular culture and how if you think about
and I say this about you all the time, like
you are the original person that was able to take
all of your skills and everything that you stood for
and leverage that into a business. And so I think
(08:13):
that I've done a good job of taking that understanding
and figuring out how I.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Can do it many times, which is incredible for a
woman of your age. I mean, you've done a tremendous amount.
And when you approached Christ Janner, is this your first
big partnership with a celebrity family.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Well, you know, I had done a lot of individual
one off deals. So I built my agency from the
ground up by myself. Right, I was the first employee,
meaning I wrote the proposals, that call, did the new
business calls, I sent the invoices, and I performed all
the work. And after about six or seven years, you
get a reputation for yourself if you are any good,
and so I had an impeccable reputation. I would come
(08:52):
to Hollywood meet the agents, the managers, the publicist, and
at that time, going back all of those years, Chris
was one of those people that I would come and meet.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
How much of a business plan for your genom company,
good American did you really have in mind at that time?
Speaker 3 (09:04):
So this was actually going this is twenty sixteen, just
for the timeline's sake. I had a good chunk of it.
And I really understood, having done so many different campaigns
for fashion brands, how so many women are overlooked in
the fashion space. Right, if you don't look a certain
way and you're not of a certain size, it's like
you're cast a side. The same from an age point
of view, the same from.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Around You were one of the pioneers, Well, we were
the originators in sizing for everyone.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Absolutely, and I think that I saw that body tape
everybody type and also really just thinking about women, right,
it doesn't matter how old you are or you know
what your size is. Everybody knows that when you look good,
you feel good, you standtle, you operate differently. And so
I really took what I knew about being a woman
and thought, how do you create a brand that really
(09:51):
is for everybody that's not paying lip service saying maybe
i'll have something that fits you in this part of
the collection. It was like doing all the sizes all
the time and having this around fit And I think
the Good American really was revolutionary when we when we
launched that business, I couldn't have been more proud, and
I'm very happy to say that eight years later, we're
still thriving. We have hundreds and hundreds of retailers all over.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
This hundred million dollars businesses it And as with Chloe, Kardashian.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Absolutely cries my partner, So, how did.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
The idea for Skims come about? And this is Kim
Kardashian's business.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Absolutely with Emma, so Kim, this was all her idea.
Kim had the idea to do skims, and I think
what I.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Have learned from I have an idea.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Well, you know the name.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
The name is an interesting story because it wasn't skims
from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And we did what we do best. We listened to
the audience.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
And you know, when you get things wrong, which you
inevitably do in business. And I say this all the time,
it's not plain sailing. My job is dealing with a
series of problems every single day. And my life might
look glamorous, but the reality of my day is that
it's not. People never come to me and go like
everything's amazing and you know, having a great day. It's like,
this is an issue, this is on fire, here's a problem.
And so that was one of many things that we
(11:06):
had to deal with. But I'm again very proud of
that business because I think it's a business that is
a gender setting.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
We do things on our own terms.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
We've built this beautiful business and it's exactly what kim
envisited it to be. And I'm a person that's obsessed
with products, and so I do what I know how
to do, which is to create the best product at
the best price and make sure that we can give
customers exactly what they want.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
So it's Skims Skims. I am sure you've heard of it.
I went and looked at the entire line the other day.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Oh yes, and they have a huge almost the whole
floor were every Nordstrom door, Yes you are.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And then Sacks. I have not gone into the shop
at sax store is beauty. Yes, I saw it as
I was passing through one day. Did enough time to stop.
But now you're going to have your own store on
Fifth Avenue.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
It's wild. I mean we've opened stores.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
We're now in Austin, and we've got a store opening
in La We have a or in Miami. It's really
really exciting. But this, I mean Fifth Avenue next door
to Cardia.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
My mind is like, so, what were your original executions
for Skims, which is a line of sort of color coordinated,
well fitting undergarments for women of all sizes.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
That is Martha said beautifully.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
You know what we when we think about this brand,
it really is about creating solutions for all women. Right.
The brand was very much rooted in this idea of
shapewear and underwear and has gone on to really expand.
And Kim's idea was that she wanted to do something
to meet all of her needs right whether she's on
the school run or if she is going to a
red carpet event. And again, I think that that brand
(12:48):
has done such a phenomenal job of really changing the conversation.
You know, Skims is a brand that's in the news
all the time or.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Whatever it does.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
She puts it on women. She puts it on women
of every color and every size, and it's always I
always look at every single ad.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I study those ads. I mean, everybody loves that ad.
It's we have a really amazing thing. But I would
say that Kim is really pivotal in the marketing.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I mean, she's an ideas machine.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
She's like, you know, it's a text, every multiple text
is every single day. And she is an incredible business
woman that really is. They're constantly pushing the agenda and
some of the best ideas that are in that business company.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
So is there a demographic or is it?
Speaker 3 (13:34):
No? I think our customers are like from ten to seventy,
you know, they really they really are every woman yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
And man now, which is exciting, very we get the guys.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Yeah, the idea of buying underwear and bras online would
have been unthinkable ten years ago. You just couldn't do that.
You would be returning everything. How did Skims overcome that challenge?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Well, you know, I think it's really interesting because when
I look at director consumer and you think about some
of the things that we do really uniquely good American
was right at the start of showing you product on
different sizes. Right, if you're a size sixteen looking at
how a pair of genes looks on a size zero,
it's kind of useless because it's going to look like you,
you know that on you. And so I think that
(14:16):
we've done some pretty unique things by making sure that
as a customer, you can come in and understand what
is that product doing for me?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
But at the end of the day, it's about making
exceptional products.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
We are obsessed with fit, with fabrication, with making things
understandable and creating almost like a system. So you know,
it's like, this is the bra that I like in
the fabrication that I like, and I'm going to be
able to get that all the time. And so I
think what we do best is really think about consistency.
And I think that any brand is obsessed with their
customer and we know that our customers are looking for solutions,
(14:49):
and oftentimes it's really just about listening because your customers
will tell you everything that you need to know, but
you've just got to be ready to take that information
in and do something with it.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
And I think we've been how.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Many skims have No, it seems like you have thousands.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
There's quite a few. Yeah, what the very size intensive business?
Let's say that, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Because we go from a double access to a five
X and so that's an enormous amount of sizes. We
have sixty four sizes in bras and so there's a lot.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So as Skims sort in popularity, how did the company
manage scaling up?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Well, you know, we have an incredible team. My husband
is the CEO of that business, and Kim's business partner.
And I think just name these name is the ends. Absolutely,
it's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
But I think, just like.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Any business, you know, we built these companies to scale, right.
I think that we've been very, very purposeful, and you're
only as good as your team. And I know that
if I've learned anything as a founder and as a CEO,
I spend I'd say twenty five percent of my time
looking at talent, and by that I mean interviewing, being speculative,
(15:56):
even if I don't need that particular position, if someone's
in the market and it's looking for a role, or
even sometimes if they're not kind of hated by all
the competition, I'm there. I'm ready to meet and understand
because you don't know what's coming next, and so finding
the right people that are going to be able to
take your business to the next level is so important.
And I think as a founder, especially as a first
(16:16):
time founder, people get really scared about not doing things themselves,
about having to relinquish some control. But you'll never grow
with that mentality. And I think I've learned that people
are what make businesses great. Right once you have a
product market fit and you figured out how to get
some fame, right you figured out the marketing piece. The
(16:37):
single biggest thing that will make a difference to your
businesses the people. And so I really make sure that
I just have teams around me, and I'm pretty clear
about what it is that.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
I know what I don't know, I know what I'm
not good at, I know where my strengths are, and
I make sure to bring the right people around me.
Where is a good American need all over the world actually,
and so in the beginning it was a lot more
in America than it is today. And I think that
as the business has grown, we've really had to adapt
to that. When you're making hundreds of thousands of units.
(17:09):
Sadly we're not able to do that in America anymore.
And it's made all over the world a little bit
the same.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah. Yeah, the ads and the focus of the companies
have a big focus on body positivity, which I love.
I think it's such a nice thing and inclusivity region. Yeah,
and why is this so important to you?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Well, we want to create a big company, you know.
I think Good American was extremely pivotal in the early
days of like body positivity, because again, a lot of
companies speak that language, but they don't do the work
of not just providing the size, but making sure it fits.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
And it's not as simple as you think.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
You don't take what works in a size small and
just scale it up. It's actually an entirely different pattern.
It's usually a very different teams most companies. If you're
a designer or a pattern maker or a technical designer,
you only know one side of the scale. It's very
unusual that you get people that can work in both.
So you're really thinking about building and mirroring a team
(18:06):
on both ends, which is expensive and I think that's
why a lot of companies don't do it. But we've
taken the time, we've made the investment to make sure
that we can do that, and then it pays back
because customers, once you find your fit, once you find
the things you like, you come back time and time again.
And so we're all about not cutting any corner so
that we can make sure that customers are loyal to
the brand.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
I think for one of your promotions, you partnered with
Swarowsky Crystal Oh. I was lucky enough to get one
of those long dresses. How beautiful was that d unbelievable?
Thousands thousands of crystals somehow affixed to a sheer fabric.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Ohan, isn't that crazy? I wear that dress all the time?
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Do I wear it all?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
One of my guests who wears the dress? You don't
know my thirteen year old granddaughter, but she looks like
a dream. Fine, this beautiful entrepreneur sitting across from me
is how old I'm forty two. She's forty two and
she has four children ages.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
They are ten, eight and twenty three year olds.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Wow. Yeah, and so they probably you get they get
put in the backpacks, the little ones, and they go
off on the trip.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
They go off on all the trips.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
I've always traveled with the kids, and I never worry
about jet lag. And I'm like, you know what, you
just got to fit in with my life. That's how
we've tried the kids. And honestly, I think that we're
in such a period right now of this idea of
you know, really over parenting, and I've never done that.
My favorite thing to say, actually to anyone, but especially
to my kids is figure it out, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
And I really believe in that.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
I don't think that kids need you to usher them
through life to figure out all of their problems. To
you know, constantly, you travel so much, so you have
a nanny for each kid. No, I don't have a
nanny for each kid, but I do have two nannies,
and I have an enormous amount of help. Like I'm
not cleaning the toilets, I'm not cleaning the uther So
let's be honest.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
It takes an army and I'm totally fine with that.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
But what I do do is that you know, I'm
there for my kids for the things that really matter,
and you have to choose your style of mothering. Like
I've never wanted to stay home. That wasn't my choice.
I think i'd be really bored. I always say to
you know, it's like I'm a like two three hour marm,
you know, like I'm good for a couple of hours
and then I'm like, I'm going I'm going out to
(20:23):
I have other things to do and i have other interests.
And I think that my kids are learning from me
what it means to be really passionate about something, what
it means to go after your your own dreams and
to have those you know, ambitions and take them really seriously.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
And so I don't make any apologies to eat everything.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Okay, Martha, this is my biggest Bugwere so the older
two and this is where you know, like mothering mistakes.
The older two are the most unbelievably fussy eaters. Oh really,
Oh it's so upsetting for someone who has a real
scarcity mentality because when I was younger, I grew up
and they just wasn't there and I.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Just showed me her Thanksgiving, which included pork bill. It
included a tricky wrapped in bacon. It included all kinds
of stuffings. It included a corn bread, It included salads.
It was huge. You had beef. Was their beef?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Studied with the clothes, lovely leased hair. I try to
do my best month.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
So the kids eat everything.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
The little ones eat everything. The big ones are nightmares.
And I really boys or girls. One boy, one girl.
You know, we're working on them. They have other skills.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Send them to me. They'll be eating everything. So back
to business. Tell me, what's your strategy for making business decisions?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
You know, I am a gut instinct person.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I definitely am someone I'm not shy to ask questions,
right so I think, knowing what you don't know, I
will phone a lot of people and I will get
an opinion and a point of view. But I am
someone who leads by their gut. If it doesn't sit
well with me, I'd rather make the mistake and own
(22:04):
the mistake than go against my beliefs and go against
what I'm feeling. And I honestly think that nine times
out of ten, I'm not saying I'm right, but I
can live with my decisions. I'm really lucky to be
in a position right now where I have access to
a lot of people, and I use that access right
So I have no problem calling a competitor or some
(22:25):
you know, another CEO and saying, how did you navigate
this issue? I'm coming up against this, I'm at this
stage of the business.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
What did you do?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
And we're helpful and people people are helping, you know,
people like to help, they like to be asked questions.
And I think there's a generation of people, you know,
I always talk about the two generations of people that
I have on my board, like the young, cooler d
t C investors, and then I have like the much
older group in their sixties and seventies that come with
the wisdom and the basics like make profit, don't mess around,
(22:57):
where is.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
The money and focus on that.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
And so I rely on people like Andrew Rosen, for example,
who I think is an incredible entrepreneur, an unbelievable kind
of supporter and mental but also someone that can go
high low right. You can talk to Andrew about you know,
LRP three year strategy, and I can say, what's the
best shelf to display netwear god, and he will have
an opinion about everything. He can go down a rail
(23:20):
of clothes and be like that's a hit, that's a hit,
that's not, and you're like, oh, get it out the
line immediately. You know, he just has instinct. And so
I think I'm really lucky that I've surrounded myself with
those type of people. But I'm not scared to ask
for help, and I do it all the time. I'd say,
on a weekly basis, I'm calling someone and saying, what's
your opinion on this.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Whether there are some of the keys to expanding a
brand but protecting it as a gross well.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
I think my opinion about that is that in a.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Business, it almost everything should change except your principles. Right.
It's like the reason that you started that company, you're
defining principles should stay the same and then every of
the course, but then everything else should transition on the
way up. And you have to be willing to kill
your darlings the things that you say. Right in the beginning,
(24:07):
I was like, we're going to be a director consumer brand.
It's like until I needed some whole sound, until I
started opening the stores. And you have to move with
what's happening. You have to shift and change and be
open minded. And that also includes the people, right, because
the people that get you to fifty million or one
hundred million are not the same people that necessarily get
you to a billion dollars. And so I'm very pragmatic
(24:29):
about knowing that things need to change, but also I
need to change. I need to understand where do my
expertise start and where do they finish and put my
ego to the side and say, well, that's not where
I'm good. And so I would say that change is inevitable,
you have to go with it.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Well, my business started all in retail, in stores, and
then data seeking and Amazon key and disrupted the entire world.
And so now what's your philosophy. Do you have to
be in both places? Strongly?
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yeah, I feel like you have to be wherever your
customer is at and different customers, you know, and again
it's not about age, It's really about what experience they
find the most useful. You'll have people that want to
go into a store, see the sales assistant they've been
working with for a long time and take their opinion.
And you've got others that are quick and need the
(25:18):
convenience and they want to check out. And then you've
got people that have an account on a specific site
and they want to check out from that account. So
you've got to be everywhere that your customer is and
again you have to be willing to adapt. But it's
about providing the best customer experience in each of those locations.
And so I think what you have to really focus
on is what other customer needs at that place and time.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
And so that's what we gets a.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
New skim story which I cannot wait to see. Do
you have a lot of changing rooms?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
A lot and beautifully lit.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Changing Okay, so everybody gets to try on.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Are you a tryer on it?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I'm a tryer onor I like to try and thinks
if they plan to be because then you have to
wear the rate stuff to the store if you do.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
You know what I mean? True, your stuff that you
have on has to come off easy, that is true.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
You know when we go over the head and messing
with the hair and makeup, You're right, you've got to
be ready for the trial. I you know, I'm a
little bit spoiled. I like to do as much as
I can at my house. But that's the la way.
You know, it gets sent home and then it gets
shipped down.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
How did you meet your husband, YenS? Well, how long
ago was that?
Speaker 2 (26:34):
It was seventeen years ago.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
I actually met him at work, which would be entirely
frowned upon now, but that was, you know, pre any
internet dating.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Where is she from? He's Swedish?
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Swedish and was living in London, and he was technically
my first investor, and we.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Really hit it off, you could say, But you.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Know, it's so interesting because Ens and I had a
professional relationship that preceded our you know, personal love relationship,
and he's Swedish and so we have a really amazing
way of being able to work with one another. I'd
say he's probably my biggest supporter, also my biggest critic,
and it's good to have someone to keep you, keep
(27:17):
you honest.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Well, you've talked about how there is no such thing
as balance in a life, a work life, and I
totally agree with you.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I've said that ever ever since I started my comfort.
I love that you say that, yes, because there isn't.
I mean, we can't fake it. You can't fake it,
and yet you have to make time for each aspect
of your life, which you sound like you do with
the kids right in the right time and in the
right moment, and I do want to believer it. No,
and you have to make sacrifices, right You have to decide,
(27:47):
like what is the most important thing today?
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Subscription New York.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
This is a two three night trip actually, and I
was here for two nights last week, so that's pretty
unusual for me that I would travel two weeks in
a row. But that's what's most important right now. My
children are in good hands, and I feel pretty good
about it. But I also my kids are used to
they know what's important to me, and so we have
a very I've made They come into my office, you know,
they have a lot of holidays and they'll come in.
(28:12):
They understand what I'm doing. But more than that, they
know this is what is important to mommy.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We're really important. But she's also been working for a
very long time. You know.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I always think that on social media, you get this
idea that everybody's an overnight success.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
I've had a job since I was twelve.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
I have been working towards these moments where this success
level that seemingly looks like it's come out of nowhere
would be a reality for my life. And so I
think it's really important that once you get to a
place where these things are happening to you, that you
take full advantage of them. And I'm I think I'm
right at the beginning of where my you know, success
(28:48):
is going to come.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
And cert I would hope, so.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
This is incredibly You're building amazing, amazing companies. They're the future. Yeah,
they're the future.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I've really you know, I hope so.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
And I I do go back to the balance thing
because I believe as a woman, this idea that you're
supposed to be all things to all people, that you
would have this wonderful relationship with your husband, you'd be
the most fabulous wife, and then your home would be
in great shape and your kids are only looking to you,
and then your company is running so smoothie. It's not true.
There's a trade off with any of this stuff. We
(29:20):
have to make sacrifices, and I'm picking and choosing every
day and something has to give. That's the reality of
my life. Every day there's something I'm not doing.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
A question, how do you still maintain personal healthy relationships?
That's a stupid question.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Well, you know, I only have friends that are fine
if I don't phone them for four months.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
If you're not cool with that, it's that we're not friends.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I'm busy. I'm busy. I'll blige. I'll lge you.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Another time, right, Yeah, But that's like like when you
have really good relationships and I have very few, but
very good relationships, that's fine with those people because they
know what your priorities are to who's your best friend.
My best friend is a girl called Chanelle Krahl. She'll
be with me for the holidays. We have babies at
the same time, and we've been friends since we were sixteen.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
You know.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
She's the organized, pragmatic, can read any map, gets us
around in the native language of whichever country we are in.
She's just that person. And meanwhile, I'm like, where are
we going?
Speaker 2 (30:14):
What are we doing?
Speaker 3 (30:15):
I'm great in any professional situation. Take me out of there.
I'm like, Chanel, this is a store in Japan. I'm
looking for find me very good friends, and I really
rely on those relationships.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
You have to have a I feel like you need
a handful of.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
People that you would say all the stuff that you
say to yourself.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
You know, and I really believe in that.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
So yeah, and this is also in the fashion industry, Yes,
he is. And how has he helped you in your adventures?
Speaker 3 (30:40):
You know, I feel like he's been I said earlier
that he's been a big critic, and I mean that
in the best way, because he has been the person
that I think saw my talent like very early and
gave me maybe permission to do things that I might
not have done as soon as I've done them, and
so it's really nice. I really do think about him
(31:02):
as my my great.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Cheerleader, and we do. We share a lot of information.
We share a lot of which are his dealings.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
He has a he's a bunch of different companies, but
you might know Frame Denim, which is his company, which
is a gorgeous company. And of course he's a partner
with Kim and I at Skims too, and then he
has a lot of different investments in media and in tech.
But he's a brilliant, brilliant entrepreneur. I think he's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Everyone else that's very handsome, handsome, Oh my gosh, right
out of Mr Bergman movie.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I mean that true. In one interview, you mentioned one
secret to your success was to think about your failures
as much as your accomplishments.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Oh wow, did I say that?
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah? How has that helped you improve in business? Well?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I think I'm honest with myself.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
You know, my my lovely friend Diane von Furstenberg, she
always says to me, the greatest relationship you'll ever have
is the relationship you have with yourself. And I think
there's no true thing being said, because you I am
in constant conversation with myself, like all the time. So
you have to learn to be kind to yourself. But
you've also got to be critical and honest. And I
really pride myself on like just being honest. And so
(32:13):
I look at my failures and I try to I'm
a big thinker. I like to dissect everything and understand,
like what was it that tripped me up there?
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Not.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
I don't look at things as having happened to me.
I really take responsibility for everything in my life. So
I'm like, what could I have done better? What was
it inside me that made these things happen or led
me into those mistakes? And so I'm fiercely critical, but
I think it's really just about learning. I'm like a
lifelong learner, and I'm in constant learning mode, and I
think the do you read like you wouldn't believe? Like
(32:44):
so many books. It's my favorite thing to do. Aside
from are these like self help books. I read a
bit of self help. I'm not someone who reads novels.
I like the business.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Books and the biography.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Yeah, you know, I how did you make?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
How did you do this?
Speaker 1 (32:58):
You know?
Speaker 2 (32:58):
And I've I've read everything about you. I've read everything
about Oprah.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I you know, all of the tech guys are the
guys that I really like, love and admire and think
about so much. I'm obsessed with the idea of how
people change their circumstances because I do ultimately believe in
this idea of self actualization and you're taking responsibility for
everything that happens to you.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
And I love to look at.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
People that have seemingly like had one set of circumstances
and have been able to shift and change that. Or
your heroes on Martha, I'm going to look like such
a wally saying that, like you're one of my heroes.
And I've said that a thousand times in a thousand places.
So I will tell you to your and you know,
I've watched your documentary the other day. I told your
(33:44):
team fifty two people I counted all the emails in
the texts said to me, did you see the documentary?
Speaker 2 (33:48):
And I was like, I'm going to watch it.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
I just need a kid.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
It was incredible, and I thought about all the things
that have happened to you and and how like what
an inspiration you've been for so many women in business.
I also thought about really what happened to you and
how many women would have been put off by Actually.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Part of the documentary is that it hands that women
are feeling stronger.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
And largely because of how you handled that situation and
how we've seen you come back even stronger and then
come back even stronger. And I think it's an amazing
message for women because life is not smooth sailing when
you're in business and when you're doing things that change
the culture and you're forging a path, like you're going
(34:33):
to get burnt. And I think it was such a
beautiful message to just look at what you've done and
how successful you've been, but also the fact that you
know you're here and you're still standing. And I was like, yeah,
like Martha for the win So heroes also like Oprah.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I'm obsessed. I'm always putting every message.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
I've never met Oprah Winfrey and I am she's some
fabulous wrong.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Well, I just I just love her.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
That would be my little trick like Martha here, And
I believe in manifestations, it's going to happen to me
at some point.
Speaker 2 (35:04):
I think that my mom is one of my heroes.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
We have a very tumultuous relationship my mum and I,
but she really went through it.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
She is incredible. She's in London and she's going to
kill me for saying that. But I can't believe you
do this here. I mean, no one can see this.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Pretty magical that you get all of this traffic and
you see that. But you know, this is going to
sound kind of dorky, But I look at heroes as
people that are able to make the best of their circumstances, right,
And I look at my mom, I look at my nan,
I look at some of the people that you know
work around me, and and these transformations that they're making
(35:49):
going from one place and really pushing into something else.
And so and also I do think I'm a little
bit of my own hero as well.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
Oh you are. I feel rus you are. I just
say I love. I love that a girl at your
age is doing so many diverse and fabulous things. Thank
you and paying attention and helping others at the same time.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Yeah, that's a huge part.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Talk a little bit about your charity.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You know.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
I think fifteen years ago, when my job was doing
really big commercial partnerships for really rich, famous people, I
kind of got to the boy and I was like, Okay,
you need to find a little bit of meaning and
what you do. And I joined the board of Women
for Women International, where they work with women that are
living in conflict zones all over the world, in Afghanistan,
(36:36):
in the Republic of Congo, in Iraq, and so that
was my first foray into nonprofit. Sat on that board
for eight years. I currently sit on the board of
Baby to Baby in LA, which is one of the
most incredible organizations that works with children all over this
country to get them the basic necessities that they need.
And I'm the chairwoman of the fifteen Percent Pledge, which
(36:57):
again is another incredible nonprofit that was founded by my
friend Aurora James, and we're working with brands and retailers
all over the country to have them allocate fifteen percent
of their annual spend to black owned businesses. And so,
what I think is incredible about the times that we're
living in is that you can take a little bit
of success and a little bit of you know, for
(37:17):
want of a better word, you know, fame or reputation
or any of those things, and you can really leverage
it to get stuff done. And so I think about
it all the time, like what am I doing with
my time? Like how would I help a girl that
was like me, that seemingly is a high school dropout
that really didn't have much in terms of like an
education or business acumen, And say, you can take your
(37:42):
life and your circumstances and you can do anything if
you're given the right set of circumstances and if you
take that and use those opportunities. And so I think
about all of my nonprofit working, you know, thinking I
have had so many experiences in my life and so
many things that have happened, and people that have been
around me that have helped me, And so I talk
(38:02):
of responsibility. It's like, why wouldn't I use some of
that to help whoever I can well.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
It's to be admired and also extolled.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
I think we have covered a lot of territory, and
you are so effusive and so enthusiastic and so charming.
I think that part two maybe next year, after you've
launched a couple more of your phenomenal businesses. Thank you
so much for joining me today. Let everyone know where
they can follow you.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Oh yes, they can follow me on Instagram. What am I?
I must be like Emma Greed g r ed e.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
That's right, so you have to know how to spell
it g r e D. Thank you very much and
we look forward to all your forthcoming projects.
Emma Greed is a serial entrepreneur who started her career
in the media business and has gone on to launch
multiple companies, including Good American Skims, and she is about
to launch a brand new venture called off Season. She
is a recurring shark on Shark Tank, I Love You
on that show, and she co hosts Roku's hit series
(00:27):
Side Hustlers. Emma and I share a passion for entrepreneurialism
and I am so pleased to talk to her today.
Welcome to my podcast, Emma.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Oh my goodness, thank you for having me. Well, I'm
dying right now.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
It should just be said. I'll get it out of
the way. I've done the fangirling thing. You've signed my cookworks.
I really am having a bit of a moment.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
So you've just launched a new business venture, your fourth
venture as a co founder. Tell us about off Season.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Well, you know, I have to say it's probably I
would say maybe my business venture if you count everything
that was in media prior to me starting the you know,
apparel businesses. But this is a really special one because
I'm a huge, huge sports fan, and I think that
there's this unbelievable opportunity as sports becomes such a hit
(01:16):
in culture to do something where you're putting quality at
the forefront.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I mean, for too long we've been wearing.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Sports gear that's just about a logo slap on a
pretty cheap garment. And what I do is really, you know,
specializing where the culture meets some kind of quality.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
And so I'm excited to do this.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Well, I I'm a fan girl of Kristen from day one.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Day one you came to my dinner. She was like,
so excited to meet you.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
CHRISTI hu check. How do you say your last name?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Check?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Use check?
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Really, I've learned because I'm very dyslexic, and just seeing
it written, it doesn't say use check.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So used check.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
She is the wife of a San Francisco forty nine ers.
I met her the first time last year after already
commented many times on her Instagram. I met her lest
year at the Super Bowl and I applaud her entrepreneurialism
because she was the first person private person to get
a license from the NFL to use their logos on clothing.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I mean, honestly, she is a force to be reckoned with,
and she hunted. She gorgeous, first, beautiful and so talented.
This is a girl that taught herself to sew, has
no fashion background whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Absolutely went through so many people.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
To find me and she said, I want you as
my business partner, and here's the opportunity. And for someone
like me who kind of you know, I used to
be that person trying to knock on all the doors
and get people to work with me.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I've never been more impressed by someone.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Well, as you launched this business, how are you defining
your audience and marketing to them?
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Well, you know, I think what's so interesting is the
sports has such a built in fan group. But coming
up in England, you know I went to soccer every
single week being in La. I have you know, season
tickets at the Lakers. But you know, when I started
going to football, to American football, you just look around
and you see everyone wants to support their team. And
I think that we're at this point in culture where
(03:08):
everybody is really they really, really really want to wear
these clothes outside of supporting their team.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
And so I think it's a built in audience.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
To get back to your question, but you know, it's
really about being where the fans are at and thinking
not just about marketing but about distribution.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
But what about the other manufacturers of all the NFL
licensed goods, What do they say about your high fashion?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
I mean, I don't know what they're going to say.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
It's going to be it's very competitive.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
It is competitive, But I think any business that's worth
being in, as you well know, is competitive. And rather
than worrying about competition, I always worry about what's my
point of difference? What am I doing so uniquely that's
not out there? You've got to focus on quality. And
I honestly believe that people want to be they want
to feel different, they want to feel differentiated, And we're
going to bring a real unique design proposition and give
(03:57):
you something that you want to wear on any day,
not just on game day.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Well, you're and the clothing that Kristen makes is charming,
isn't it. Yeah, it's a little true. I can't wear
so many bare midress.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
You'll be at me neither. Okay, those days are over
for me too, for children.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
But I must say it is incredible how how artistic
she is, yes, and how clever with the logos and
the colors and the banners and everything else she puts
on those things.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And that's the point of differentiation, right, We're going to
do something that you can't just find in any old
team shop and make it really special.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
So we are you selling it?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
We will sell it on our own sites good and
then we'll be in some of the team shops and
distribution will grow from there.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
But we have I see, I see a shop in
every city.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Don't you Just thank you?
Speaker 1 (04:43):
But you out there, you have to have a couple
dressing rooms just to try and mine for ladies.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
And we want to do things that are cute and
you feel good in. You know, we don't want some
schleppy t shirt.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
This is the furthest from Schleppie. Absolutely, So your retail
ventures started with Good American. But let's go back. You
attend in the London College of Fashion, which is a
fantastic school. It is what did you learn there and
why did you leave before graduating? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I ain't that the case?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
So actually I did business there, and I mean what
happened for me is I just I didn't have the
financial means to keep it going. You know, I was coming,
you know, an hour on the train to college. The
tic train ticket was so expensive. I was trying to
work three days a week and go to college the
other four days of the week.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And I just couldn't make it work.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And what happens when you're working in the middle of
London you meet a lot of people. I met stylists
and I met, you know, people that were working in
fashion shows. And I just decided that it would be
better in fashion to just get in and start doing
the work and have the work experience then have a qualification,
and so I just had to go.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Well, like most entrepreneurs, you started working very early as
a new when you were thirteen.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I've had the most jobs after there.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
You know.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Actually, I think that's what kind of gave birth to
my lava food, one of my like I still think
of it as one of my favorite jobs. I worked
in a deli when I was fourteen, and so, you know,
and I probably I made the best sandwiches. I learned
to slice the meat so perfectly, the name of every cheese,
every olive, and I always took pride in any of
those jobs. So I have been working for a long time,
but I'm a person that can take something from any situation.
(06:17):
And I learned how to deal with customers. I learned
how to please people I learned how to present things beautifully,
and so I feel like there's so much of that
that's come into the work that I do today. And
so I feel like all of those jobs were, you know,
part of making me who I am.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So you started a talent agency at twenty six and
what made you do that? Where did you find all
this talent that you.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You know, A fin on the ground, I have to
say I was making up half the time. I feel
like the pattern in my career is that I've leveraged
everything that I've done.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
In Ted Lasso, Oh I never.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Watched Ted last night, everyone told me I should have watched.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So there's a young woman and she's crazy, little blonde
girl who becomes like the talent Asians.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
For me, what I specialized in was really the commercial partnerships.
So my job was actually representing brands and partnering them.
There you go, maybe they've got maybe they've got big,
somebody call them, oh my royalties.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Well what did you learn about the power of celebrity?
I mean you must have learned a lot right away,
you know, I really did.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I understood the power of leveraging a talent's name, image, likeness.
I also learned about the acceleration and what that can
mean for a brand.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
And I think in a.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Very crowded marketplace, and if we go back fifteen years,
they weren't the deals that you see now right, They
were very very different, namely people putting their names to
fragrances and fashion brands doing a day photo shoot and
off they go. There really wasn't the integrated marketing that
we see now with levels and levels of different things.
And I learned social media didn't exist at all then.
(07:52):
But what it actually taught me is how powerful you
know the idea of being able to get a message
out to popular culture and how if you think about
and I say this about you all the time, like
you are the original person that was able to take
all of your skills and everything that you stood for
and leverage that into a business. And so I think
(08:13):
that I've done a good job of taking that understanding
and figuring out how I.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Can do it many times, which is incredible for a
woman of your age. I mean, you've done a tremendous amount.
And when you approached Christ Janner, is this your first
big partnership with a celebrity family.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Well, you know, I had done a lot of individual
one off deals. So I built my agency from the
ground up by myself. Right, I was the first employee,
meaning I wrote the proposals, that call, did the new
business calls, I sent the invoices, and I performed all
the work. And after about six or seven years, you
get a reputation for yourself if you are any good,
and so I had an impeccable reputation. I would come
(08:52):
to Hollywood meet the agents, the managers, the publicist, and
at that time, going back all of those years, Chris
was one of those people that I would come and meet.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
How much of a business plan for your genom company,
good American did you really have in mind at that time?
Speaker 3 (09:04):
So this was actually going this is twenty sixteen, just
for the timeline's sake. I had a good chunk of it.
And I really understood, having done so many different campaigns
for fashion brands, how so many women are overlooked in
the fashion space. Right, if you don't look a certain
way and you're not of a certain size, it's like
you're cast a side. The same from an age point
of view, the same from.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Around You were one of the pioneers, Well, we were
the originators in sizing for everyone.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Absolutely, and I think that I saw that body tape
everybody type and also really just thinking about women, right,
it doesn't matter how old you are or you know
what your size is. Everybody knows that when you look good,
you feel good, you standtle, you operate differently. And so
I really took what I knew about being a woman
and thought, how do you create a brand that really
(09:51):
is for everybody that's not paying lip service saying maybe
i'll have something that fits you in this part of
the collection. It was like doing all the sizes all
the time and having this around fit And I think
the Good American really was revolutionary when we when we
launched that business, I couldn't have been more proud, and
I'm very happy to say that eight years later, we're
still thriving. We have hundreds and hundreds of retailers all over.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
This hundred million dollars businesses it And as with Chloe, Kardashian.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Absolutely cries my partner, So, how did.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
The idea for Skims come about? And this is Kim
Kardashian's business.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Absolutely with Emma, so Kim, this was all her idea.
Kim had the idea to do skims, and I think
what I.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Have learned from I have an idea.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Well, you know the name.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
The name is an interesting story because it wasn't skims
from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
And we did what we do best. We listened to
the audience.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
And you know, when you get things wrong, which you
inevitably do in business. And I say this all the time,
it's not plain sailing. My job is dealing with a
series of problems every single day. And my life might
look glamorous, but the reality of my day is that
it's not. People never come to me and go like
everything's amazing and you know, having a great day. It's like,
this is an issue, this is on fire, here's a problem.
And so that was one of many things that we
(11:06):
had to deal with. But I'm again very proud of
that business because I think it's a business that is
a gender setting.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
We do things on our own terms.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
We've built this beautiful business and it's exactly what kim
envisited it to be. And I'm a person that's obsessed
with products, and so I do what I know how
to do, which is to create the best product at
the best price and make sure that we can give
customers exactly what they want.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
So it's Skims Skims. I am sure you've heard of it.
I went and looked at the entire line the other day.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Oh yes, and they have a huge almost the whole
floor were every Nordstrom door, Yes you are.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And then Sacks. I have not gone into the shop
at sax store is beauty. Yes, I saw it as
I was passing through one day. Did enough time to stop.
But now you're going to have your own store on
Fifth Avenue.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
It's wild. I mean we've opened stores.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
We're now in Austin, and we've got a store opening
in La We have a or in Miami. It's really
really exciting. But this, I mean Fifth Avenue next door
to Cardia.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
My mind is like, so, what were your original executions
for Skims, which is a line of sort of color coordinated,
well fitting undergarments for women of all sizes.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
That is Martha said beautifully.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
You know what we when we think about this brand,
it really is about creating solutions for all women. Right.
The brand was very much rooted in this idea of
shapewear and underwear and has gone on to really expand.
And Kim's idea was that she wanted to do something
to meet all of her needs right whether she's on
the school run or if she is going to a
red carpet event. And again, I think that that brand
(12:48):
has done such a phenomenal job of really changing the conversation.
You know, Skims is a brand that's in the news
all the time or.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Whatever it does.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
She puts it on women. She puts it on women
of every color and every size, and it's always I
always look at every single ad.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I study those ads. I mean, everybody loves that ad.
It's we have a really amazing thing. But I would
say that Kim is really pivotal in the marketing.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I mean, she's an ideas machine.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
She's like, you know, it's a text, every multiple text
is every single day. And she is an incredible business
woman that really is. They're constantly pushing the agenda and
some of the best ideas that are in that business company.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
So is there a demographic or is it?
Speaker 3 (13:34):
No? I think our customers are like from ten to seventy,
you know, they really they really are every woman yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
And man now, which is exciting, very we get the guys.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Yeah, the idea of buying underwear and bras online would
have been unthinkable ten years ago. You just couldn't do that.
You would be returning everything. How did Skims overcome that challenge?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Well, you know, I think it's really interesting because when
I look at director consumer and you think about some
of the things that we do really uniquely good American
was right at the start of showing you product on
different sizes. Right, if you're a size sixteen looking at
how a pair of genes looks on a size zero,
it's kind of useless because it's going to look like you,
you know that on you. And so I think that
(14:16):
we've done some pretty unique things by making sure that
as a customer, you can come in and understand what
is that product doing for me?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
But at the end of the day, it's about making
exceptional products.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
We are obsessed with fit, with fabrication, with making things
understandable and creating almost like a system. So you know,
it's like, this is the bra that I like in
the fabrication that I like, and I'm going to be
able to get that all the time. And so I
think what we do best is really think about consistency.
And I think that any brand is obsessed with their
customer and we know that our customers are looking for solutions,
(14:49):
and oftentimes it's really just about listening because your customers
will tell you everything that you need to know, but
you've just got to be ready to take that information
in and do something with it.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
And I think we've been how.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Many skims have No, it seems like you have thousands.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
There's quite a few. Yeah, what the very size intensive business?
Let's say that, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Because we go from a double access to a five
X and so that's an enormous amount of sizes. We
have sixty four sizes in bras and so there's a lot.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So as Skims sort in popularity, how did the company
manage scaling up?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Well, you know, we have an incredible team. My husband
is the CEO of that business, and Kim's business partner.
And I think just name these name is the ends. Absolutely,
it's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
But I think, just like.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Any business, you know, we built these companies to scale, right.
I think that we've been very, very purposeful, and you're
only as good as your team. And I know that
if I've learned anything as a founder and as a CEO,
I spend I'd say twenty five percent of my time
looking at talent, and by that I mean interviewing, being speculative,
(15:56):
even if I don't need that particular position, if someone's
in the market and it's looking for a role, or
even sometimes if they're not kind of hated by all
the competition, I'm there. I'm ready to meet and understand
because you don't know what's coming next, and so finding
the right people that are going to be able to
take your business to the next level is so important.
And I think as a founder, especially as a first
(16:16):
time founder, people get really scared about not doing things themselves,
about having to relinquish some control. But you'll never grow
with that mentality. And I think I've learned that people
are what make businesses great. Right once you have a
product market fit and you figured out how to get
some fame, right you figured out the marketing piece. The
(16:37):
single biggest thing that will make a difference to your
businesses the people. And so I really make sure that
I just have teams around me, and I'm pretty clear
about what it is that.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
I know what I don't know, I know what I'm
not good at, I know where my strengths are, and
I make sure to bring the right people around me.
Where is a good American need all over the world actually,
and so in the beginning it was a lot more
in America than it is today. And I think that
as the business has grown, we've really had to adapt
to that. When you're making hundreds of thousands of units.
(17:09):
Sadly we're not able to do that in America anymore.
And it's made all over the world a little bit
the same.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah. Yeah, the ads and the focus of the companies
have a big focus on body positivity, which I love.
I think it's such a nice thing and inclusivity region. Yeah,
and why is this so important to you?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Well, we want to create a big company, you know.
I think Good American was extremely pivotal in the early
days of like body positivity, because again, a lot of
companies speak that language, but they don't do the work
of not just providing the size, but making sure it fits.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
And it's not as simple as you think.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
You don't take what works in a size small and
just scale it up. It's actually an entirely different pattern.
It's usually a very different teams most companies. If you're
a designer or a pattern maker or a technical designer,
you only know one side of the scale. It's very
unusual that you get people that can work in both.
So you're really thinking about building and mirroring a team
(18:06):
on both ends, which is expensive and I think that's
why a lot of companies don't do it. But we've
taken the time, we've made the investment to make sure
that we can do that, and then it pays back
because customers, once you find your fit, once you find
the things you like, you come back time and time again.
And so we're all about not cutting any corner so
that we can make sure that customers are loyal to
the brand.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
I think for one of your promotions, you partnered with
Swarowsky Crystal Oh. I was lucky enough to get one
of those long dresses. How beautiful was that d unbelievable?
Thousands thousands of crystals somehow affixed to a sheer fabric.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Ohan, isn't that crazy? I wear that dress all the time?
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Do I wear it all?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
One of my guests who wears the dress? You don't
know my thirteen year old granddaughter, but she looks like
a dream. Fine, this beautiful entrepreneur sitting across from me
is how old I'm forty two. She's forty two and
she has four children ages.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
They are ten, eight and twenty three year olds.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Wow. Yeah, and so they probably you get they get
put in the backpacks, the little ones, and they go
off on the trip.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
They go off on all the trips.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
I've always traveled with the kids, and I never worry
about jet lag. And I'm like, you know what, you
just got to fit in with my life. That's how
we've tried the kids. And honestly, I think that we're
in such a period right now of this idea of
you know, really over parenting, and I've never done that.
My favorite thing to say, actually to anyone, but especially
to my kids is figure it out, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
And I really believe in that.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
I don't think that kids need you to usher them
through life to figure out all of their problems. To
you know, constantly, you travel so much, so you have
a nanny for each kid. No, I don't have a
nanny for each kid, but I do have two nannies,
and I have an enormous amount of help. Like I'm
not cleaning the toilets, I'm not cleaning the uther So
let's be honest.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
It takes an army and I'm totally fine with that.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
But what I do do is that you know, I'm
there for my kids for the things that really matter,
and you have to choose your style of mothering. Like
I've never wanted to stay home. That wasn't my choice.
I think i'd be really bored. I always say to
you know, it's like I'm a like two three hour marm,
you know, like I'm good for a couple of hours
and then I'm like, I'm going I'm going out to
(20:23):
I have other things to do and i have other interests.
And I think that my kids are learning from me
what it means to be really passionate about something, what
it means to go after your your own dreams and
to have those you know, ambitions and take them really seriously.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
And so I don't make any apologies to eat everything.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Okay, Martha, this is my biggest Bugwere so the older
two and this is where you know, like mothering mistakes.
The older two are the most unbelievably fussy eaters. Oh really,
Oh it's so upsetting for someone who has a real
scarcity mentality because when I was younger, I grew up
and they just wasn't there and I.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Just showed me her Thanksgiving, which included pork bill. It
included a tricky wrapped in bacon. It included all kinds
of stuffings. It included a corn bread, It included salads.
It was huge. You had beef. Was their beef?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Studied with the clothes, lovely leased hair. I try to
do my best month.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
So the kids eat everything.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
The little ones eat everything. The big ones are nightmares.
And I really boys or girls. One boy, one girl.
You know, we're working on them. They have other skills.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Send them to me. They'll be eating everything. So back
to business. Tell me, what's your strategy for making business decisions?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
You know, I am a gut instinct person.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I definitely am someone I'm not shy to ask questions,
right so I think, knowing what you don't know, I
will phone a lot of people and I will get
an opinion and a point of view. But I am
someone who leads by their gut. If it doesn't sit
well with me, I'd rather make the mistake and own
(22:04):
the mistake than go against my beliefs and go against
what I'm feeling. And I honestly think that nine times
out of ten, I'm not saying I'm right, but I
can live with my decisions. I'm really lucky to be
in a position right now where I have access to
a lot of people, and I use that access right
So I have no problem calling a competitor or some
(22:25):
you know, another CEO and saying, how did you navigate
this issue? I'm coming up against this, I'm at this
stage of the business.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
What did you do?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
And we're helpful and people people are helping, you know,
people like to help, they like to be asked questions.
And I think there's a generation of people, you know,
I always talk about the two generations of people that
I have on my board, like the young, cooler d
t C investors, and then I have like the much
older group in their sixties and seventies that come with
the wisdom and the basics like make profit, don't mess around,
(22:57):
where is.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
The money and focus on that.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
And so I rely on people like Andrew Rosen, for example,
who I think is an incredible entrepreneur, an unbelievable kind
of supporter and mental but also someone that can go
high low right. You can talk to Andrew about you know,
LRP three year strategy, and I can say, what's the
best shelf to display netwear god, and he will have
an opinion about everything. He can go down a rail
(23:20):
of clothes and be like that's a hit, that's a hit,
that's not, and you're like, oh, get it out the
line immediately. You know, he just has instinct. And so
I think I'm really lucky that I've surrounded myself with
those type of people. But I'm not scared to ask
for help, and I do it all the time. I'd say,
on a weekly basis, I'm calling someone and saying, what's
your opinion on this.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Whether there are some of the keys to expanding a
brand but protecting it as a gross well.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
I think my opinion about that is that in a.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Business, it almost everything should change except your principles. Right.
It's like the reason that you started that company, you're
defining principles should stay the same and then every of
the course, but then everything else should transition on the
way up. And you have to be willing to kill
your darlings the things that you say. Right in the beginning,
(24:07):
I was like, we're going to be a director consumer brand.
It's like until I needed some whole sound, until I
started opening the stores. And you have to move with
what's happening. You have to shift and change and be
open minded. And that also includes the people, right, because
the people that get you to fifty million or one
hundred million are not the same people that necessarily get
you to a billion dollars. And so I'm very pragmatic
(24:29):
about knowing that things need to change, but also I
need to change. I need to understand where do my
expertise start and where do they finish and put my
ego to the side and say, well, that's not where
I'm good. And so I would say that change is inevitable,
you have to go with it.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Well, my business started all in retail, in stores, and
then data seeking and Amazon key and disrupted the entire world.
And so now what's your philosophy. Do you have to
be in both places? Strongly?
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yeah, I feel like you have to be wherever your
customer is at and different customers, you know, and again
it's not about age, It's really about what experience they
find the most useful. You'll have people that want to
go into a store, see the sales assistant they've been
working with for a long time and take their opinion.
And you've got others that are quick and need the
(25:18):
convenience and they want to check out. And then you've
got people that have an account on a specific site
and they want to check out from that account. So
you've got to be everywhere that your customer is and
again you have to be willing to adapt. But it's
about providing the best customer experience in each of those locations.
And so I think what you have to really focus
on is what other customer needs at that place and time.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
And so that's what we gets a.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
New skim story which I cannot wait to see. Do
you have a lot of changing rooms?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
A lot and beautifully lit.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Changing Okay, so everybody gets to try on.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Are you a tryer on it?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I'm a tryer onor I like to try and thinks
if they plan to be because then you have to
wear the rate stuff to the store if you do.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
You know what I mean? True, your stuff that you
have on has to come off easy, that is true.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
You know when we go over the head and messing
with the hair and makeup, You're right, you've got to
be ready for the trial. I you know, I'm a
little bit spoiled. I like to do as much as
I can at my house. But that's the la way.
You know, it gets sent home and then it gets
shipped down.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
How did you meet your husband, YenS? Well, how long
ago was that?
Speaker 2 (26:34):
It was seventeen years ago.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
I actually met him at work, which would be entirely
frowned upon now, but that was, you know, pre any
internet dating.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Where is she from? He's Swedish?
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Swedish and was living in London, and he was technically
my first investor, and we.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Really hit it off, you could say, But you.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Know, it's so interesting because Ens and I had a
professional relationship that preceded our you know, personal love relationship,
and he's Swedish and so we have a really amazing
way of being able to work with one another. I'd
say he's probably my biggest supporter, also my biggest critic,
and it's good to have someone to keep you, keep
(27:17):
you honest.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Well, you've talked about how there is no such thing
as balance in a life, a work life, and I
totally agree with you.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I've said that ever ever since I started my comfort.
I love that you say that, yes, because there isn't.
I mean, we can't fake it. You can't fake it,
and yet you have to make time for each aspect
of your life, which you sound like you do with
the kids right in the right time and in the
right moment, and I do want to believer it. No,
and you have to make sacrifices, right You have to decide,
(27:47):
like what is the most important thing today?
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Subscription New York.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
This is a two three night trip actually, and I
was here for two nights last week, so that's pretty
unusual for me that I would travel two weeks in
a row. But that's what's most important right now. My
children are in good hands, and I feel pretty good
about it. But I also my kids are used to
they know what's important to me, and so we have
a very I've made They come into my office, you know,
they have a lot of holidays and they'll come in.
(28:12):
They understand what I'm doing. But more than that, they
know this is what is important to mommy.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We're really important. But she's also been working for a
very long time. You know.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I always think that on social media, you get this
idea that everybody's an overnight success.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
I've had a job since I was twelve.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
I have been working towards these moments where this success
level that seemingly looks like it's come out of nowhere
would be a reality for my life. And so I
think it's really important that once you get to a
place where these things are happening to you, that you
take full advantage of them. And I'm I think I'm
right at the beginning of where my you know, success
(28:48):
is going to come.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
And cert I would hope, so.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
This is incredibly You're building amazing, amazing companies. They're the future. Yeah,
they're the future.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I've really you know, I hope so.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
And I I do go back to the balance thing
because I believe as a woman, this idea that you're
supposed to be all things to all people, that you
would have this wonderful relationship with your husband, you'd be
the most fabulous wife, and then your home would be
in great shape and your kids are only looking to you,
and then your company is running so smoothie. It's not true.
There's a trade off with any of this stuff. We
(29:20):
have to make sacrifices, and I'm picking and choosing every
day and something has to give. That's the reality of
my life. Every day there's something I'm not doing.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
A question, how do you still maintain personal healthy relationships?
That's a stupid question.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Well, you know, I only have friends that are fine
if I don't phone them for four months.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
If you're not cool with that, it's that we're not friends.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I'm busy. I'm busy. I'll blige. I'll lge you.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Another time, right, Yeah, But that's like like when you
have really good relationships and I have very few, but
very good relationships, that's fine with those people because they
know what your priorities are to who's your best friend.
My best friend is a girl called Chanelle Krahl. She'll
be with me for the holidays. We have babies at
the same time, and we've been friends since we were sixteen.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
You know.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
She's the organized, pragmatic, can read any map, gets us
around in the native language of whichever country we are in.
She's just that person. And meanwhile, I'm like, where are
we going?
Speaker 2 (30:14):
What are we doing?
Speaker 3 (30:15):
I'm great in any professional situation. Take me out of there.
I'm like, Chanel, this is a store in Japan. I'm
looking for find me very good friends, and I really
rely on those relationships.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
You have to have a I feel like you need
a handful of.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
People that you would say all the stuff that you
say to yourself.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
You know, and I really believe in that.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
So yeah, and this is also in the fashion industry, Yes,
he is. And how has he helped you in your adventures?
Speaker 3 (30:40):
You know, I feel like he's been I said earlier
that he's been a big critic, and I mean that
in the best way, because he has been the person
that I think saw my talent like very early and
gave me maybe permission to do things that I might
not have done as soon as I've done them, and
so it's really nice. I really do think about him
(31:02):
as my my great.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Cheerleader, and we do. We share a lot of information.
We share a lot of which are his dealings.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
He has a he's a bunch of different companies, but
you might know Frame Denim, which is his company, which
is a gorgeous company. And of course he's a partner
with Kim and I at Skims too, and then he
has a lot of different investments in media and in tech.
But he's a brilliant, brilliant entrepreneur. I think he's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Everyone else that's very handsome, handsome, Oh my gosh, right
out of Mr Bergman movie.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I mean that true. In one interview, you mentioned one
secret to your success was to think about your failures
as much as your accomplishments.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Oh wow, did I say that?
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah? How has that helped you improve in business? Well?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I think I'm honest with myself.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
You know, my my lovely friend Diane von Furstenberg, she
always says to me, the greatest relationship you'll ever have
is the relationship you have with yourself. And I think
there's no true thing being said, because you I am
in constant conversation with myself, like all the time. So
you have to learn to be kind to yourself. But
you've also got to be critical and honest. And I
really pride myself on like just being honest. And so
(32:13):
I look at my failures and I try to I'm
a big thinker. I like to dissect everything and understand,
like what was it that tripped me up there?
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Not.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
I don't look at things as having happened to me.
I really take responsibility for everything in my life. So
I'm like, what could I have done better? What was
it inside me that made these things happen or led
me into those mistakes? And so I'm fiercely critical, but
I think it's really just about learning. I'm like a
lifelong learner, and I'm in constant learning mode, and I
think the do you read like you wouldn't believe? Like
(32:44):
so many books. It's my favorite thing to do. Aside
from are these like self help books. I read a
bit of self help. I'm not someone who reads novels.
I like the business.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Books and the biography.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Yeah, you know, I how did you make?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
How did you do this?
Speaker 1 (32:58):
You know?
Speaker 2 (32:58):
And I've I've read everything about you. I've read everything
about Oprah.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I you know, all of the tech guys are the
guys that I really like, love and admire and think
about so much. I'm obsessed with the idea of how
people change their circumstances because I do ultimately believe in
this idea of self actualization and you're taking responsibility for
everything that happens to you.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
And I love to look at.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
People that have seemingly like had one set of circumstances
and have been able to shift and change that. Or
your heroes on Martha, I'm going to look like such
a wally saying that, like you're one of my heroes.
And I've said that a thousand times in a thousand places.
So I will tell you to your and you know,
I've watched your documentary the other day. I told your
(33:44):
team fifty two people I counted all the emails in
the texts said to me, did you see the documentary?
Speaker 2 (33:48):
And I was like, I'm going to watch it.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
I just need a kid.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
It was incredible, and I thought about all the things
that have happened to you and and how like what
an inspiration you've been for so many women in business.
I also thought about really what happened to you and
how many women would have been put off by Actually.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Part of the documentary is that it hands that women
are feeling stronger.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
And largely because of how you handled that situation and
how we've seen you come back even stronger and then
come back even stronger. And I think it's an amazing
message for women because life is not smooth sailing when
you're in business and when you're doing things that change
the culture and you're forging a path, like you're going
(34:33):
to get burnt. And I think it was such a
beautiful message to just look at what you've done and
how successful you've been, but also the fact that you
know you're here and you're still standing. And I was like, yeah,
like Martha for the win So heroes also like Oprah.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I'm obsessed. I'm always putting every message.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
I've never met Oprah Winfrey and I am she's some
fabulous wrong.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Well, I just I just love her.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
That would be my little trick like Martha here, And
I believe in manifestations, it's going to happen to me
at some point.
Speaker 2 (35:04):
I think that my mom is one of my heroes.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
We have a very tumultuous relationship my mum and I,
but she really went through it.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
She is incredible. She's in London and she's going to
kill me for saying that. But I can't believe you
do this here. I mean, no one can see this.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Pretty magical that you get all of this traffic and
you see that. But you know, this is going to
sound kind of dorky, But I look at heroes as
people that are able to make the best of their circumstances, right,
And I look at my mom, I look at my nan,
I look at some of the people that you know
work around me, and and these transformations that they're making
(35:49):
going from one place and really pushing into something else.
And so and also I do think I'm a little
bit of my own hero as well.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
Oh you are. I feel rus you are. I just
say I love. I love that a girl at your
age is doing so many diverse and fabulous things. Thank
you and paying attention and helping others at the same time.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Yeah, that's a huge part.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Talk a little bit about your charity.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You know.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
I think fifteen years ago, when my job was doing
really big commercial partnerships for really rich, famous people, I
kind of got to the boy and I was like, Okay,
you need to find a little bit of meaning and
what you do. And I joined the board of Women
for Women International, where they work with women that are
living in conflict zones all over the world, in Afghanistan,
(36:36):
in the Republic of Congo, in Iraq, and so that
was my first foray into nonprofit. Sat on that board
for eight years. I currently sit on the board of
Baby to Baby in LA, which is one of the
most incredible organizations that works with children all over this
country to get them the basic necessities that they need.
And I'm the chairwoman of the fifteen Percent Pledge, which
(36:57):
again is another incredible nonprofit that was founded by my
friend Aurora James, and we're working with brands and retailers
all over the country to have them allocate fifteen percent
of their annual spend to black owned businesses. And so,
what I think is incredible about the times that we're
living in is that you can take a little bit
of success and a little bit of you know, for
(37:17):
want of a better word, you know, fame or reputation
or any of those things, and you can really leverage
it to get stuff done. And so I think about
it all the time, like what am I doing with
my time? Like how would I help a girl that
was like me, that seemingly is a high school dropout
that really didn't have much in terms of like an
education or business acumen, And say, you can take your
(37:42):
life and your circumstances and you can do anything if
you're given the right set of circumstances and if you
take that and use those opportunities. And so I think
about all of my nonprofit working, you know, thinking I
have had so many experiences in my life and so
many things that have happened, and people that have been
around me that have helped me, And so I talk
(38:02):
of responsibility. It's like, why wouldn't I use some of
that to help whoever I can well.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
It's to be admired and also extolled.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
I think we have covered a lot of territory, and
you are so effusive and so enthusiastic and so charming.
I think that part two maybe next year, after you've
launched a couple more of your phenomenal businesses. Thank you
so much for joining me today. Let everyone know where
they can follow you.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Oh yes, they can follow me on Instagram. What am I?
I must be like Emma Greed g r ed e.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
That's right, so you have to know how to spell
it g r e D. Thank you very much and
we look forward to all your forthcoming projects.
Host
Martha Stewart
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