Democratizing luxury | How Rent the Runway changed the way we shop and grew to a $1B company – an interview with co founder Jenny Fleiss
The Tony Robbins Channel
Tony Robbins
4.3 • 6.9K Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2019
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jenny Fleiss created Rent the Runway, a company now valued at $1 billion, in the wake of the most severe economic recession the United States has seen since the Great Depression. When everyone else was panicking in 2008 and 2009, Jenny and co founder Jennifer Hyman saw an opportunity.
The problem they were trying to solve was simple enough: Looking into your closet and realizing you don't have anything to wear to an important event, like a wedding, but don't have the budget to buy something new. So they innovated, and created an entirely NEW way to shop by allowing women to rent designer clothing, online, for a fraction of what it actually costs.
Today, the rental, or sharing economy is booming – companies like WeWork, REI, and Zipcar make it possible for us to experience something, without the cost of ownership. But to put this in perspective, nothing like this existed at the time.
Jenny shares how she and her co founder got Rent the Runway up and running – and how they grew the business to where it is today. You'll also hear Jenny's philosophy on how she approaches hiring talent at JetBlack, a personal shopping service she co founded after leaving Rent the Runway, which is not only critical when you're starting a business, but also when scaling it.
The interviewer for this episode is Scott Harris, a coach, mentor and a speaker at many of Tony's events, including his business event, Business Mastery.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | If you run a company whether it be as a first-time entrepreneur or a season CEO, you face challenges |
| 0:07.8 | every day and for many of you you're doing it alone. |
| 0:10.9 | For more than 40 years Tony Robbins has helped business owners like yourself understand |
| 0:14.6 | how successful your business could be, the level it's at today and how to close that |
| 0:18.9 | gap faster with fewer costly mistakes along the way. |
| 0:22.5 | And now he would like to underwrite the cost of a free one-to-one business strategy session |
| 0:26.0 | from one of his top business coaches, a $600 value. |
| 0:29.9 | In that session you'll learn how Tony's business systems can impact your company. |
| 0:34.3 | See what most people don't know is that when Tony acquires or starts a company he brings |
| 0:38.0 | in six systems that are proven to create monumental growth, up to 300% in the first year alone. |
| 0:44.5 | To learn more about these systems, to get business owner resources and to claim your free |
| 0:48.7 | session just go to TonyRobbins.com slash CEO. |
| 0:52.3 | TonyRobbins.com slash CEO. |
| 1:00.9 | If you've been paying attention to the news you've probably heard a lot about the economy |
| 1:05.2 | and the looming threat of a recession. |
| 1:08.0 | While no one can predict with complete accuracy when or if a recession will hit, financial |
| 1:13.3 | markets have signaled the possibility that our nearly 10-year streak of economic growth |
| 1:17.8 | is coming to an end. |
| 1:20.0 | For most people in uncertain economic environment creates a feeling of fear. |
| 1:24.1 | You might be fearful about your company going out of business or laying people off. |
| 1:28.4 | If you're just entering the workforce, you might be afraid you won't be able to find |
| 1:31.6 | a job. |
... |
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