What's the hidden business behind your business? w/Rent the Runway's Jenn Hyman
Masters of Scale
WaitWhat
4.6 • 4.4K Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2021
⏱️ 45 minutes
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Summary
Rent the Runway co-founder Jenn Hyman knows: Behind every successful business is another business backstage, one you might not expect. Rent the Runway is known for creating a glamorous "closet in the cloud,” but as Hyman explains, it achieved unicorn status by mastering a few less glamorous businesses — including the world’s largest dry-cleaning operation, and a data insights practice that’s changing the fashion industry. Cameo appearance: Kevin Venardos (Venardos Circus); Stewart Butterfield (Slack).
Read Jenn Hyman's essay on the making of this episode: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mastering-businesses-behind-our-business-jennifer-hyman/
Learn more about the Venardos Circus: https://www.venardoscircus.com/
Read a transcript of this episode at https://mastersofscale.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Real leaders don't back down when the stakes are high. They innovate. They push forward, |
| 0:07.5 | and then they take the stage at the Masters of Scale Summit. |
| 0:11.6 | Join us in San Francisco, October 7th to 9th to hear from the CEO of the New York Times, |
| 0:17.1 | scientists using cutting-edge technology to find cures, the leader of crypto powerhouse |
| 0:22.0 | Coinbase, a retired four-star general, and many, many more. |
| 0:26.7 | Apply now at mastersofscale.com slash apply 25. |
| 0:31.7 | That's masters of scale.com slash apply 25. |
| 0:36.9 | Your company's data is everywhere in systems, in silos and across teams. But if your |
| 0:42.8 | AI can't reach it, then that data isn't working for you. Every business has unique data, |
| 0:48.0 | what really makes a difference is how you use it. IBM helps your AI access your data wherever |
| 0:53.4 | it lives to change how you do business. |
| 0:56.6 | Let's create smarter business, IBM. |
| 1:01.6 | The Vanardo Circus, the magical, musical, traveling circus of your dreams. |
| 1:08.1 | One of the catchphrases I've used to describe it. Actually, my favorite |
| 1:12.7 | of all of them is, the little circus that could. That's Kevin Vernardo's, ringmaster and |
| 1:20.8 | founder of the Vernardo Circus. Yes, circuses can be startups too. Before he started his traveling circus, Kevin was already at the top. |
| 1:31.0 | I got a job out of college as the ringmaster for the Ringling Brothers in Barnum and Bailey Circus. |
| 1:36.9 | I had found a dream that I never had that kind of came true. |
| 1:41.2 | Oh, it really did come true. |
| 1:42.6 | I was at Madison Square Garden with the greatest show on Earth. |
| 1:49.5 | When the greatest show on Earth took its final bow, Kevin set out to build a stage of his own. |
| 1:56.2 | Years later, I started a little show. I convinced the L.A. County Fair to buy a show that didn't exist yet. |
... |
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