EP29: Julie Wainwright

Over the Wall with Rob LoCascio

You hear all the time that your past shapes your future, but it’s the execution that truly matters. Julie Wainwright is a fantastic individual. She's the founder of The RealReal, and a dot-commer, like me. In this episode, we get to hear about her childhood, the challenges Julie faced in her past, and how they’ve shaped her as a CEO and business owner. We’ll also dive into some real talk about how Covid affected her business and the people in it, as well as the adventures she went on in her early career that shaped the skills she would need later.

Tune in and learn how to turn your past challenges into future success.

Key Highlights:

[00:07 - 07:59] How Julie created a more sustainable fashion industry and how Covid presented significant challenges to her business.

[08:00 - 14:27] A lesson in crisis management—how Julie dealt with the Covid chaos.

[14:28 - 19:39] How to keep yourself physically and mentally strong without running yourself down.

[19:40 - 30:41] Julie reveals her background and how your past can prep you for your future.

[30:42 - 36:15] Find out how a corporate job at Clorox helped hone and shape Julie’s writing, networking, and execution skills for when she would go off and build a business of her own.

[36:16 - 44:22] Knowing when to walk away from something you created to start building a legacy.

[44:23 - 50:15] Same thing, different way: Leaders need to find a way to transform their businesses, not keep it the same way.

[50:16 - 1:00:55] Sexism and discrimination against women in the workforce are still a reality, with challenges that people need to recognize.

Quotes:

“It was that whole idea of, ‘you're smart, you can figure it out,’ [that] was already in me from a very early age by both parents—and then I HAD to figure it out.” - Julie Wainwright

“I don't know if there's a higher hand. I think you can connect to something bigger than you, and if you listen, I think you can get comfort in that.” - Julie Wainwright

“I don’t have a victim bone in my body… I wake up, and I'm like, ‘this is gonna be a good day.’ That's my first thought.” - Julie Wainwright

“This is really important for entrepreneurs: doing nothing is always much worse than doing something.” - Julie Wainwright

“It’s been an honor for me to be able to run the company and see this idea come to life in a way that transcends what one person could do.” - Julie Wainwright

“Recognize that the world that men maneuver in is not the same as the world women do.” - Julie Wainwright

Be sure to connect with Julie Wainwright.

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