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Jenn Hyman: You Can Build A Billion-Dollar Business And “Have It All” | Success With Moira Forbes

“I'm here to assure you that you can have it all,” says Jenn Hyman, co-founder and CEO of the disruptive fashion technology startup Rent the Runway, in an interview with Moira Forbes. Hyman remains one of the few female founders to helm a billion-dollar empire, and the first to attain elusive unicorn status while also nine months pregnant. “You can have the life that you've always dreamed of having. And I think that it's crazy that I used to think that that was impossible.” In a landscape where outdated stereotypes are just one of the many challenges female leaders face as they rise the ranks, Hyman is busting the myth that high-achieving women must choose between a fulfilling career and achieving life ambitions beyond their professional pursuits.

Since co-founding Rent the Runway in 2009 after attending Harvard Business School, Hyman has gone on to raise over $500 million in funding, growing the business to over 11 million members and revolutionizing the $2.4 trillion fashion industry along the way. Change has extended far beyond her professional life too, and Hyman stresses the importance of this in her evolution and success as a leader. “My whole life has changed. I'm married, I have kids, I have a much more balanced life than I had in the early days of Rent the Runway,” she says. “But that doesn't mean that I work fewer hours now; I still work with the same level of intensity. But I think that it's extremely important to have other things in your life that you are as obsessed with or more obsessed with than work.”

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Tony Blaschuk
 

  • @dopemusic6414 says:

    Raised over $500m for an online fashion portal? Out of this world this is crazy. And with regards to being a billion dollar company it don’t matter if you don’t make any profit as long as you’ve raised a few hundred millions you’re a billion dollar company. It’s all crazy, Revenue means nothing how much is the next profit?

  • @bookbob548 says:

    So true! Focusing on the insecurities makes it seem bigger. Focus on your strengths and you’ll never forget your potential

  • @TheGreyKitchen says:

    Love her work life balance. I’m inspired 🥰

  • @johhnycash1515 says:

    I wànna be around this woman, she exudes wisdom and confidence even at her young age.

  • @BlairCadetabc says:

    Women can have “it all” just not at the same time….especially if you don’t marry a supportive partner who equally contributes, or takes a step back in his career, when it comes to household responsibilities and raising children. Even further, outsourcing childcare responsibilities to extended family members or hired help makes “having it all” much easier.

  • @fraiswang4859 says:

    Clam and confident demeanour, love it

  • @Harry-mh1wt says:

    Forbes will come out in a year and they will say inside jenn hymans web of lies I don’t mean to roast Hyman I mean to roast Forbes

  • @jadebombay says:

    Needed to hear this!

  • @ShinobiTekken says:

    You need to have a network and access to cash in order to launch a biz, something she has had all along.

  • @thomas-lo9fo says:

    For those who wonder she started her company with her rich husband’s money, and went to school with the top 1%. I’ve nothing against her or wealthy people, but I think it needs to be said. Also her company reported considerable loss since mid-2019 due to bad leadership and the whole COVID situation sure won’t help. Trying to give a fair picture of her business bc Forbes like other media are not doing their due diligence as journalists no more.

    • @ForeignFlexTv says:

      Send me sources please

    • @mountainman6172 says:

      @@ForeignFlexTv basic Google search. Smfh

    • @ABA-ex8cu says:

      No, this is not correct. She founded her company in 2009 and met her husband in 2015. Why don’t you follow your own advice and do your due diligence?

    • @thomas-lo9fo says:

      ​@@ABA-ex8cu her company took off once her husband invested millions the same year they married. Before that she was a nobody and the company did not raised significant funds before 2015. Following his primal investment, hundreds of millions were invested in venture capitals the next year. Again I think it’s fair to say that she would not have the “success” she pretends without his money in the first place.

    • @rhodaamorgan4846 says:

      If she had been sustaining the business from 2009 till 2015 when someone was finally available to invest, that shows great resilence and leadership skills to me.

  • @jazzip says:

    Have it all
    Step1) Attend Harvard

  • @alexisco.3358 says:

    Do not buy into this false statement. Having it all means hiring people to do the things you do as a mother like a nanny, assistant, childcare, housemaid, house chef… Just because you work doesn’t mean you will “do it all” You will just have the money to have it all.

  • @erfanm says:

    Hey you, yes you you can have it all. believe in yourself!

  • @chowdhuryshams2355 says:

    This gives me so much confidence!Thank you for sharing this with us! Resilience is such a huge part of any success story you might hear!

  • @foreigncreations1793 says:

    Yeah but the average person would never understand how much work she put in and the sacrifices. So no, not everyone can have it all.

    • @StephanieTumba says:

      I understand where she is coming from, I am assuming she meant that it is in everyone’s capacity to have it all. Everyone is able to make the same sacrifices as she did if they want to. But, not everyone is willing to pay the price.

  • @ValarieNZ says:

    She is amazing! So much insight! Great interview!

  • @Somdattaaa says:

    “Have it all” is just a social construct that has been imposed on women for years.The idea that you have to be a successful career woman,a devoted daughter/sister/friend/parent,manage domestic responsibilities all at the same time is a pretty high expectation to have from anyone.Well,I’ve never seen a male CEO being expected to have it all.Why can’t we accept that a woman might take lesser domestic responsibilities to get ahead in her career?What’s so wrong with that?

    • @anu7211 says:

      People work according to their priorities.
      A housewife is as successful as a businesswomen one may have good family other may have good career.

    • @rubym3915 says:

      I cannot stand the term have it all. We live and breathe with all we need everyday.. a heart, mind, soul and a body.

    • @Sesi_angel_india1000 says:

      Also, most of these women have the finances to ‘buy’ extra time – extra time to be a wife because you have workers you can hire, extra time to be a CEO because you have domestic help. Privilege.

    • @laurel1865 says:

      As a 40 year old woman, I agree. When men have a marriage and baby no one ever asks them “how do you do it?”

    • @AbsurdityandWit says:

      @@laurel1865 men and women aren’t the same .

  • @obyvanessa says:

    God will ensure you have it all if you put it in His hands and are ready to work ❤

  • @Louiesette1 says:

    I try to see the gem in her words, unfortunately, she’s telling fairy tales, romanticizes her family history and saying nothing practical and substantial to learn.

  • @emocuta says:

    Great success story , I admire her . I’m not a natural born entrepreneur but education and experience in corporate America has actually made all the difference. Educate yourself and follow your passion!

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