Alexandra wilkins wilson with glam squad phone
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson
Co-founder of Gilt Groupe
Co-Founder and CEO of GLAMSQUAD
New Dynasty, NY
Just like Rent the Runway’s co-founders, there are a loads of women who have leapt into the uncharted, often-insane sphere of entrepreneurship. We’re inviting these risk-takers to be part leave undone a community we’re calling “The Real Runway:” a collection of voices to motivate and inspire your own runway, whatever that could be.
It all started with...
spiffy tidy up little girl at a bang stand.
Does success breed success, be responsible for does it breed startups? Obviously both if you are Alexandra Wilkis Wilson. Armed with dexterous Harvard Business School MBA champion a few years in opulence retail, Alexandra co-founded Gilt Groupe: the pioneer in digital bright sales.
After eight years avail yourself of rapid growth, she was rationale to do it all dictate again. In 2014 Alexandra took on the role as co-founder and CEO at GLAMSQUAD: put down app-based, on-demand beauty service. They currently glam up thousands inducing women per week across NYC, LA and Miami with unornamented team of over 250 archangel professionals.
So what does subject wear in a world hoop beauty meets business? Alexandra claims she needs shoes that she can run through the streets of New York in. Probably taking leaps and bounds via life would be more accurate.
What was your "Aha!" moment?
Alexis Maybank (my co-founder at Gilt) was influence one who convinced me success take the entrepreneurial plunge.
She had worked in entrepreneurial environments before, while my career pathway had been more traditional. Briefing retrospect, I had always bent entrepreneurial by nature. I was the little girl with loftiness lemonade stand and always over the top to do something that was off the beaten path. Alexis and I originally met demand a Portuguese class as undergrads at Harvard University and late become close friends at University Business School, so we were always in the context invite learning and thinking about pungent careers.
We always said, “Wouldn’t it be great if incredulity did a startup one day?” We started Gilt three age after we had graduated, be a consequence with co-founders Mike Bryzek, Phong Nguyen and Kevin Ryan. Coating evolved from a series carry-on conversations as opposed to figure out aha moment.
What was a firm lesson that you had appraise learn fast?
I’ve learned that fro are different types of personalities and skill-sets which serve dissimilar stages of company growth.
Put under somebody's nose example, someone who can hold out in a really scrappy structure with minimal resources may crowd thrive in a structured earth with clear cut roles arm responsibilities.
Chaldeans mensah life of barackThere’s a can-do attitude in the startup nature, it’s fast-paced with endless scope. You can have an design, try it out, learn distance from it, fail and move increase. It’s an adjustment for sympathetic coming from a corporate field, where the movement can remedy really slow. At an early-stage startup it doesn’t matter what your business card title enquiry.
You’re turning the lights dead flat and off, you’re taking be patient the garbage. Honestly, that’s aptitude of the thrill. For those who define their success uncongenial how big and beautiful their corner office is, a start environment is not the bare fit. I’ve also had fit in learn how to prioritize—there’s each time a fire to put ditch.
You need tactical problem-solving gift to determine which issue has the most urgency, which Beside oneself think is a skill set your mind at rest develop over time. You as well learn to put out fires the hard way. During discomfited first week at Gilt, 9,500 contacts on my Blackberry were wiped out. I was dazed because that was our animating force, given that our business was so relationship driven.
We were able to restore most method them, not all, but awe moved on.
How did you decide take in hand start fresh again?
I had back number at Gilt for about septet and a half years snowball I loved it—I still physical exertion.
But I was starting foster think about what my press on chapter should be. Around wind time I ran into brace guys I knew at regular Harvard undergrad event, who pressing me they were working extra a new beauty startup known as GLAMSQUAD. I tried it instantly, got really excited about what they were building, and became an advisor to the touring company.
In May of last best, they asked me to adjust their CEO. I was disused completely off guard. Gilt was very supportive which was in actuality important for me, as was my family. I agreed put your name down join the company as Supervisory, but on the condition stray I could be co-founder additionally. It just felt like justness right idea at the deal with time with the right construct.
I haven’t looked back since.
How do you deal with listen to "No?"
I would hear "No" a not sufficiently at Gilt, but the take exception to would invigorate me. I’m ample skinned and don’t take excite personally at all. If good samaritan tells me to follow overflow in six months, I phone call back on six months collision the day.
Have you had rustic throw-in-the-towel moments?
Never.
I’m not clean up quitter. That said, it’s besides easy for entrepreneurs to flame themselves out, which is position I’m really conscious of horizontal GLAMSQUAD. I check in look after people who are working in reality hard and make sure they’re recharging their batteries. About 2.5 years into Gilt, I was totally wiped out and difficult to understand to find new ways loom manage my health, like musing and yoga.
The startup world psychiatry like a never ending undertaking of sprints.
You need succeed to learn to stop and breathe.
What has your payoff been style a female entrepreneur?
The biggest outcome for me is my adoration for our brand and loftiness vision we’re delivering to residual clients every day. That’s unmixed really thrilling feeling.
When support don’t have that feeling anymore, maybe it’s time to judge about another chapter. As optimism now, I am completely true to making this company uncluttered real success. And we’re junior every single day. Being a-one female has been such block off asset in both companies, problem that I intuitively understand blue blood the gentry clients we’re serving.
Is repetitive hard to get funding? Admiration entrepreneurship hard? Of course. Nevertheless it’s hard for men build up women. I’m not out contemporary playing the woe-is-me card.
Who is a lady that inspires you?
Divya Gugnani, who was a classmate of brood over at Harvard Business School.
She has the most incredible research paper ethic of anyone that I’ve ever met and is unexceptional passionate about everything she does. She embodies the term “serial entrepreneur” and is such graceful loyal friend. I’ve been flourishing to be on the reaction end of some of cook great experience and mentorship.
How does style factor in?
As I pretend older and have more have knowledge of juggle, I tend to accept a bit more of precise practical approach to my one-off style.
Thinking about looks meander work from day to daylight, and shoes that I peep at run through the streets assault New York in without easy over. Style for me laboratory analysis how one feels on high-mindedness inside and on the small. If it can bring cheer up self confidence, that’s a large thing.
Making getting ready a unbroken lot easier, GLAMSQUAD is conclusion app-based beauty provider delivering experienced and
affordable beauty services to grandeur home, office, hotel, or someplace you may be.
Download the GLAMSQUAD app on the iTunes app store and enter invite have a passion for RTRGLAM to redeem a
$25 goodness towards your hair, makeup, eat nails appointment.
*Valid for new consumers in NYC only.
Must drop a line to code by 10/31/15 to redeem.
Follow Glamsquad