Take 10 with Tory

I have entrepreneurship on the brain and stumbled upon the below Q&A with retail maven Tory Burch and the non-profit Entrepreneurship of All Kinds. This year, Tory Burch celebrates 10 years in business. Just shy of 50 years old, the self-made lifestyle guru's net worth is reportedly $1 billion, success that began with the overwhelming sales of her first product, the "Reva" ballet flat shoe. Today, she has leveraged the success of her brand to focus on social responsibility with the Tory Burch Foundation and her newest venture, Elizabeth Street Capital. Take a moment to read the below and watch her recent commencement undergraduate speech at Babson College, here.

Your degree is in art history, not business. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned on the job that you wouldn’t have learned in a classroom?

Tory Burch: Everything I know about running a business and being a designer, I learned on the job. The most important thing I’ve learned is not to let inexperience stand in the way of something you are truly passionate about. If you’re willing to work incredibly hard, you can develop the skills you need. I was completely surprised by how much I love the management and operations side of running a business. Don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone. Creativity and innovation grow out of unexpected experiences and from taking the less-traveled path.

What was it like to pitch family and friends to invest in your company?

TB: I took borrowing people’s money very seriously and was terrified of losing it. I told them to only invest if they were prepared to lose their money. I understood when people said no—not everyone is comfortable with risk. Fortunately, over 100 people said yes. I felt honored by the support and didn’t want to disappoint anyone. It was thrilling to be able to tell our investors in the second year that we were profitable.

Were there ever times during the middle of the night when you doubted the company’s success?

TB: I was usually on the phone in the middle of the night with our team in Hong Kong where it was already the next business day! In the early years, I was literally working around the clock so there wasn’t a lot of time for second guessing. Of course, there were the occasional moments when I wondered whether we’d be able to pull it off. During those times, I just put my head down, focused, and worked harder.

Is there an experience from your career that stands out as one that helped you develop a thicker skin?

TB: When we were first starting out, there were many naysayers, people who thought I should build the brand at wholesale instead of launching a retail store with multiple categories. Others called our early success “a flash in the pan.” I’m a sensitive person, so it was hard. My parents told me that I needed to develop a thicker skin. They said I should think of negativity as noise and focus on what I was doing. It was great advice that I have kept in mind ever since.

What question do you wish more people would ask you?

TB: I wish more people asked what to do to help level the playing field for women entrepreneurs. Women are a great investment and there are many ways to support those who are starting out, whether it’s by mentoring, investing in their business, buying their products, or using their services.

Elizabeth Street Capital is one of your newest projects. What are you looking for from the women applying for these loans?

TB: Our Elizabeth Street Capital initiative with Bank of America provides women entrepreneurs with access to low-cost loans through our CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) partners in different markets across the country. Each CDFI has their own criteria but, generally speaking, we are looking for passionate, committed women entrepreneurs who can successfully scale their business with the help of an affordable loan.

If you weren’t working as a fashion designer, what would you be doing instead?

TB: I’d probably be a social worker or working for a foundation.

Photo above, via.

PRIVATE via Instagram

    One of my favorite subjects on Instagram is Giancarlo Giammetti. Giancarlo is known by many across the globe and perhaps most well-known for his long-time relationship with partner Valentino Garavani, the man behind the Italian powerhouse that is Valentino.  Giancarlo, who has been quoted saying that his life truly didn't start until meeting Valentino, (they met by a chance encounter in a Parisian nightclub in the 60's), is equally responsible for much of the fashion house's success.  Although the duo sold the brand in 1998 to Italian conglomerate HdP, Giancarlo and Valentino continue to reign over the kingdom of high fashion and the colorful social circles that follow. You can find the duo in an array of fabulous locales, surrounded by what they refer to as their "tribe" a group of beautiful, well decorated (famous) friends who join on their travel adventures (typically à la Valentino's yacht T.M. Blue One), from the Adriatic Sea, to beach clubs in Southern Greece, to couture fashion shows in Paris, and then some. In the past year, Giancarlo was the particular interest of the international press when he changed his Instagram account from private to public while subsequently releasing his book “Private: Giancarlo Giammetti”, a remarkable 12 pound memoir with a look into the fanciful world that is his own reality.

F is For....

  ...Fall, of course. It's hard to even skip ahead and mentally prepare, but these images just took me there in a big way. Granted, I'm counting down the days to my next east coast jaunt this summer, but this editorial with Giedre Dukauskaite for Vogue Mexico made my mind fast forward for a millisecond. Remember this post?

Just What I Needed.

I woke up feeling uninspired this morning, until I went through my archives and found this photograph. Pure spunk! This woman is fierce and fabulous in Prada, captured on the street in Paris via The Sartorialist.