SKIMS Co-Founder (Emma Grede): They're Lying About Work Life Balance! I Built The Kardashian Empire! I Built SKIMS Without Fashion Knowledge!
She turned hustle into a $4 billion brand, Emma Grede breaks down how she built Kardashian fashion empires Emma Grede is the founding partner behind the globally successful brands SKIMS, Good American, and Safely, all launched with the Kardashian family. She is also Chairwoman of The Fifteen Percent Pledge, is a board member at Baby2Baby, and was named one of Forbes ‘Richest Self-Made Women in America’. She explains: Growing up in East London, raised by a single mother, and how early hardship forged her fierce independence. Taking on a maternal role from childhood, learning to lead through responsibility, empathy, and survival. Turning rejection, dyslexia, and a lack of qualifications into fuel for building billion-dollar fashion brands. Balancing ambition and motherhood, and the personal toll of leadership, hustle, and hard decisions. Building SKIMS and Good American without fashion training, and the mindset that made it all possible. 00:00 Intro 02:17 Becoming Emma Grede 03:58 Acting as the Mum and Raising My Siblings 06:49 Lacking a Father Figure Growing Up 08:25 Anger Management Tools I Learned 11:06 My Dream Was Always Fashion 12:20 Understanding Money Attachment Styles 14:32 Emma's Recipe to Achieve Anything 17:55 Customer Feedback 19:30 The Importance of Reliable Decision Partners & Mentality Shifts 21:38 Do People Need Mentors to Succeed? 24:06 The One Skill That Made Me an Entrepreneur 26:09 The Three Most Important Words for Career Advancement 27:25 Does Working in an Office Make Employees More Successful? 31:11 Traits of Future Successful People 33:32 Interview Red Flags & Work-Life Balance 39:32 Can You Be Successful and Have Work-Life Balance? 40:58 You Can't Be a Leader and a People Pleaser 43:51 Being Cancelled as a Leader and Public Figure 46:29 Racism and Sexism in the Business Industry 50:56 Dealing With Business Struggles and Crises 53:33 Top 3 Valuable Practices for Founders 55:58 Don't Get Stuck—Keep Fresh Eyes 57:15 Brands Copying Other Brands 01:00:42 Advice for People With Unsupportive Partners 01:02:10 Scheduling Date Night 01:05:45 Meeting Kris Jenner 01:12:05 Pitching to Khloé Kardashian 01:12:43 Turning an Idea Into a Business 01:14:23 Strategies Deployed in Business 01:16:24 Building a Brand Strategy in 2025 01:21:11 First Principles of Business 01:25:59 How to Become the Best Salesperson 01:33:01 Learning How to Fire People 01:37:17 Attracting Top Talent to Your Company 01:39:37 What a Founder Shouldn't Do in Business 01:41:33 Hiring Exceptional People 01:45:42 Prejudices in the Workplace 01:49:09 Why Prejudices Shouldn’t Limit Anyone 01:50:39 How to Stop Giving a F*** 01:54:16 When Do Successful Women Have Children? 01:56:01 My IVF Journey and Miscarriages 02:00:30 The Taboo Around Surrogacy, Freezing Eggs & Pregnancy 02:04:51 Emma Grede's New Podcast ‘Aspire’ Follow Emma: Instagram - https://bit.ly/4jt2545 Good American - https://bit.ly/42yW9k6 SKIMS - https://bit.ly/4m1nFhV Safely - https://bit.ly/3Sc4rbo Aspire With Emma Grede Podcast - https://bit.ly/3RHBzYB The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://bit.ly/1-Diary-Megaphone-ad-r… The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb Get email updates: https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt Think like a CEO - join the 100 CEOs newsletter: https://bit.ly/100-ceos-newsletter Follow Steven: https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb Sponsors: Vanta - https://vanta.com/steven Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices