“I think that part of the reason Nasty Gal has been so successful is because my goals were never financial ones. I believed in what I was doing.”

— Sophia Amoruso

We’ve talked about Lean In, a book that’s so hugely popular it’s actually started (or helped to re-ignite) a modern women’s movement. Have you read it? Of the women I’ve spoken to who haven’t, a common assumption is that Sheryl Sandberg is too successful to be able to relate in any meaningful way to those of us without corporate jets at our disposal. In fact, before we read it for our blog, we shared a similar sentiment. Obviously after reading it we felt otherwise, but maybe you want some advice from a different type of role model. Perhaps Sophia Amoruso is the #GirlBoss you’re looking for. Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso’s book lives up to its claim “By the end of the last chapter you’ll practically be screaming, ‘Where is some work!?! I want some work and I want to do it now!’”

Amoruso hasn't set out to start a movement or write a manifesto. But #GirlBoss is more than just an inspiring success story. In this book she shares the hard-won lessons of her journey from "freegan" to millionaire businesswoman, along with advice from other successful #GirlBosses. Even the title is a clever way to address her readers and fans in an empowering way that encourages action (not to mention a ton of business boosting social media buzz).

You’d think the CEO of a multi-million dollar fashion brand would tell a pretty slick story, but in this book Amoruso honestly talks about her struggle, hard work (she started Nasty Gal as an eBay seller, btw), risk-taking, and even failures. Especially failures. As designers we hear a lot about embracing mistakes as a part of the process, but rarely is this advice accompanied by a concrete example of how or why it's important. #GirlBoss is a real-life case study of how sometimes the path to success isn’t immediately obvious and the only way to figure out what’s right is to learn what isn’t.

There’s a lot of great advice in this book, some of it practical and tactical, some of the big picture variety. Here are some of the major themes so that (while you're waiting for your newly ordered copy of #GirlBoss to arrive) you can get a head start at being a #GirlBoss.

If you believe in yourself, other people will believe in you too.

This is the type of statement I’d normally call shenanigans on. Like those posters that say things like “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.” Except she's not saying that if you believe in yourself you’ll automatically succeed. In Amoruso’s case, believing in herself meant having the confidence to stay focused and work incredibly hard at something until she knew her business inside and out. The confidence that comes from knowing you know your stuff is a powerful thing.

There are secret opportunities hidden in every failure.

Sophia Amoruso learned early on not to try to “get along” forever in something that didn’t suit her. Maybe ADD was her guide, but it worked in a positive way, never allowing her to get complacent in a situation that wasn’t going anywhere. In a relatively short time she tried her hand at just about everything and sometimes failed miserably. Trying a lot of things that didn't work probably helped her uncover what did work more quickly, and made it more meaningful when she finally figured out what she was passionate enough about to spend every waking minute working on. What this lesson comes down to is if you’re afraid to fail, you might miss out on the new idea or experience that could bring your biggest success yet.

Own Your Style

This success story might seem unlikely if you just looked at Sophia Amoruso’s resume on paper. And she didn’t get a whole lot of encouragement from other people. But she stuck with what she loved, worked super hard, ignored the naysayers and embraced what made her unique. You can’t be a stand out success if you’re only focused on fitting in.

Sophia Amoruso is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Creative Director of Nasty Gal.

Follow Sophia on Twitter @sophia_amoruso

Read about the #GirlBoss Foundation, a grants program providing women in the worlds of design, fashion, music, and the arts with financial endowments to achieve their goals.

BY KATE LINDEEN

Until recently, I lived by the rule that if I bought an expensive dress, I had to think of at least three occasions for wearing it. Practical, but so boring. Like a majority of women, my experience with high-end fashion began and ended with a daydream-inducing browse though a fashion magazine or Tumblr blog.

Then came Rent the Runway. Co-founders and Harvard Business grads Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss shifted the rules of luxury fashion from ownership to membership, instantly changing the definition of attainability, along with our expectations of online retail.

What goes on behind the scenes to create this game-changing experience? I chatted with Rent the Runway’s Creative Director, Ashley Seidman, to find out.

The idea of membership over ownership is one of the biggest trends we’re seeing in commerce, and Rent the Runway has helped set it in motion by making the typically inaccessible world of high fashion accessible to all. Has this goal affected your decision-making when it comes to the design of the shopping experience?

As a brand, we try to balance the accessibility with aspiration. We’ve designed the shopping experience to be easy and engaging for our user, while still maintaining the aspirational quality of the designer products we carry. If she’s about to put on a Vera Wang gown, the shopping experience should add to that magic.

What goes into creating that magic? Are you a part of the product curation process? Is it a collaboration?

There’s a ton of collaboration at Rent the Runway. Our fashion and analytics teams constantly work together to curate the products we feature by seasonality, trends, and customer engagement to ensure that the shopping experience is relevant. When it comes to larger initiatives like a catalog, our fashion and creative teams join forces. We typically start by reviewing the season’s buy and identifying key trends and styles, at which point I’ll work with our stylists, art directors and copywriters to pull together the stories and placements.

One of our guiding principles at eBay is “Be the customer.” How about Rent the Runway? Have you used the service yourself? Has that informed your decision-making as Creative Director for the brand?

I couldn’t agree more. I’m an avid renter and feel as if using the service myself has influenced many brand decisions, such as making enhancements to the site, packaging and overall brand.

Rent the Runway is now opening brick-and-mortar storefronts and showrooms. This is a unique challenge, considering most companies start offline and then build an online store. How has the online business informed your vision for the offline shopping experience?

Focusing on the online experience the past few years has given us a definite advantage when it comes to brick-and-mortar. We’ve learned so much about our customer – her style, how she likes to shop, and what occasions she is shopping for. We’re able to take the best parts of our online experience and bring them to life in our stores. Giving her the ability to try on dresses, feel the quality of the garments, and get to know our brand in a physical sense is paramount.

Quite a few designers have created capsule collections for Rent the Runway. How do you partner with them to bring their vision of the collection to life on the site?

I love the opportunity to work with our designers to bring their vision to life on Rent the Runway. It’s often a very cool experience because our fashion team works directly with the designer to create the collection, leveraging their knowledge of our customers and what they are looking for. We shot 2 beautiful capsule collections last year for Bibhu Mohapatra and Moschino, and we supported both launches with digital lookbooks.

Your deep understanding of the customer and her needs really seems to be inspiring not only relevant, but innovative experiences. How else do your customers help shape your decisions for the brand?

Two years ago, we launched Our Runway, a unique social shopping platform that was largely inspired by our customers, allowing them to shop by photos of real women in dresses available for rent. We weren’t sure how much information women would be willing to share about their body types or how a specific dress fit on our site, but we saw a lot of that conversation happening organically offline and on our social channels, so we knew there was a need for it. User-generated content has exploded in the e-commerce world, and now photo reviews are definitely one the most popular features on our site. Our Runway is an opportunity for women to celebrate their experiences and pay it forward.

What advice would you give to designers who aspire to leadership roles such as yours?

Look for opportunities that intrigue you, be honest with yourself and go for it. I spent a wonderful 4 years at Ralph Lauren prior to Rent the Runway and found that I was ready for a new challenge. Rent the Runway seemed like a gamble at the time, being a small, recently launched startup, but experiencing the evolution of the business has been invaluable. This role has challenged me and helped me grow in so many ways. I have had the pleasure of building out a creative team, directing shoots with the most incredible talent, shaping an entire brand, and of course learning from my mistakes. I’m proud to be part of a company that’s on a totally innovative path, and four and a half years later I still get excited when people ask me where I work. That excitement and passion will carry into your work, and as a creative, there’s nothing better!

BY KATE LINDEEN

What We're Reading: #GirlBoss

Designing Disruption: Creating the Rent the Runway Experience