Fashion and Beauty Moguls Rebecca Minkoff, Maddy Maxey and Emily Weiss Talk Industry Success
The ladies offer their tips for succeeding in the fashion and beauty industries.
— -- In honor of our "Passion to Profit" series, “Good Morning America” is focusing on up-and-coming businessmen and women who have turned their start-ups into business sensations.
Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff, The Crated founder Maddy Maxey, and Glossier founder and CEO Emily Weiss stopped by “GMA” this morning to discuss the risks they took to rise to the top of the fashion and beauty industries.
“I think you have to be smart about the risks you’re taking,” Minkoff told "GMA"'s Robin Roberts.
She added: “It’s about evolving. It’s about being in touch with your consumer. It’s about using technology like Emily and Maddy have done to really talk to her more and talk to her more often in the way that she wants to be listened to.”
In 2010, Weiss left her job at “Vogue” to focus on her beauty blog, Into the Gloss -- she then launched Glossier.
“I think for me, it was a fairly easy decision,” Weiss told Roberts of leaving the magazine. “Looking at the market as a beauty editor, I saw a lot of brands out there that were really focused on red carpet looks or runway looks when in fact, it’s 8:30 in the morning and most of us are going to work or going to school and so we really wanted to create a very modern company that celebrates beauty in real life....”
Glossier sells direct to consumer via its website, which features makeup and skincare products. Glossier Inc. has raised more than $10 million from investors, ABC News confirmed.
Maxey is a creative technologist with an eye for fashion, bringing smart fabrics out of a lab and straight to the runway
Maxey even captured the attention of actress Lupita Nyong'o with a dress she coded in partnership with Google’s Made with Code program and with designer Zac Posen.
“We work on electronic textiles, prototyping -- we also work on research and development to find better ways to manufacture e-textiles,” Maxey said.
Three years ago, Maxey dropped out of Parsons School of Design to start her own company. Originally, her parents approved only one semester off.
As for advice to young, aspiring entrepreneurs, Maxey says “stay curious.”
“Keep asking questions and gain all the skills you can because ... whether you succeed or fail, if you learned a lot along the way then it’s really valuable.”