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Be Authentic: Rent The Runway's CEO On How To Win

This article is more than 9 years old.

Being true to oneself is an attribute that massively empowers women leaders, according to a highly successful tech and fashion entrepreneur.

Jennifer Hyman, chief executive of online and in-store designer apparel rental firm Rent The Runway, tells Forbes that women at the top of technology and other industries are “a symbol to the larger female community”. Their positive leadership, she adds, draws in great energy and positive results.

“While it can be challenging for women with disruptive, technology-based ideas to acquire significant funding,” she says, “in my experience, once I was able to raise that funding, I was met with droves of people offering to help me fulfill my dreams.”

The New York City-based company, which allows women to hire and wear designer dresses at a fraction of the purchase price, has in six years won over $114 million in venture capital backing, brought in some 350 staff, and partnered with more than 300 luxury designers.

The positive help that resulted from  good leadership is apparent, Hyman says. “I’ve been humbled by the amount of people who have gone out of their way to reach out, mentor me on an ongoing basis, and devote time to help solve the problems Rent the Runway faces as a company - simply out of their own interest and kindness.”

Vision

Many female leaders feel the pressure to be an excellent business example to other women, she notes, but the same pressure can prompt the best results in business.

One of Hyman’s strongest items of advice to other women leaders is to be true to themselves, but she acknowledges this can be difficult if “stereotypical” leader attributes conflict with a person’s natural personality.

As a leader, you have to have a vision that inspires people around you . You have to be bold and creative and take actions that not everyone will agree with. Sometimes, this can stand in opposition to other things you love about yourself as a woman.”

The answer is to show your authentic personality while leading by example, she suggests, which will “draw” others to work with you and foster great results.

Real Lives

For real success, leaders must also allow flexibility for their staff to enjoy their own lives, to develop and become leaders themselves, she says. Rent The Runway, which was founded in 2009 by Hyman and friend Jennifer Carter Fleiss, when both studying at Harvard, has made its own significant changes in this respect.

“When we started Rent the Runway, our team was primarily made up of young women in our mid-20s. Hardly anyone was married and no one had children, so working around the clock and doing everything together in the same physical space felt natural. Over the last few years, however, our business has grown up.”

The company modified its culture. “We have become more flexible about when people are expected to be physically in the office,” Hyman says. “We understand that people have responsibilities outside the office that they need to tend to, such as taking a child to a doctor’s appointment.”

Another reason businesses simply have to acknowledge peoples’ real lives? “We’ve found that employees who live full, happy lives tend to be the most effective contributors.”

As Rent The Runway continues to grow and take on new projects, Jennifer Hyman has her eyes firmly set on being a great leader, mentor and role model.

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