Julie Wainwright, the founder of theRealReal, just wrote one. In it, she chronicles her ride, as a new-wave entrepreneur, tumultuous rollercoaster experience as she calls it, and deep, dark valley she entered when abruptly forced from booming luxury consignment platform, TheRealReal. In 2022, board members unexpectedly voted Wainwright out of her position. This shocking move had her reeling and feeling both betrayed and at a loss, particularly because she had referred them herself.
At 42, Wainwright went through what she calls her “total life collapse.” On the very same day she was telling her staff about The RealReal’s shutdown, her spouse filed for divorce. Without children to tether her, she was in for an especially stormy transition, full of deep personal and career disruption.
In her memoir, Wainwright gives anecdotes to the knowledge she learned from McKinsey executives on a leadership-evaluation quadrant. This framework provided an excellent tool for her to self-assess her experiences and decisions during her tenure as leader of The RealReal. Her biggest aha moment was the risk involved in recruiting people that show what she calls the “dumb aggressive” gene. She observed that to be heard, these executives frequently “got to bully and coerce,” in the process short-circuiting the kind of leadership that might be most effective.
Looking back at her time at The RealReal, Wainwright said she was distressed by the press backlash that emerged after her exit. Reporters mobbed her doorstep just days after the company went under. She carefully articulated her experience to exemplify a user’s experience in an incredibly negative and intrusive way.
Wainwright’s exit from The RealReal was about more than just quitting her job. It was a huge turning point in her life.
“My work is gone, I’m getting a divorce, and I don’t have children,” – Julie Wainwright
Though that’s clearly been a tough road so far, Wainwright’s entrepreneurial spirit seems undeterred. When she departed, offers flooded her inbox to spearhead turnaround efforts at other ailing enterprises. Instead of sticking with the status quo, she started taking the less traveled path. She was the original founder of Pets.com, which went public in 2000 only to go belly-up during the dot-com crash later that same year. In 2010, she started what would become The RealReal. Today, the company ships hundreds of thousands of new luxury items every month and just $20 billion luxury goods company went through a classic IPO in 2019.
Now, Wainwright is continuing her entrepreneurial journey with Ahara, a nutrition company that reflects her commitment to innovation and resilience. Her hope is to connect with entrepreneur communities and motivate them to not make the same mistakes she did.
“I personally wrote it for entrepreneurs to give them a realistic view and hopefully inspire them and, you know, maybe they’ll think twice and not make the mistakes I made,” – Julie Wainwright
In reflecting on her experiences with board members, Wainwright described a “power play” by an investor who “didn’t get his money out of the company and thought he could run the company better.” This poignant scenario frames the challenges of leadership and trust within the high-stakes context of business.
Wainwright is embarking on a far different chapter in her life and career. She confidently leans into her desire to work independently across disciplines.
“I just operated better without a boss,” – Julie Wainwright
Her memoir serves as both a personal account of loss and a guide for entrepreneurs looking to navigate the challenges of leadership. Through the telling of her journey, Wainwright does more than tell the story of her struggle. It’s as much about what she learned through the process.
