The Mindset Shifts That Built a Billion Dollar Brand — TheRealReal's Julie Wainwright on Reinvention & Leadership

Michael Gervais (0:00)

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Julie Wainwright (1:28)

I had to completely change my mindset. I had to say, I am not going to let that define me or let others define me.

Michael Gervais (1:37)

How do you rebuild after public failure and then find the courage to bet on yourself again? Welcome back. Welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training, a high performance psychologist. Now, the idea behind these conversations is really simple. To sit with the extraordinaries, to really learn about how they work from the inside out. This week's conversation is with Julie Wainwright, a trailblazing entrepreneur who built the RealReal from her kitchen table into a publicly traded company valued at over $1 billion. She started all of this in her fifties, breaking through a male-dominated industry and then navigating both sexism and ageism to build something the world has never seen before.

Julie Wainwright (2:24)

I was at that point where a recruiter had told me no one's going to hire me and I'm too old. pets.com is a big failure. I hadn't done anything compelling since then.

Michael Gervais (2:33)

How old were you? Fifty-two at the time that you were pitching RealReal.

Julie Wainwright (2:38)

Yes.

Michael Gervais (2:39)

We talk about what it takes to lead through public failure, how to scale with clarity and how to keep showing up when the odds are stacked against you.

Julie Wainwright (2:47)

Chanel personally bullied me.

Michael Gervais (2:49)

And they were trying to make the point that you can't resell their bag.

Julie Wainwright (2:52)

They were relentless, including planting fakes in the RealReal of which some did get sold.

Michael Gervais (2:58)

How about that? If you're in a season of reinvention or you're searching for a clearer path forward, this conversation delivers hard-earned insights I think you're going to want to take with you.

Julie Wainwright (3:07)

I had no fear of failure with the RealReal.

Michael Gervais (3:10)

You faced it.

Julie Wainwright (3:10)

I had none. Failure is part of your learning.

Michael Gervais (3:14)

So with that, let's dive right into this week's conversation with the one and only Julie Wainwright. Julie, I have wanted to sit with you for a very long time. I've been, my family, my wife, and I have loved what you've built as a business. It's been a great tool for us, and the main reason I want to sit with you is because I see your high art as how you work with people to build businesses that make a difference. And so I'm really excited to sit with you because the life you've lived and how you've expressed that through businesses. So thank you so much for coming in.

Julie Wainwright (3:58)

Wow, well, it's an honor to be here.

Michael Gervais (4:00)

Yeah, very cool.

Julie Wainwright (4:01)

Thanks.

Michael Gervais (4:01)

Yeah. Okay. So first, let's introduce Poppy.

Julie Wainwright (4:05)

Yep. This is Poppy. She's probably almost five. My little rescue dog. Rescue. Her dad was a pit bull. And her mom was, as I can tell, a Chihuahua. Okay. Pomeranian.

Michael Gervais (4:19)

Yeah.

Julie Wainwright (4:19)

That German Shepherd. As far as the DNA tests.

Michael Gervais (4:23)

Precocious little thing that runs and is already kind of owning the Mastery Lab here.

Julie Wainwright (4:29)

He's left her mark everywhere.