Human Interest
Emma Grede made a name for herself in fashion retail cofounding Good American with Khloe Kardashian and as a founding partner for SKIMS with Kim Kardashian. Now, she is stepping from behind the brands to help other business owners. One of the ways she is helping others is by joining the panel of investors on the hit TV show Shark Tank. As a guest Shark, she became the first Black woman investor in the show’s 12-year history.
The British entrepreneur talked about the ground-breaking moment to People. "I think I'm a good Shark because first of all, I'm relatively young and the business climate now is really unique and really different than it's ever been before,” she said. “And I've prioritized my career in building a diverse, inclusive route and team." And she also likes to help and create opportunities for the people around her that way everyone wins.
"I think 20 years ago, entrepreneurs had much more of a kind of me-first mentality," she said. "I do think the opposite way. I'm about building incredible teams and creating opportunities for people, building loyalty. That way you'll find a lot of people that have started with me 10 or even 12 years ago are still working with me now in totally different positions, but people stick with me and I think that's really important."
Working with Good American, SKIMS and Kris Jenner’s line Safely, the 40-year-old CEO also prides herself on having brands that are diverse and inclusive no matter race, size, gender, or age.
During her appearance on the Tamron Hall show, Emma opened up about the importance of making sure that everyone feels seen.
Good American sizes range from double 00 to a plus size 32 and SKIMS sizes range from a XS to 5X and has nine different skin shades making sure that every woman can look and feel good in their body.
“As a Black female CEO, I’ve always prioritized building a diverse and inclusive workplace,” she said. “Now that I’m in this position in my life, I really want to make sure that women coming up, especially Black women coming up behind me who have far less access to funding are properly funded and able to find things that are going to help them propel their business. We all need opportunities and if I can be that opportunity for some women then hands down that’s what I want to do.”
Good American Co-Founder Emma Grede Wants to Open Doors as a Black CEO
Featured image by George Pimentel/Getty Images
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