She turned hustle into a $4 billion brand, Emma Grede breaks down how she built Kardashian fashion empires 

Emma Grede is the founding partner behind the globally successful brands SKIMS, Good American, and Safely, all launched with the Kardashian family. She is also Chairwoman of The Fifteen Percent Pledge, is a board member at Baby2Baby, and was named one of Forbes ‘Richest Self-Made Women in America’. 

She explains: 

Growing up in East London, raised by a single mother, and how early hardship forged her fierce independence.

Taking on a maternal role from childhood, learning to lead through responsibility, empathy, and survival.

Turning rejection, dyslexia, and a lack of qualifications into fuel for building billion-dollar fashion brands.

Balancing ambition and motherhood, and the personal toll of leadership, hustle, and hard decisions.

Building SKIMS and Good American without fashion training, and the mindset that made it all possible.

00:00 Intro  

02:17 Becoming Emma Grede  

03:58 Acting as the Mum and Raising My Siblings  

06:49 Lacking a Father Figure Growing Up  

08:25 Anger Management Tools I Learned  

11:06 My Dream Was Always Fashion  

12:20 Understanding Money Attachment Styles  

14:32 Emma's Recipe to Achieve Anything  

17:55 Customer Feedback  

19:30 The Importance of Reliable Decision Partners & Mentality Shifts  

21:38 Do People Need Mentors to Succeed?  

24:06 The One Skill That Made Me an Entrepreneur  

26:09 The Three Most Important Words for Career Advancement  

27:25 Does Working in an Office Make Employees More Successful?  

31:11 Traits of Future Successful People  

33:32 Interview Red Flags & Work-Life Balance  

39:32 Can You Be Successful and Have Work-Life Balance?  

40:58 You Can't Be a Leader and a People Pleaser  

43:51 Being Cancelled as a Leader and Public Figure  

46:29 Racism and Sexism in the Business Industry  

50:56 Dealing With Business Struggles and Crises  

53:33 Top 3 Valuable Practices for Founders  

55:58 Don't Get Stuck—Keep Fresh Eyes  

57:15 Brands Copying Other Brands  

01:00:42 Advice for People With Unsupportive Partners  

01:02:10 Scheduling Date Night  

01:05:45 Meeting Kris Jenner  

01:12:05 Pitching to Khloé Kardashian  

01:12:43 Turning an Idea Into a Business  

01:14:23 Strategies Deployed in Business  

01:16:24 Building a Brand Strategy in 2025  

01:21:11 First Principles of Business  

01:25:59 How to Become the Best Salesperson  

01:33:01 Learning How to Fire People  

01:37:17 Attracting Top Talent to Your Company  

01:39:37 What a Founder Shouldn't Do in Business  

01:41:33 Hiring Exceptional People  

01:45:42 Prejudices in the Workplace  

01:49:09 Why Prejudices Shouldn’t Limit Anyone  

01:50:39 How to Stop Giving a F***  

01:54:16 When Do Successful Women Have Children?  

01:56:01 My IVF Journey and Miscarriages  

02:00:30 The Taboo Around Surrogacy, Freezing Eggs & Pregnancy  

02:04:51 Emma Grede's New Podcast ‘Aspire’  

Follow Emma: 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/emmagrede/?hl=en 

Good American - https://www.goodamerican.com/

SKIMS - http://skims.com/

Safely - https://getsafely.com/ 

Aspire With Emma Grede Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aspire-with-emma-grede/id1811878340

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