Photographer: SILVIA OLSEN
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Emma Grede is a powerhouse. The entrepreneur, whose CV includes co-founder, CEO, founding partner, board chair and mother of four, is a force to be reckoned with – and one of the hardest working business women out there. Warmth, joy, and emphatic sincerity might not sound like the stereotypical traits of a trailblazing CEO, but,
as we sit down with Grede in a paired-back suite in London’s Claridge’s hotel, these
are the qualities she exudes. Here, she tells Sunil Makan how to get what you want,
why the perfect work/life balance is a myth, and what’s hot in London right now…
“Be excellent in what you’re doing right now because you’ll get noticed. No one is giving
you anything if you’re not killing it”
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“I think that’s probably been the
thing that’s propelled me forward
the most: never compromising”
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FASHION: TOP, SAINT LAURENT
Description: XXX
Emma
Grede
taking a step back. The more successful you become,
THE MOST EXCITING PART ABOUT DRAGONS’ DEN HAS BEEN
[the more] you realise how small [the industry] is. It’s the same people doing deals with the same people they went to school with. It’s really interesting when you get to look at what gives somebody permission to be in business; to go out and raise the finances needed and to see who gets to be successful.
(and Shark Tank, the US version) is the levelling of the
playing field. If you have ambition, an idea, and you want to make a better life for yourself and your family… you deserve that opportunity. It’s easy to put myself in their shoes as it wasn’t so long ago that I was out trying to raise funding for my businesses. I think about how many people took a chance on me and now there’s the idea of paying it forward – giving people a leg up. I love the idea that there’s a show that you can do that on.
so many issues for women, especially Black women and women of colour. When we look at the barriers to entry, we’re talking about who gets to make the decisions. We know that less than 1% of funding goes to Black women specifically – we have to do something about it. That’s why I need to put my money where my mouth is.
I have no interest in being an Instagram activist: posting about
shit that I’m not doing anything about. It’s about finding the right funding, and opening the pathways for women to be in that conversation – that’s what part of my work as Chairwoman of the Fifteen Percent Pledge is about.
It’s going to take a woman for that to actually happen.
YOU NEED TO BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE.
BREAKING BARRIERS AND MOULDS TO GET NEW ENTREPRENEURS IS A LAYERED AND COMPLEX ISSUE.
There are
fashion, marketing and entertainment – I knew that world like the back of my hand. Starting Good American was me really stepping out of my comfort zone: I didn’t know what the pitfalls were going to be. I think, in
a way, naivety has almost been the best thing going for me.
is stepping outside of my comfort zone. I already had 15 years of experience in
THE BRAVEST THING I’VE DONE
I didn’t know how hard it would be to make clothes in 19
different sizes. I didn’t know there would be so much rejection that came with starting my own thing. And I certainly had no idea that, seven years later, I would be on this journey having started several different businesses.
I credit Good American for so much of that original thinking about what was important to me, and what kind
of difference and change I wanted to see.
YOU CAN’T BE SCARED OF WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW.
and entrenched in our society, like, bringing a man the bill when you’re the one paying – it happened to me just the other day. I was like, “No, I’m paying. I’m the boss”. I’ve never let it bother me; I have a thick skin and don’t let it get to me, but it happens every day.
There are so many things embedded
AS A FEMALE IN BUSINESS, YOU’RE CONSTANTLY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
I want to take women who start working with
me as design assistants and promote them through the business. And, while they’re having babies, ensure that they’re taking well-deserved maternity leave.
I WANT TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT ENABLES PROGRESSION.
It’s not the same for all but it can
be as simple as a maternity policy. Looking at how people leave work, have a baby and successfully reintegrate.
The chances are that’s not where your mindset is – it doesn’t work for a lot of women. It's different for women,
and pretending it’s not… it’s actually unhelpful.
IT’S ABOUT CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR PEOPLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
can have this perfect career, this perfect relationship and this perfect job while they climb a corporate ladder
and look beautiful with perfect hair – that’s just not possible.
has been used for so many years to sell women a lie that they
THE IDEA OF THE PERFECT WORK/LIFE BALANCE
You can have it all – you just can’t have it all, all the time. The important thing
is figuring out what the trade-off is that you’re going to make.
TO BE SUCCESSFUL IS A TRADE-OFF.
It’s not the same for all, but it can be [as simple as], “I want to be happy and successful”,
but what does that mean to you? Get a plan and then work backwards. Figure it out, write it down and then follow the steps. Sometimes, these things are so intangible for us that we actually don’t know what it’s going
to take to get there. But the number one thing is really asking for what you want.
I’M A HUGE PLANNER.
with, after six months, he’s asking for a pay rise. If you haven’t taken your vacation, do it! If you don’t have anywhere to go, stay at home, do your garden.
the first thing you need to do is ask. With every man I work
IF YOU WANT TO GET AHEAD AND ACHIEVE MORE,
but stepping back and looking at all the successful businesses that I’ve run
– on my own terms – is one. I go into an office every day with hundreds of people whose jobs are there because of the decisions that I’ve made; it’s stable. And, as someone who grew up in an environment where things weren’t always so stable, that’s the stuff that makes me most proud.
I HAVE A LOT OF PROUD MOMENTS,
be excellent in what you’re doing right now because you’ll get noticed.
If your job is to make tea and pack production boxes, then be the best at it. No one is giving you anything
if you’re not killing it.
MY BIGGEST TIP FOR ANYONE IS
but indecision is the worst thing. You’re going to make good decisions and bad decisions. The most important thing is that you make a decision, move on, and keep moving.
‘make a decision and move on’. As women, we can sometimes get in our own head and stifle,
MY MANTRA IS
anything. I have never compromised and I think that’s the key to
my success. Everything that I set out to do with Good American was really about changing the way things are done and I think that’s probably been the thing that’s propelled me forward the most: never compromising.
IN BUSINESS, I WILL NEVER COMPROMISE ON
getting over my own fear and insecurities by realising
that mindset is the key to everything – especially success.
MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE, AND LESSON I’VE LEARNED, IS
every day. Growing up, I always wanted to be able to go into a restaurant and order
anything on the menu without worrying about it. I always thought, “I need to get to that point in my life where I never need to worry about the bill”. It’s never the big moments. I’m the type of person who stops to smell the roses. Literally, I will stop and smell a rose because I can appreciate anything.
I CELEBRATE SUCCESS
“I’m so glad I had that gate on my door”. I’m so happy that I got to go to the London College of Fashion, and that I had a job at Karen Millen. My default is glass half full.
Growing up living in a council flat in a high-rise in Stratford, I was like,
I’M PART OF GENERATION GRATITUDE.
from Dover Street to the boutiques, I love them all, but
Selfridges is the place for me. I love the energy and discovering new stuff and new brands – they’re really good at that. And, of course, I can go and check out my own spaces.
WE HAVE SO MANY AMAZING SHOPS IN LONDON,
bringing new energy. I’m looking forward to trying LAVO, a new hotel and restaurant.
LONDON IS BEST AT
go to Scott’s and I go to Gaucho, but I always make time for some Indian food.
I went to Darjeeling Express in Covent Garden, owned by Asma Khan, which has an all-female kitchen. The food was insane.
WHENEVER I’M IN THE CITY I
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EDITOR IN CHIEF: ANDREA THOMPSON
EDITOR: SUNIL MAKAN
PHOTOGRAPHER: SILVIA OLSEN
MAKE-UP ARTIST: BERNICIA BOATENG
HAIR STYLIST: Anastasia Stylianou
PRODUCER: SOFIA PIZA
SENIOR designer: TREASA BURNS
CHIEF SUB-EDITOR: NICOLA MOYNE
LOCATION: CLARIDGE’S
WITH THANKS TO: JORDAN MITCHELL, STEPHANIE PENNELLS,
JOELLA LESSNER & AT GOOD CULTURE INC
WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT SHOWS LIKE DRAGONS’ DEN
TOP AND JEANS, GOOD AMERICAN; ALL JEWELLERY, GREDE’S OWN.
PYJAMA SET, FRAME; ALL JEWELLERY, GREDE’S OWN.
TOP, GABRIELA HEARST; JEANS, GOOD AMERICAN; ALL JEWELLERY, GREDE’S OWN.
TOP, GABRIELA HEARST; JEANS, GOOD AMERICAN; ALL JEWELLERY, GREDE’S OWN.
TOP AND JEANS, GOOD AMERICAN; ALL JEWELLERY, GREDE’S OWN.
TOP, GABRIELA HEARST; JEANS, GOOD AMERICAN; ALL JEWELLERY, GREDE’S OWN.
Emma Grede
