Julie Wainwright Quotes

Powerful Julie Wainwright for Daily Growth

About Julie Wainwright

Julie Wainwright, born on February 19, 1956, is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman, and philanthropist, best known as the founder and CEO of The RealReal, a leading online marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment. Born and raised in San Francisco, Julie Wainwright developed a passion for fashion at an early age. She attended Stanford University where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Economics. After university, she embarked on a career in the technology industry, working for various tech startups and corporations such as Sun Microsystems and Intel. However, her love for fashion persisted, leading her to found Pets.com in 1998, a company that aimed to make pet supplies more accessible online. Although Pets.com was eventually sold in bankruptcy, it paved the way for Julie's future success. In 2011, Julie Wainwright founded The RealReal, an eco-friendly platform for luxury consignment. By providing a service that combines authenticity, sustainability, and affordability, The RealReal has revolutionized the online luxury marketplace. Julie Wainwright's influence extends beyond her businesses. She is an advocate for women in business and has been recognized by Forbes as one of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. In 2019, she was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame for her contributions to e-commerce. Julie Wainwright's life and work encapsulate the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability, making her a significant figure in both the fashion and technology industries.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Never underestimate the power of a good business model."

The quote "Never underestimate the power of a good business model" underscores the importance of having a well-structured, robust, and effective business model as a key factor for success in any venture. A sound business model provides a clear pathway to profitability by defining how a company will create, deliver, and capture value, while addressing customer needs, competition, revenue streams, and operational requirements. It serves as the blueprint that guides decision-making, resource allocation, and strategic planning, ensuring a business is not only viable but also adaptable in an ever-changing market landscape. A good business model, therefore, can be a powerful catalyst for growth and sustainability in today's dynamic business environment.


"I don't measure success by the number of hours I put in. I measure it by the progress I make and the impact I have."

This quote highlights the importance of achieving meaningful progress and having a positive impact, rather than simply putting in long hours for the sake of productivity. It suggests that true success is not quantifiable through time spent working, but rather through the results achieved and the difference made. The focus is on effectiveness and significance, rather than exhaustion and exhaustive effort.


"If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong."

This quote by Julie Wainwright emphasizes the importance of enjoyment in the activities we engage in. It suggests that if an action or process brings no pleasure or satisfaction, then perhaps it is not the right path to follow. Enjoyment adds purpose, motivation, and a positive attitude to our endeavors, making them more fulfilling and successful. Therefore, taking pleasure in what we do can help ensure that we are on the right track towards personal and professional growth.


"Don't be afraid to take risks. The biggest risk is taking no risk at all."

This quote by Julie Wainwright emphasizes the importance of taking calculated risks in life, rather than playing it safe and not taking any action at all. Inaction can often lead to stagnation and missed opportunities, whereas taking measured risks can potentially lead to growth, learning, and success. It encourages individuals to step out of their comfort zones, challenge themselves, and strive for new experiences, understanding that the potential rewards may outweigh the perceived risks.


"Be passionate about what you do. If you're not passionate about it, nobody else will be."

This quote emphasizes the importance of genuine enthusiasm in one's work or endeavors. When an individual is passionate about what they do, their energy, commitment, and authenticity inspire others, fostering a positive and engaging environment that encourages growth and success. If there is no personal passion, it may be difficult to captivate the interest of those around us, potentially leading to lackluster results. Passion serves as the driving force behind creativity, resilience, and ultimately, making a meaningful impact in one's chosen field.


When you fail, things get real. In fact, they get real real. If your success was a high profile success, then your failure will be a high profile failure. Opportunities and 'friendships' will evaporate. Failure shines a bright light on all relationships. The ones that last are pure and true, which is a true gift.

- Julie Wainwright

Gift, Fact, Shines, Friendships

Failure is ultimately very liberating. Once you come out the other side of it, you just might have faced one of your biggest fears and lived. The other side of failure is a big elimination of fear of failure. Trust me, that is an amazing gift.

- Julie Wainwright

Trust, Gift, Very, Liberating

I'm happy to buy something that was previously owned, as long as I can get it conveniently.

- Julie Wainwright

Happy, Buy, Owned, Conveniently

Amazon has reported a loss of nearly $900M in 1999... because, guess what, ecommerce is a business of scale. And, the Internet bubble had burst... which meant that no one was getting funded.

- Julie Wainwright

Business, Meant, Which, Burst

Investors do not like losing money. They do not like companies that fail. They do not like entrepreneurs that fail. There is not a culture of celebrating failure in Silicon Valley or anyplace else. That is a myth. Recognize this, and if you start another business, get it to a successful point before approaching outside investors again.

- Julie Wainwright

Before, Entrepreneurs, Celebrating

I always had a deep respect for people who started businesses, but now I cherish them. There's a lot of anxiety and blood, sweat, and tears that goes into this, and I love it.

- Julie Wainwright

Love, Deep, Always, Businesses

The reason we went into jewelry was we were trying to cater to our consigner base, who was saying, 'Can you sell this for me? Can you sell that?' And we said, 'You can bring in your jewelry and watches; we have a gemology and a watch expert on site.' And it just exploded our business.

- Julie Wainwright

Reason, Expert, Bring, Base

When I started in e-commerce, there was not a lot of clutter because there were not a lot of companies. Nowadays, you have to have a pretty serious moat around your business to compete with Amazon, Wal-Mart, and even Alibaba online.

- Julie Wainwright

Compete, Clutter, Wal-Mart, E-Commerce

Whenever people think of the dot-com collapse, they think of a handful of companies that epitomized the era, and Pets.com... is always up there, right?

- Julie Wainwright

Think, Always, Handful, Dot-Com

Why are people so obsessed with Pets.com? We shut it down and returned money to shareholders. Besides, there were plenty of other dot-com failures around then.

- Julie Wainwright

Other, Obsessed, Shut, Dot-Com

You tend to do deals with people you have an affinity with, especially at the beginning.

- Julie Wainwright

Beginning, Deals, Tend, Affinity

Here is what the world looked like in 2000... there were no plug and play solutions for ecommerce/warehouse management and customer service that could scale... which means that we had to employ 40+ engineers. Cloud computing did not exist, which means that we had to have a server farm and several IT people to insure that the site did not go down.

- Julie Wainwright

Play, Here, Employ, Engineers

Do not wallow in your failure. Spend some time grieving, learn from it, and then move on. Constantly replaying what went wrong will not benefit you. Get involved in another company, another cause, another relationship.

- Julie Wainwright

Some, Another, Cause, Grieving

I said the only way I would join Pets.com was if I could get Amazon to invest, and I did. I knew that anything that could be sourced externally, Amazon could do better and cheaper than anyone else except Walmart. It was really obvious to me.

- Julie Wainwright

Invest, Cheaper, Walmart, If I Could

I had never created my own business before. I had always been the gun to hire... But I had to finally say, nobody is going to give me my dream job, so I better figure it out myself.

- Julie Wainwright

Gun, Hire, Been, Give Me

Some people will be quite happy you have failed and will find a way to tell you so directly and indirectly. Yep, that is life. Do not let their insecurities impact you.

- Julie Wainwright

Happy, Will, Some, Directly

Something like Pinterest would scare the hell out of me. With $5 billion valuation - regardless how sound those numbers are - wouldn't be one that I would start, given what I would consider the risk of failure.

- Julie Wainwright

Scare, Like, Given, Regardless

You have to have a unique product that Amazon just can't source. It's all about the product. Why is it important? Why is it different? Amazon are not merchants. They are technology platform guys.

- Julie Wainwright

Product, Why, About, Amazon

I thought to myself, 'What can I do that Amazon can't replicate?' I wanted to do something Amazon couldn't do, and something that I absolutely loved.

- Julie Wainwright

Thought, Wanted, Replicate, Amazon

Silicon Valley's definition of luxury is a Tesla in every garage.

- Julie Wainwright

Luxury, Garage, Tesla, Silicon

The truth is, Silicon Valley doesn't like people who are older, and they're not that much of a friend of the woman. I certainly was a woman, and I was older.

- Julie Wainwright

Woman, Like, Certainly, Silicon

When I turned 50, I truly felt I was too old to work in Silicon Valley. No one said anything to my face, but when you can be the mother of some of the people you're interviewing with, that says it all.

- Julie Wainwright

Some, Interviewing, Turned, Silicon

You really need a unique selling proposition, and people need to care about that unique selling proposition.

- Julie Wainwright

Unique, Need, About, Proposition

I think if you're out there trying to raise capital, and you're a woman, and you're in tech, I think what you need to do is find people to work with who know you and believe in you.

- Julie Wainwright

Think, Tech, Capital, Raise

That is the beauty of doing something when you're older. It doesn't matter what anyone else says because you're not doing it to build credibility.

- Julie Wainwright

Beauty, Doing, Matter, Credibility

If you get a no, your best bet is to find out why. The more concrete your business gets, the more you'll get yeses.

- Julie Wainwright

Business, More, Concrete, Bet

I came from a family that loved what they did every day, and they never stopped.

- Julie Wainwright

Loved, Every Day, Never, Stopped

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