Emily Weiss

Emily Weiss wasn't born into wealth or privilege. She grew up in Wilton, Connecticut - a town known more for its quaint New England charm than its fashion scene. But from an early age, Emily stood out. While her classmates wore mall brands, she sported Louis Vuitton handbags and pointy-toed shoes.

"I showed up in thigh-high stockings, a plaid miniskirt from Contempo Casuals and loafers, and I had a feather-topped pen. The entire 'Clueless' look," Weiss recalls of her first day of middle school.

This early fashion obsession would shape her future. After high school, Weiss headed to New York University. But her real education came from internships at Teen Vogue and W magazine. She was hungry. Driven. The kind of intern who showed up at 4 AM to work on her blog before her day job started.

That blog - Into the Gloss - became Weiss's big break. Launched in 2010, it featured interviews with fashion insiders, showcasing their beauty routines and favorite products. Readers loved it. By 2012, the site had over 200,000 unique visitors per month.

But Weiss wanted more. She saw an opportunity to create her own beauty brand - one that spoke directly to millennial women. In 2014, she launched Glossier with just four products.

It wasn't easy. Weiss pitched her idea to 12 venture capital firms. Eleven said no. But she persevered. Eventually, she secured $2 million in seed funding.

"Don't complain," Weiss says, sharing the best professional advice she's received. "You can make a million excuses for why something didn't go well, but ultimately, just fix it and get on with it. Be a solutions person."

That attitude paid off. Glossier resonated with young women in a way traditional beauty brands couldn't match. By 2019, the company was valued at $1.2 billion.

Weiss had built more than just a company. She'd created a community. A world.

"We're selling you packaging, we're selling you a brand," one former employee explains.

But success brought new challenges. As Glossier grew, Weiss struggled to delegate. She wanted to sign off on everything, even as the company expanded to 200 employees.

"Emily Weiss wasn't great at letting that happen," says Marisa Meltzer, author of a book on Glossier's rise.

The company faced criticism for its lack of diversity and workplace culture issues. Weiss had to learn and adapt quickly.

"I've had such an inspiring and formative journey in my career," Weiss reflects.

In 2022, Weiss stepped down as CEO, remaining on Glossier's board. She had transformed from fashion intern to beauty mogul. From blog to billion-dollar brand.

Weiss's story isn't just about makeup. It's about seeing an opportunity and seizing it. About building a brand that speaks to a generation. About learning to lead. And about the power of perseverance.

"That power of the individual person - just the girl - is infinite," Weiss says.

From Wilton to Wall Street. From super intern to CEO. Emily Weiss proved her own words true.

Lessons

Lesson 1: Build a platform before launching a product. Emily Weiss didn't start with Glossier. She built Into The Gloss first. This gave her a direct line to her future customers. You got to know what they wanted. What they struggled with. Their hopes and dreams for beauty products. When Glossier launched, it wasn't just another beauty brand. It was the answer to questions her audience had been asking for years.

Lesson 2: Use your audience as your R&D department. Weiss leveraged her blog, Into The Gloss, as a massive focus group. She didn't just guess what products people wanted. She asked them. Directly. Then she built those products. "What I learned is that there's already an incredible breadth of product out there. There's no shortage of stuff," Weiss said. "There is a shortage of integrity in terms of product and quality." This approach allowed Glossier to create products people actually wanted, not just what executives thought they should want.

Lesson 3: Make your brand medium-agnostic. Glossier didn't limit itself to just being a beauty brand. It positioned itself as a lifestyle brand that happened to sell beauty products. This allowed them to expand into different areas without seeming inauthentic. They sold sweatshirts. They created content. They built a community. All of these things reinforced the brand, even when they weren't directly selling products.

Lesson 4: Embrace digital-first, but don't ignore physical experiences. Glossier built its brand online. But they understood the power of touch and feel in beauty. Their showrooms became Instagram-worthy destinations. Places where online community became real-world connection. "Our stores are a key part of our growth strategy," Weiss notes. This blend of digital and physical created a unique brand experience.

Emily Weiss Quotes

On leadership: "One of the biggest lessons I've learned building Glossier—and one that I'm continually relearning as I build out a seasoned exec team—is that the key to leadership is listening."

On starting small: "I think that's important in an era when there are a lot of inspirational quotes on Instagram telling you to follow your dreams and seize the day."

On persistence: "It should be hard to build a business, it should be hard to raise money."

On curiosity: "If you're curious, it means you're saying, 'I'm really wondering about this, I don't know about it.'"

On legacy: "I want startups in the valley or startups in New York or startups in Idaho to be sitting around a table saying, 'How should we build our tech team? How should we hire? How should we do this?' And think, 'How did Glossier do it?'"

On networking: "The connections I made in my jobs and internships definitely helped me to get better access to people, or at least to have some credibility to be able to say, 'Let me interview you.'"

On brand identity: "Brand is really, really important. It's kind of everything."

Speeches and Interviews

• Emily Weiss (Glossier) on A Non-Traditional Approach to Community
• Emily Weiss: Rethinking the Business of Beauty
• Glossier's Founder & CEO Emily Weiss in conversation with The Information's Jessica Lessin
• Emily Weiss Toasts Young Women Around The World At TIME 100 Next

Book Recommendations

• Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier by Marisa Meltzer

Further Readings

• Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community - Harvard Business School Case
• Inside the Rise of Emily Weiss's Glossier
• Glossier's Emily Weiss treats everyone like an influencer
• Inside a brand that became a unicorn in just five years
• How Glossier Sold Us Nothing
• Glossier Founder Emily Weiss's Interview Process Included Asking "Why Do You Work?"
• I wrote a new book about Glossier. The reporting process made me realize how few business books there are about women-led companies