From Hesitation to Billion-Dollar Brand

This chapter chronicles the speaker's entrepreneurial journey, from initial doubts about competing with giants like Amazon to seizing a unique market opportunity in luxury consignment. They share pivotal moments, including a transformative shopping experience and strategic hiring decisions that elevated their brand. The narrative highlights the challenges and innovative strategies that fueled the rapid growth of a billion-dollar business within a decade.

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Julie Wainwright, founder of The RealReal, reveals how she built a billion-dollar resale marketplace that transformed luxury fashion. In this exclusive Foundr Podcast interview, Julie shares how she scaled The RealReal to over $1B in revenue, reached 38 million members, and took the company public on the Nasdaq.

From her early lessons at Pets.com to reinventing resale as “cool” and breaking into the luxury market, Julie unpacks the strategies, risks, and mindset shifts that fuelled her success. Whether you’re building an eCommerce brand, launching a marketplace, or navigating setbacks as a founder, this interview delivers invaluable lessons on execution, resilience, and scaling big ideas.

What you’ll learn from this interview: • How Julie identified an opportunity Amazon couldn’t replicate and turned it into The RealReal • The strategies she used to seed supply and build a two-sided marketplace • Why values-driven hiring and culture were critical to scaling past $1B in revenue • Lessons from shutting down Pets.com and how it shaped her next venture • How she navigated taking The RealReal public and the realities of IPO wealth • The impact of COVID on The RealReal and what it taught her about resilience • Why values alignment and integrity are the most important traits in your team and board

By the end of this interview, you’ll walk away with proven insights from one of the most experienced entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley—so you can build, scale, and sustain your own eCommerce or marketplace business with clarity and confidence.

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HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER

Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+

Start your $1 trial → ⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠

PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?

→ Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠

→ Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠

CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN

Instagram → ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠

LinkedIn → ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠

CONNECT WITH JULIE WAINWRIGHT

Website → ⁠