Tory Burch: How She's Helping The Next Generation Female Entrepreneur
Dan Schawbel Under 30
I spoke to Tory Burch, the CEO and designer of Tory Burch and the founder of the Tory Burch Foundation, about why she believes there aren't more female entrepreneurs, how her foundation's Fellows Program is helping women, how she overcame her biggest struggles, who some of her mentors are and her best career advice. Applications are now open until November 9th for the Tory Burch Foundation's 3rd annual Fellows Program, which is a pitch competition for a $100,000 grant investment in a female-led business.
Burch has worked for such influential designers as Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang and Narciso Rodriguez at Loewe, before launching her own line. She opened her first store in Manhattan in 2004, and today has retail presence in more than 50 countries worldwide. She also serves on several boards including the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Barnes Foundation and the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. In addition, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She's listeed on the Forbes's Most Powerful Women in the World list.
Dan Schawbel: Why do you believe there aren't more female entrepreneurs? How can the Tory Burch Foundation Fellow's Program help these women start or grow their companies?
Tory Burch: Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men and now make up 40% of new entrepreneurs in the United States. But their businesses tend to be small—only 2% of women-owned businesses reach $1,000,000 in annual revenues, while businesses owned by men are 3.5 times more likely to reach that threshold. Our Foundation aims to change this equation by providing access to capital, education and digital resources.
With our Fellows Program, we provide 10 women entrepreneurs each year with a community of support as well as $10,000 for business education and the chance to participate in a pitch competition for a $100,000 grant investment in their business. As the program enters its third year, we are beginning to see the impact: Two Fellows from our inaugural program have already surpassed the $1 million mark and others are well-positioned for growth.
Schawbel: As one of the youngest self-made female success stories, what were your biggest struggles and how did you overcome them?
Burch: There have been many from balancing work and family to fundraising…. I studied art history in college so I learned how to be a designer and CEO on the job. It comes down to having conviction—you have to really believe in what you're doing and be prepared to work incredibly hard, of course.
Schawbel: You've always been a firm believer in the power of mentors. Who were some of your mentors and how can mentees and mentors create the best relationship possible?
Burch: To this day, I turn to trusted advisors from many different industries like Eric Schmidt, for instance. The best advice I ever received came from my parents, Buddy and Reva Robinson. They told me to think of negativity as noise and make your work speak for itself. They also said you never learn anything with your mouth open—it is important to listen!
In my experience, mentors get as much out of the experience as the mentees—it is incredibly rewarding to help someone who is just starting out….
Schawbel: How would you define your leadership style and how have you used it to motivate and inspire your team?
Burch: Collaborative and calm. I hope my team would also say that I am fair and have a pretty good sense of humor! We need humor more than ever these days and a good laugh always brings the team together.
Schawbel: What are your top three pieces of career advice?
Burch: I always tell my stepdaughters and our women entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and embrace ambition. There is never any need to hide the fact that you want to grow and thrive…. And support other women along the way.
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Dan Schawbel
I'm a partner and research director at Future Workplace, an executive development firm dedicated to rethinking and reimagining the workplace. I also wrote the New York T...