SKIMS’ Billion-Dollar Empire All Started With Emma Grede Ignoring Imposter Syndrome And Deciding To Cold Call Kris Jenner

Emma Grede did not fold to imposter syndrome. Now she is the driving force behind billion-dollar brands.

Grede was seemingly born with confidence, the British entrepreneur told Fortune. By the age of 12, she was delivering newspapers. Before becoming a businesswoman, Grede worked at a deli and several clothing shops and was interested in theater. In under two years, she had spent time at various small designers and PR agencies in London and then joined a fashion show production company. Changing titles and doing whatever gave her experience was nothing new for Grede, leading up to the launch of her entertainment and talent agency, Independent Talent Brand, in 2008, which had a presence in London and Los Angeles.

“I knew every manager, agent, publicist, lawyer in Hollywood, that was my job,” she said, according to the outlet.

Grede displayed grit that not even the fear of rejection or impostor syndrome could shake. She did not let dropping out of high school or college hinder her confidence, per PEOPLE. So, when she got the idea to expand into a new industry, she wanted to work with the Kardashians. In 2015, she fearlessly called Kris Jenner, the well-known “momager” of the Kardashian family, who receives 10% off the deals earned by her children, according to Business Insider.

Grede caught a flight to Los Angeles the following week to meet with Jenner.

“I had an idea, and I formed the partnership in my mind,” Grede explained. “The difference between me and someone else is that I made the phone call, I took the meeting, and I made it happen. I have no imposter syndrome and no delusions of who gets to run a business. I just thought, if not me, then who?”

Good American

That phone call led to her first fashion venture, Good American, which she co-founded with Khloe Kardashian. When it hit the market in October 2016, the brand made $1 million on its first day. An Instagram post shared by Boardroom mentioned that the brand reportedly had a $3.2 billion valuation by November 2023.

SKIMS

Grede also co-founded SKIMS in partnership with Kim Kardashian in 2019. SKIMS is a shapewear brand made for every body type. It is valued at $4 billion, according to Fortune.

“I’ve got a lot of audacity and I think that you need that to get to where you want to go,” Grede said to the outlet.