Emily Weiss
Emily Weiss | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 22, 1985 Wilton, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder and former CEO of Glossier; creator of Into the Gloss |
Emily Weiss (born March 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur, known as the founder and former CEO of the beauty brand Glossier and the creator of the blog Into the Gloss. She earned a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2015 and was included in Time magazine's "Next 100" list in 2019.
Early life
Raised in Wilton, Connecticut, Weiss grew up with a father employed by Pitney Bowes and a mother who was a homemaker. During her high school years, she completed two summer internships at Ralph Lauren and briefly explored modeling. While attending college, Weiss interned at Teen Vogue and appeared in three episodes of The Hills. She graduated from New York University in 2007 with a degree in studio art. Early professional experiences include working as a fashion assistant at W and serving as an on-set styling assistant for Vogue, collaborating with stylist Elissa Santisi.
Into the Gloss
In September 2010, Weiss founded Into the Gloss, a blog centered on interviews with women. Initially, she balanced her responsibilities at Vogue with early morning work on the blog. One of the blog’s popular features, Top Shelf, showcased interviews alongside photographs of subjects' bathroom shelves, highlighting figures such as Jenna Lyons and Karlie Kloss. By early 2012, the website attracted over 200,000 unique monthly visitors, increasing to 1.3 million by May 2016. After reaching 10 million page views per month and establishing corporate collaborations, Weiss departed from Vogue to dedicate herself fully to her venture.
Glossier
In 2014, Weiss presented a proposal to venture capitalists to transform Into the Gloss into an e-commerce business. She secured $2 million in seed funding, with backing from Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures, which allowed her to assemble a team and launch Glossier.com. The brand introduced its first four products through the blog in October 2014. Although she faced rejection from eleven out of twelve investors during fundraising efforts, Glossier rapidly emerged as an influential player in the beauty industry.
By February 2018, Glossier had raised $52 million in Series C funding, bringing total investments to $86 million. A $100 million Series D round in March 2019 valued the company at $1.2 billion.
In August 2020, Glossier encountered criticism for insufficient support toward Black employees despite contributions to racial justice initiatives. Weiss resigned as CEO in May 2022 but continues to serve as executive chairwoman; Kyle Leahy, the former chief marketing officer, took over as CEO.
Personal life
In 2016, Weiss married photographer Diego Dueñas in the Bahamas; however, their marriage was short-lived. She became engaged to Will Gaybrick, a senior executive at Stripe, in 2020. The couple announced they were expecting their first child in June 2022. On June 29, Weiss revealed on Instagram the birth of their daughter, Clara Lion Weissbrick.
Further reading
External links
- Living people
- Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni
- American women company founders
- American cosmetics businesspeople
- American women bloggers
- American bloggers
- 1985 births
- 21st-century American businesspeople
- 21st-century American businesswomen
- People from Wilton, Connecticut
- Businesspeople from Connecticut