Masters of Scale

53. What's the hidden business behind your business? w/Rent the Runway's Jenn Hyman

Rent the Runway co-founder Jenn Hyman knows: Behind every successful business is another business backstage, one you might not expect. Rent the Runway is known for creating a glamorous "closet in the cloud,” but as Hyman explains, it achieved unicorn status by mastering a few less glamorous businesses — including the world’s largest dry-cleaning operation, and a data insights practice that’s changing the fashion industry. Cameo appearance: Kevin Venardos (Venardos Circus); Stewart Butterfield (Slack).Read Jenn Hyman's essay on the making of this episode: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mastering-businesses-behind-our-business-jennifer-hyman/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mastering-businesses-behind-our-business-jennifer-hyman/</a>Learn more about the Venardos Circus: <a href="https://www.venardoscircus.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.venardoscircus.com/</a>Listen to Stewart Butterfield on Masters of Scale: <a href="http://listen.mastersofscale.com/StewartButterfield" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://listen.mastersofscale.com/StewartButterfield</a>Read a transcript of this interview at: <a href="https://mastersofscale.com/jenn-hyman-the-secret-business-behind-the-business/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://mastersofscale.com/jenn-hyman-the-secret-business-behind-the-business/</a>Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: <a href="https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe</a>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Award-winning business advice from Silicon Valley and beyond. Iconic CEOs, from Nike to Netflix, Starbucks to Slack, share the strategies that helped them grow from startups into global brands — and to weather crisis when it strikes. On each episode of our classic format, founding host Reid Hoffman — LinkedIn cofounder, Greylock partner and legendary Silicon Valley investor — and a stellar lineup of guest hosts prove unconventional theories about how businesses scale. Guests share their stories of entrepreneurship, leadership, strategy, management, fundraising. You’ll hear the human journey, too — failures, setbacks, learnings. From our Rapid Response format, you can expect real-time wisdom from business leaders in fast-changing situations. Hosted by Bob Safian, past editor-in-chief of Fast Company, these episodes tackle crisis response, rebuilding, diversity &amp; inclusion, leadership change and much more.