Jennifer Hyman

Jennifer Hyman
Education Harvard University, Harvard Business School
Occupation Cofounder and CEO, Rent The Runway

Jennifer Hyman is the CEO and cofounder of Rent The Runway, a fashion and technology/logistics company that offers clothing and accessory rentals from over 500 designer brands for women via on-demand rentals and subscription.[1] Rent the Runway’s rental subscription service is called Unlimited. Through Unlimited, customers select 4 pieces at a time and can keep each item for as long as they want or swap any item for a new selection.[2] The subscription costs $159 per month, and includes shipping, dry cleaning, and insurance.[3]

Leading the company to profitability in 2016, Rent the Runway closed a $60 million series E round led by Fidelity Investments in December 2016 (the most money raised by any female founder in 2016), bringing the total amount raised by Hyman to-date to $190 million.[4] As of September 2017, Hyman and co-founder Jennifer Fleiss had raised approximately $190 million in venture capital,[5] and had grown the company to over 8 million members and over 1,200 employees.

Early life and education

Jennifer Hyman grew up in New Rochelle, New York, and attended New Rochelle High School. Hyman was recently inducted into the high school's wall of fame.[6]

She received a BA in social studies[7] from Harvard University in 2002. At Harvard, Hyman was the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard.[8]

She later attended Harvard Business School, where she met co-founder of Rent the Runway Jennifer Fleiss, and graduated with an MBA in 2009.[9]

Career

Prior to Rent the Runway, Hyman was the Director of Business Development at IMG where she focused on the creation of new media businesses for IMG's Fashion Division. She also ran an online advertising sales team at WeddingChannel.com and was an employee at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, creating Starwood’s first wedding business which was recognized on The Oprah Winfrey Show for its innovation.[9][10]

As CEO, Hyman leads all aspects of the business, including finance, operations, marketing, technology, product, and analytics. Rent the Runway’s employees are 70% female, including the executive team with a female CEO, COO, CPO, Head of Subscription and CFO. Overall, 71% of RTR employees are Non-White/Minority.[11] Rent the Runway, has been honored as one of the best places to work in New York State by the New York State Society for Human Resource Management.[12]

Hyman participates in national conferences and panel discussions regarding such topics as the sharing economy, women in business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and company culture. Some of her past speaking engagements include NRF Foundation’s “Retail’s Big Show,”[13] WWD’s Digital Forum[14] and the 99U Conference.[15] Hyman also serves as a company spokesperson for Rent the Runway and has appeared on programs such as NBC’s Today,[16] and ABC’s Good Morning America.[17]

Hyman has spoken out publicly against sexual harassment in the tech industry and went public with her own experience on CNBC's Squawk Alley in July 2017.[18] Hyman called on Venture Capitalists to put an end to this behavior and encourages more women to become investors.[19]

Her passion for gender equality in entrepreneurship and tech also drove her to establish the Rent the Runway Foundation and Project Entrepreneur early in her career. Project Entrepreneur was founded in partnership with UBS to help female entrepreneurs across the country gain access to the tools, training, and network they need to scale their businesses.[20] The winning founders receive a $10,000 award, and a spot in the five-week accelerator program at Rent the Runway’s New York office.[21] After completing the accelerator, companies have seen success in closing rounds of funding, media coverage and continuing on to other top tier accelerator programs.[22]

Jennifer is an angel investor and advisor to many startups throughout the country.[23]

Awards and honors

Hyman has been honored with numerous recognitions including Fortune Magazine’s “Trailblazers 2013,”[24] “Executive Dream Team,”[25] “Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs,”[26] and “40 Under 40”;[27] Forbes Magazine’s “Disruptors 2013”;[28] Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40”;[29] Inc. Magazine’s “Top 30 Under 30”; Fast Company’s “Most Influential Women in Technology”;[30] an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” New York Area Regional finalist;[31] and Fashionista.com’s “Most Influential People in New York Fashion.”[32]

References

  1. ↑ Moore, Booth, "Rent the Runway heads to Vegas' Cosmopolitan in time for New Year's", "Los Angeles Times", December 17, 2013
  2. ↑ "Rent the Runway Unlimited - Unlock an Endless Wardrobe". Rent the Runway. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  3. ↑ "Rent the Runway Unlimited - Unlock an Endless Wardrobe". Rent the Runway. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  4. ↑ O'Connor, Clare. "For Women Founders Raising Funds, New York Proves Friendliest City". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  5. ↑ Roof, Katie. "Rent the Runway raises $60 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  6. ↑ "Three Alumni Added To New Rochelle High School's Wall Of Fame". New Rochelle Daily Voice. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  7. ↑ Roberts, Daniel (2013-12-13). "Holiday party dress central: How we started Rent the Runway". Fortune. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
  8. ↑ "theseneca". theseneca. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  9. 1 2 "Jennifer Hyman CrunchBase Profile", "CrunchBase"
  10. ↑ Lapowsky, Issie, "The Way I Work: Jennifer Hyman, Rent the Runway", "Inc.", January 4, 2012
  11. ↑ Peck, Emily (2017-10-16). "How To Grow A Company In The Sexist Muck Of The Business World". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  12. ↑ "Winners of 2014 Best Companies to Work for in New York State Announced", January 6, 2014
  13. ↑ Davis, Ellen, "In their own words: Highlights from Retail's BIG Show Student Program 2013", "Retail's BIG Blog", February 19, 2013
  14. ↑ Steigrad, Alexandra, "Making the Right Impression", "WWD", February 14, 2013
  15. ↑ "Neil Blumenthal & Jenn Hyman: Why Transparency & Openness Wins", "99U"
  16. ↑ Today, October 24, 2012
  17. ↑ "Rent the Runway Opens 1st Store in New York City", "Good Morning America", October 21, 2013
  18. ↑ Balakrishnan, Anita (2017-07-17). "This start-up CEO says she was harassed — and she's calling on VCs to fix the problem in tech". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  19. ↑ Balakrishnan, Anita (2017-07-17). "This start-up CEO says she was harassed — and she's calling on VCs to fix the problem in tech". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  20. ↑ "Project Entrepreneur". Project Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  21. ↑ "Project Entrepreneur". Project Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  22. ↑ "Project Entrepreneur". Project Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  23. ↑ "Jennifer Hyman - Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer @ Rent the Runway | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  24. ↑ Fry, Erica, "Trailblazers: 11 People Changing Business", "Fortune", February 8, 2013
  25. ↑ "Executive Dream Team: The startup edition", "Fortune", August 22, 2011
  26. ↑ Sellers, Patricia, "Fortune's most promising women entrepreneurs", "Fortune", September 13, 2011
  27. ↑ Keating, Caitlin, "40 Under 40", "Fortune", October 17, 2012
  28. ↑ Carlyle, Erin, "Disruptors", "Forbes"
  29. ↑ Pasquarelli, Adrianne, "40 Under 40", "Crain's New York Business", October 12, 2012
  30. ↑ Evans, Suzy "The Most Influential Women in Technology 2011 - Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss", "Fast Company", January 10, 2011
  31. ↑ "2013 finalists announced", "Ernst and Young"
  32. ↑ Sherman, Lauren, "Fashionista 50: The Most Influential People in New York Fashion", "Fashionista", February 8, 2011
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