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Julie Wainwright

Founder & CEO of The RealReal

Founder & CEO of The RealReal

Travels From Travels From:
San Francisco, CA, USA
Speaking Fee Speaking Fee:
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Julie Wainwright Biography

As founder and chief executive of The RealReal, Julie Wainwright has created one of the most successful online luxury consignment sites. With sales exceeding an estimated $400 million and a recent injection of a further $50 million in funding, Wainwright believes The RealReal will become a billion dollar business in the next few years.

Wainwright, who graduated from Purdue University, was an early tech entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer. She headed up Reel.com, an online video site, in 1997 before taking over as chief executive of Pets.com in 1999. A now symbolic case study of the dot.com boom and bust, the site collapsed after going public in 2000, losing $300 million of capital investment. In the wake of its failure, Wainwright was involved with a number of other online start-ups, before launching The RealReal in 2011.

Inspired when she watched a friend spend “$5,000 in 20 minutes” in the consignment section of a store, Wainwright decided to establish an online e-commerce portal for pre-owned luxury and high-end designer goods that customers could trust completely. To achieve this The RealReal has a strict and lengthy process to ensure fakes never make it onto the site. Wainwright realized that while eBay dominated the consignment market online, when it came to reselling luxury fashion goods, curation and authentication were key. Her aim, she told USA Today, was “to take the top end of eBay and the bottom end of Sotheby’s and Christie’s.”

In its first two years, The RealReal sold over 250,000 items, with between 60 to 70 percent of the profit going back to the original owner. Today, The RealReal has over 6 million subscribed members and has raised over $173 million in investment.

Wainwright’s site has shifted attitudes amongst customers in the luxury shopping market, who are willing to buy more now that they understand the true resale value of high-end products. At The RealReal’s core is consumer faith in the company – something that has previously been lacking from the online luxury consignment market.

The San Francisco Business Times recognized Wainwright as one of the most-admired CEOs of the year in 2014, and again in 2017 as one of the most influential women of the year. In 2016, Wainwright accepted the Fashion Group International’s award for Innovation in Retail e-Commerce on behalf of The RealReal and won Springboard Enterprises’ Northstar Award.

She has been included in the Business of Fashion’s BoF500 for both 2016 and 2017, Vanity Fair’s New Establishment list 2017, and Forbes 40 over 40. In 2017, The RealReal received the award for Best-Performing Company in the small-cap category from WWD. In 2018 Wainwright was included in Inc.’s Female Founders 100 list, Entrepreneur’s 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs and Fast Company’s Most Creative People In Business.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 06/15/2024.

Julie Wainwright Videos

  • The RealReal Founder & CEO Julie Wainwright
  • The first billion dollar circular economy company? 2018 Summit
  • Julie Wainwright talks about how she founded The Realreal

FAQs on booking Julie Wainwright

  • How do I book Julie Wainwright to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Julie Wainwright for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Julie Wainwright, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Julie Wainwright or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for Julie Wainwright

    Speaking fees for Julie Wainwright, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Julie Wainwright are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Julie Wainwright, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Julie Wainwright speak about?

    Julie Wainwright is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Business, Computer Science, Creativity, E-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, Internet, Leadership, Technology.
  • Where does Julie Wainwright travel from?

    Julie Wainwright generally travels from San Francisco, CA, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is Julie Wainwright’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Julie Wainwright for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Julie Wainwright for your next private or corporate function.
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    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Julie Wainwright or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
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    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Julie Wainwright is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Julie Wainwright for your event is available upon request. Julie Wainwright generally travels from San Francisco, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Lori Cheek, Dale Nirvani Pfeifer, Amy Jain, Angela Antony and Tiffany Pham. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Julie Wainwright for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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