For serial entrepreneur Emma Grede, being “deeply ambitious” means working in-person five days per week.
Grede, a co-founder of apparel brands Skims and Good American, has an estimated $405 million net worth, according to Forbes — and her work ethic was shaped by working in the office everyday during her early career, she said on a May 12 podcast episode of “The Skinny Confidential Him and Her.”
If you work at Good American, where Grede is the CEO, you’re expected to be in the office every weekday, she added.
Grede, 42, “learned from proximity” when she was younger, she said. She sat near her boss in meetings, writing down “every phrase that would come out of her mouth,” she said. When she had to make calls, she’d repeat what her boss said, learning from her word choice, cadence and presence.
“How are you learning if you’re not, like, in it [and] on the job? We know some jobs need more proximity than others, but I’m in the product business ... If you’re not in the room, you’re not able to do that at an excellent level,” said Grede, who was named a CNBC Changemaker on February 24.
