Jenny Hyman, co-founder and CEO of Rent the Runway, shares how she stays motivated and avoids burnout, especially during challenging times. Her key takeaway? Regularly check in with yourself and ensure you still believe in what you're doing.
On challenging days, she turns to a piece of advice from a mentor: 'There are only two reasons why a founder leaves their company or stops working toward their dreams ... either you stop believing, or you're tired.' This observation came from Dan Rosensweig, a former Rent the Runway board member and current executive chairman of technology company Chegg, says Hyman.
It helped her shift her perspective at work: If she starts feeling unhappy, frustrated, and blaming it on Rent the Runway, she reminds herself that she still believes in her company's mission, which keeps her motivated.Hyman, 44, co-founded Rent the Runway with her Harvard Business School classmate Jennifer Fleiss in 2009, launching the clothing rental service with minimal, if any, existing competition. Today, the clothing rental market is more mainstream, with competitors ranging from Armoire to Urban Outfitters-owned Nuuly. While Nuuly generated less than half of Rent the Runway's revenue during their 2023 fiscal years, it was likely closer to profitability, posting a profit margin of around 10%, according to SEC filings. (Urban Outfitters didn't share Nuuly's net income figures for 2023, and Rent the Runway hasn't released its 2024 earnings statements yet.)Despite the competitive landscape, Hyman remains confident in Rent the Runway's future. 'I'm a bigger believer today than I've ever been,' she says, noting that her company currently has a market capitalization of $27.76 million. Checking in with your work self periodically – making sure you still believe in your job – can be beneficial to your career and income, some experts say. Employees with a strong sense of mattering, or a perception of how their work positively impacts the world, are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and receive promotions, psychiatrist Gabriella Rosen Kellerman told CNBC Make It last year. As for the exhaustion element of Rosensweig's observation, Hyman says being tired simply isn't a good enough reason to give up on something you believe in. 'If you're tired, there are lots of ways to change that,' she says. 'You can change the way you work. You can change the energy you bring to the office every day and change the people around you. You can take a vacation.' For herself, she says: Her vacations must be longer than five days because it takes that long for her to stop habitually checking Slack. She believes this advice transcends just your job, applying to marriages, friendships, and more. 'I think advice stands for more than just your job,' she says. 'We should check in with ourselves every few years, figure out what we believe. It helps you feel like life isn't just happening to you.
RENT THE RUNWAY CEO BUSINESS ADVICE STARTUP MOTIVATION BURNOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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