Friday, June 1, 2012

A Portal of Gold: Gilt Groupe Founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson Shares Her Entrepreneurial Inspirations


FGI-Chicago members who attended the April breakfast event featuring a discussion with Gilt Groupe founder, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, left with a bit more entrepreneurial brilliances as she shared highlights from her new book, By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop, which she wrote with co-founder, Alexis Maybank.   Held at Chicago’s hip new PUBLIC hotel, the event was sponsored by CS and attended by nearly 70 FGI-Chicago fashion industry leaders.   The inspirational morning featured a delicious breakfast, followed by a discussion with Wilson and a book signing. 

If you missed the event, following are three key learnings I took from the discussion:

  • The leaders of an organization should not all be visionaries, as the Gilt Groupe’s five co-founders learned after investing in the personality type and cognitive style Myers Briggs test.   To achieve success, process people must be a part of the executive team.
  • Learning to recognize  when your stress load is affecting you mentally, emotionally and physically is something she couldn’t “stress” enough.  Deal with stress by taking time off to recharge your mind and body. 
  • The relationship between business partners is fundamental to the success of the company.  (The book includes a business partner check list.)  How do you fight?  And, how you work things out?  Communication is key to a successful business partnership and you can’t over communicate in Wilson’s opinion.  

The book is filled with many more business start-up tips, words of wisdom and inspirational stories and can be purchased at Amazon.com and BN.com  for $27.95.