Emma Grede Says Trusting Her Gut Built Skims and Off Season

Entrepreneur Emma Grede credits her ability to keep her brands relevant to an unwavering trust in her own instincts, a confidence she says was sharpened as much by failure as by success. Grede, co-founder and chief product officer of the $5 billion shapewear company Skims, made the remarks during a panel at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara, California.

«I don't second guess myself,» Grede said. «I think a lot of us have that skill, but we talk ourselves out of it, and we second guess ourselves a lot. One of the most expensive habits that we have as women is waiting until we're ready.»

Grede, 44, was raised by a single mother in East London and never attended college. She is now an investor and fashion designer as well as a founder, most recently launching Off Season, a luxury sports-fashion brand, alongside designer Kristin Juszczyk. She told Most Powerful Women editorial director Ellie Austin that repeated failure eventually stopped intimidating her, which allowed her to test ideas without being held back by the fear of getting them wrong.

That instinct-driven approach has shaped Skims' product strategy, which has repeatedly moved into categories that seemed unexpected for a shapewear label. One example Grede cited was a push-up bra with a raised nipple detail. The design was initially viewed as provocative, but Grede said it serves a practical purpose: affirming women who have undergone breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy. Other products, such as black thongs, are aimed at meeting existing demand, while items like a face sculpt wrap are intended to create and occupy an entirely new market.

«One of my special sauces is to go in and say, 'Well, how do you take a problem that exists within this and make it make sense for a new generation of customers?'» Grede said. She described her method in deliberately unglamorous terms. «So much of what I do is not brain surgery,» she said. «It's about making things 1% better. It's about taking existing markets, but really paying attention and really being focused on the excellence of products.»

Grede has also worked to pass her insights to other women, including through her book Start With Yourself: A New Vision for Work & Life. She argued that too much advice directed at women is designed to make them feel good rather than to be practical and effective. «What I'm not doing is trying to make people feel comfortable,» she said. «I'm talking about the reality of what I do, and so I actually think that so much of what's out there, specifically in women's media, is to make women feel better.»

She framed that stance as a matter of temperament as much as philosophy. «And I'm interested in that because I'm a results-oriented person. I'm an operator, and so I talk about the truth and the quality it is to operate in my life. I've never been shy about saying this is what I had to do. These are the sacrifices that I had to make. These are the trade-offs in my life. These are the things that I don't do.»

For Grede, the through line between Skims, Off Season, and her writing is a willingness to act before conditions feel ideal. She said her failures have been numerous enough that they no longer carry the weight they once did, freeing her to move on ideas that others might talk themselves out of pursuing.

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Derek Weston

Sports Writer

Derek Weston covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

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