Emily Weiss
Born 1985 · Age 40
American entrepreneur, founder of the beauty blog Into the Gloss and founder and former CEO (now executive chairwoman) of beauty company Glossier.
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Life & Career Timeline
Attended local public middle school
At about age 10 Emily attended a conservative public middle school in Wilton, Connecticut.
High-school internships at Ralph Lauren (two summers)
Interned at Ralph Lauren for two summers while in high school; also briefly pursued modeling.
Brief modeling career
Had a short modeling career in her late teens/high school years.
Started studies at New York University (approx.)
Moved to New York City for university (NYU) to study studio art (graduated 2007). Exact enrollment year inferred.
Interned at Teen Vogue; appeared on The Hills
While interning at Teen Vogue in college, she appeared on a three-episode arc of the TV show The Hills.
Fashion assistant at W magazine
Worked as a fashion assistant at W magazine following graduation.
On-set styling assistant for Vogue (assisted Elissa Santisi)
Served as an on-set styling assistant for Vogue and assisted Elissa Santisi.
Freelance stylist (about 2.5 years)
Worked as a freelance stylist for roughly two and a half years after editorial assistant roles.
Worked on blog while at Vogue (4 a.m. – 8 a.m.)
Maintained Into the Gloss in the mornings between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. while still working at Vogue.
Launched Into the Gloss (beauty blog)
Founded the beauty blog Into the Gloss, focused on interviews and beauty routines.
Launched Top Shelf interview series on Into the Gloss
Popular 'Top Shelf' series (interviews with subjects in their bathrooms) became a signature feature; early notable interviewees included Jenna Lyons and Karlie Kloss.
Into the Gloss reached 200,000 unique visitors/month
By early 2012 the blog had grown to more than 200,000 unique visitors per month.
Glossier initial team hiring and site build
Used seed funding to hire an initial team and build Glossier.com, moving from editorial blog to product company.
Quit Vogue to focus on her business
After growing Into the Gloss (including exceeding 10 million pageviews/month and securing corporate partnerships), Weiss left her Vogue job to pursue her own venture full-time.
Began approaching VCs with expansion/e-commerce ideas
Started pitching venture capitalists in 2014 about expanding Into the Gloss into commerce and product.
Raised $2M seed funding for Glossier
Raised approximately $2 million in seed funding with help from Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures to hire a small team and build Glossier.com.
Initial VC pitches mostly rejected (pitched 12 firms)
Reportedly pitched to 12 venture firms; 11 expressed no interest before securing funding.
Into the Gloss reached 10 million page views/month (milestone cited)
Reported milestone of reaching 10 million page views per month, cited as a reason Weiss left Vogue and scaled the business (exact date unspecified; associated with the jump to full-time entrepreneurship).
Launched Glossier and first four products
Introduced Glossier's first four products on Into the Gloss and announced the launch of Glossier.com (direct-to-consumer beauty brand).
Named to Forbes 30 Under 30
Featured in Forbes' '30 Under 30' list.
Glossier early product success (e.g., Boy Brow among first hits)
Early Glossier products, including the widely-cited Boy Brow (part of the initial product launch), became instant bestsellers and grew brand prominence.
Into the Gloss/Glossier team grown to 35+ in Soho HQ
Into the Gloss article describes the business as a NYC startup with a team of 35+ across three floors of a Soho office.
Married Diego Dueñas (Bahamas)
Married photographer Diego Dueñas in the Bahamas in 2016; union was later described as short-lived. She also had a prior legal/courthouse marriage before the Bahamas ceremony.
Named to Fortune's 40 Under 40 (profile claims)
Profiles later reference Weiss's inclusion among various lists (Forbes 30 Under 30, TIME Next, and Fortune's 40 Under 40); the Fortune 40 Under 40 listing is referenced in profiles though the exact year is not specified in the source.
Into the Gloss traffic milestone: 1.3M visitors
By May 2016 the site had reached about 1.3 million visitors (cited on Wikipedia).
Raised $52M in Series C funding
Glossier announced a $52 million Series C round (reported February 2018). Forbes reported this brought total funding to roughly $86 million.
Named to Time's 'Next 100' list
Included in Time magazine's 'Next 100' list recognizing rising leaders.
Raised $100M Series D; Glossier valued at $1.2B
In March 2019 Glossier raised $100 million in a Series D round and reached a reported $1.2 billion valuation (unicorn status).
Engaged to Will Gaybrick
Announced engagement to Will Gaybrick, a Stripe executive (reported March 19, 2020).
Workplace criticism and diversity controversy at Glossier
In August 2020 Glossier and Weiss were accused by ex-employees of failing to support Black workers; company had also donated $1 million to racial justice causes, drawing scrutiny.
Net worth estimate published (~$100M)
Profiles and reporting (e.g., Businesswomen profile) estimated Emily Weiss's net worth at about $100 million as of 2022, largely based on her stake in Glossier.
Stepped down as Glossier CEO; became Executive Chairwoman
In May 2022 Weiss stepped down as CEO but remained on Glossier's board as executive chairwoman; Kyle Leahy, former CMO, became CEO.
Announced pregnancy
In June 2022 Emily and Will Gaybrick announced they were expecting a baby.
Birth of daughter, Clara Lion Weissbrick
On June 29, 2022 Weiss posted on Instagram announcing the birth of her daughter, Clara Lion Weissbrick.
Book: Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier (published)
Marisa Meltzer published 'Glossy', an inside account of Emily Weiss and Glossier (listed in Further reading; book published 2023).
Glossier expands retail distribution (Sephora US rollout)
Reports note Glossier products became available in Sephora stores across the U.S. in January 2023, marking a major retail expansion beyond DTC.
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