Rent The Runway

Rent the Runway, which recently launched a clothing line developed by the data that they've generated from years of consumer feedback.

Core Values is my favorite day of the year at Rent The Runway . 15 years ago, my co-founder and I flew to Las Vegas to spend time with Tony Hsieh, Craig Adkins and some of the leadership team of Zappos. Hsieh had just written Delivering Happiness, and at Zappos he was running one of the most talked-about cultures in business. A culture built on core values that he and his team had written themselves. We came home, gathered our (then) 30 person team, some wine, and spent an afternoon telling stories about the year we'd just lived through. Out of those stories came our 10 Core Values. 1. Everyone Deserves a Cinderella Experience. 2. Dream big and go after it. 3. Make the most with what you have…scrappiness is a virtue. 4. Debating, honest conversations and collaborating make the company stronger. 5. How you show up matters…choose positivity! 6. Embrace the RTR team and bring your authentic self into the office each day. 7. Bring your best intentions to everything and trust others do the same. 8. Adapt and learn from everything you do. 9. Roll up your sleeves and get involved! 10. We are all founders of Rent the Runway. At every all-hands meeting for the past 15 years, team members get up and share a story about how one of their colleagues has exhibited a core value. Then, once a year we celebrate the biggest winners of the year in a ceremony that’s entirely team-driven: peers nominate peers, winners get a dream vacation anywhere in the world, and their colleagues willingly make fools of themselves in their honor — original songs, full-on skits, comedy acts, even bands. It is glorious. Over the years I’ve realized that the most rewarding part of my job and of life in general is when you’re able to say thank you to people who really make an impact on your life and show them how much you genuinely appreciate them. And, saying thank you in a way that creates a memory for them to cherish - even better! The process of building a company has allowed me to see the very best in others and I feel privileged for teammates past and present who have not only have contributed their many talents to Rent the Runway but have inspired and changed me. I’m so proud of this year's Core Values winners and of all of the Core Value Winners over the past 15 years at Rent the Runway. Thank you for making our time at work so wonderful and bringing your heart into how you show up everyday. 🛍️ Megan Hannigan , Buyer 🔋 brian hickey , Senior Engineer 📈 Ella Richman , Senior Director, Finance 📦 Patrick Wallace , Manager, Operations 📱 Yin How Lew , Director, Product 🔋 Robin Bonatesta Director, Engineering

It’s been incredible to watch the founder mentality return to the heart of everything we do at Rent The Runway. Seeing our subscriber growth hit 20% year-over-year is a testament to what happens when you truly listen to and build for your customers. So proud of this team and the amazing community we serve!

It was an honor to keynote the Dean’s Speakers Series at UC Berkeley Haas last week. Being in the room with hundreds of students figuring out their next chapter is always energizing. For anyone in the early stages of their career, here are three key takeaways from my talk: The AI-Revolution Levels the Playing Field This is the best time to be an entry-level employee. AI-native employees who show continuous curiosity will win—it’s often easier for those with less experience to adapt. AI is breaking down traditional boundaries of roles and seniority, with leaders expecting everyone to be a builder. This creates more opportunities for less-experienced talent to be creative and make a huge impact. Don't let this unique historical period pass you by. Reframe Risk Students always ask: How did I feel confident founding Rent the Runway? The only real risk I faced at 27 (before major responsibilities) was not pursuing my passion and wasting my own time. I strongly disagree with the advice to simply ‘find something you’re good at and forget passion.’ My experience shows a high correlation between passion and greatness—because we invest considerably more time into learning in areas where we have authentic interest. Ambitious young people spend too much time chasing credentials and too little time realizing those credentials (fancy degrees, brand-name jobs) are the ultimate cushion to take bold risks. Be confident: most employers view entrepreneurial risk as a distinguishing, positive characteristic, regardless of the outcome. Relationships are the most valuable asset in business We all know business is a team sport, but we can—and must—do more to invest in trusting 1:1 relationships, internally and with external partners. At Rent the Runway, I've seen brand partners take major bets on new business models with us simply because they trusted us. Building that trust often took years of relationship building. My experience proves it is always worth the investment. Thank you to Jennifer Chatman for inviting me.

Two years ago, we set out to turnaround a stagnant business and reinvigorate growth by returning to our customer-obsessed roots and reintroducing a founder mentality across everything we do. We listened to our customers, addressed many of their longstanding requests with humility and built deeper relationships with our community. We innovated and transformed every surface of our customer experience. I am so proud that we’ve succeeded in bringing Rent the Runway back to growth while making our experience more personalized, more authentic and easier to use. We ended Fiscal Year 2025 with 20% year-over-year subscriber growth, our highest quarterly revenue in company history, and drove a record 67% YOY increase in subscription add-on revenue. These results stem from a deep understanding of our customer, which gave us the conviction to execute a bold move to double our inventory buy last year. We successfully scaled this investment through the expansion of our "Share by RTR" revenue share program, allowing us to deliver more choice with higher capital efficiency. With customer satisfaction at record levels—our Net Promoter Score has more than tripled since 2022—Rent the Runway is now in its strongest financial and operational position in years. Thank you to team RTR.

It’s been incredible to watch the founder mentality return to the heart of everything we do at Rent The Runway . Seeing our subscriber growth hit 20% year-over-year is a testament to what happens when you truly listen to and build for your customers. So proud of this team and the amazing community we serve!