INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
When Rebecca Minkoff first moved to New York City, the then-18-year-old was making $4.75 an hour.
I just kept working for this designer
and someone was telling me what to do every day
And I thought if I&m going to work as hard, it going to be for myself and I want to call my own shots,& she said
&I didn''t want to be told what to do, frankly.
Self-employment for Minkoff turned out just fine; in 2001, she redesigned the iconic &I Love
New York& shirt and it appeared on The Tonight Show
After a shout-out from Jay Leno, Minkoff spent the next eight months making T-shirts on the floor of her apartment and quit her job to start
designing full time.
We caught up with Minkoff to learn more about how she grew her brand into a global fashion company with the help of her
brother, her problem with the unicorn mentality and why she thinks the &invisible barrier& is the future of retail tech.
This interview was
edited for brevity and clarity.
TechCrunch: What gave you the energy and drive to become an entrepreneur?
Rebecca Minkoff: Long story
My mom would sell these cast covers, like decorative covers for people with broken arms at the flea market
And I was like, I am going to have a booth here
So I made all these tie-dye shirts and no one bought anything but it was just this idea of like, I can make something I can sell
My mom always taught that
When I wanted a dress, she taught me how to sew a dress instead of buying the dress
And so, I just got this bug for creating things out of nothing.
The constant thread was, &I&m not going to pay for this
You&re going to learn how to do it.
