Fresh from the Hill: Inside Stories of Noteworthy Cornellians27 Apr 2022

Cornellians in Podcasting: Entreprenista Podcast feat. Gwen Whiting '98

"Gwen Whiting of The Laundress – Innovation, Big Risks, and Thinking Outside the Box," first aired March 23, 2020.

Success as an Entreprenista involves innovation, taking big risks, and thinking outside the box. In the case of Gwen Whiting '98, Founder of The Laundress, a successful line of eco-friendly laundry and home products, it’s all of these. Inspired with an idea while working in the fashion industry at Ralph Lauren and trying to maintain her wardrobe while using the local laundromat, Gwen teamed up with her friend who had a complimentary skillset to create a solution. Gwen joins Socialfy co-founder Stephanie Cartin for a conversation about building her business and career, and describes her journey to success including how Gwen and her partner found money early on, from business loans to throwing for-profit parties, launching an e-commerce website over 15 years ago when Amazon was still a bookseller, the challenges of building an ecommerce brand and generating buzz in the pre-social media era, how The Laundress got ahead of the market in creating detergents free of petroleum products (long before the trend of green eco-friendly products,) why the co-founders made a risky decision to fund the business by amassing considerable credit card debt rather than taking VC money, the process of selling the brand to Unilever, and why having the right lawyer and a team behind you during such a pivotal time mattered so much.

Check out the Entreprenista website for more episodes.

Read the episode transcript.

Hosted by Stephanie Cartin '06

*The views expressed by Fresh from the Hill hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Cornell University.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(113)

CLAA Series: Manuel Muñoz MFA '98

In the sixth of the CLAA Series for the Fresh from the Hill Podcast, CLAA board members interview the 2023 MacArthur ‘genius grant’ recipient, Manuel Muñoz, MFA ‘98. In his writing, Muñoz draws on his...

10 Jan 202448min

Winners of the Inaugural Robert S. Harrison '76 Recent Alumni Volunteer Award

We're taking a little break from our regularly scheduled series to feature the winners of the 2023 Robert S. Harrison '76 Recent Alumni Volunteer Award, which celebrates the service of a new generatio...

27 Des 202348min

CLAA Series: Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson '97

Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson '97 takes on our fifth episode of the CLAA series. Mary Carmen charts her path from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico and how it took a chance bet for her to apply to Cor...

13 Des 202328min

CLAA Series: Eduardo Peñalver '94

Eduardo Peñalver is our next esteemed guest for the fourth episode of the CLAA series. During the discussion, Eduardo tracks his early life from a farm town in the Pacific Northwest, to being thrust a...

29 Nov 202337min

CLAA Series: The Day Hall Takeover with Kety Esquivel '97

Kety Esquivel '97 headlines the third episode of the CLAA series as we dive into the Day Hall Takeover. During the discussion, Kety discusses her path to Cornell and sets the scene as a young first-ye...

15 Nov 202347min

CLAA Series: Ana Pinczuk '84, MEng '85

Ana Pinczuk headlines the second episode of the CLAA series and is the first Board of Trustees member interviewed. Ana is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Dexterity, Inc. and serves on the boa...

25 Okt 202327min

CLAA Series: Los Anfitriones (the hosts)

How long have Latinos been at Cornell? Is there a story to tell about the LatinX community at this Ivy League University and its involvement in grassroots activism and the Board of Trustees? How has t...

11 Okt 202334min

Any Person, As Many Studies As You Want - Bryce Demopoulos '23

We've all likely heard the story. A Cornell senior saves a man from a New York City subway. But have you heard his story? Well today is your chance. Hear from Bryce Demopoulos about stepping up and gi...

19 Jul 202348min