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Rebecca Minkoff is passionate about two things: fashion and entrepreneurship. The “Fearless” author created a space for her brand on luxury shelves — and is determined to do the same for other female founders by making space for them in the market. “As a founder, I felt lonely. I didn’t have a group of people I could truly share what was going on in my business,” Minkoff tells POPSUGAR. She grew tired of the panel culture, which lacked tangible tools and opportunities for growth for female founders. So, in 2018, she cocreated the Female Founder Collective, which grew from 3,000 applications in the first week to a whopping 20,000 members in just five years.
What makes this collective different from the rest? It’s a private membership community that offers webinars and one-on-one mentorship to help members find practical solutions. “We have boardrooms where we group a certain number of founders together to tackle a certain issue and topic or support them again with other experts in that arena,” Minkoff explains. The Female Founder Collective also hosts pitch competitions and grant opportunities and has provided almost $100,000 in grants to female-founded companies since it was founded.
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, Minkoff points out. “You have to be in it for the long haul and weather the storms, because they do come,” she says. “Don’t start it unless you have enough grit and determination to fight it out.” But if you have a product or an idea that truly excites you, Minkoff wants you to take the plunge. “You could be that next female-founded company that changes culture, society, your neighborhood, whatever it is; take that opportunity to not agree with what’s going on, but disagree, and start on that path,” she adds.
Taking risks is something Minkoff believes in when it comes to both entrepreneurship and fashion. “I always say to buy something that makes you slightly uncomfortable, not physically, but makes you go, ‘Can I pull this off?’ When I do that, it’s what people love the most, or I get the most compliments on,” she says. The designer is currently loving crop tops with baggy pants and trendy sneakers, as well as oversize sweatsuits and fun nail art.
Beyond sharing her advice on entrepreneurship and fashion, Minkoff let us in on some of her favorite products. From neon mules to a nourishing moisturizer, these are her current must haves.
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