Julie Wainwright

Wainwright founded The RealReal in 2011 after her earlier company, Pets.com, became the emblem of the dot-com crash. Her answer to the problem that buyers do not trust secondhand luxury was to take goods on consignment and authenticate them in-house, which made expensive bags and watches resellable online. The cost of all that handling has kept profits elusive for long stretches, and she stepped down as chief executive in 2022, but the model of trusted, authenticated resale is now widely copied.