Aspire with Karlie Kloss: How To Turn Principles Into Power Plays

27:45This was, I had gone to the factories in LA and like helped, you know, sort of design the, every aspect of it, the stitching, we put a K on the side at the little K stitch and there was so much. And, and, and also like, I felt so invested in sort of making great imagery and then also social media launch. And then also like doing the sort of launch events and getting the right people there. Like it was the first time again that I was cutting my teeth and like building something, using the power I had through my platform, through, you know, my sort of career and access as a model. But it was like, again, these sort of building this muscle and having fun with it.

28:26And then seeing like that it actually touched people, you know, real consumers. And making some money at the same time. And making some money. That's never hurts. I mean, it never hurts. I want to talk to you a little bit about your relationship with money because you obviously started making quite meaningful money much earlier than most of us were. When I was 15, I was making paper out money. Was it not the same? Yes. No, the only job I had before walking in that Calvin Klein show was babysitting for$6 an hour, which was top dollar at the time. And the house that I actually babysat in was just down the street from the house I grew up in.

29:02And I don't know, maybe five or six years ago, I actually bought that house. It was the biggest, most beautiful in the neighborhood. I bought that house for my parents. Wow, what a full circle moment. Very full circle. How baller did you feel then? It was pretty great. Yeah, I feel like when you get to the point where you can buy your mom a house, it's like, I'm good, I'm done. But it's true, money is, to me it's always been independence, freedom, safety. You know, I think, yeah, where did I begin? I mean, I was so aware. How'd you grow up? Did you grow up with money? No. I grew up with very hardworking parents.

29:39I grew up in a small town in St. Louis, suburb where everybody had the same amount of nothing. It was like we all, and everybody's really happy. You're like, that was not. But you didn't want for anything. I lacked for nothing. And also my father is an emergency room doctor. He was always sort of one of the most successful people in our town. You know, he was, we had four girls in our house. We had two cars. as, you know, it was like we lived a big life. And I felt that, but also something I don't talk about a lot, or I don't know if I've ever talked about, but I feel like this, I, I, I so appreciate the importance of financial freedom and, and the power of money, because in 2007, around the exact same time that I started my career, my family had a really hard time in the recession and had made some investments in real estate, invested like our entire sort of family nest egg, and it all disappeared.

30:41Oh, wow. That's hard. And so as a freshman in high school, you know, my family was like trying to keep the roof over our head. And I, as a 15-year-old, you know, young model, was able to sort of help support my family and provide stability for my family. And that was sort of, again, this motivating factor to, I didn't care about fashion, but it was a vehicle, a means to support my family and take care of my loved ones and create safety and stability. And I think that's where it's just like, I've been acutely aware of how important to me that that is to have for myself. I love that. And I can see that how important that would have been because it's like when you come from that type of family that have raised you in that way that you feel so secure, you want to be able to help them, right?

31:30And to be in the position when you're 15, it's so extraordinary that you'd even be there. Just to fast forward and thinking about your own family life, because I think about this all the time, I'm raising kids in a very different way and in very different circumstances to how I was raised myself. And I wonder how you think about your own children and your relationship to money these days when you've made a lot of money, you're incredibly successful, you married a very successful man and you're raising three children, not in a small town in Missouri anymore. Well, I am very intentional in the environment I'm raising them in though.

32:08Above all, listen, it's a new experience for me. It's a new experience. I'm trying to do the best I can as I go, but I am very intentional about the environment around them that I create around them. Like, I am their mom. I am extremely hands-on. I don't like to have a lot of people. Like, I want my kids to be able to, like, tie their own shoes and put on their own clothes. Same. That's the goal. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's no, like, No one picking the red M &Ms out for them. No, no, no. Let's be serious. And also, you know, candidly, like, there is nothing more gratifying, even though I would not wish what happened to our family or to, you know, that responsibility on me.

32:51I would not wish that on anyone, but I am so grateful for the gratification and satisfaction I have been able to experience in building for myself. I am so proud of the life, career, success I have built for myself. I am self-made, and that gives me such pride and confidence. And, you know, I make investments for myself. There was such power to that, that I want my kids to feel that. Yeah. And I think your kids will feel that because you're modeling that for them, excuse the pun, every single day, right? It's like, I met your two sisters last night. And it's like, I think that when you have that type of family, that type of closeness and those type of, you know, roots to where you come from, like that comes through every day.

33:40And that's what your kids are experiencing, right? They get the other side, but they also see that of you. And it's like you are going out and creating this incredible path for yourself every single day. And I think that's it. It's like, there's things that we can't control that our kids are going to, you know, be exposed to or experience, but like, there's a lot that we can control. And I think the intentionality. So any advice you have, please, I'm all yours. Like we're, we're kind of figuring this out in real time. Well, I bring mine with me, you know, that's my best. Well, Well, my big secret is that I, you know, I like, I think it becomes really abstract for them, right?

34:15I try to bring them into the office and I have that type of office where I can do that. And so my kids actually getting to see like, this is what mommy does for work. Like she's here, just contextualizing it for them somehow. They start to think about you in a very, very different way. You're not just their mom that does all of these things that they need. Like you, they're a need, like other people need something from you. There's a requirement of you in other places. And I think they start to like, you know, yours are really little, but mine at 11 and eight and not the babies who are three, but they've started to get an idea that I have other ambitions and there are other needs that have to be satisfied and other people that need me outside of them.

34:56And I think it's actually been a really useful thing. I'm going to clock that for future. Take your kids to work. I take the kids to work. No, I think that's such sage advice. And I can relate to that. And I think Josh certainly as well, like he has so many stories if he was like, you know, working, cleaning up trash and working on construction sites and joining his dad at meetings, you know, early on. And I even went to, I mean, this was probably highly illegal, but there was like a take your daughter to work day. And like my dad worked in the emergency room. So there's like extreme trauma and like people.

35:31And I'm like in a lab coat at like 13 years old, totally should not have been there. And I loved it. And I loved seeing my dad in that light. And this sort of like, you know, like when somebody, when you love what you do, like your kids see that. They see it and they admire it. And that is something to aspire to. That feeling, no matter what it is that you do, the way that you feel when you do it, I see it for you. Totally. It gives you energy. And by the way, I know it in myself when I am feeling that energy and when I'm not. And so I think what I've really tried to do is tap into like, what are the things that are not giving me that energy and that sort of state of flow and eliminating those things from my life or as much as I can.

36:16I think that's so sensible because I do think you get to a point, especially when you start work at such a young age and you have a little bit of success, you get swept up by it. And I think if we're honest at any one point, there becomes a point in your career when you're like, wow, I'm doing a bunch of things that actually no longer serve me. And I try to make a point of every, I don't know, I feel like every year I'm like, okay, what am I, what has now taken hold of me that I don't need anymore? I'm just going, I don't need that. I need to just shed as opposed to just like, you know, because you get to the point where you're like, am I just doing a bunch of things that I no longer want to be doing?

36:50And I think that's so important to always take stock. Yeah. And I, and I, especially when you're a parent, right? Because you're sacrificing, you're giving your time somewhere else and it better bloody be worth it. Yes. And I think I'm sort of almost even evaluating again. It's only just hitting me that this is third baby will be here soon enough that I'm like, OK, what are the things that kind of no longer serve me?

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38:39When I think about Code of Glossy, I really mean it. When you started that back in 2015, I was like, wow, like what a bold move. There's so few women in tech. We all know the kind of abysmal stats. And as you start to think about AI and how few women are actually engaged in AI at the moment, what you're doing for me feels even more relevant. So where are you? Because you've been doing this for a really long time. We're talking about 10 years and that's such a commitment to the cause, but you've also probably had like some results I'm thinking by now. So I'd love you to share. I am so proud of our scholars.

39:14You should be so proud of it. It's pretty surreal. I mean, Emma, I would have never imagined that it would grow into what it is today. And I didn't really think about it, I guess, all that much. How did you start it? Talk to me like from the beginning. Again, sort of that period of when I was, wanted to kind of, again, evolve my life and let go of some things. And I went back to school and I walked away from Victoria's Secret and I was really kind of soul searching of like, what actually does feel meaningful to me? What is intellectually stimulating and also sort of a moment, and this is around 20, I guess at this point, 2014.

39:53And I, I had again felt this sort of responsibility and opportunity with so many young women following me on social media. And I felt like I needed to do more with that, or I wanted to do more. It was, it was an opportunity to actually like be impactful. So I didn't want to fully walk away from my fashion career because that was part of the power that gave me that sort of influence. Well, that was your enabler, right? Absolutely. So it's like, how do I stay one foot in this world, but use it in a more meaningful way, at least to me? And that's when I went back to school. I went back to this coding boot camp called the Flatiron School.

40:31It was like a deep intensive in the sort of front end and back end of tech, both software, hardware. Just give me an idea. What did you know at that point? Did you know beyond like using a phone and a laptop like the rest of us? Did you have like an engineering background? Did you know someone who was a coder? Not at all. The only thing I knew, so I went to a great public school. There was no comp sci. You know, we had, thank goodness, a financial literacy class, which was ahead of its time, but we did not have computer science. It was still early. So I had had no exposure, But what I had had was by way of Josh, certainly, and all the entrepreneurs I met through him.

41:12And I was meeting, you know, Kevin Systrom was one of the co-founders of Instagram. And he was, you know, a friend of mine. I forget that. You, I mean, I guess by association with Josh, you are often around some of the best entrepreneurs of our time. So you were hearing conversations. No, no, I was deeply knowing these people. I love that. Oh yeah, I'm like, you know me, Emma. I'm in it. She's like, I'm going to that meeting. I'm coming to that dinner. yeah, I know all the portfolio companies. Like I know, I know things. So I'm like, I met, you know, Kevin was a good friend and it sort of clicked for me.

41:44Okay. Instagram, which has transformed my job as a model and certainly the fashion industry and many other industries, you know, he started with an idea and he not only had this sort of business idea, but actually more than even a business idea, he just, he knew how to code. He had this secret skillset of this fancy language that only certain, at the time, it felt extremely sort of out of access to anyone outside of Silicon Valley. It was this intellectual thing that only certain, primarily men. Yeah. If you knew, you knew. And if you didn't, you were left out and left behind. Exactly. And this was sort of still like early-ish days and in a lot of sort of tech platforms.

42:27And so I was really fascinated by that. And I also loved sort of the challenge of that. I think maybe because I'm one of four daughters and I have this like sort of competitive drive of like, whatever the boys can do, we can do. I can do as well. What do you say about the four daughters? On the four daughter thing too, it really does something to you. It does. It does. And so I think that like, I felt like, all right, first of all, how amazing that like one person can build an idea that can transform the world. Like actually. And then not only that, but like that one person is able to do that because they know this skill set.

43:03So what is this skill set and why do more people not know it? And so I just started very simply with like taking a, you know, a three-month course at the Flatiron School. And I was one of the only sort of women in the school. And there were a few, but definitely not enough. And, and I, I was really blown away by sort of just the basic anatomy of like how a computer works, how it was almost like the anatomy of like the hard drive and the, you know, all of this sort of like machinery. It was like, it was like a body. It's like, you have the heart, you have the brain, you have the veins that connect everything.

43:40So it sort of demystified the hardware. And then the software component too, of like front end and back end of how to build a website, like pretty basic. And, but it was like very just sort of eyeopening of like, once you can get past the sort of bulky, awkward, or the abstract nature of like code and syntax, but it's like learning, I would imagine Latin or another language, you know, I learned French, but like, it's like learning a language. And that was sort of, again, another, I think, moment of confidence boost that I was like, you know what? If I can learn this, like anyone can learn this.

44:18And was your idea at that point, like, I'm going to start a business. I'm going to be like one of these founders that I'm meeting. My idea at the point was, how do I get more girls to realize how powerful this is? Like right at the beginning, that's how you felt? That's how I felt at the beginning. It was a very clear like, oh shit, this is very powerful and it's not impossible to learn. This is the future and there aren't many women that are part of it. This was 2015. And I put out on my social media at the time a very modest sort of scholarship program. I was underwriting for 21 girls to experience the same sort of coding bootcamp that I went to.

44:53I love that about you, Carly, because I feel like even at that point, you were so young. It's such an interesting thing that that's, you know, because again, I'm very opportunistic. I could have probably gone to that class and been like, I'm going to figure out how to build a website and I'm going to take all this information for myself. But even at that point, you're sitting there going, I've had this incredible experience. There's very few women involved and I'm going to take what I've earned and put 21 kids through the same course. I think it's because I'm from a big family. That's just what you do.

45:22You like, you share. You share the love. You share the love. And I've always been that way. Like I love to share things I'm discovering or experiencing. So it just was innate. I didn't overthink it. I definitely did not think. Do you remember how much it cost you? Each, good question. I think the whole thing maybe was like, maybe it was a$50 ,000 donation. Yeah, but it's meaningful. It's meaningful for sure. It's a meaningful donation. For sure. Not nothing. But I was so excited to sort of support the school. And I did not think in that moment I was starting an education nonprofit. No, you're like, I'm going to help a couple of girls out.

45:56I'm going to do a good deed. Off you go. And Emma, when I tell you the response we had to those 21 scholarship slots, thousands. Really? thousands of young women around the world. And actually people, women, men of all ages. And the scholarship specifically was 13 to 18 year old young women in our programs that we wanted to sort of teach these skills. And that's the way the program was designed. But it sort of really was a moment where I was like, oh, wow, there's a disconnect here of enormous opportunity in these spaces and the lack of access to them. And maybe I should have built a for-profit business at that time around it.

46:36But I was like, let me just help connect these dots. And how did you decide who would get into the program? Because I love that it was like, it's really for kids, right? It's 13 to 18. So how did you even piece that together? Because I think so many people that listen to this show particularly love the idea of starting a business or having a pivot. And I feel like you've done so much of that throughout your career. And it really seems to have come from a really genuine place. But there's also a reality of that, right? You get thousands of submissions coming through Instagram. What did you do to organize yourself?

47:12It was so bootstrapped for a very long time. I, you know, we really sort of piecemealed it. Like, like at the time, you know, I had nobody helping me. I didn't have an assistant. I had nothing. So the founder of the school and I sort of like went through a lot of applications and, And, you know, the school really at the time was helpful in operating that first year. Right. And we, I mean, it was hard to choose. And it is hard to choose because, you know. There's so much need out there. There's so much need. But so what, this is where it's like, I'm so proud to tell you this summer, for instance, we're going through applications right now.

47:51We will have 3 ,000 scholarships. No. This summer alone, we will have 3 ,000 scholarships for young women around the world. How many women have been through the program? So this is the crazy thing. So from 2015 until now, we have had more than 11 ,000 young women in our programs around the world. So it started 21 scholarships. The next year was 75. The next year was 150. And then I think the next year was 1 ,000. That's so impressive. What are those women going on to do? Like, do you keep in touch? Do you have any idea what type of careers and opportunities they're getting? That's kind of, I guess, because the interest starts here, right?

48:27If you're a 13-year-old taking this, it's like your interest is peaked. You have some skills and you're like, okay, what's next? Oh, the stories I could sit here and tell you forever. But I'll tell you like some statistics to sort of ground the community. So the community of 11 ,000 young women around the world, those who go on to college or in college now, 70 % of them major or minor in computer science. Wow. 70%. Wow. Compare that to 4 % of women in America graduating with computer science degrees. So 70 % of our alumni are sort of go through our program and realize the enormous sort of opportunity, not just in tech, candidly.

49:03If you want to start a business like yours, if you want to go into beauty, into social entrepreneurship, into climate change, into mental health areas, into medical fields, like technical literacy is invaluable, especially when you talk about things like AI, like the evolving world we're living in. I mean, And by the way, the entire world will need to be re-skilled as AI is transforming how we live. But that's what's so impressive because you're single-handedly creating the pipeline of women that are going to have the skills for the next generation of opportunity that's coming up. And I think it's just so much, the kind of cost of entry is just so different when you're a woman.

49:42The understanding and how we learn is so different. So I find it so impressive that you're doing this and you've been doing it for so long. You were really early. Thank you. Well, no, statistics show, I mean, women are slower to adopt and adapt to AI and implementing that in their daily lives, even just today with ChatGPT and the incredible tools that exist. And so, you know, I think what, just again, to kind of go back to our community, 11 ,000, 80 % identify as people of color, 40 % would qualify for free and reduced lunch programs. Also another 70 % of our alumni are over 18. So yes, our programs kind of reach this young teenage high school student before they've decided what they want to be in the world or what doors they think might be open or closed to them.

50:30And I think that is a huge part of why this is so impactful because we reach them at such a young age. But we're 10 years into this. So we have scholars that are into their mid to late 20s and they're in the workplace and they are deeply still connected to us. And that is the sort of next evolution of the role that we play at Code with Klossy is how we continue to support them along the pipeline so that we keep them in these spaces. Because that is critical as well. And you know this. I mean, there's an enormous amount of sort of, I think, drop off of women, you know, in that sort of broken rung era of sort of that first promotion to management.

51:09And so how to continue to support our scholars and our community in the spaces that they go on to as leaders. And it's far just beyond, you know, the role that we play initially is sort of introducing them to computer science skills. We have AI machine learning. We have web dev, mobile app development, and data science. We take our curriculum very seriously. We build custom curricula. We train hundreds of teachers around the world. we have like a very robust program in how we run our operation. And I'm so proud of that. But what we're doing now is really thinking about, you know, thousands of young women who are our alumni, who we're growing with as they're growing and how to continue to sort of equip them with sort of 21st century leadership skills.

51:58I don't even like to say like soft skills. It's like, no, but it's leadership skills. It's just the modern day leadership skills. But it's impressive to me because I feel like the idea that you've been doing this for so long and you're actually thinking about the next evolution of it. And I imagine that through that journey and supporting so many women, because you also, obviously you're an investor and you have a fund and you're investing in a lot of women, but it's kind of like there's like these kind of parallel tracks in what you do, right? It's like you start really young. You're actually putting your money where your mouth is when it comes to supporting females in business.

52:32And, you know, closing that gap and making sure that there's this, you know, pipeline of incredible talent that can go and lead some of these female founded businesses is going to be really important. So what I'm just trying to understand, is there a link between Code with Klossy and what you're doing as you think about supporting female founders? Do you think about it as almost like one of the same things? because you've got, your mission is like to me, becoming so, so crystallized and so clear in terms of what you care about and where you're putting your energy. Thank you. I think it's just innately just the way that I think and the kind of things I care about.

53:09It's not some sort of master plan. It all sort of has evolved organically. And it's funny, I started angel investing long before it was like a trendy thing to do. You know, again, this sort of, I think like you, you know, you and I, I think, very much share this sort of early entrepreneurial bug of like always thinking about how to problem solve in a sustainable way. And to me, that's what entrepreneurship is. It's like, how can I identify a problem and build a sustainable solution that that can be like a viable business and better for the planet? And I think that's the framework that I've always looked at the kind of companies I want to invest in.

53:51And companies is not even the people I want to invest in, the ideas I want to invest in. And that has always been the framework of what I put money behind. I mean, I think I was 20 years old when I put my first, you know, angel check into, and that was not even like a term that I was aware of. I just, you know, I, one of the first, you know, two women that I wrote a check to was they started this company called Lola, a sort of direct-to-consumer. I remember it. It's the tampons and sanitary products. Exactly. And that was sort of one of the first moments where I really exercised my power of having money and being able to sort of support an idea that I felt like was better for the world and better for me as a consumer.

54:36There is this mentality that everyone should be a founder. And you instead, I mean, because arguably you have started a lot of things, but it's interesting that you decided, I'm going to take my money and put it into other founders. I'm going to empower other people to do that are being able to execute these businesses. What do you think that you've learned from investing in women particularly? What do you think you've learned about starting businesses and running businesses that's been useful? So much. One, I mean, women just get shit done. So I love to invest in women. Do you exclusively invest in women?

55:12No, no, no, definitely not. I've invested in, you know, Khalifa Farms, Almond Milk, and, you know, so many other like consumer products, tech platforms, definitely some male-founded businesses too. But there's a couple other businesses that come to mind that I love. I mean, two more since I've entered motherhood. One is called Bobby. Another is Coterie.

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58:41you know I think what I realized so much about you Carly is that you're such a principled woman, right? It's like you really lead with your heart. I feel like your background, where you come from, your principles are so really like incredibly clear. And I think it's interesting because I think for myself, the way I do business, the way I go about my every day is really based on these things that guide me, right? It's like the things that made me that, yeah. And it really is. It's embedded into every decision I make. And so when you think about your principles and what guides you and guides what you want to do.

59:18They're like a set of things that you're thinking about because there's clearly no accident. When I look at your portfolio of brands, you know, it really is all about, you know, female investors. It's about things that make sense for moms or the environment, but you know, inherently good brands that are doing good for the world. That must have been purposeful for you. For sure. I have always thought any, and this was long before I had a lot of money, power, privilege, platform, or big voice, but all of those to me have been vehicles that I have wanted to use to drive impact or push the world toward the direction I hope it goes.

59:57And I think that for me, I care so deeply about access to opportunity. My life has been transformed because of access to opportunity that I had. And that was because of something in a lot of ways I didn't have control over. I was a tall, skinny girl at the right place at the right time. That I couldn't control. And a lot of things, my fate, you know, I hated that I couldn't control my success based on that. A young woman learning how to code, who works, who pours herself into learning anything, by the way, like that is a skill set that can create open any door you want and and create a life and a career for yourself and to me that's what I like I I've lived in my experience like how transformative it can be when you have access to an opportunity and when you take that and run with it so I have always wanted to use any power platform privilege voice I have to help create access to opportunity because even if it's just one person, that would be meaningful to me.

1:01:02You have been incredibly vocal about your views on reproductive freedom and what's happening. And of course, last night, you and I co-hosted a dinner. I know that this is a cause that's really close to your heart. I don't know that I've ever had the conversation in the way that we had it last night, not just because of the experience and the expertise that you brought around the table, but just the level of honesty and the sheer feeling of the kind of relentless like attack that I think is happening right now. And I'm just very interested at why you would weigh in on such a contentious issue. Now, I know that I feel all women should feel as passionate as we do, but I do think that when you're as high profile as you are, it's a choice to speak about it or And I just would love to ask you that question of why you've come into this issue so heavily in the way that you have.

1:02:01To me, it's healthcare. It shouldn't be a contentious conversation. It should be a basic human right of access to healthcare if and when someone needs it and chooses it. If you don't believe in it, you don't want it, you don't need to choose it. Don't have one. But health issues don't discriminate. You know, I'm sitting here five months pregnant and there's a lot that I feel very vulnerable to that like, you know, God forbid something might happen that I can't control. And in that moment, I would hope that there is access to lifesaving care, to vital care. And unfortunately, the reality is in many states across this country, there is not.

1:02:44and, you know, 25 million women of reproductive age in America are living in a state with some type of abortion ban. And to me, that is infuriating. That is devastating because the implications of that are very real and are being played out in real time. And to me, that's not politics. This is life we're talking about. And, you know, I think the sort of inequitable access. You know, it's like, for me, I can get on an airplane and leave whatever state I'm in to access the best medical care in New York or in California. But like, a lot of women don't have that privilege or that time. And, you know, I think there's so much statistics I could sit here and tell you about sort of the misinformation and misconceptions, I think, around this too.

1:03:31I mean, an overwhelming majority of abortions happen before 13 weeks. overwhelming majority have are already mothers who are seeking this care. This is not a light decision. And to me, it doesn't matter how or why somebody is coming to that decision. It is a health service that people deserve to have if they need it. And to me, it's really infuriating. I'm from Missouri. All my sisters, neighbors, friends, family, many which live back home and And our, you know, Missouri is actually a state where we fought very hard over the last year to not only pass the ballot initiative, but just get it on the ballot.

1:04:14You wouldn't even believe. But we passed it. It was the first state to ever go from a complete abortion ban to row standards. Wow. But it's still being contested. It's still been held up in the court cases. And now, you know, there's threats that they're going to try and repeal it. So it's, this is, I mean, imagine if you poured that energy into more productive places of actually helping people. And to me, all I, you know, hope to do is with any power, privilege, platform, or voice, or vote that I have, is do what I can to help others access care if they need it. And support the care providers who are risking their lives every single day to do this work.

1:04:57and you know I think maybe because my dad's a doctor like I understand no one is you know the people who are doing this are doing this because they they know that it is how critical it is and I just want to do whatever I can to support that work well I'm so unbelievably grateful to you for keeping the conversation going but also for continuing to really educate people because I really believe so strongly that there is so much misinformation out there and so much that we are kind of being fed that is just completely incorrect. And so it's really, really important that we don't just think about this as something that has happened to us.

1:05:39It's a fight and it's a reason for, I think, so many women to be energized around a cause that affects us all. So I'm actually just so incredibly grateful, not just to you raising the awareness, but also as usual, Carly Class, putting your money where your mouth is. So kudos to you. And one thing that I'm totally fascinated about, and I really must ask you about it because you've recently, you know, acquired, and I love this. We haven't even talked about this. Acquired, because it just makes me so, so happy for you. But you are one of very few women that is really like in the publishing space.

1:06:16You acquired ID Magazine, you acquired Life Magazine. I think you're part of a consortium of people that acquired W as well. Is that right? And it just is so interesting to me because I'm like, well, the rest of the world is like, magazines are dead. We're all moving on. All of a sudden, Carly Closs is like, I'm going to start a publishing empire, which is also a very, very, very male dominated space. Is there like a big grand plan? What are you thinking about? like what why totally why and what are you doing I'm first of all I'm like there's no one who likes magazines more than me I will tell you right now the minute people started shutting down magazines I was like crying and mourning everyone so I feel like this is such an interesting space for you to be getting into well I definitely feel like the person that's running into the burning building that everybody else is running out of I actually do think like call me crazy but I also think that's where some interesting opportunities emerge.

1:07:11And I think that is, it is a moment of evolution, absolutely, in the business model of media. And to me, what is very hard to do is build a brand from the ground up, which is why I have tremendous respect for all that you've built. You're right. And to me, what I saw with ID and certainly with Life and W is that they are - These are brands. These are storied brands. They have archival history. They mean things to people. What they stand for, what the role they've played in sort of pop culture or culture. And to me, that is a very hard thing to manufacture or build from the ground up. And so I think when I saw this sort of distressed opportunity with ID, Vice going through bankruptcy, you know, one, I mean, we both know and love Edward Enningful dearly.

1:08:01I mean, ID was one of the first editorials I did. And I mean, I grew up like reading that magazine buying that magazine, obsessing, like obsessing over the covers. And the first 20 pages of that magazine would be like eating like a culture soup. You'd be like, what do I need to wear? What do I need to buy? Where do I need to go? It was so rich with information in a time when information wasn't so easy to come by, but you know, such specificity. You were like, I am, I'm going to be cool just by virtue of reading this. So I think that you're absolutely closing your mind and eyes to new ideas and new different ways of thinking and dressing and people and to me that's what you know ideas so uniquely sort of had this place in sort of youth culture um certainly in the UK scene and in the fashion scene but but beyond uh you know I think that's like you know it's it's such a sort of storied platform also in music so many musicians have what are you gonna do with it this is what I need to know what are you doing I'm so nosy Yeah, no, no, no.

1:09:04Well, to me, the opportunity is to sort of like re-imagine the business that can be built around that. And we've, you know, it's been, I've learned so much. I mean, let me tell you, it's only been maybe a year and a half since I, or less, a year and change since I acquired ID. And we've, we've fully rebuilt the engine inside. You know, we rebuilt, we bought it out of bankruptcy. So effectively like had to build from the ground up the, the site, the, the sort of CMS, the back of house. Like the editorial team too? Did you have to rebuild that? Yes. There was a lot of sort of evolution across all aspects of the business.

1:09:39But to me, what the opportunity is and what we're really focused on doing is sort of preserving and protecting the DNA of what it always was, but reaching young people today where they are, which is of course across the digital mediums. You know, print is one spoke of what we do. I think print deserves to live on. But like, there's a lot smarter ways you can like manufacture and distribute your print. So you're not printing a lot of magazines and then they're getting ultimately pulped, which is a sad truth about the publishing world. So were you really thinking about these brands in a much more 360 way?

1:10:16You're thinking through the event lens, the digital lens, experiential. To me, it's like, you know, that is the opportunity to sort of build more than just a content business. You know, of course, there's—and that's still a meaningful business. You know, I think, like, we consume more content and information than ever. But I think the way in which you can actually leverage that—to me, I think of three different sort of audiences that matter deeply. One is our audience, like, readers, young people, people of all ages around the world who want to read our content, talent, and then our brand partners.

1:10:52And there's ways to sort of like create a better way to sort of serve all parties because they all play into each other. Like it is not really serving a brand partner, like an advertiser to buy a page in a print magazine anymore. Like that is, there's a cachet to that. Well, it's one dimensional, right? It's like, yeah, it's like one way of hitting. But actually what's more interesting is like, and especially I've seen this, you know, post pandemic is like experiential and these sort of like moments that people are craving and brands find far more sort of meaningful. And so to me, it's like, how do we just, how do we sort of think first principles about the business that can be built around these brands?

1:11:34Again, ideas, very much sort of this youth culture, music, fashion, sort of street culture, like irreverence. And I think like there's so much that sort of we're building within that world. W is incredible. It has an incredible editor-in-chief, Sarah Mood Bay. And then life. And then life. That was like, to me, I got it. I was like, you know, fashion, W, ID. And then I was like, whoops, skeet skirt around the court. Life. That was like genius to me. That was really all Josh. Like that's like, oh really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like an American icon, no? And it's been asleep. It's been dormant for, I mean, out of print more than 20 years.

1:12:12And so that we're deep in sort of the sort of underground phase of building the team around and relaunching. And you're working with your husband. And that is the first time Josh and I have ever really worked together. I mean, you tell me. You work with your husband all day, every day. This is the first time that we are working together. I look at that as like possibly a partnership made in heaven because knowing the both of you, you both have very, very different skills and yet intrinsically the same values. So to me, it's like, I'll bet on that partnership. Let me tell you. Well, stay tuned.

1:12:43I mean, I definitely am excited to, you know, have that sort of come to life, no pun intended, at the right time. But I think that, you know, it was always built on this sort of like deep sense of values. Stay tuned. I will keep you posted. I will be watching this space. You have no idea. I wonder if there have been times, I mean, I don't know what fool would do this, but do you feel like you've ever been underestimated? Because as you sit and talk right now, I mean, you are beyond impressive. Like what you're doing has so much gravitas, so much meaning, but there's so much heart in it. And I really admire someone that's able to fuse all of those things and be thinking about sort of, you know, breathing life into these like new brands and creating completely new businesses that don't exist.

1:13:30And so I certainly wouldn't be one of the people, but have you been underestimated in the past? More times. I mean, all the time. It's still, of course, all the time today. You know, I think I have definitely evolved. I think growing up from being a young woman in the public eye, starting a career in a very public way, I think I used to put so much more weight on the way that I was perceived. More weight on those judgments, those point of views of others to sort of assess how I felt about myself based on how everybody else felt. And I think that with time, age, wisdom, and I think certainly motherhood, I genuinely don't give a fuck what anybody thinks about me.

1:14:17It's kind of really freeing. I didn't get you to say that, but I'm so glad you don't give a fuck. You have to give zero fucks because all of the things you're doing, like, why would you? It's really, really unbelievable. What kind of lessons do you, like, I just feel like you're clearly kind of out here doing what you need to do on your own terms. And I think it's so difficult for so many people to reach that point where they feel like they get there and that that's a choice for them. So I just wonder what over the last 15 years of you being, you know, out here, walking the walk, talking the talk, getting to this point in your career, what have you learned?

1:15:00Oh my God, I've learned so much. I think I've learned to trust myself, to trust my instinct, to trust my sort of just my own voice. I think I, again, always, because I started so young, I had a lot of sort of like chaperones or agents or people sort of coddling me or telling me what I was supposed to be or do. And I think finally actually just trusting my own voice, my own gut response to things that has, when I don't listen to that, then I go wrong. Yes. And I think that's where it's just like, I'd rather make a mistake based on like my own choice as opposed to not trusting myself, listening to somebody else and ultimately making that same mistake.

1:15:51Like I'd rather just own it myself. I love that. It's a really solid piece of advice. I have a little rapid fire for you now, my darling. Yes, I love it. All right, okay. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Check my nanette for my kids or check on my kids running to their room. Or if I'm on the other side of the country like today, like check on my kids, call home. Yeah. I love that. And then coffee shortly after. And then coffee, yeah. I think that's a good one. The last thing you do before you go to bed? I make sure to set like three alarms because I'm a solid sleeper.

1:16:25What are you currently aspiring for in your business life? Hmm. I think to continue to keep growing as a leader. I feel like I see this to Josh all the time. I'm like, I have no idea what I'm doing. Like, and he's like, Carly, nobody does. And so that's helpful. But I think just to continue to sort of grow as a leader, as a boss, as a manager, as a person, and better sort of, I think, work smarter, not just harder. Yeah. What are you aspiring for in your personal life? Working smarter, not just harder, to sort of free up more space and time. And yeah, I think just like I have really tried to be as present in this moment because it does go, it is going so quick.

1:17:14Like my son, you see this, you're eight and 11, right? That is like, they might as well be in college. They might as well be in college. That's how I feel. They literally might as well be in college. Oh my gosh, time is moving so fast. So just being as present in this moment as possible. No, I feel like that's just a great point of view for anyone with kids or without kids. Be present. What is a book that's changed your life? Oh my gosh. Well, I always love reading The Alchemist. I most recently just read my friend Amy Griffin's book, The Tell, which was deeply moving. Deeply, deeply. That's one that everyone, everyone should read.

1:17:52I can highly recommend it. Fantastic, like gut-wrenching, but also a must-read, I would say. Must-read. What's something that you value now that you didn't back then? I think you know I was always so professional back then but I think um I I don't know I guess I wasn't always I was always on time but I now really appreciate how that is a very important thing uh but I was always very professional but now I'm on time now you're on time yes I know time becomes very precious oh my god yes it does the older we get the older we get thank you for being here today. Thank you for the, for the chats and the honesty.

1:18:34And honestly, I'm like, I'm so happy for you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so like, I'm like team Carly all the way. I'm like, yes, you're amazing. Everything you're doing is so, so unbelievably impressive. Good for you, babe. That means the world coming from you, Emma. I so, I love you. I appreciate you. I admire you. I aspire to be the woman that you are and that, you know, your four children, my God, I need all your lessons. But thank you for having me and just the light you are in the world. And you are such an inspiration for me and for so many. So thank you. You're right, darling. Love you.

1:19:13If you're loving this podcast, be sure to click follow on your favorite listening platform. While you're there, give us a review and a five-star rating and share an episode you loved with a friend. You'll be so grateful. Aspire with Emma Greed is presented by Odyssey. I'm your host, emigreed. Our executive producers are Corrine Gilead-Fisher, Derek Brown, and me. Our executive producers from Odyssey are Maddie Sprung-Kaiser, Leah Reese Dennis, Asha Saluja, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Justine Dom is our senior producer. Our producer is Kristin Torres. Sound design and engineering by Bill Schultz. Angela Peluso is our booker.

1:19:48Original music by Charles Black. Video production by Evan Cox, Kurt Courtney, Andrew Steele, Carlos Delgado, and Arnie Agassi. Social media by Olivia Holman. Special thanks go to Brittany Smith, Sydney Ford, my teams at Jonesworks and WNE, Maura Curran, Josefina Francis, Hilary Schuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Hutchinson-Rose, Tim Meekle, Sean Cherry, and Lauren Vieira. If you have questions for me, you can DM me at Aspire with Emma Greed. Greed is spelled G-R-E-D-E. That's Aspire, A-S-P-I-R-E with Emma Greed. Or you can submit a question to me on my website, emmagreed.me. In football, value isn't just about making flashy plays.

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