The Unbridled Entrepreneur: The Early Years of Vera Wang
The Unbridled Entrepreneur: The Early Years of Vera Wang
Vera Ellen Wang was born on June 27, 1949 in New York City. Her father was a descendent of a long line of wealthy Chinese generals, while her mother was the pampered daughter of a Chinese politician. After World War II, the young couple fled to New York City, where they eventually married and had two children, Vera and her brother, Kenneth.
In New York, Wang attended The Chapin School and later Sarah Lawrence College, where she graduated with a degree in Art History. It was during her school years that Wang discovered what would become her life’s first great passion - skating. After receiving a pair of ice skates as a Christmas present, Wang began focusing seriously on the sport. Each day at six o’clock in the morning, Wang would already be on the rink, getting in a round of practice before heading to school. The hard work paid off when by the age of 12, Wang was performing competitively, and even won her first regional championship.
Eventually, the challenge of balancing both school and competitive skating became too much for Wang, forcing her to give up the sport in what would be one of the greatest disappointments of her life.
With skating now out of her life, Wang chose to focus on her second greatest passion in life – clothes. Unable to quell her passion for fashion, and much to the chagrin of her father, Wang began taking the steps she needed to enter the fashion industry.
Fate smiled on Wang when she was hired as an assistant to Vogue’s then fashion director Polly Mellen. The opportunity proved a great learning experience for Wang, who used the job as her chance to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Her hard work did not go unnoticed, and within two years, Wang had worked her way up to become the magazine’s fashion editor.
It was a demanding lifestyle for the then 24-year-old. Often working seven days a week, Wang flourished in the challenging environment. However, since her work was more editorial rather than design-oriented, Wang was still itching to make her own mark on the fashion industry. By the mid-1980s, after 16 years of learning all she could from Vogue, and after being turned down for the editor-in-chief position, Wang left the magazine.
Her unemployed days did not last long, as Wang was quickly snapped up by Ralph Lauren and made a designer for accessories. Finally, Wang was engaging in the creative and hands-on aspect of fashion as she had always wanted. Still, she could not escape the fact that no matter how hard she worked, it was never her name on the product.
The Unbridled Entrepreneur The Early Years of Vera Wang
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Fashion legend Vera Wang was born into an affluent family, but that did not prevent her from knowing failure. Her dreams of becoming an Olympic figure skater never managed to materialize. And, when she was rejected for a position as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine, Wang thought she was all out of options. It was then that she decided to turn a personal dilemma into a business venture. Today, Wang is the Chairman, CEO, and owner of one of the most successful fashion houses in history.
Vera Ellen Wang was born on June 27, 1949 in New York City. Her father was a descendent of a long line of wealthy Chinese generals, while her mother was the pampered daughter of a Chinese politician. After World War II, the young couple fled to New York City, where they eventually married and had two children, Vera and her brother, Kenneth.
In New York, Wang attended The Chapin School and later Sarah Lawrence College, where she graduated with a degree in Art History. It was during her school years that Wang discovered what would become her life’s first great passion - skating. After receiving a pair of ice skates as a Christmas present, Wang began focusing seriously on the sport. Each day at six o’clock in the morning, Wang would already be on the rink, getting in a round of practice before heading to school. The hard work paid off when by the age of 12, Wang was performing competitively, and even won her first regional championship.
Eventually, the challenge of balancing both school and competitive skating became too much for Wang, forcing her to give up the sport in what would be one of the greatest disappointments of her life.
With skating now out of her life, Wang chose to focus on her second greatest passion in life – clothes. Unable to quell her passion for fashion, and much to the chagrin of her father, Wang began taking the steps she needed to enter the fashion industry.
Fate smiled on Wang when she was hired as an assistant to Vogue’s then fashion director Polly Mellen. The opportunity proved a great learning experience for Wang, who used the job as her chance to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Her hard work did not go unnoticed, and within two years, Wang had worked her way up to become the magazine’s fashion editor.
It was a demanding lifestyle for the then 24-year-old. Often working seven days a week, Wang flourished in the challenging environment. However, since her work was more editorial rather than design-oriented, Wang was still itching to make her own mark on the fashion industry. By the mid-1980s, after 16 years of learning all she could from Vogue, and after being turned down for the editor-in-chief position, Wang left the magazine.
Her unemployed days did not last long, as Wang was quickly snapped up by Ralph Lauren and made a designer for accessories. Finally, Wang was engaging in the creative and hands-on aspect of fashion as she had always wanted. Still, she could not escape the fact that no matter how hard she worked, it was never her name on the product.
The Unbridled Entrepreneur The Early Years of Vera Wang
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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