The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 26 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 2 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Jenn Hyman: One investor sexually harassed her while building Rent the Runway
“I, through the process of building Rent the Runway, was sexually harassed by one individual, and I'm happy to share that experience. However, I will say that I've had interactions with dozens and dozens of venture capitalists at dozens of firms, and this was j…”
Hyman aimed to build Rent the Runway into a $100 billion company
“Yeah, so I'm here to build a hundred billion dollar company, and To change the way we get dressed every single day all over the world, and to democratize what I think is one of the most elite industries on earth, and one of the most wasteful industries on eart…”
Hyman: Wardrobing return rate was 70% at Neiman Marcus, 35% at Macy's
“The theft rate, so the rent the runway rate at Macy's is only 35%, whereas at Neiman Marcus it's 70%, proving once and for all rich people steal more than poor people.”
Male VCs told Hyman they needed to consult their wives or admins
“That wasn't one investor, that was most. Let me talk to my wife, my daughter, or my admin. Those were the three, you know, target customers that we would hear.”
Hyman: Harasser called Rent the Runway board member claiming CEO unresponsiveness
“And then this person decided to call one of my board members up on the phone and say, you know, Jen never responds to me. And I think that this is a real problem, and She's a really unresponsive CEO, and she's probably, if she's doing this to me, she's probabl…”
Hyman: Rent the Runway cut ties with an investor after harassment
“I proceeded to tell everyone else on my board, as well as some key executives who were working with me at Rent the Runway at the time, and the board was unbelievably supportive, and we decided that we were not going to do business anymore with this individual …”
Hyman: Rent the Runway Pays Zero Upfront for Most Inventory
“Coming into 2025, the vast majority of the inventory that we have on our platform, we don't pay for anymore. And we don't pay up front. We just revenue share with our designer partners because they view Rent the Runway as a significant part of their marketing.”
Hyman: Intimate Customer Conversations Yield Better Insights Than Massive Surveys
“I think sometimes people think that data has to be big data in order to matter. And I've found even at the size that we are, that sometimes it's the small data. It's the conversations with, you know, eight women at dinner. That give you better insight than the…”
Hyman: Rent the Runway would not survive closing its fulfillment warehouses
“Like, to us, if you close down your warehouse, you're essentially, rent the runway wouldn't survive. And the work that we've been doing over the last 11 years to build the company would just disappear.”
Hyman: Rent the Runway is the world's largest dry cleaner
“We believe it's in the world, but that, that's certainly a business that I never thought I would be in.”
Hyman: Rent the Runway Had First All-Female C-Suite at IPO
“We were the first company in history to go public with a female CEO, COO, and CFO.”
Male investors understood Rent the Runway by comparing to tuxedo rentals
“And because most investors are men, They were able to compare it to something they did, which was rent a tuxedo.”
Raz: Rent the Runway is profitable and America's single largest dry cleaner
“Rent the Runway isn't just profitable. It's also become America's single largest dry cleaner.”
Hyman: Rent the Runway will become a multi-billion dollar company
“I was always confident that I would turn Rent the Runway into a consumer behavior that millions of people did, and that I would build a, you know, I still believe we're going to build a multi-billion dollar company.”
Hyman: Young consumers prioritize the experience of wearing fashion over ownership
“I realized I was having a conversation with my sister about the experience of wearing an amazing dress, of walking into a party feeling self-confident and feeling beautiful, and that's what she cared about. And she didn't care about the actual ownership of the…”
NYT article drove RTR's entire first-year sales projection in three weeks
“So because of hustling to get this story and the luck of ending up on the front page of the New York Times, we met our first year sales projections in three weeks”
Jenn Hyman: Consumers focus far less on clothing when sheltered at home
“So much of our business is based around people leaving their homes. Whether you are going to work or you're hanging out with friends, you know, often the act of getting dressed is somewhat an external act. Where you're getting dressed for something, and we def…”
Hyman: Rent the Runway executed small layoff and broad company furloughs
“We had to execute a small layoff, but a much larger furlough of our employee base across every single division of the company.”
Rent the Runway rented current-season inventory at 5-10% of retail
“You can imagine we were renting current season designer inventory for five to 10% of the price at the exact same time that it was at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus and Saks and Net-a-Porter for sale.”
Hyman: Rent the Runway was conceived around renting daily wardrobes, not just gowns
“The closet would move into the cloud because people were valuing experiences over ownership, and that there would be a time where a portion of what we wore every single day would be comprised of things that we don't own forever.”
Hyman: Rent the Runway subscribers use the service 120 days yearly
“Our average subscriber is using us a 120 days of the year.”
Hyman predicted Rent the Runway would reach 3,000 employees by 2019
“And before Rent the Runway, I had managed all of 10 people. And now my company has 1500 people and will likely have 3000 people by the end of next year.”
Founders Jenn Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss each own 13% of the company
“Both Jen and Jennifer each own 13% of the company, and it's put them on Forbes' list of the richest self-made women to watch.”
Rent the Runway employs hundreds of engineers but only ten fashion staff
“You know, Rent the Runway is primarily a technology and logistics company. We have 1200 employees. 10 employees are in my fashion department. And, you know, hundreds are in my logistics department. Hundreds are in my engineering department.”