Emily Weiss Character Analysis

“You learn a lot about people when you’re sitting on their bathroom floor, or on their toilet seat, rifling through their stuff” (Jacobs), Emily Weiss, founder and CEO of a blog titled Into the Gloss and powerhouse cosmetics company Glossier, states in an interview for The New York Times. At just 25 years-old, Weiss molded herself into the epitome of leadership. To fully examine her qualities, the term leader must be defined in the simplest of phrases: Someone who embodies the image of the current generation and finds unique success in otherwise traditional environments. Emily Weiss, “a thoroughly millennial girlboss in jeans, sneakers and a royal blue sweatshirt with ‘weiss’ embroidered in small white script” (Giacobbe), encompasses all traits

This “success” is synonymous with “individualistic,” meaning that her life is separated from the traditional one and is instead filled with fame, opportunities, and a foundation from which she is able to grow on. Weiss did not have an end goal, but rather has the mentality of a leader that once an intention is achieved, it is merely a means to the next objective and not the final step, as shown by using ITG to develop Glossier. Weiss, as stated before, possesses four traits that allow her to continue moving forward: drive, creativity, intuition, and relatability. Weiss speaks of her drive by admitting, “I had no idea what I was doing. I was 28 years old. I didn’t have an M.B.A. I went to art school” (Hassett). To startup Glossier, Weiss “visited 12 venture-capital firms, and she received 11 ‘no’ answers” (Hassett). Many who speak of Weiss note that she has the mentality of a leader because she can mold herself into what a job is looking for. Weiss states, “I proved myself to be very valuable. You have to be so many things. You have to be a sponge, you have to be respectful, you have to roll up your sleeves. I really earned my right to be [here]. I was just like, ‘Put me to work. I love work!’” (Hassett). This drive was proven when Weiss first began attending fashion shows. While editors were still entering a Chloé fashion show in Paris, Weiss had already taken her seat