Business speaker for hire Jennifer Fleiss is the Co-Founder and head of business development for Rent the Runway. As of 2018, Fleiss also serves as head of Jetblack, a firm operating within Walmart’s startup program.
A graduate from Yale in 2005 and Harvard Business School in 2009, Fleiss was prepared to tackle the business industry, She met her Rent the Runway co-founder at Harvard, and the duo would go on to form the online designer apparel rental site in 2009. Fleiss would serve as head of business development and as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. Her duties include managing business growth and long-term strategy planning. She also assists with project planning and company wide infrastructure. Fleiss’ irreverent approach to entrepreneurship is what made her so successful, and the non traditional aspects of her business have led her to become an important figure within the business and fashion industry,
Before her career at Rent the Runway, Fleiss prepared for her role within Rent the Runway by working with prestigious firms Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers’, working as a strategic analyst, crafting long term strategies and analyzing new business opportunities.
Outside of Rent the Runway, Fleiss also founded an online essay-editing and coaching service for prospective college students.
For her work as an entrepreneur, Fleiss was awarded multiple accolades, including being named to Fortune’s “40 Under 40” and “Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs” lists, as well as Forbes’s “Disruptors 2013” among others.