Sophia Amoruso

Sophia Amoruso

Amoruso at TechCrunch Disrupt, 2014
Born Sophia Christina Amoruso
(1984-04-20) April 20, 1984
San Diego, California, U.S.
Occupation Entrepreneur
Known for Founder & owner of Nasty Gal
Net worth Increase $280 million
Spouse(s) Joel Jarek DeGraff (m. 2015–16)

Sophia Christina Amoruso (born April 20, 1984)[1] is an American businesswoman. At 22, Amoruso started an online eBay store selling vintage clothing and other items, which she named "Nasty Gal Vintage."

Based on the success of her online store, Amoruso founded Nasty Gal, a women's fashion retailer, which went on to be named one of "the fastest growing companies" by Inc. Magazine in 2012.[2] In 2016, she was named one of the richest self-made women in the world by Forbes.[3]

On November 9, 2016 Nasty Gal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. [4]

Early life

Amoruso was born in San Diego, California, in 1984. She is of Greek, Italian, and Portuguese descent.[5] Amoruso was raised in the Greek Orthodox church.[5] After being diagnosed with depression and attention deficit disorder (ADD) in her adolescence, Amoruso dropped out of school and began homeschooling. Her first job as a teenager was at a Subway restaurant,[6] followed by various odd jobs, including working in a book store and a record shop.[7] After high school, Amoruso's parents divorced, and she moved to Sacramento, California.[8]

As a young adult, Amoruso lived a nomadic lifestyle, hitchhiking on the west coast, dumpster diving, and stealing.[9] In 2003, while living in Portland, Oregon, Amoruso was caught stealing; the loss-prevention of the store fined Amoruso, and the experience led her to stop stealing.[9] Amoruso left Portland and relocated to San Francisco, shortly after which she discovering she had a hernia in her groin, which necessitated her purchasing health insurance for required medical treatments.[8] While attending community college, Amoruso worked in a school lobby checking student IDs.

Career

eBay store

At age 22, Amoruso opened an online eBay store, which she called Nasty Gal Vintage, named after an album by funk singer Betty Davis.[8] The store consisted of used vintage clothing and other items; the first item she sold was book she had stolen as a teenager.[9] She styled, photographed, captioned and shipped the products herself using what she was taught in a photography class.[10]

She admits to having used a friend-adding software while on Myspace, although it was against policy.[9]

Nasty Gal

Amoruso was banned from eBay in 2008 for posting hyperlinks in feedback to customers and launched Nasty Gal as its own retail website.[11] She chose the name "Nasty Gal" after the 1975 album by Betty Davis, a funk singer and style icon.[10]

Nasty Gal developed a devoted online following of young women on social media, and quickly grew with revenues increasing from $223,000 in 2008 to almost $23 million in 2011.[2] The New York Times has called her "a Cinderella of tech".[10] In 2013, Inc. Magazine named her to its 30 under 30 list.[12]

In 2014, Amoruso's book #GIRLBOSS was published by Portfolio, a Penguin imprint that specializes in books about business.[13][14]

In an interview with Dan Schawbel of Forbes, Amoruso admitted that she felt incompatible with the demands of being a CEO, and advised that people seeking positions as CEOs continue to seek managerial positions.[15] Although she had no managerial positions before becoming the manager of Nasty Gal Vintage, she had many previous jobs before that.

On January 12, 2015, Amoruso announced she was stepping down as CEO of Nasty Gal.[16] In November 2016, the company was reported to be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with Amoruso resigning as executive chairwoman.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Sophia Christina Amoruso". California Birth Index. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Fenn, Donna. "Unselfconsciously Sexy Style". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Clare (June 1, 2016). "Nasty Gal's Sophia Amoruso Hits Richest Self-Made Women List With $280 Million Fortune". Forbes. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  4. ↑ Omni, Rust. "Nasty Gal Bankruptcy". Nasty Gal Inc - bankruptcy. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 Pappas, Gregory (May 7, 2014). "The Greek in Nasty Gal's Sophia Amoruso Deconstructed". Pappas Post. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ Barret, Victoria (June 29, 2012). "Styling Tips With Nasty Gal's Sophia Amoruso". Forbes. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sophia Amoruso Discusses Her Book, "Nasty Galaxy"". America Online. BUILD. October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Morning Joe Staff (May 28, 2014). "Sophia Amoruso is taking your questions". MSBC. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Amoruso, Sophia (2014). #GIRLBOSS. New York: the Penguin Group. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-399-16927-4.
  10. 1 2 3 Perlroth, Nicole. "Naughty in Name Only". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  11. ↑ Barrett, Victoria (June 28, 2012). "Nasty Gal's Sophia Amoruso: Fashion's New Phenom". Forbes. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Meet the 30 Under 30, Class of 2013". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  13. ↑ Amoruso, Sophia (6 May 2014). #GIRLBOSS. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 039916927X.
  14. ↑ Jacobs, Alexandra (January 11, 2015). "Who Will Be America's Next Top Mentor?". New York Times.
  15. ↑ "Work For A Company Then Become An Entrepreneur". Forbes. September 29, 2015.
  16. ↑ Del Rey, Jason; Swisher, Kara (January 12, 2015). "Nasty Gal Founder Sophia Amoruso Steps Down As CEO". Re/code. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  17. ↑ Swisher, Kara (November 9, 2016). "Nasty Gal is expected to file for bankruptcy". Re/code. Retrieved November 9, 2016.

External links

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