Podcast appearances and mentions of piera gelardi

On today's episode of The CLS Experience we have a very special treat. She's an exciting world builder, super entrepreneur, keynote speaker, Co-Founder and former Executive Creative Director of Refinery29, and founder of her most recent innovative project called Wild Things World, just to name a few. She's an expert at building distinctive visual brands, nurturing creative talent, and expanding the representation of women in media, No big deal. She's led purpose driven artistic activations working with nonprofits like Planned Parenthood and more. She's a certified teacher and healer, spreading joy and creative confidence around the globe, and her ability to, as she says, “be the spark, live with heart, and turn it into art” is second to none. She's all about self love, the importance of play, and cultivating courageous creativity for optimized innovation. She's just a juggernaut in all facets of life, and a terrific mother and wife. Please welcome the creative, vulnerable, artistic, and brilliant, the Playful Piera Gelardi.To join our community click here.➤ To connect with Piera follow Piera Gelardi on Instagram➤ Order a copy of my new book The Reinvention Formula today! ➤ Join our CLS texting community for free daily inspiration and business strategies to elevate your day, text (917) 634-3796To follow The CLS Experience and connect with Craig on Social Media:➤ INSTAGRAM➤ FACEBOOK➤ TIKTOK➤ YOUTUBE➤ WEBSITE➤ LINKEDIN➤ TWITTER➤ CLS TOOLKIT➤ CLS MEMBERSHIP

Julie and Casey have an encore chat with Season 1 guest Piera Gelardi (founder of Refinery 29, creative genius, and now the founder of Wild Things World) about how play became the focus for her “next chapter”. Along the way, they discuss best practices for better brainstorming, what Piera has learned from her four-year-old daughter, and entering our collective hope punk era by choosing hope, joy, and delight in a dark world. From now until April 15th, we're accepting applications for our signature small group course for women, POWER/PLAY. Find out more and apply here!   Thank you to our Season 4 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to http://armoire.style/voiceis and use VOICEIS in the referral box!   TOP TAKEAWAYS: Play is a powerful tool for presence, connection, creativity, divergent thinking, and more . . . and we have to protect the vibes. Trying to commodify it, make play “efficient”, or give it a necessary goal to hit kinda kills it. The Ghost of Should distracts us from our true journeys — and “being taken seriously” wasn't the right goal for Piera.  What we look for, we notice, and what we notice, grows. Creating a practice of looking for wonder, delight, joy, and love doesn't mean we have to ignore the bad stuff or spiritually bypass ourselves and others.  LESSON: A few ways to get out of your head and find the FUN of communication   Piera Gelardi is a creative director, entrepreneur, and speaker passionate about bringing out the creativity in everyone. She co-founded the iconic women's media brand Refinery29, the experiential property 29Rooms, and recently launched the new play company Wild Things World. She is on a mission to bring more play to every space she enters — starting with yours! Her work has won accolades like Ad Age's "50 Most Creative People of the Year" Entrepreneur magazine's "50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs and spots keynoting events like SxSW, Create & Cultivate, and Inbound. Outside of her work, she loves performing in storytelling shows, teaching cathartic dance, and making up songs with her 4 year old.    

This is Piera Gelardi for Female Startup Club Hello and welcome back to the show! It's Doone here, your host and hype girl. Today I'm having a chat with the wonderful Piera Gelardi, who you might recognise as the co-founder of Refinery29. But today we're talking all the things about her new venture, Wild Things World. And it is a total cracker! Piera is one of those people that radiates joy and good vibes, we talked about her lessons learned throughout her 15 years building Refinery29, her bootstrapped pathway following her passion with Wild Things World and why we should all find our inner creative in the world. And stick around to the end of the 6 quick questions because she shares some really wild stories at the end! If you love this episode please let me know by posting a screenshot to Instagram stories tagging us or drop into my DMs to chat @dooneroisin. Let's get into this episode, this is Piera for Female Startup Club LINKS WE MENTION: Piera's Instagram Refinery29's Instagram 29Rooms' Instagram Wild Things World's Instagram Visit Upscribe.io/femalestartupclub to learn more and receive your first month FREE SIGN UP FOR 1800-HYPEGIRL HOTLINE HERE: femalestartupclub.norby.live Female Startup Club's Instagram   Doone's Instagram   Doone's TikTok   To redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/   In partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businesses   Female Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club's Private Facebook Group   Say hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.com   Female Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star

This is Piera Gelardi for Female Startup Club Hello and welcome back to the show! It's Doone here, your host and hype girl. Today I'm having a chat with the wonderful Piera Gelardi, who you might recognise as the co-founder of Refinery29. But today we're talking all the things about her new venture, Wild Things World. And it is a total cracker! Piera is one of those people that radiates joy and good vibes, we talked about her lessons learned throughout her 15 years building Refinery29, her bootstrapped pathway following her passion with Wild Things World and why we should all find our inner creative in the world. And stick around to the end of the 6 quick questions because she shares some really wild stories at the end! If you love this episode please let me know by posting a screenshot to Instagram stories tagging us or drop into my DMs to chat @dooneroisin. Let's get into this episode, this is Piera for Female Startup Club LINKS WE MENTION: Piera's Instagram Refinery29's Instagram 29Rooms' Instagram Wild Things World's Instagram Visit Upscribe.io/femalestartupclub to learn more and receive your first month FREE SIGN UP FOR 1800-HYPEGIRL HOTLINE HERE: femalestartupclub.norby.live Female Startup Club's Instagram   Doone's Instagram   Doone's TikTok   To redeem 1 month free of Norby's Basic Plan use code "FSC" here: https://join.nor.by/   In partnership with Klaviyo, the best email marketing tool for eCommerce businesses   Female Startup Club's YouTubeFemale Startup Club's Private Facebook Group   Say hello to Doone: hello@femalestartupclub.com   Female Startup Club + Clearco: Clear.co/partner/female-star

Piera Gelardi is one of the most creative and colorful spirits I have ever met. She is a natural storyteller, a multi-awarded entrepreneur, creative director, advisor, speaker, and mother, passionate about awakening creativity in everyone around her. In this episode, Piera invites us to explore how leadership looks when we add compassion, creativity, and generosity to it. We learn several ways to talk to and defeat our inner critic, the essential need to incorporate play into our adult lives, and how she managed to knit kindness and generosity into negotiations. Some Questions I Ask:When you are about to get on stage to do public speaking, and your inner critic's voice gets really loud, what's that inner dialogue like? (12:39)Have you always been a natural storyteller? (22:05)What tools can we give the audience to deal with those days when they feel stuck or need a break? (35:47)In This Episode, You Will Learn:How public speaking turns into something different when we speak about things that are alive in us (7:08)About Piera's unique leadership style and how to lead through curiosity and generosity (14:23)How compassion can be a great tool to lead groups (19:32)What made Piera change her vision about what a negotiation should look like (28:34)Love notes to self. Piera shares some of the tools she uses to check in with herself (36:04)Creativity is more physical than we think (40:19)Resources:Piera Gelardi websiteWild Things WorldConnect with Piera:InstagramTikTokLet's connect!Active Ingredient InstagramSophie Weill Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past few months, we've spoken of how we're reevaluating different parts of our lives—and the role travel plays in them—from prioritizing traveling just for ourselves to developing healthier relationships with our bodies. This week, we're talking about renegotiating our relationship with alcohol as we get back out into the world, whether it's on vacation or simply during a night out with friends. Inspired by contributor Rebekah Peppler's recent story, we're joined by Piera Gelardi, a Brooklyn-based entrepreneur who has spent the last year examining her relationship with alcohol, and Melanie Masarin, founder of Ghia, a spirits-free apéritifs company that hit the market early last year. We chat about being sober and sober-curious, how to approach conversations about not drinking, and what beverage options are out there beyond “a glass of sparkling water with a dried-up, sad old lime,” as Piera says. Read a full transcription of the podcast and find links to the accounts and stories mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/two-travelers-on-exploring-sobriety-at-home-and-on-the-road-women-who-travel-podcast Follow Melanie: @MelanieMasarin, @DrinkGhia Follow Piera: @PieraLuisa Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere Follow Lale: @lalehannah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing up in his grandmother's and mother's hospitality business in the heart of Cologne, working and living alongside powerful women and hosting others became part of Philippe von Borries' DNA. Venturing out of Germany, he eventually landed in New York, where he, in 2005, co-created a virtual shopping mall for the many independent lifestyle brands popping up in his new home, Brooklyn: Refinery 29 – a virtual place to refine content and products, geared towards the next generation of women, with 29 shops on each virtual floor. What started as a sketch on a napkin he drew together with his partner, Piera Gelardi, and two other friends, ended up being a global internet business – sold to Vice Media in 2019 for $400 million.

Piera Gelardi is a total creative visionary and #BossBabe. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director of Refinery29. Now a new mama to baby Viva, Piera's rise to the top of the media landscape began when she was only 24 years old.  In this episode of The LIVELY Podcast, we chat with Piera about what sparked her to move from a small town in Maine to NYC, her YOLO moment to quit and join her crew in starting Refinery29, and more. Piera also chats about what she calls “girlfriend consulting,” or giving your best gifts away, and how it took Refinery29 several years to become an “overnight success.” This episode is not to be missed! We'll also hear from LIVELY ambassador MJ Livingston, who had her YOLO moment to leave a stable job and join a new team where she is thriving and doing good for others with her new role by volunteering with GLO Good Foundation to provide oral health care to people in need. Piera's LIVELY Spotlight: Knix & Fenty Michelle's LIVELY Spotlight: Double Dose Wellness by Alex & Jordan. You can follow Piera on Instagram and Twitter @PieraLuisa @Refinery29 The LIVELY Podcast is hosted by its CEO & Founder Michelle Cordeiro Grant. Produced by @ArcCreativePod with @RoseEReid and Sabine Jansen. Special thanks to our LIVELY team. If you liked this episode, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to tell a friend about it! We love this community and want to make we reach as many friends as possible :) For the up-to-the-minute scoop, follow us on Instagram @wearlively Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey and Julie visit the Peach Pit in Refinery 29’s New York office and go deep with co-founder and executive creative director Piera Gelardi on failure and success, self-image, the media, aging, and what it means to create a company - and be a person - that strives to be “real, raw, and relatable.” (RIP Sassy magazine.) TOP TAKEAWAYS If someone looks like an “overnight success”, you’re missing part (or most) of the story.  And success comes in moments along the journey, not a destination. Counter the instinct to watch yourself perform by focusing on generously sharing your expertise, your ideas, and your energy. Friction creates sparks: “the power of a problem” to give us insight and creativity that might have never come otherwise.  Representation matters - from top stories down to the stock footage you use.    Vulnerability can be a superpower and give others permission to talk about their own struggles. Piera Gelardi is co-founder and executive creative director of the trailblazing media and entertainment company, Refinery29. As of 2019, Refinery29 was acquired by Vice Media Group, in a transaction valued at over $400 million. Refinery29 has won countless awards for its creativity, helping to change the way media and advertising speaks to and represents women through original content and live experiences. Piera is dedicated to championing inclusive stories that resonate globally, with an eye towards what matters most to this powerful generation of women. She has been honored as one of Adweek’s Creative 100, Ad Age's 50 Most Creative People, Entrepreneur magazine’s 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs, and one of Adweek's 37 Women Who Are Disrupting the Status Quo and Championing Gender Diversity. She also sits on the board of The Lower Eastside Girls Club, an organization training the next generation of ethical, entrepreneurial, environmental leaders. 

Lots of people work in creative industries, but very few have been able to take their art and pivot to build something more impactful than the art itself. That's exactly what Piera Gelardi did when she started Refinery29, a digital media company that in many ways, has helped to shape a more inclusive and interactive modern media landscape. In this episode, Piera speaks about how she made that pivot from artist to business-leader, why she loves improv exercises, and the reasoning behind developing Refinery29's iconic immersive experience 29Rooms.  Subscribe to Creative Conversation on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

An enlighting talk on how the visual language has become more than ever the main key to the success of all businesses between Delfina Delettrez, Francesco Carrozzini & Piera Gelardi moderated by Dan Thawley.

On this episode of Girlboss Radio, Piera takes us on her journey from growing up in a small town in Maine to running a major media company in New York. Co-founder and executive creative director of Refinery29, Piera’s colorful influence can be felt everywhere but especially in the dreamlike spectacle that is @29rooms, an interactive exhibition filled with art and experiences that Piera spearheaded. Inspired by everything from children's books to Guggenheim exhibits, Piera walks through the world with eyes and ears open, always ready to find her new creative endeavor. Tune in to hear more about how Piera met her co-founder and forever "work wife" and what adjusting to life as a new mom has been like. Recorded live in front of an audience at the Girlboss Rally in L.A.! To keep up with Piera Gelardi on Instagram, follow her here---> @pieraluisa 

On this episode of Girlboss Radio, Piera takes us on her journey from growing up in a small town in Maine to running a major media company in New York. Co-founder and executive creative director of Refinery29, Piera's colorful influence can be felt everywhere but especially in the dreamlike spectacle that is @29rooms, an interactive exhibition filled with art and experiences that Piera spearheaded. Inspired by everything from children's books to Guggenheim exhibits, Piera walks through the world with eyes and ears open, always ready to find her new creative endeavor. Tune in to hear more about how Piera met her co-founder and forever "work wife" and what adjusting to life as a new mom has been like. Recorded live in front of an audience at the Girlboss Rally in L.A.! To keep up with Piera Gelardi on Instagram, follow her here---> @pieraluisa 

“I think about how little we knew, but how—I believe—how courageous we were,” says Christene Barberich, reflecting on the early days of Refinery29. Before she and co-founder Piera Gelardi were the women at the helm of one of the fastest-growing digital media companies in the world, they were new entrepreneurs working tirelessly on a vision (first sketched on a napkin) that outsiders failed to understand. The Refinery29 founding team formed in 2004, and in those early days (before Twitter had even launched), people struggled to grasp even the concept of digital media. The co-founders’ pitches were met with skepticism. “We would go talk to people, and they would act like we were trying to sell them a carpet or something,” Gelardi says. “They thought it was a scam.” Potential advertisers and brand partners also didn’t think customers would ever want to buy something online. “I just remember thinking, like, ‘I don’t think that’s true,’” Barberich says. That skepticism gave them an advantage, though: It gave Refinery29 the freedom to operate and experiment without the pressure of competition. Today, Refinery29 has an international audience of 550 million and has earned multiple distinctions, including Webby awards and Inc. 500 list mentions. Key Takeaways How the two met and influenced each other’s decision to go all in on Refinery29 The early days at Refinery29 when wireframes were hand-drawn The freedom of operating under the radar when digital media was still the Wild West The critics who doubted the business model and thought it was a scam What they lose sleep over How they approach content creation What they look for when hiring The advice they would give to entrepreneurs who want to use content to grow their businesses How they define quality content

Media, Refined How four founders turned a sketch on a cocktail napkin into an iconic digital media brand. One night in 2004, in a bar in New York City, three ambitious entrepreneurs huddled around a cocktail napkin and sketched out a vision. They essentially wanted to translate the concept of the mall for the internet, only instead of catering to big name brands and retailers, it would connect visitors to all of the amazing independent brands and makers that were flourishing at the time. That initial sketch—it started as a picture of a virtual mall—has evolved a lot since that night, and the team solidified around four dedicated co-founders. But 15 years later, the dream of Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Christene Barberich, and Piera Gelardi has become a reality, and so much more, in the form of now-iconic digital media company Refinery29. “One of my biggest regrets to date is that we didn’t save the napkin,” Stefano says. Since they set out on that journey, the team has created an online space where media targeted toward women is distilled, removing the impurities of stereotypes, taboos, and shame. Initially focused on fashion and style, Refinery29 has since expanded to a staggering breadth of content. Covering almost every topic imaginable—from skin care to the latest in immigration legislation—Refinery29 is a comprehensive digital media company dedicated to elevating women’s voices. It’s built an international audience of more than 550 million across all its platforms, which include all major social media, a YouTube channel with nearly 2 million subscribers, an award-winning podcast in its fourth season, a short film series, an app, and more. But Stefano and von Borries, the two who initially had the idea for Refinery29, didn’t come from a background in publishing or fashion. In fact, as you may have noticed, they aren’t even women. But they saw a need, set out to meet it, and connected with the right partners to realize their vision and help it evolve. Refiners Assemble In the early 2000s, Stefano and von Borries were just a couple of friends from high school, who had recently graduated from NYU and Columbia, respectively, and were embarking on their first post-grad endeavors. Von Borries headed off to Washington, D.C., to work for a political startup called The Globalist, and Stefano took a position with the Civilian Complaint Review Board in New York City, where he investigated complaints against the NYPD. Despite the distance, the duo stayed close, and maintained a group of friends who were mostly in the creative space. They began to notice a frequently recurring topic of conversation among the group: dissatisfaction with media coverage, especially when it came to fashion. “Most of the media companies that existed, most of the magazine businesses, were fairly mainstream,” Stefano says. “They would write about big designers that bought pages in their magazines. That’s how the model worked.” Stefano and von Borries found that many of their friends still read these magazines, but not because they felt particularly connected to the content. “They didn’t think it was good. They didn’t think it was interesting,” Stefano says. “It was just what they were forced to read, because that’s what you could buy at a newsstand.” Their friends hungered for something with a more independent edge and authenticity, but couldn’t find it anywhere. So the pair had the spark of an idea: What if they created something that appealed to young New Yorkers by focusing on serving their audience rather than on serving big companies and brands. But with no experience in publishing or fashion, they knew they needed to call in reinforcements. At the time, Piera Gelardi was dating von Borries (they went on to get married), who worked as the photo director at CITY Magazine. When von Borries shared their idea and asked for her advice, she encouraged him to reach out to her former boss and mentor at CITY, Christene Barberich. Her knowledge of fashion and brands, as well as the world of publishing, would prove invaluable to the pair. Barberich says that she was already paying close attention to the transformation happening in the media landscape. She noticed that with the rise of the internet, the one-way nature of traditional publications, with outlets talking at their audiences instead of with them, was slowly being set aside in favor of platforms offering more conversational approaches. So when von Borries and Stefano shared their idea, she had a gut feeling that they were on to something big. She immediately reached out to Gelardi and told her that she didn’t just want to consult. She wanted to become a partner in the endeavor. Barberich’s infectious excitement for the project then made Gelardi reevaluate her own position as a consultant. “Because she wanted to sign up, it showed me that bigger vision and also reminded me to think about my own value in the equation,” Gelardi says. “Now we have four co-founders.” Building the Brand With the team assembled, the quartet was anxious to get their vision off the ground as quickly as possible. But all four of them still had day jobs, so much to learn, and very little money to put toward the project. They met in a coffee shop every night after work and on every weekend as they powered toward their goal. “It just became an obsession until we got it live,” Stefano says. They called in all kinds of favors with friends who were programmers, engineers, and graphic designers, and built the first iteration of Refinery29 over a period of six months. “It felt like forever,” Stefano says. “That six-month period, I think it felt years of work went into that.” But in June 2005, the wait was finally over, and the team celebrated the launch of Refinery29 at a bar called Union Pool over pizza and beers. Looking back at nearly a decade and a half and several waves of changes since, the founders are still proud of the original website they launched that day. “When you look back at the first iteration of Refinery29, it just really, deeply warms my heart, because I think it’s still beautiful,” Barberich says. While the website received some fanfare on launch day, growth was a slow, gradual process, and they struggled to be taken seriously, especially by traditional media outlets. “Most of the traditional publishers saw digital as a phase,” Gelardi says. “It’s so laughable now, but truly we would go talk to people, and they would act like we were trying to sell them a carpet or something. They thought it was a scam.” Challenges aside, the untested nature of their business model was also a blessing in disguise. “I think we were able to really pioneer this new space because it was, you know, an open road,” Gelardi says. Barberich agrees. “When you start out and you really are at the beginning of something, you have so much freedom to just test things,” she says. “I do credit that period—the first two years when we were essentially flying under the radar—as this really important testing ground for us.” They gradually tried out new content, such as a segment called “Neighborhood Watch,” in which local creatives shared fun activities and events they loved, and “Spotlight,” a section featuring products by homegrown, independent makers. “The products that we would feature would sell out overnight,” von Borries says. “That was the first time that something we had created had really been validated. So we started to look into commerce.” In early 2006, they decided to raise capital for the first time to fund a marketplace on their website, and in 2006, it launched, taking Refinery29 into its next phase. “We didn’t engineer this thing at all to be what it is today,” von Borries says. “In fact, I think the journey for us has been sort of going down the river and hitting different moments of momentum in the business and seeing the world shift.” And as the world shifted, so did they. Experiments and Expansions Before long, von Borries had quit his D.C. job and returned to New York City to work full time for Refinery29, and not long afterward the other three joined the work full time, too. Stefano says that, over the first five years, they sold ads, hosted live events, held sample sales (retail events that involve selling extra prototypes, often from big names in fashion or design) and did everything they could to drive slow-but-consistent growth that took them to $1.7 million by their fifth year. They then decided to raise capital to grow their branded content and native advertising. This resulted in a single-year leap to $8.9 million in revenue. “It was not a fast journey,” Stefano says. “I think that a lot of people have this belief that you’ll launch a business and within, you know, 18 months, you’re going to be on fire, but it often takes far longer. And I would say it took us probably 10 years before we felt like we had a business that was here to stay.” As von Borries and Stefano toiled away on the technical and management side, Barberich and Gelardi dove into the content and creative aspects of the business. “Our desire has always been to elevate underrepresented voices, to really bring these new ideas to the surface and challenge sort of what is in the mainstream, and how the media speaks to and about women,” Gelardi says. While the focus was initially centered on fashion and style, the pair slowly experimented with content expansions that appealed to the women who visited the site. Barberich was interested in topics surrounding health and wellness, so she tested the waters and found the audience receptive. Gelardi noticed that most mainstream editorial content on sex for women was “not focused on women’s pleasure or bodily autonomy,” so she looked to offer something better. As they grew, they found an almost endless hunger for content on just about every topic imaginable, and with each new addition, a new wave of readers joined the ranks. Soon, stories on politics, finances, and entertainment appeared on the website, continuing to meet the interests of modern women. They were also able to quickly learn from mistakes and make changes, thanks to the instant feedback provided by comments, shares, and analytics. “We really were focused on experimentation,” Gelardi says. “We were so invigorated by having access to the knowledge of our audience in real time.” With the kinds of data that traditional media outlets simply didn’t have at their fingertips yet, they were able to make informed decisions and pursue avenues that seemed utterly foolproof. But, Barberich says, information in this space can be both a blessing and a curse. “I think in some ways you lose that spontaneity,” she says. “Just having an idea to do something and being able to pursue it and not worry so much about what the outcome was going to be or worry that it was going to hit a certain traffic benchmark.” So while they take advantage of the analytics available to them, Gelardi says she always wants to leave room for risks. “I think influence also comes down to risk-taking,” she says. “It’s the art and the science; it’s not just about volume. Quality can be subjective, as well, but I think it is about risk-taking and knowing that core of who you are and staying true to it.” Barberich and Gelardi say that they see their roles as a balancing act between the numbers and creative spontaneity. “I think that that’s really what motivates people,” Barberich says. “When they feel like they’re making content that they deeply love, but that’s also touching a person’s life. The greatest success is to know that something struck a chord that is universally felt.” Scaling With Heart As the company continued to grow, all four founders felt an overwhelming pressure to keep the train on the tracks. “I think that a lot of people lose sleep in this company because they care so much,” Barberich says. “In laying that foundation, we want to make sure that people feel really fulfilled by it and it doesn’t lose its path.” They knew they had to stay true to the heart of their mission and remain in sync with their audience, all while rapidly expanding far beyond what they had imagined possible. “The audience has been the single most important focus—and staying committed to that audience—and clearly everything that’s happened in the world at large has sort of snowballed our commitment to serving women amazing content,” von Borries says. “Our belief is that, in this moment, to really build a long term, sustainable brand in this space, you really have to mean something to your audience.” And Barberich believes the key to scaling while staying true to the heart of the business lies in a single, but incredibly vital, part of the business. “Honestly, if I’ve learned anything in the near-14 years that we’ve been doing this it’s that it all comes down to the people that you hire,” she says, “because scale is all about the people that you’re trusting to handle the scale.” And she says they have been fortunate at Refinery29 to find and hire people who care deeply about the mission of their brand. “When you bring people on board that really, automatically love the brand, when things get har, and they will inevitably get hard, it actually helps those people to deal with the issues that arise and recover quickly.” Gelardi also believes that hiring new staff members who have that entrepreneurial spark inside them helps the brand thrive. “The industry that we’re in is ever shifting. The work that we do is ever shifting,” Gelardi says. “I think it requires that level of entrepreneurial creativity in order to really be able to roll with things and to find the solutions.” Establishing a Legacy Much has changed in the 15 years since the four founders first tossed around the idea for Refinery29. Especially on the internet. What once felt like a wide open space, now feels more like an overstuffed room pumped full of noise. Because of this, von Borries believes people have begun seeking more intimate, offline experiences, something Refinery29 is working to supply. “We were always doing events,” he says. “Back 15 years ago when we launched Refinery, we would host local events at stores and boutiques and would bring people together. We’ve always been thinking about the real world, and when you do something in digital, the real world is very validating.” One such example of Refinery29 IRL is 29Rooms, an art exhibition that features 29 collaborative spaces touching on topics meaningful to readers, such as virtual reality, body positivity and music. At the end of the day, all four founders are focused on building a legacy they can be proud of. “You can’t have a media company, I don’t think, without having a really true understanding of what it is you want to leave behind someday,” Barberich says. And she believes that today’s world, with its renewed focus on social justice, women’s rights, and political activism, is the perfect place for a platform like Refinery29 to thrive. Now more than ever, people are seeing unmet needs, especially in areas of representation and diversity, and feeling driven to meet those needs. “I think the motivation to start a business is fairly universal,” Barberich says. “You feel that there is something missing. You feel that there is something missing and usually, you’re not the only person.” She encourages those who feel that tug not to ignore it, but to step out boldly. “When that happens, you have to really face the facts that this is going to be scary. It’s going to be a ton of work. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to need the help of a lot of people, and a lot of times you’re going to need their help for free, and you have to be able to ask for that help, so great relationships really make a difference.” When looking at Refinery29, that was certainly the case. If one thing made Refinery29 what it is today, it’s relationships. The relationship built between two high school friends. The relationship between a mentor and her intern. The relationship between a couple that brought them all together. And the relationship between a business and its audience—a two-way exchange of encouragement and authenticity that has amplified the voices of women for 15 years and will continue to do so into the future. Key Takeaways Details on the night Philippe and Justin sketched the rough idea for Refinery29 on the back of a bar napkin One of Justin’s biggest regrets How long it took them to launch the first iteration of Refinery29 and how much it cost What the first version looked like and how the launch was received At what point they left their jobs and started monetizing the site The stats—audience size, subscribers, event sales—that show how their business is doing now The new media model and what to consider if you plan to start a media company When a bootstrapped company should start monetizing Monetization models for media companies Exciting moves coming up for Refinery29

Piera Gelardi founded Refinery29 as a catalyst for women to claim their power. And today, she leads a digital media and entertainment empire. Piera talks about the important role her customers play in Refinery29 and 29Rooms, and how being a new mother impacts her creativity.

Refinery29 co-founder and executive creative director Piera Gelardi on what she’s learned as a former art-school student who became a heavy hitter in the online publishing world — including how she got comfortable asking questions in business meetings, managing a work-life balance when you work with your husband and growing up in a family business.

Piera Gelardi is the Co-Founder & Executive Creative Director of Refinery29, one of the fastest growing independent fashion & style websites in the USA. They are the leading global media company focused on young women, & Piera has been setting the creative vision from the start. She has an unmatched lens when it comes to using her creative filter to solve problems. Piera’s ability to apply her creative mind to innovative solutions that don't have anything to do with the visual side is truly fascinating.

What makes you post a photo to Instagram? What space is truly worthy of a post? Are we willing to destroy nature for a good pic? This week on Why’d You Push That Button, Vox’s Kaitlyn Tiffany and The Verge's Ashley Carman discuss the characteristics that create an Instagram-worthy place. First things first, we talk to former social media manager at The Verge, Zainab Hasnain, about all of the Instagram-oriented pop-ups she’s visited. We also chat with Kristina Alaneisse about parties she hosts at local cool-kid spot China Chalet. Then, as a special treat to wrap up our Instagram mini-series, we have two expert guests. The first is Eliza Brooke, a freelance writer who has incredible design sensibilities. The second is Piera Gelardi, executive creative director and co-founder of Refinery29, about the media company’s 29Rooms exhibition where visitors can play in 29 different rooms and snap some photos while they’re at it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin and Natasha talk to Refinery29 co-founder Piera Gelardi about impostor syndrome and being your own cheerleader, how her company is trying to change who has access to opportunities, and the emotional rollercoaster of running an ever-changing company and eventually ceding authority over key areas of the business.

As two of the four co-founders of media and entertainment company Refinery29, Philippe von Borries and Piera Gelardi have used a pro-women, taboo-shattering ethos to build a behemoth catering to the interests and cravings of young women that reaches an audience of upwards of half a billion globally across platforms. It is an audience that brands love (and to hear Refinery's founders tell it, an audience that loves brands back). The couple joins the podcast today as their 29Rooms event packs up in New York and prepares to head to California in December. The two of them — who have also spent the last 13 years as a married couple — discuss the journey, working and living together, and what comes next. 

In episode 25, Sonia celebrates her first half marathon and Colleen learns about Women in Cloud, an organization empowering female tech entrepreneurs. Sonia interviews Piera Gelardi and Finola Austin of Refinery29, the leading global media company focused on young women. To end, both discuss a profile of Lauren Simmons, the only full-time female NYSE stockbroker. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

#MontagsAufDeutsch #ThursdaysInEnglish #TheNewYorkTapes “Wir waren am Anfang naiv und optimistisch.” Philippe von Borries ist Kölner. Er ist 1999 in die USA gekommen und hat zunächst Geschichte an der Columbia University in New York studiert. Danach war er zwei Jahre in Washington, in denen er bei dem Online Portal “The Globalist” gearbeitet hat. 2005 gründete er zusammen mit seinem Freund Justin Stefano im Jahr 2005 Refinery29. Die beiden holten kurz nach der Gründung noch Christina Barberich und Piera Gelardi als Partnerinnen in das junge Unternehmen. Sie kümmern sich seitdem um den kreativen Part, mit Piera ist Philipe seit über 10 Jahren verheiratet. Refinery29 ist heute eines der größten und einflussreichsten Medien und Entertainment Portale für junge Frauen. Die Gründe dafür sind vielschichtig. Zum einen ist es das kongeniale Führungsteam, über das Philippe bei einem seiner jüngeren öffentlichen Auftritt gesagt hat. “It´s been 13 Years, and the band is still together!” Darüber hinaus hat Refinery29 früh erkannt, dass es vielen großen Frauenmagazinen anfang der 2000er nicht gelungen war, ihr Angebot dem digitalen Zeitalter anzupassen. Refinery29 ist von Beginn an ein Themen Mix gelungen, der Frauen nicht nur auf Fashion und Beauty reduziert, sondern auch Themen wie Kultur und Politik einen Raum gibt. Dementsprechend lautet die Mission der Company: “To let Woman feel, see and claim their Power”. Der Zeitgeist gibt diesem Ansatz zusätzlichen Auftrieb. Vor facebook und twitter gestartet ist es Refinery29 gelungen einen einmaligen Mix unterschiedlicher Angebote zu entwickeln. Die aufkommenden Sozialen Medien wurden klug in das Angebot integriert und zentrale Marketingtrends sehr früh erkannt (Content, Bewegtbild, Events). Ein spannendes Geschäftsmodell, das Werbekunden sehr viel mehr bietet, als nur Banner auf der Website, ein modernes Führungsteam und ein reflektierter CEO, der sich coachen lässt und ständig weiterentwickelt, runden das Bild von einer inspirierenden Company ab, die zeigt, wie Medienunternehmen auch heute noch Erfolg haben können. Den On the Way to New Work Podcast Folge 60 findet ihr wie immer unter: SOUNDCLOUD soundcloud.com/onthewaytonewwork SPOTIFY spotify.onthewaytonewwork.com Und ITUNES itunes.onthewaytonewwork.com Und alle alten und neuen Buchtipps hier books.onthewaytonewwork.com Mit Christoph Magnussen und Michael Trautmann

Back in 2005, when Piera Gelardi was just starting Refinery29, skeptics considered the brand "too niche." Now, 12 years later, Gelardi explains how disregarding the status quo, celebrating diversity, listening to her audience and trusting her imagination turned her "niche" publication into the largest and most celebrated women-focused media brand in the world.   Special thanks to Kara Preiss and Belletrist   www.kargo.com Instagram Twitter Facebook Linkedin    Produced by At Will Radio

Kargo’s acclaimed podcast Mobilizing Culture is back with all new episodes starting 3/26. This time around, Kargo CMO Ed Romaine chats with the industry’s biggest disruptors – mobile-first businesses that are uprooting old tech and impacting personal economies. Tune in for interviews with Warby Parker CEO/co-founder Neil Blumenthal, Refinery 29 creative director/co-founder Piera Gelardi, Bumble marketing director Chelsea Maclin, Plated co-founder Nick Taranto and more. www.kargo.com Instagram: @kargomobile Twitter: @kargo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kargo/ Linkedin    Produced by At Will Radio

Piera Gelardi, Executive Creative Director and Co-Founder of Refinery29 opens up to Tyson about a personal loss and the public healing process that followed, as well as touches on her creative aspirations + challenges including the hugely successful 29 Rooms art installation and more. *

Piera Gelardi is the co-founder of Refinery29, one of the most important and influential lifestyle editorial companies on the internet with millions of visitors a day from just about every corner of the planet. It’s one of those classic entrepreneur stories, starting with a few friends in a cramped makeshift office who had a ton of passion but not a lot of experience - they’ve had some ups and downs, made some pivots, but here they are - they’re still standing, stronger than ever, and they’ve unquestionably made their mark on our culture with a voice that’s distinctly different from that of mainstream fashion - one built on diversity, inclusion and community that’s struck a chord with millennials. Today on the podcast, * She talks about how the vision and voice for R29 is literally in her DNA * The specific blueprint she used to transition from a full time day job to R29 * The actionable tactics and ideas she’s taken away from scaling the company from 4 to now over 500 people Enjoy! Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.chasejarvis.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by CreativeLive. CreativeLive is the world's largest hub for online creative education in photo/video, art/design, music/audio, craft/maker and the ability to make a living in any of those disciplines. They are high quality, highly curated classes taught by the world’s top experts -- Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy Award winners, New York Times best selling authors and the best entrepreneurs of our times.

Founded in 2005, back when Destiny's Child was still a thing, Refinery29 is now one of the most-visited style, beauty, and lifestyle publications on the Internet.Co-Founder & Executive Creative Director, Piera Gelardi, talks about how Refinery29 cultivates young writers and creators, how she built the brand into what it is today, the importance of brick-and-mortar experiences for digitally native brands, and how the publication is able to produce so much high-quality daily content.Follow us everywhere @ TheWebbyAwardsand keep up with David-Michel @ dmdlikesProducer: Ben WagnerEditorial Supervisor: Nicole FerraroMusic: "Straight West" by Kasket Club, courtesy of Audiosocket Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From mini dinner parties to maxi events for thousands, co-founder and executive creative director Piera Gelardi knows how to make life—and a brand—memorable. Drawing inspiration from everything and everywhere, Piera talks candidly about how her passion for art, style, and experiences has helped put Refinery29 on a global stage, and has made her a women's media force to be reckoned with. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Piera Gelardi is a creative powerhouse - and she's just getting warmed up. As the Executive Creative Director and co-founder of Refinery29, a digital media brand for young women that's grown significantly over the last decade. There she oversees all things that make the site come to life visually — from branding and design to art direction, photography, video, and casting. An entrepreneur from birth, Piera has always had new business ideas up her sleeve — from a zine called Team Rad: Let's Get Awesome, to a Kandy Katering business, to a card game called Hair She Blows. She's based in New York. Artwork by Tegan Iversen www.teganiversen.com Copyright www.wearegriot.com