The president of a contemporary luxury fashion brand and a private equity investment managing partner emphasized important business strategies and shared career advice in a conversation at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business (MSB) April 3.
The student organizations Georgetown Entrepreneurship Club and Georgetown Retail and Luxury Association (GRLA) co-sponsored the event, which featured Stephanie Unwin, president of Veronica Beard, a contemporary luxury fashion brand known for their blazers, as well as John D. Howard, founder and a co-managing partner of Irving Place Capital — formerly Bear Stearns Merchant Banking. The event was part of the Stanton Distinguished Leadership Series, which aims to connect Georgetown students with business executives and leaders.
Jeff Reid, professor of the practice of entrepreneurship, founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative and the moderator of the conversation, said entrepreneurship is a key aspect of every career field and industry, including fashion.
“Being entrepreneurial doesn’t have to mean being a tech bro creating an app and living in Silicon Valley. If you are interested in fashion, or finance, or health care — or really anything else — you might want to learn how entrepreneurship can help you pursue that interest,” Reid wrote to The Hoya.
Unwin said that when running a creative-leaning business such as Veronica Beard, a strong balance between creative vision and business acumen is vital to the business’s success.
“For me, the excitement is to bring, to be able to execute a creative vision. And I do think we need to have the creative and the execution,” Unwin said at the event. “In order to have a great business, you really have to have a strong partnership between the two, and it can be challenging. Because not all creatives, especially, frankly, if they are founders, want to have that kind of input. And there are certain things that you just have to do in business.”
Howard — who has been an investor in Veronica Beard since 2013 — said that as an investor, the most essential factor for business growth and investment is the presence of leadership who possesses management skills to grow the business and can work well with investors.
“You can have a great idea and lousy management and fail. So it’s about the people, it’s about assessing the people and it’s about not just doing economic due diligence, but it’s being comfortable that you’re with the kind of people that can responsibly, thoughtfully lead a business,” Howard said at the event.
“The first and most important thing as an investor, maybe the only thing as an investor, is who you get into business with and making sure that they’re the kind of people who can grow with you, who have vision and who are thoughtful about their business,” he added.
Referencing Veronica Beard’s partnership with Howard and other investors, Unwin said the right investing partnership can be beneficial for both sides and enable the growth of a company.
“We, along the way, have been very fortunate to have four incredible advisors and mentors. We don’t ever think of John and our partners as investors — we do, but it’s more than just an investor. And we have learned so much. It’s enabled us to take major shortcuts along the way,” Unwin said. “The wealth of knowledge that was gained through this partnership has been extraordinary, and very different to private equity.”
Ava McDonald (CAS ’24), president of GRLA, said the discussion provided a valuable opportunity for students to learn about potential careers that involve fashion and entrepreneurship.
“GRLA is thrilled to be collaborating with the McDonough School of Business Stanton Distinguished Leaders Series and Georgetown Entrepreneurship on this event,” McDonald wrote to The Hoya. “We hope that Georgetown students are able to learn about the intersection of fashion and entrepreneurship and possible career opportunities they can have in this space.”
Unwin advised students on how to set themselves up for success in their early careers, saying that learning through on-the-job experience and pursuing their interests are of paramount importance.
“I’ve been very, very strategic along the way. I’ve always done things because they felt right, for sure, but also because I wanted to pick up another skill and try something, to see if I liked it,” Unwin said.
“My advice is that it’s really important to take those internships, to sometimes explore the road less traveled. I think if you have an interest, it’s worth pursuing,” she added.