Alexandra Wilkis Wilson

Alexandra Wilkis Wilson is an American entrepreneur and investor who co-founded the companies the Gilt Groupe, GlamSquad, and Fitz.[1] She is currently co-founder and Managing Partner at Clerisy, a consumer-focused growth equity fund.[2]

Alexandra Wilkis Wilson
Born
Alexandra Wilkis

New York City
Alma materHarvard University (AB, MBA)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur and Investor
RelativesAlan Wilkis, Brother

Early life and education

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Wilkis Wilson was born and raised in New York City.[3] She attended The Brearley School, Phillips Exeter Academy,[3] Harvard College, where she graduated magna cum laude,[4] and Harvard Business School.[5]

Wilkis Wilson grew up in a bilingual home (Spanish/English) and later learned French, Portuguese and Italian. She studied piano at the Manhattan School of Music and played competitively until about the 10th grade. She credits music as being a strong early influence in her life and in her dedication to entrepreneurial ventures.[6] Her brother Alan Wilkis is the founder of the American Music Project, Big Data.[7]

Career

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Wilkis Wilson began her career working in investment banking at Merrill Lynch for three years,[3] before returning to Harvard to earn an MBA.[8] She then entered the Louis Vuitton management training program,[8] which included working the sales floor.[9] Subsequently, she worked for two years managing retail operations for Bulgari.[10]

Wilkis Wilson co-founded the Gilt Groupe in 2007,[11] a flashsale company that offers luxury goods for sale at significant discounts, but only for brief windows of time. In 2012, Wilkis Wilson and cofounder Alexis Maybank, a classmate from Harvard Business School, published a book on Gilt's founding, By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop.[12] At one point the company was valued at a billion dollars, making it a "unicorn" (a venture capital slang term for a startup valued at a billion dollars), but sold to Saks Fifth Avenue parent company Hudson's Bay Company for $250 million in 2016.[13] Wilkis Wilson left the company in 2014.

In September 2014, she became co-founder and CEO of GlamSquad, a mobile styling company[14] "which offers on-demand beauty services through an integrated app."[15] Clients can use an app to book hair and makeup artists for house calls--"the Uber of beauty services."[16] The company had $8 million in sales in the first year, and raised $24 million in funding, as of February 2017.[17] It operates in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, DC.[18]

In March 2017, Wilkis Wilson launched a startup called Fitz, a service that offers an in-person wardrobe consultation and then follow-up advice on shopping.[19] Fitz was sold to Tradesy, the online peer-to-peer resale marketplace for women's luxury and designer contemporary fashion, in February 2018.[20] In February 2018, Wilkis Wilson was recruited by Boston Consulting Group to join Allergan as the SVP, Consumer Strategy & Innovation. She led new efforts in revolutionizing digital marketing and DTC initiatives for Allergan's leading aesthetics portfolio including Botox, Juvederm and Coolsculpting.[21] She left Allergan in July 2020 after the company was acquired by AbbVie Inc. for $63B.[22]

Today Wilkis Wilson is co-founder and Managing Partner at Clerisy, the growth equity fund which she co-founded with Lisa Myers, formerly a partner at L. Catterton and a 20-year veteran of Templeton.[2] Clerisy's growing portfolio includes investments in Dormify, UNION and CleanCo.[23]

Wilkis Wilson has been a prolific advisor and angel investor to over 80 tech startups including but not limited to Birchbox,[24] Carbon38,[25] Flow Commerce,[26] Rent the Runway,[24] and Tula.[27] She has been an advisor to consumer tech Venture Capital funds including Forerunner Ventures and Montage Ventures.[28]

Personal life

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Wilkis Wilson is married[4] and has two children.[29] She presently resides in Miami, FL.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Zarya, Valentina (March 30, 2017). "Gilt Groupe's Alexandra Wilkis Wilson Has a New Venture". Fortune. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b McGrath, Maggie. "Exclusive: Glamsquad Founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson Joins Investor Lisa Myers To Debut Clerisy, A $100 Million Growth Equity Fund". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  3. ^ a b c "Meet Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, CEO of GlamSquad and a Woman of Influence". The New York Business Journal. January 19, 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Alexandra Wilkis, Kevin Wilson". The New York Times. 13 May 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  5. ^ Groth, Aimee (April 12, 2012). "Alexandra Wilkis Wilson Couldn't Have Co-Launched Gilt Groupe Without The 9,500 Contacts In Her BlackBerry". Business Insider. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  6. ^ Bryant, Adam (October 8, 2015). "Alexandra Wilkis Wilson on the Art of Recovering From a Wrong Note". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Big Data (band)", Wikipedia, 2022-04-29, retrieved 2022-08-21
  8. ^ a b Cain, Molly. "Insider Secrets of Gilt Groupe's Alexandra Wilson". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
  9. ^ Bryant, Adam (8 October 2015). "Alexandra Wilkis Wilson on the Art of Recovering From a Wrong Note". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. ^ Oster, Erik (August 12, 2014). "Gilt Co-Founder Leaves for Startup". AdWeek. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  11. ^ DeBaise, Colleen (2010-10-19). "Launching Gilt Groupe, A Fashionable Enterprise". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  12. ^ Heussner, Ki Mae (April 12, 2012). "Gilt Groupe Founders Gab About the Future of Commerce". AdWeek. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
  13. ^ O'Connor, Clare (January 7, 2016). "Saks Parent Hudson's Bay Buys Gilt Groupe In $250 Million Cash Deal, Will Fold Into Saks Off Fifth". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  14. ^ Mochizuki, Takashi (11 August 2014). "Gilt Groupe Co-Founder Takes Aim At The Beauty Business". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  15. ^ "How Alexandra Wilkis Wilson Launched Gilt and Glamsquad". InStyle. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  16. ^ Entis, Laura (June 15, 2016). "Glamsquad, the 'Uber of Beauty Services,' Has a New CEO". Fortune. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  17. ^ Marinova, Polina (February 11, 2016). "Gilt Groupe Co-Founder Discusses HBC Saks Acquisition". Fortune. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  18. ^ Lieber, Chavie (31 March 2017). "Your Local Salon Can't Compete With Drybar and Glamsquad". Racked. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  19. ^ Young, Vicki M. (30 March 2017). "New Start-up Fitz Wants to Be in Your Closet". WWD. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  20. ^ Driver, Robin (2 April 2018). "Tradesy launches wardrobe management service off back of Fitz acquisition". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  21. ^ Lyn Gross, Elana (14 September 2018). "How The Cofounder Of Gilt Groupe Continues To Create Innovative Products For Women". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  22. ^ Nawrat, Allie (12 May 2020). "AbbVie acquires Allergan: unpicking the year-long approval process". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Home". Clerisy. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  24. ^ a b GLAMSQUAD. "Alexandra Wilkis Wilson Joins GLAMSQUAD As CEO". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  25. ^ "Genie". Geniecast. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  26. ^ "Flow Commerce company information, funding & investors". app.dealroom.co. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  27. ^ "angel.co".
  28. ^ "Alexandra Wilkis Wilson". APB Speakers. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  29. ^ O'Connor, Clare (September 28, 2015). "Beauty, On-Demand: Meet The Women Making Millions Bringing Blowouts To Your Home". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2017.