Fashion Forward - Founders Project Golden Opportunity

Style icon Rebecca Minkoff mentors Trinity Mouzon Wofford, co-founder of Millennial wellness startup Golde.

- Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

Twenty years ago, Rebecca Minkoff moved to New York City at 18 with dreams of starting a fashion label. In the months after the 9/11 terror attacks, Minkoff’s “I love NY” T-shirt put her on TV and in fashion magazines. Four years later, her namesake label’s “Morning After Bag”—a $600 leather carryall—became a milestone purchase for the upwardly stylish. The longtime bestseller gave Minkoff the revenue she needed to expand her brand’s apparel offerings and add a footwear line.

Alongside the company’s CEO, her brother Uri, Minkoff went on to steer her business through the Great Recession and become a social media pioneer. Today, she has a $100 million brand with two million followers across digital platforms, space in 900 stores worldwide—and her journey in fashion is nearly as famous as her edgy boots and leather jackets.

Minkoff has long used her global platform to advocate for female entrepreneurs. Last year, she launched the Female Founder Collective—an alliance of mutually supportive women-run businesses with a seal that 50,000 Instagram followers can recognize and promote. For Inc.’s 40th anniversary, she joined our Founders Project, which pairs 40 CEOs just starting up with experienced mentors who, like Minkoff, can offer candid, time-tested advice.