Emma Grede Partners With Coco Gauff, UPS to Mentor Emerging Entrepreneurs

Emma Grede is partnering with UPS x Coco Gauff to support small business owners in elevating their performance success. A new campaign entitled “UPS Unlocking Potential” introduces Grede as a new mentor to three emerging entrepreneurs — Classy Casita, Petrova Chocolates and Anima Iris.

As part of the initiative, Grede held one-on-one sessions with each small business owner, and a sit-down with UPS to discuss the importance of mentorship for small business owners. UPS Virtual Consultations give entrepreneurs across the country a chance to ask tough questions and receive actionable advice. The sessions were captured and will be released in phases throughout Gauff’s tennis season, with Gauff and Grede guiding these small business owners.

In a Zoom interview, Grede, who is the cofounder and chief executive officer of Good American, founding partner of Skims, cofounder of Safely and Off Season, and the voice behind the podcast “Aspire with Emma Grede,” spoke about her newest role.

“Honestly, I love mentoring,” said Grede. “I don’t feel that far away from when I first started. I know how useful having a mentor can be if it comes at the right time in your business trajectory.” She said mentorship can change what you know and the trajectory of your business. “So that’s the main reason I love doing these type of things. You know, I didn’t have a mentor,” she said.

Grede said she went around making people her mentor, and she would have client meetings and then during the last 10 minutes, she’d start asking questions that would be useful to her. “I’d be like, ‘you’d be a great mentor’…,” she said.

Grede said she feels passionate about small businesses and young founders. “And when I was asked to be a mentor, it was a no-brainer. Plus I’m a huge fan of Coco [Gauff],” she said.

The companies were narrowed down to three founders from UPS businesses who represent a wide range of industries and backgrounds. The three founders who were chosen had unique stories of entrepreneurship and stood out in conversations from pre-interviews when discussing their business goals and aspirations.

The three companies are Classy Casita, a curated selection of artisan-crafted home goods and plant care products sourced from makers around the world; Petrova Chocolates, hand-crafted chocolates, and Anima Iris, a handbag brand inspired by African art and paintings. Anima Iris recently launched tennis totes and racquet bags. The line is sold online and at stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s.

Grede said she’s coming on board for this year’s campaign as part of a longer-term program that Gauff has had with UPS. The UPS x Coco Gauff partnership started in 2023 when Gauff became part of the UPS “Be Unstoppable” campaign.  

Asked what areas of business young entrepreneurs need the most help, Grede said, “It’s really about stress testing your ideas and knowing what to avoid, when I speak to founders.”

“It’s about how can you avoid complacency, comfort and conformity. And I said those three things because you get so much unsolicited advice.” She said that listening to one’s own gut and intuition is really important. “And I would say even more for female founders because you’re coming at business with a whole different point of view,” she said. When you’re getting so much unsolicited advice, she said, some things you’d do well not to conform to.

“You’re going to be uncomfortable… And so when we talk about it, manifestation is fantastic, but manifestation has to be coupled with really, really hard work and going outside of what might be your comfort zone. And so I try to talk to people about those things,” said Grede.

She also pointed to the decision of whom you surround yourself with. “It’s really important to know what you don’t know,” she said. “Surround yourself with people that know what you don’t know. Those decisions are crucial. You know when you’re a start-up founder, that the number-two, number-three and number-four hire are crucial to your success.” She said she often talks to people about bringing the right type of people in at the right time.

She said of the three businesses she’s working with, they each have their unique problems.

She is also doing a podcast, which is a way for her to scale mentorship because people are always getting in touch with her. “I try to take a call almost every morning on my way into the office with a founder,” she said. She launched her podcast as a way to find a way to get to as many people as possible. “And ultimately, I think what I would like to do is inspire a whole generation of women to live up to their potential and share everything I’ve learned,” she said.

She said she’s trying to create a platform that is honest and talks about all the difficulties she’s had in business and all of the complexities “because that’s not what you usually share.” She said she’s trying to be really honest about what it takes and the advice that she wants to give. Among some of the guests have been on the podcast are Gwyneth Paltrow, Mellody Hobson, Michael Rubin and Mark Cuban. She does a new podcast weekly.

“I think in this challenging environment, this kind of stuff is needed more than ever. You need trusted voices. We need truthful voices and we need to support one another. I really believe in the power and strength of community,” said Grede.

She said she wants to take everything she has learned and everything she’s known and help a lot of people. “People want to be able to take their life into their own hands. And I think when there’s uncertainly out there, you want to be able to galvanize what you can to live a life that you know…I think that proximity to information is difficult when you don’t know anyone, right? I’m going to use what I’ve learned and everyone that I know and pass it on,” she said.