A FASHION guru who lost everything amid the release of a Netflix show based on her life has come back strong – with her brand now clocking up a net worth of $100million.
The former clothing company boss saw her career temporarily falter as her business filed for bankruptcy – with her one-year marriage also coming to an end at the same time.
California-born Sophia Amoruso, 40, rocketed to success as the CEO of fast-fashion brand Nasty Gal, which has previously featured collaborations with celebrities including model Daisy Lowe.
Prior to this success, she came from humble beginnings, leaving home aged 17 and surviving by scrounging from “dumpsters.”
At the same time, she set up her online store Nasty Gal Vintage, making a huge profit on retro items she purchased for cheap.
As her career progressed, launching Nasty Gal as a standalone website, the San Diego native jugged her role with penning a book, entitled Girl Boss, released in 2014.
In 2016, she was named one of the richest self-made millionaires in the world by Forbes magazine aged 32.
Yet, in the same year the on-trend online retailer – with whom she had invested in with her own cash – plunged into financial difficulties.
After the company filed for bankruptcy it was scooped up by fellow fast fashion retailer Boohoo in 2017, with Nasty Gal continuing to produce its own products.
In the same year, TV series Girlboss – based on her book released three years prior – hit screens on streaming service Netflix.
It featured actress Britt Robertson playing the protagonist role of Sophia.
Speaking about the bankruptcy, Sophia previously candidly told InStyle Magazine: “Nasty Gal had struggled for years, so, sadly, this was less of a shock.
“We’d been through multiple rounds of layoffs and lawsuit after lawsuit and couldn’t keep up with the ever-changing retail model.
“After putting my own money into the business in 2015 and handing over the keys to a veteran CEO, I decided to play to my strengths and focus on what mattered most: the brand.
“I worked on big-picture strategies and partnerships. I gave it hell. But it was already too late.”
In the same year as Boohoo took over the brand, Sophia founded her own firm Girlboss Media.
It is a company that creates editorial content, podcasts and videos specifically for a female audience.
The company has a series of grants dedicated for women working in the arts, fashion, music and design.
Showing her strength – and how the comeback is stronger than the setback – she added to the publication: “The bankruptcy news broke last November while I was in Australia promoting my second book, Nasty Galaxy.
“I was at a networking brunch where I was set to speak in front of a thousand women.
“When the death knell of your company is the breaking headline and you’re literally under a spotlight, what do you do?
“I showed up. I covered the things I generally talk about onstage: my rise, my books, and what I’ve learned along the way.
“And as much as I wanted to slip out of this public appearance without having to discuss the crumbling of my entire adult life’s work, I had to.
“All I could say, with tears running down my face, was, ‘Hey, it was my first business, and I think I got pretty far.’
“Because as a community-college dropout from Sacramento, California, with no pedigree, I did.”
Sophia has now clocked up a $100million price tag for her online business, which she hailed in the publication as focussed on “redefining success.”
On Instagram, Sophia recently revealed four key points to business success.
As part of a new mini course, she described these as: “Identify and understand who your target customers are.
“Engage and build with your target customers.
“Refine and test with a small group.
“Simplify and automate your business using softwares.”
