Julie Wainwright is an entrepreneur and investor best known for founding The RealReal, the luxury consignment company she started in 2011 and took public on Nasdaq in 2019, making her one of the few women to found and lead a company through an IPO.

After early roles at Clorox and Berkeley Systems, she served as CEO of several technology companies, including Reel.com and Pets.com during the dot-com boom.

She went on to found Ahara, a personalized nutrition platform that combines health questionnaires with at-home testing for genetics, epigenetics and biomarkers to deliver tailored dietary recommendations.

With more than 40 years in technology, Julie also invests in venture funds and startups. She tells her story in her 2025 memoir, Time to Get Real: How I Built a Billion-Dollar Business That Rocked the Fashion Industry. Her honors include the Silicon Valley Visionary Award and a place on the cover of Forbes’ “50 Over 50.”

Julie Wainwright is featured in the lineup for the WEDO2026 Summit. Learn more about the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO).