#GIRLBOSS

In the New York Times bestseller that the Washington Post called “Lean In for misfits,” Sophia Amoruso shares how she went from dumpster diving to founding one of the fastest-growing retailers in the world. Amoruso spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and scrounging in dumpsters for leftover bagels. By age twenty-two she had dropped out of school, and was broke, directionless, and checking IDs in the lobby of an art school—a job she’d taken for the health insurance. It was in that lobby that Sophia decided to start selling vintage clothes on eBay. Flash forward to today, and she’s the founder of Nasty Gal and the founder and CEO of Girlboss. Sophia was never a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she’s written #GIRLBOSS for other girls like her: outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is windy as all hell and lined with naysayers. #GIRLBOSS proves that being successful isn’t about where you went to college or how popular you were in high school. It’s about trusting your instincts and following your gut; knowing which rules to follow and which to break; when to button up and when to let your freak flag fly.My Thoughts: What an inspirational story of one young woman’s determination to find what made her happy, and to go for it.Being an outsider, not following a conventional path, and chasing her dreams sum up what led to this young woman’s success. Some might have labeled her too much of a rebel to achieve her goals, but those naysayers would soon learn otherwise.Her attitude and her “out of the box” thinking would be key ingredients in making her company what it became, and would show others how to find their own journey.Some of what I learned from the author’s stories included that she doesn’t believe in luck, but in the ability to control one’s own fate. She believes in magic, though, which simply means sending your good intentions out to the Universe, and visualizing what you want.As for following the rules, she believes the challenge is in knowing which rules to accept, and which to rewrite.I saw the Netflix show and loved it, so I immediately downloaded  #GIRLBOSS . I wanted to read the anecdotes, learn her pattern for creating her own rules and her own path, and revel in how she is sharing with others. An interesting story of a unique company and its creator. 4 stars.

I liked the book. Easy to read and you understand Sophia’s life and ambition. She provides insights on to how to be a #girlboss

Having been Nasty Gal's first intern during the early days in Berkeley when it was just Sophia and Christina (the first full-time employee who is now Buying Director), my rating may be a little biased so feel free to take everything from this point forward with a grain of salt.I won't bother with a short summary as this book has gotten enough press and reviews from readers alike that that just seems redundant. What I will say is that having worked with Sophia firsthand and having accompanied her on what was Nasty Gal's second buying trip ever, her work ethic is a cut above the rest; she eats, sleeps and breathes Nasty Gal (always has and probably always will). There are parts in the book where she may come across a bit lofty, but she's just telling it like it is and not making any excuses. She briefly touches on the subject of extroverts and introverts, mentioning "psychologists now believe that social media is a really valuable tool for introverts, because it allows them to communicate and even network on their own terms." Being an introvert herself, #Girlboss is the creative outlet through which Sophia speaks, on her own terms.What makes Sophia such an icon to girls around the world (partly) is her relatability. Her story is one with a "Cinderella-esque" theme in a male-run tech start-up world, and it's easy to think / feel like something similar could happen to any of us so long as you just follow Sophia's magic formula. But she is one in 400 trillion (if you read the book, you'll get what I mean). And what she doesn't reveal directly in #Girlboss - though hints of it are given along the way - is that she is a voracious learner, an avid reader and a (hyper)critical thinker with killer business gumption. Not all of us innately are or possess these qualities, though this is something that is absolutely within our power to change, adapt and improve upon. In my opinion, these are just some of the most common characteristics I've seen across-the-board of successful entrepreneurs, and just above-average humans in general.All in all, the book is a quick and entertaining read with snippets of slightly outrageous (and hilarious) stories from Sophia's past, wisdoms imparted by many other #Girlbosses (including famous fashion designer Norma Kamali, Christene Barberich, editor of Refinery 29 and Leandra Medine of Manrepeller.com), and learnings from Sophia's arsenal of books (including of course, the Harvard Business Review).

Don't get me wrong - I liked that book A LOT. But it's such a straightforward, obvious, apparent advice. I guess for a number of young girls just about to start their professional careers this could be very useful and indeed eye-opening, but if you are just a little bit older in your head and in your heart - it all sound a bit repetitive and "duh". Nevertheless, it's funny, warm and inspiring - an easy read with a lot of benefits and good advice such as "fortune favours the bold who get sh** done".Interesting fact: while I never bought anything from Nasty Gal, I of course knew it existed, but never followed it closely. Little did I know, that the Nasty Gal empire fell following financial struggles as well as legal issues and layoffs. In 2015 the company filed for bankruptcy in late 2016 and was acquired for [merely] $20m, a mere fraction of Nasty Gal's valuation just two years prior... So.I am off to watch the Neflix original series of "Girlboss" now (which was cancelled after one season and which Fanity Fair claims to be the Netflix's "first truly terrible show"...).Sooo... don't focus on the negative - go get sh** done! (And yes, remember, it is great to be an introvert!)

I was looking forward to reading this book, but oh my...I’ve struggled to read it in a month!! I had to skip pages where the author goes on and on about the same thing. Then you think finally she’s done with it but no back to the same topic. It’s just so boring, the whole book is ME ME ME, I’m the best, the greatest person on the whole planet.Anyways...I went on and checked out her shop to see what she’s talking about in the book -importance of product descriptions as an example. Well, guess what, most of her products don’t have any descriptions! What?! The website looks neglected and shabby, nothing like what she “prides” herself on in the book. What a hypocrisy...or maybe I’m too late to read this book and she doesn’t care about the business anymore? All in all, waste of time and huge disappointment. Great marketing skills to fool a lot of people though..

This was a light read but not what I expected it to be. As a small business owner, I was looking for valuable advice. Perhaps it's my age but this book is definately targeted at teenagers. The advice was fairly obvious, which felt patronising at times. While I appreciate the inspirational elements of Sophia's story and journey, it lacks useful advice for an adult audience. As of 2021, I consider Nasty Gal too similar to other fast fashion brands like Pretty Little Thing. It definitely lost it's luster and originality through the years in my opinion. But love the coined term #girlboss

I've been selling on eBay since I was 15, but only for a bit of extra cash and I also run a small business as well as working part-time too. I have always hated and always will hate the thought of working for someone else for the rest of my life and so I thought I would give this a read after watching it on Netflix.It really didn't disappoint, it's not like other books it's not trying to sell you something, it's genuinely an inspirational book that gives you some self belief and a real kick up the backside which is what everyone needs to get started.Thabk you, 100% reccommend

I admire the author for what she's achieved as a Girl Boss of NastyGal.Butthe book tried to tell her's and other's background stories -as well as being a guide to being a girl boss, owing and succeeding in a business.The two didn't mix at all, result: a book that was confusing, frustrating and hard to maintain attention