About
founder, podcast host, consultant
Lee Greene has always been a creator—not just of products or processes, but of possibility.
t twelve years old, she went in search of someone, anyone, who could teach her hip hop dance in Delaware. After calling every instructor within a 30-mile
A
radius, she finally found a jazz teacher who agreed, with one caveat: Lee had to bring the students. So she did. Ten of them, at $10 apiece, secured with hand-drawn flyers and the confidence of someone who didn’t take no for an answer. In exchange, Lee got to attend for free. That was the deal she made. It was her first negotiated contract.
By the time she reached college, she was juggling restaurant jobs, saving every dollar, and planning her next move: New York City to chase a modeling dream. She learned to quiet the noise, the opinions, fears, and expectations of others and follow her own instincts. With one year left of college, she dropped out, packed her bags, and decided to go for it. Knowing she needed to connect with industry contacts, Lee posed as the producer of a runway show seeking models so that she could garner contact information of key decision makers. After getting key information, Lee knew she needed to create urgency around herself and began cold-calling top agencies and crafting a story that made people take notice. After a string of rejections, she walked into Elite Model Management unannounced, claimed she had a meeting with the agency’s Director of Scouting, and pitched herself on the spot. “I believe in myself,” she told them. “I’m looking for someone else who will too.” They did and signed her to a three-year exclusive contract that launched her global modeling career.
t twelve years old, she went in search of someone—anyone—who could teach her hip hop dance in
Delaware. After calling every instructor within a 30 mile radius, she finally finally found a jazz teacher who agreed—with one caveat: Lee had to bring the students. She did. Ten of them, at $10 apiece, secured with hand-drawn flyers and the confidence of someone who didn’t take no for an answer. In exchange, Lee got to attend for free. That was the deal she made. It was her first negotiated contract.
By the time she reached college, she was juggling restaurant jobs, saving every dollar, and planning her next move: New York City to chase a modeling dream. She learned to quiet the noise, the opinions, fears, and expectations of others and follow her own instincts. With one year left of college, she dropped out, packed her bags, and decided to go for it. Knowing she needed to connect with industry contacts, Lee posed as the producer of a runway show seeking models so that she could garner contact information of key decision makers. After getting key information, Lee knew she needed to create urgency around herself and began cold-calling top agencies and crafting a story that made people take notice. After a string of rejections, she walked into Elite Model Management unannounced, claimed she had a meeting with the agency’s Director of Scouting, and pitched herself on the spot. “I believe in myself,” she told them. “I’m looking for someone else who will too.” They did and signed her to a three-year exclusive contract that launched her global modeling career.
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ut modeling wasn’t the destination; it was the beginning of a foundation for something far greater. A place where she learned to navigate rejection, test
limits, and take up space in rooms she wasn’t always invited into. Lee eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she began pursuing her next dream and talked her way into working for a top tech accelerator. She offered to work for free and started absorbing everything she could about startups. It was the combination of that knowledge and her firsthand experience in the fashion industry that led her to identify a major gap: stylists were still renting garments in person from wardrobe warehouses, with no way to browse inventory or transact online. Lee envisioned a platform that could change that—an “Amazon for B2B fashion rentals”—where stylists from anywhere could source what they needed through a centralized digital marketplace.
That idea became WearAway. And like her earliest wins, its momentum began with boldness. To land her first major investor, she created urgency, hinting at interest from other top funds to spark curiosity and compel action. That urgency led to WearAway’s biggest investor. After one meeting, they called back ready to invest. Over the next five years, Lee scaled WearAway into a platform used by leading stylists, fashion houses, and production teams, lending agility to a $6 billion dollar industry. Eventually, she exited the company to Grin Technologies, a strategic move fueled by her ability to anticipate market shifts, evolve with the industry, and lead with clarity.
oday, Lee works as a strategic consultant and CEO-copilot for early-stage companies. She partners dir-
T
oday, Lee works as a strategic consultant and CEO-copilot for early-stage companies. She partners directly with founders to refine messaging, attract
investors, and build the kind of operational foundation that turns vision into velocity. Her work isn’t about theory, it’s about traction. And whether she’s helping a startup prepare for seed funding or guiding a founder through the hardest moments of building, when doubt creeps in and the path feels unclear, she shows up as the same person she’s always been: the one willing to go first, to figure it out, and help others find their way through. That urgency and refusal to take no for an answer has remained the constant thread in every chapter of her journey.
Because in Lee’s world, it’s never a no; it’s always a not yet… unless it’s a resounding yes.
ut modeling wasn’t the destination; it was the beginning of a foundation for something far greater.
A place where she learned to navigate rejection, test limits, and take up space in rooms she wasn’t always invited into. Lee eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she began pursuing her next dream and talked her way into working for a top tech accelerator. She offered to work for free and started absorbing everything she could about startups. It was the combination of that knowledge and her firsthand experience in the fashion industry that led her to identify a major gap: stylists were still renting garments in person from wardrobe warehouses, with no way to browse inventory or transact online. Lee envisioned a platform that could change that—an “Amazon for B2B fashion rentals”—where stylists from anywhere could source what they needed through a centralized digital marketplace.
That idea became WearAway. And like her earliest wins, its momentum began with boldness. To land her first major investor, she created urgency, hinting at interest from other top funds to spark curiosity and compel action. That urgency led to WearAway’s biggest investor. After one meeting, they called back ready to invest. Over the next five years, Lee scaled WearAway into a platform used by leading stylists, fashion houses, and production teams, lending agility to a $6 billion dollar industry. Eventually, she exited the company to Grin Technologies, a strategic move fueled by her ability to anticipate market shifts, evolve with the industry, and lead with clarity.
ectly with founders to refine messaging, attract investors, and build the kind of operational foundation that turns vision into velocity. Her work isn’t about theory, it’s about traction. And whether she’s helping a startup prepare for seed funding or guiding a founder through the hardest moments of building, when doubt creeps in and the path feels unclear, she shows up as the same person she’s always been: the one willing to go first, to figure it out, and help others find their way through. That urgency and refusal to take no for an answer has remained the constant thread in every chapter of her journey.
