Today we have an exclusive interview with Kim Kardashian. The occasion? Her new class on MasterClass, where the superstar shares what she’s calling her “ten Kimmandments” of business. Over two decades in the public eye, Kardashian has learned how to sell a product—starting with social media and licensing deals, and now with her startup Skims valued at $5 billion and on IPO watch.
I watched the class before its premiere today and then chatted with Kardashian over the phone earlier this week (ever the multi-tasker, she called in from the dentist). It’s a fun lesson in creating a brand through visibility and perseverance—relevant for anyone building a consumer business, especially on social media, today. The themes go back to much of what I explored in my 2023 profile for Kardashian in Fortune. Here are some of my favorite lessons from the class and what Kardashian had to say about them:
Don’t follow the feed, be the feed.
When people talk about the success of Skims, this is probably the element they want to understand how to emulate the most. How does Skims create such on-point cultural moments? From campaigns that seem to operate at the speed of culture (like with the actresses from the White Lotusor former Victoria’s Secret angels) to viral product drops like its nipple bra and pubic hair thong.
“I get asked about the merkin more than probably any Skims product we have,” Kardashian told me. “Sometimes to make products that are just interesting and innovative and to spark a conversation— obviously, that can’t be the basis of the brand, and the brand can’t be controlled by drops like that, but to keep the conversation going is really interesting.”
The key is to watch how customers respond to these moments. With the nipple bra, Kardashian explains in the class, what started as a stunt turned into a more meaningful endeavor as Skims heard from breast cancer survivors who would wear it to feel at home in their bodies post-mastectomy. With the merkin, the lesson is perhaps less poignant. But Kardashian says she saw that “people were really curious as to if this was serious or not.” And that curiosity can drive interest in the brand.
What to expect from Skims Beauty.
Skims is launching its own beauty business soon; the brand hired Ami Colé founder Diarrha N’Diaye earlier this month to lead the division. For Kardashian, the launch represents bringing her disparate beauty endeavors under one roof. Over the years she’s had various beauty deals. There was Khroma, a licensing deal that she shares in the class as an example of a bad deal where the math of a 6% of sales split between the three Kardashian sisters, agents, and managers didn’t add up. For a while she had KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance. “I’m so grateful for figuring that out and having those experiences,” she tells me of her many stops and starts in beauty. Beauty is where Kardashian applies one of her earliest lessons: listening to the customer on social media and incorporating their feedback into the product. “I love to listen to what the customer wants,” she says, “hearing them and making them a part of your brand experience.”
Visibility sells products.
Kardashian says she learned early that “if you’re visible, you can sell products.” The lesson dates back to the earliest days of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, when the sisters had their boutique Dash and thought the show could help drive sales there. I asked her if she thinks visibility is still crucial for entrepreneurs today, in a much noisier media environment where some brands, like The Row, succeed by being mysterious. “I definitely think there’s different paths and avenues for everyone,” she says. “But for me, and what has worked for my beauty business, for my clothing business, has always been about visibility.”
Hard work matters.
In 2022, Kardashian caused a stir when she said that “nobody wants to work anymore” and told people to “get your ****ing ass up and work.” “I don’t know if I stand by maybe the way that I communicated that,” Kardashian tells me, “but I stand by hard work has to be done in order to get results.” Today, her lesson on working hard is slightly different: “Don’t confuse working hard with being hard on people.” “Being easy to work with goes a long way,” she advises.
What to learn from Kim, and what to learn from Kris.
MasterClass has previously released a class by Kris Jenner, Kardashian’s mom and longtime manager to the entire family. Jenner’s class is the one to watch for guidance on building brands at the high level, across different businesses and clients. Kardashian is more in the weeds on the power of social media and specific consumer businesses.
For Kardashian, she’s releasing this class now because she wants people to see another side to her besides what’s on TV or in headlines, an idea that started after she spoke at Harvard Business School. “I think it was just the right time for people to dig a little bit deeper and see how involved I really am and how we get to the decisions that we make,” she says.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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PARTING WORDS
"It was almost like how a young woman is trained to date. Like, 'Do they want me?' No, no, do you want them? I never even stopped to say, like, 'Is this a good project? Is this a good director?'"
— Gwyneth Paltrow on starting her acting career at 18
