Today’s guest is Emily Hikade, founder and CEO of the luxury sleepwear brand Petite Plume.
Emily launched Petite Plume in 2015 and it has been profitable since its first year. The company has also doubled its revenue every year since launch, and it has reached almost $100 million in revenue. Petite Plume pajamas are coveted by the Royal Family, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anderson Cooper, Miranda Kerr, and Kourtney Kardashian, just to name a few.
Prior to founding Petite Plume, Emily worked for the CIA as an operations officer in the Clandestine Service for nearly two decades.
Emily was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2024.
In this episode, we dive into:
- Emily’s experience working in the CIA
- What it was like to make such a major career pivot
- Where her idea for Petite Plume came from
- The art of failing forward
- How she builds a high performing team
- How she’s able to sustain and grow the business without raising external capital