To what degree would Rent the Runway be a different company today if Hyman and Fleiss had not conducted a feasibility analysis? Do you think the business would be as successful as is currently the case?

In 2007, Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss met at Harvard Business School. They were in the same cohort and quickly became friends. Both were interested in entrepreneurship and frequently met for lunch to talk about business ideas. Prior to coming to Harvard, Hyman had worked for Starwood Hotels where she was given the chance to start a business inside the company. She started a wedding business and launched the first bridal registry for honeymoons. She figured since people were waiting longer to get married, they no longer needed china and pots and pans as wedding gifts. So why not let the wedding guests help contribute to the honeymoon trip? Fleiss was an internal strategy consultant at Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers and also founded an essay editing service for college applicants.