Kim Kardashian Speaking at Harvard Draws Mixed (But Predictable) Reactions

The Skims co-founder spoke to students about direct-to-consumer business.

Students of Harvard Business School got a surprise on Friday, Jan. 20 when influencer Kim Kardashian popped in to give a talk.

Kardashian spoke for close to two hours about Skims, the shapewear-turned-clothing line she founded in 2019. She was accompanied by Skims co-founder and CEO Jens Grede.

Kardashian and Grede spoke on the topic of direct-to-consumer businesses to the students of a course called Moving Beyond DTC. 

Video of Kardashian leaving after the speech was posted on Twitter by NBC Boston, saying that she spoke for nearly two hours and students said they "learned a ton."

Kardashian Causes Mixed Reactions (as Usual)

Some Twitter users were less than thrilled to hear about the influencer's visit to the school, referring back to her sex tape scandal to pour vitriol on the entrepreneur.

However, the students in the class itself seemed to be impressed with what Kardashian and Grede had to share.

Others seemed regretful that they missed Kardashian's speech.

The Business of Skims

While Skims got off to a bit of a bumpy start after Kardashian was accused of cultural appropriation after originally naming her company Kimono, the company has found its financial footing and then some.

The company had a worth of 3.2 billion as of January 2022 after raising an additional $200 million from investors. Kardashian was $600 million richer only two years after Skims launched, Forbes reports.

Skims has also leaned into collaborations, leading to one with Fendi in October than sold out in 10 minutes and brought in more than $3 million.