Gwyneth Paltrow has developed a lucrative business with Goop. No matter what I think of what she’s actually selling – snake oil and expensive feelings to bored rich women – I will give her credit for transitioning from an extremely niche, elitist brand into a company that’s (arguably) worth $250 million. She’s a smart businesswoman and with an offensively patronizing business, and those two halves can exist simultaneously. The thing about Goop’s success is that Gwyneth is often invited to speak at tech conferences and business conferences and the like. The success of Goop, the elitist-niche-to-mass market transition, the money and investment, would any of it happened without Gwyneth Paltrow’s name attached? Of course not. If Goop wasn’t Gwyneth and it was just made by some rich a–hole in her kitchen, of course it would not be the success it is today. But to hear Gwyneth tell it, her famous name and celebrity was perhaps the biggest hurdle.

Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has built a $250 million wellness and lifestyle brand that launched its first international pop-up store London this fall and is on track to double its annual revenue this year. But even someone with Paltrow’s international celebrity and social media cachet found it difficult to raise money for her business, Goop.

“Being an actress, it was really helpful to get meetings,” Paltrow told the Wall Street Journal’s Tech D. Live conference tonight. “Sometimes a guy would want a selfie for his wife, or to tell me how much they love The Royal Tenenbaums … It very quickly became a hindrance.”

Paltrow’s experience is not dissimilar to that of other female entrepreneurs, who encounter obstacles when it comes to raising money. Male entrepreneurs received $58.2 billion in venture backing last year, while women received a fraction of that sum, $1.5 billion, according to PitchBook.

[From Deadline]

I often refer to “the Oppression Olympics,” which is where people – men and women do it – are so insistent that their suffering, their oppression, their terrible story is the worst. And not only that, it’s like no one wants to admit that some things are easy for some people, that white privilege exists and that money, power and connections help certain people. Many privileged people are so wrapped up in their own tales of victimization and oppression, they truly don’t see how offensive it is that they can’t see past their own nose. All of which to say: give me a f–king break, Gwyneth. It was SUCH a hindrance that people loved her work and wanted photos of her and all she wanted to do was be a humble snake oil salesman of yore. No one knows how Gwyneth struggles, truly. No one understands how many hindrances and roadblocks were thrown in her path. She came dangerously close to having to put HER OWN MONEY into Goop. *tosses stringy blonde hair and cries*

(minor update/edit: I didn’t claim to invent the term “Oppression Olympics” but I took out the wording that some found questionable.)

Photos courtesy of WENN.