Emma Grede says Mark Cuban's AI usage sparked her to pursue formal AI education, after she realized she was 'using AI like a 42-year-old woman'

Grede, founding partner of Skims and CEO of Good American, told Fortune in an exclusive 2025 interview that a podcast episode with Cuban—who had 60 AI apps on his phone—gave her 'a new urgency around how I use AI' and prompted her to look into AI courses at the Wharton School and Harvard for fall.

About two years ago, Grede gave her staff a cash bonus for using AI in their work, which she said 'changed the office' and 'changed the way people presented their work' and 'changed the way people did their work,' though she admitted she leaned on her Gen Z and thirtysomething staff to handle most AI work while she used it mainly as a search engine.

Grede said she does not view AI as a tool to increase her own productivity, but rather to make smarter strategic choices and optimize decision-making as a merchant and planner, since much of her role involves 'making really big bets and decisions.'