Common Thread’s Lauren Gay Knows Ideas Are Lessons Always Worth Learning

It’s past time we remixed the entrepreneur archetype. The tried-and-true definition of an emerging or aspiring business owner feels tired. The modern entrepreneur is a mover, shaker and doer who’s not content with simply breaking all the rules. Our 52 trailblazers featured in the October issue are rewriting the rules, tearing them up and doing it all over again. It’s creation at its purest, because the fruits of one’s hustle are not actualized overnight or by following one jet-lagged recipe. It’s no longer adequate to measure entrepreneurs by the brick-and-mortar spaces they manifest or the jobs they create. Those are all important elements but fall short of what it truly means to build something — often with blood, sweat and tears. Whether you’re revamping the vintage clothing industry, introducing a fresh dining concept, cultivating an advocacy-focused creative agency or advancing the cause of equality for the LGBTQ+ community, the only thing that matters is freedom — the freedom to march to the beat of your own badass drum. Read our full rundown of trailblazers here.

Lauren Gay is the director and manager of Common Thread, a D.C. retail space for vintage clothes. With fall colors popping on their social media, Common Thread keeps up with the mood of the month — something Gay does as well. 

Advice that keeps you hungry
A piece of advice I have received is that it is always worth trying a concept or an idea out, because you never know what lessons you will learn that will help you become more successful the second time around.

Early bird, night owl or something in-between
I am an early bird all the way. [I] become a night owl for people I care about or support if they have events, celebrations, or special occasions that cause me to be a night owl.

Burning question for an iconic trailblazer
The CEO of Fashion Bomb Daily, Claire Sulmers. She inspired me [with] her hustle [and the] way she started with an idea [when] talking about fashion, celebrities and her experience. I think I would ask [her] how she builds a concept into a tangible platform, brand [or] item that will produce income.
I feel it would be nice to converse about the hustle from one Black woman to another.  

The current soundtrack of your life
Any Janet Jackson album, because [it’s] Janet. I refuse to pick one song or album. I jam to a different album depending on my mood that month. 

@littlehustler83 

Enjoy this piece? Consider becoming a member for access to our premium digital content. Support local journalism and start your membership today.