Almost Reckless

The groundbreaking founder of Tibi shares her secret to taking bold risks

Amy Smilovic's fashion brand, Tibi, had been a thriving multimillion global business for almost three decades when her gut told her something was off. All was good—on paper. But Smilovic realized that she was achieving the industry’s idea of success, not her own. She had a choice to make—would she continue to cater to data-driven algorithms? Or could she trust herself enough to do the work she believed in, even if it meant reinventing her brand?

Smilovic went with her gut. One step at a time, she made moves that looked wildly reckless to others but aligned with her core principles. She was creative. Pragmatic. And the bet paid off: her style—and, more importantly, mindset—resonated with thousands. Today Tibi is flourishing as the oldest independently owned luxury fashion brand in the US, and Smilovic has launched a movement of self-identified Creative Pragmatists.

In Almost Reckless, Smilovic invites you to get comfortable with what she calls “the good ick” and embrace smart risks in pursuit of your own vision. Sharing her business story and drawing on her years of helping others identify their personal style, she teaches you to hone your gut—and your trust in it—through rigorous definition of your core principles. With humor and practicality, she coaches you in how to determine which success metrics are right for you and how to ignore the algorithm that tells you to do the opposite of what you know is best. For you.