Gabrielle Union Receives Entrepreneur Impact Award, Credits Business Success To ‘The Power Of The Pivot’

Union shares the secret to her business success while accepting Variety's Entrepreneur Impact Award.

From beauty and fashion to food and baby care, on top of her acting career, Gabrielle Union-Wade knows the highs and lows of entrepreneurship and exactly when it’s time to pivot.

On Sept. 25, actress and entrepreneur Gabrielle Union took center stage at the Variety Entertainment and Technology Summit in Los Angeles, where she received the inaugural Entrepreneur Impact Award and revealed the key to her business success.

“It’s the power of the pivot,” Union said, as captured by Variety. “When it’s not working or it doesn’t sit right in my soul, I’m losing sleep. It’s wrong. I have to pivot, and there’s no shame in my game. I didn’t like it; it did not work for me. I’m going to try again.”

Union earned the honor for her achievements with Proudly, the sustainable baby care line she co-founded with husband, Dwyane Wade, in celebration of their daughter, Kaavia James. Created for infants of color, the hypoallergenic line launched exclusively in partnership with JCPenney, the retailer’s first dedicated expansion into baby apparel.

Beyond Proudly, Union also founded Flawless by Gabrielle Union, co-founded Bitsy’s snacks, launched a fashion line with New York & Company, and invests in other ventures as an angel investor. Accepting the Entrepreneur Impact Award, she credited her drive to uplift underserved communities as the foundation of her business journey.

“All I wanted to do was to help and ensure I covered the most vulnerable while centering the needs, wants, desires, and fears of folks who have been historically marginalized,” Union said. “When I do that in my arts and entrepreneurship, my soul sings. That’s what it all boils down to.”

With starring roles in cult classics like “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Bring It On,” “She’s All That,” and “Deliver Us from Eva,” Union has long understood the influence of her platform and how to use it to speak truth to power while uplifting marginalized communities. Union later reflected on the moment she first recognized her influence during the press tour for the 2003 film “Bad Boys II.”

“While I had that microphone in my hand, I knew I could speak truth to power and make real change,” she said. “That was the first time I was like, ‘Wow, people are listening to me, they’re printing what I’m saying, and it’s traveling around the world. So I should say something of substance that helps more than just me.’”

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