John Koryl spent his first months as chief executive of the RealReal helping to clean out customers’ closets. The company had recently changed its consignment policy for the luxury goods it offered, and Mr. Koryl wanted to see how people were reacting to it. So he traveled to people’s homes in Orange County, Calif., Long Island and elsewhere to find out what he couldn’t glean from his office.
In Mr. Koryl’s telling, he’s the “guy…