Kendra Scott says she launched her billion-dollar business from her bedroom with just $500, when she was pregnant with her first son.
when Kendra Scott She launched her jewelry business in 2002, had no investors, no retail experience, and only $500 to name a few. What she had was a spare bedroom in her home in Austin, Texas, a newborn baby, and the kind of determination that turns impossible odds into billion-dollar success stories.
Scott said in a A recent interview with the School of Hard Knockswhich has 5.6 million followers on TikTok. “An extra bedroom in my house, on a gaming table. $500, honey. That’s it.”
Scott designed her first jewelry collection while pregnant with her first son, hand-setting each piece with semi-precious stones. For years, she had been making jewelry as gifts for her friends, but in retail, she always felt like there was an item that was expensive, or low-quality, but nothing in between. So I set out to create high quality jewelry at affordable prices.
Only three months After giving birth, she placed her first samples in a tea chest, strapped her infant son into a baby carrier, and drove to the store to stock up through Austin, writing up orders for local boutiques.
“He would actually sit on my lap and go to my first sales calls, and go with me from store to store. He was my little salesperson,” Scott said. “Kids sell products, you know, babies and puppies. Bring them to your sales call. It works.”
The early days tested her resolve. At the last store she visited on that first sales trip, Scott had to sell all of her original samples To purchase enough materials to fulfill the orders you just received. She sold her car, took out personal loans, and put every dollar back into her startup business. As a single mother, rent negotiations with her landlord became routine.
“Failure was not an option. I had to succeed,” Scott said He said contractor In 2015.
Scott told The School of Hard Knocks that she has a “scary relationship” with debt. She said she put everything she owned as collateral in order to obtain loans. “I knew that if I didn’t make the loan payments or if I didn’t sell the product, I would get this loan. That would mean I would be broke,” she said. But this pressure led to discipline. “It made me a very disciplined business owner. Even today, with a billion-dollar brand, I look at every dollar we spend and make sure it’s going to work for us.”
Growth after the crisis
The 2008 financial crisis nearly brought everything to a halt. Scott’s business has grown beyond Austin, with showrooms in Dallas and New York and partnerships with department stores. But when the recession hit, wholesalers disappeared overnight and her bank demanded a line of credit that would have drained the company. After being rejected by countless other banks, she found a lifeline at a local bank in Texas, where the president looked beyond the numbers and saw Scott’s potential.
“She gave me the loan. She kept my business alive,” Scott wrote in a letter. Article for Thrive Global In 2019.
That crisis forced a pivot that would define the brand’s future. In 2010, despite swearing an oath to retail after the failure of a hat venture years earlier, Scott opened her first jewelry store in Austin. It was a huge success: customers were able to touch and try on the pieces freely rather than viewing them behind glass, and they could personalize the jewelery in real time, choosing from more than 50 styles and 30 stone colours, with the pieces assembled on site within minutes.
“It was a jewelry shopping experience unlike any I’ve ever had. It was like a nightclub,” Scott said The founder told in 2022.
Lines formed around the block. profit exploded From $1.7 million in 2010 to $24 million in 2013. By 2016, when the Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners took a minority stake In the company, Kendra Scott is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion. Scott remains majority shareholder and CEO —One of only 16 women in the United States at the time To hold the title of founder of a multi-billion dollar company.
Tom Nolan, CEO of Kendra Scott Design, He said luck Earlier this year The company operates about 150 retail stores and plans to open 25 more by the end of the year. The company generates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, grew 20% year over year in 2024, and employs more than 2,600 people —More than 95% of them are womenaccording to Scott. The company also has Expanded its production lines It goes beyond jewelry into fine jewelry, home decor, beauty products and a new Western-inspired lifestyle brand called Yellow Rose.
Advice for entrepreneurs
When asked about the future of retail, Scott was emphatic. “Oh, honey, retail is very alive. And brick-and-mortar isn’t dead. The four walls are where you can build community and build brand awareness. We need the human touch. It can’t just be digital, you can do it in brick-and-mortar. Build brick-and-mortar for the experience first. Connection through the transaction. The transaction will follow.”
She noted that the margins in the jewelry business are “really good. They’re good margins.”
But her most important advice has nothing to do with business strategy. “Leave your mark. You only get one chance in this life. Your life is a grain of sand. Make it count whatever you do in your life. You have a reason you’re here. You have a reason to impact people in a positive way. Figure out what that is. And if you can do that by working like I do, that’s great, but leave your mark.”
You can watch the full interview with Kendra Scott and School of Hard Knocks below:
@theschoolofhardknocks She built a billion dollar brand 🤯 I interviewed @Kendra Scott about how she turned just $500 into a billion dollar company! Since she started when she was pregnant, I asked her how this was possible! I also asked her about the profit margins in her business and whether or not she thinks the future of retail is dead. Finally, I asked her what is her best advice for the younger generation. #wealth #contractor #Financial freedom #incentivize ♬ original sound – The School of Hard Knocks
For this story, luck Use generative AI to help with the rough draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publication.
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