Jewelry designer Kendra Scott launched her company with $500 in 2002 by going door to door, with her newborn son in tow, to find local boutiques that would carry her jewelry line. Fast-forward to 2025, and Scott has a billion-dollar business that boasts a growing fleet of 152 stores across the United States.
Scott, whose company is based in Austin, Texas, talked about her trajectory as a keynote speaker at last week's annual ICSC conference in Las Vegas, the nation's largest gathering of retail real estate professionals. What Scott described as her one-time jewelry-making "side hustle" gained momentum, and when Nordstrom started carrying it, the business expanded.
However, the Great Recession in 2008 forced Scott, pictured, to rethink her business model and open her own brick-and-mortar retail locations.
"I realized that all of the eggs of my business were in one basket," she said. "I was reliant on the buyers of department stores. I was relying on these boutique owners where their businesses ... were shuttering daily. They had all the power."
It was necessary to have a direct relationship with her end consumer, according to Scott. So she launched her first store in 2010 in Austin.
"From there to today, that's where you see the lightning-in-a bottle growth," Scott said. "It's when we can touch the customer and give her that experience that I knew we could do differently than any other retailer out there."
Scott, who is now one of the "sharks" who judge on the TV show "Shark Tank," said she expects to open 25 new stores this year. Those will include several locations for the chain's new concept, Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott, featuring Texas lifestyle and Western fare that should "put the cowgirl front and center," according to Scott.
As for her jewelry business, Scott said her vision initially was just to generate enough revenue to sustain her and her family.
"And look at where we are today," she told ICSC attendees. "You know, don't ever underestimate yourself because it truly is, I'm living proof that when you work hard and every day you put one foot in front of the other, amazing things can happen."