773: How Kendra Scott Built A Billion-Dollar Brand with Purpose

25:37Because our conversations are so rich and funny and interesting. And I am still learning the mom side of things of like these themed days. And oh my gosh, they got to bring a sharing item and all these things. And so one of my mom friends is very on top of those things. And I was like, can you just send out a text for all of us that don't read our emails every day. Like it is beautiful to find women that can balance. And I think in today's society, especially for people that are entrepreneurs and, you know, driven and ambitious, you have to really prioritize and make that effort to connect with other women.

26:13It doesn't just happen. It takes effort. And I think a lot of us hear that and we're like, there is no gas in the tank for anything like that. But I can tell you, like, it is so life-giving to be around other people who are in such a similar stage, especially when you're raising littles and doing that. One thing I want to ask, so we kind of know the beginning origin, the card table, the few designs. What does a day in your life look like now? Like, I feel like it must be vastly different. Paint that picture. It is. This is the thing that's so funny, is that every day is so different. I mean, it's exciting that it is so different, but every day is so different.

26:54But, you know, I, I always start my day with the kids, getting them off to school in the morning and, you know, getting everybody like out the door successfully. I already feel like I've accomplished something by, you know, seven 15 in the morning. I'm like, yes, we did this. And then for me, it's like, I like to kind of ease into my mornings by like going through emails. You know, if I'm working on a new concept or new idea, I'm kind of writing things out. I use that morning time, like with my coffee to kind of get my mind situated. And then depending on the day, my team knows that around 10 a.m.

27:26is when I'll start to do meetings or I'll do podcasts or whatever it might be. And then I'm doing touch bases at different days of the week with different team members. So I might be meeting with my CMO on a certain day. I might be meeting with my design team. Usually I'm working with our design team at least two or three times a week. So I still lead all the design for Kendra Scott. And that's, for me, my joyous, most happy time is spent in our design lab. I love my days in the design lab, but there's a lot of different things. Anything that the customer touches, sees, smells, whatever, wears, I'm looking at it and making sure it's perfect and amazing.

28:05And then it's going to surprise and delight her and wow her. And so I'm very engaged in the customer experience. And then at least one day a week, I try to get into one of our retail stores and I love to sell. I'm on the sales floor. I love learning from our customers. I want to see what she's buying. I want to find out what's going on in their lives. I think the best way for me to do that is to really be on the floor working with our teams directly. I want to see if there's things in our processes that are holding up my staff and how they're running the business there. So I try to get on the floor at least once a week.

28:39And then I'm traveling too. So I'm in New York. We have a showroom there. I'm in LA quite a bit. So it's just that balance, right, of all the different things. And then I do a lot of speaking. So there are certain weeks where I will be on the road, you know, doing certain conferences and things like that. But I try to, you know, I never stay more than three nights away from my family. That's our rule. And, you know, I am very strict about certain things like that. And what's great is I, you know, we've built a business that supports parents, that supports mothers and fathers. And I want my Kendra Scott family to be there for their family first.

29:14And so they know that that's my priority as well. And so when you build a business like that, and that becomes the norm, it doesn't become the thing that's odd. It actually is the norm of our culture here at Kendra Scott. Everyone works around that to make sure those things happen. And that gives us that, you know, the word that I hate to use, the balance, I guess, that you need. But for me, if I'm not there with my family, the way I need to be there, I will not be as good of a leader to my Kendra Scott family. I need to be able to be able to balance those two things. I think one of the most powerful traits in a leader is whatever they want for themselves, they want for their team.

29:54And I have seen so many companies where the leader wants these special treatments or things or time or whatever it is for themselves. And it's not preserved for a part of the culture. And I just think that the most powerful, happy, energized teams are the ones that are reaping the benefits. One thing I want to know is oftentimes when you're in a state of scaling and you're hiring and you start to outsource, sometimes you can outsource the things you love the most and it pulls you away from your work or that heartbeat. And you talked about how you love design. Has Has there ever been times in the business where you maybe outsource too much and you kind of lose that connection where you have to pull it back in?

30:39Or have you always maintained that preservation of your passion? I think where I've always been very adamant that the things that we have to hold on to are the things that are going to touch our customer and how we're connecting with our customer. I will not outsource design. If we do, we have our design lab here. We create all of the molds here in Austin, Texas. We have manufacturing all over, obviously, because we're just having lots of things. But we do all the design here. That was important to me. Our marketing and how the customer is seeing the brand, the creative side of the business, I've always felt like that's what we're really good at.

31:17That's our wheelhouse. So we want to keep that in-house. The areas where I outsourced that I think have been helpful is like, look, we're not a tech company, right? So we have a big IT team, but we can outsource a lot of these other things that we don't need to necessarily build a mini Google inside of Kendra Scott, right? Those things make sense with the right leadership within our organization, protecting the brand. I think, you know, one thing that's so important for anyone listening is really understanding your core values. And my core values are the company's core values, which is family.

31:50I'm a mother first, and I wanted to create a company that we treated each other and our customers like family. Fashion, because this was my passion. This is my love. I love to design products that make people feel good, that bring smiles to their faces. And then three, I wanted to create a brand that was fashioned for philanthropy, that we could be a successful company, but make a positive impact on women and youth in this country. And we do that every day. And so we hire people that share those core values and that's what's kept our culture alive. So having our HR and really being on top of who we bring in, in our leadership roles, our managers for our stores, all of those things, we could never outsource because no one will understand our core values like us, no matter who we would have out there.

32:35So I think when you're thinking about outsourcing, you know, even in the early days, like accounting, finance, I mean, they still lock Excel spreadsheets, Jenna, because I'll mess them up. Okay. So that's not my strong suit, right? No, they don't let me in. And I'm like, laugh. I'm like, you shouldn't let me in because I'll push a box and I'll ruin it all, you know? So there are certain things I was like, I need to outsource that because if I'm doing it, I'm going to mess this up. And you have to know your strengths and you have to know your weaknesses. And I think your weaknesses are great areas to outsource as long as you have someone in your organization that is still strong in that area that can manage and oversee that outsource person.

33:16Right. So that's kind of the key. And I think as you're building your business, really writing those things down, what are we great at? What am I good at? being very honest and vulnerable on what you suck at. Okay. And for me, I was like, this is the things I've got to hire people that are great at those things, or I'm going to need to outsource some of those things to organizations or groups. But still those organizations and groups have to align with my core values. So any vendor we use, any manufacturer we use, they all have to align with us on the heart piece, not just the qualifications piece.

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35:57Can you believe that we're already wrapping up 2025? This year was packed with travel and so many new memories. One of my favorite moments was our team retreat in Arizona with the incredible women who helped me keep this business running. I also recently took the kids to Nashville during fall break and somewhere in between I squeezed in a trip to Puerto Rico with friends. We booked some of our most memorable stays this year on Airbnb. There's something special about finding a place that doesn't just look great in the photos but actually feels welcoming the moment you walk in. That this feels right kind of feeling.

36:31If you've got trips coming up, whether it's a family vacation, a retreat or a work trip, your house will probably be sitting empty while you're gone. Have you considered hosting your home on Airbnb and letting it work for you? It's a simple way to earn some extra income that can be put towards a future trip or home improvement projects. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com forward slash host. I think that's so powerful. And I think a lot of people kind of skip that piece of starting a business, like the mission statement, the vision, the values. And I think that's how so many people, you know, wake up three years down the line, five years, 10 years.

37:14And they're like, this is not what I thought it was going to be. Or like, this is not what I want. That brings me to my next question. And I'm curious now, how do you define success for yourself? Like, how do you know when you're being successful? You know, for me, I can tell, and I think this is such a, for every single person, it's different. Okay. I think sometimes we think success is being able to have money and financial security and right. That's what we've all kind of been trained in our brains that that's success. I don't, I do like being able to know that I can, you know, pay my rent now and I don't have to worry about my sister having to move in with me.

37:54And those things are nice, right? Having financial security is great. That's one small portion of success for me. That's a portion of what it looks like for me to feel successful. I want my family healthy and happy. They always say this, a mother is only as happy as her most unhappy child. So if I can make sure that every single one of my children, my husband, the people in my family are good and happy and they're getting what they need, that is success for me. I need to be able to have time. Time is critically important. We have a very short time on this earth. And while we are here, we have to make it count.

38:36And when I say make it count, that doesn't mean you need to go out and build a billion dollar brand. Making it count means that you're doing something that brings you joy and happiness. I love my job. I love this company. I love designing. I love our customers. I'm excited every day to come to work. I love being a mom. I mean, more than anything in the world. And I have to have that time in my life to spend with them, to go on vacations with them, to snuggle up with them, to have movie nights, to be able to pick them up from school. I need that in my life to be able to feel successful for me. And then the big part, I've always just felt like I lost my stepfather to brain cancer.

39:17And I've always had this thing in my heart that I wanted to do something good for the world. And I think when I see that we're making an impact on people in a positive way, we've donated, and this is a number, but it's a big one. It's$65 million since 2010 to women and children's charities, I know we're doing good stuff and that brings me immense joy. And that's how I feel successful. I look more at what we're able to do from a give back standpoint than a top line revenue. I really do because that's my fuel. That's why I keep coming and wanting to build this business bigger is because the bigger the business has gotten, the more good we've been able to do in the world.

40:00And that's my purpose. So you have to know your purpose. You have to know what things matter to you. And when you're thinking about your core values, think about what matters to me. What are the things in my life that I absolutely are so important to me to be fulfilled and happy? And those things, I promise you other people will have similar core values to you. You just brought up such a beautiful point that I want to dive into a little bit deeper is I think that a lot of women start the pursuit of money because again, that's kind of what we've been conditioned to do. And I'm speaking from experience for myself.

40:40There have been so many times where I've hit financial milestones and felt nothing or empty or not how I expected it to feel. And I think that something super powerful that you just spoke about is tying it to something deeper than you and to use your money in a way to support other things. If somebody is listening to this and they don't have a give back component to their business, or they don't have an area where they're super passionate about or donating, or they haven't considered that, or maybe they don't even feel successful enough yet to be doing that. Talk to me about how that works and how you guys landed on where you landed and what you're supporting?

41:21Because I think this can change the game, especially for female entrepreneurs, where it pulls you out of the equation, because I think most women are selfless in a lot of ways. And it ties you and anchors you to a really much deeper why that can help fuel you and your results. A hundred percent. I mean, for me, my first business I started because my stepfather had gone through brain cancer treatment and I had spent a lot of time around women and men who were undergoing chemotherapy. And I wanted to create headwear options that were more comfortable and still fashionable and all those things. And so, you know, I, from that, and I was 19 when I started that first business, my stepfather would tell me, you know, use the gifts that you were given to do something good.

42:06And that, you know, and reminded me that your life here is just fleeting. And so for me, I got so much joy out of seeing that I would create something and I would put it and give it to a woman who, you know, had experiencing hair loss and going through this really difficult time in her life and see her light up and see her smile. And I, and that was like, oh my gosh, this is why, like if I can create, do fashion and design, which I love, and I can give this like happiness to someone, this was like, I mean, there's nothing better in the world for me. Right. It was amazing. And so when I started Kendra Scott, I, you know, after the hat company failed, I was like, what am I going to do?

42:46How am I going to do this again? And I thought, well, what can I do today? What I can do is I can volunteer sometime, not a lot of times, I didn't have a lot, but I could volunteer sometime. And I could make a pair of earrings for a silent auction. I could make a necklace for a raffle for a charity. And I decided if a nonprofit would call me, that I would never say no, that I could figure out something I could give. And I wasn't able to write big checks. I wasn't able to do anything beyond that. And each day as the business got a little bigger, I was able to do a little more. And when we started opening our first retail store, which was in 2010, I decided, oh, this would be so cool if I could have Kendra Gives Back events where charities that I have been gifting to all these years for nonprofits could come in and have another way to support their business.

43:37And this would be great because it would be a profit sharing. I would give them percentage of the sales that night. So it was a way that I was able to help them, but also, you know, it was like it worked for everybody. Right. And so that started. And then it was like one thing, then we started Kendrick cares in a pediatric hospital where I brought my color bar and we gifted patients a piece of jewelry and they got to design them with us. And then they would give it to their favorite nurse or their mom sitting by their bedside. That was one hospital. Now we have 42 hospitals that we are in every month across the country.

44:09So my message is, is that you don't have to make this big thing. Don't check a philanthropy box just to check it. I wanted to do something where I could really help somebody in the way that I was able. So whatever it is you're able to do that is not hurting you or hurting your business, try to do it and implement it. As we started to grow, we started to realize we really wanted to focus more on women and children. That was our demographic, me as a mother, I mean, all of these things as a female entrepreneur who had struggled to get funding, I really wanted to start to hone in on exactly what we wanted to focus on.

44:48And it was women and youth. And so now the Kendra Scott Foundation, which we just recently launched, is really focused on that. But again, we still don't turn people away. The Boy Scouts of America need something. You know what? I'm going to help them out. But we still are very much now focused and we have all these amazing programs. So never in a million years out of that little extra bedroom when I was making a pair of earrings for an auction did I think that I could tell you that we've given$65 million now to women and youth, but you can do that. If I can do this, anyone can do this. Start where you can, grow from there, make it part of the DNA of your brand.

45:23And I promise you, you're going to have people that want to work even more for you because they want to be, everyone wants to be something bigger than just making money. That is just empty. Money is not the resolve for happiness, folks. It's not. And when you are able to take that and give some of that back in a way that you then see, wow, what I have done has really helping someone else. That is amazing feeling. And that is what we should all try to strive for. Yes. Oh, I couldn't agree more. And I think too, it's natural for so many of us to say like, I'll start giving when, and it's like that finish line keeps getting pushed further and further away.

46:05And I always remember somebody saying like, if you can't give$10 out of a hundred, you're not going to be able to give 10 ,000 out of a hundred thousand. Like when you start growing that habit now, wherever you're at, it just becomes a part of your values and your system, which I love. It does. And I think the other thing is, you know, we have an army of amazing people that work at Kendra Scott, that philanthropy is such a big part of what's important to them is giving back. And we also have this opportunity for team building. We'll go and we do different runs together. We'll do different, you know, Christmas, we're all here wrapping presents to help families.

46:42And we're like having all of these bonding moments. So I think from when you're thinking about building your company, think about how that will unite the people on your team in such a special way. And that you're getting to experiencing things together. I mean, when we see our employees at Kendra cares events in these pediatric hospitals, they are all fighting to volunteer their time to go do this and their job becomes so much more fulfilled because they're getting to do something that they wouldn't even be able to dream that they would be able to do in, in their job life, but it's just part of who we are as a brand.

47:14So, you know, I just think there's so many positives to this. And like you said, no, there's no time better than today to start. No matter how small it is, it matters. It matters. It does. One thing I did that I want to do again is I set aside a certain amount of money and told my team to tell me about causes they care about. And if you really want to get to know the people that you work with, look at where they want money to go. I think that speaks so deeply about what their values are and what they care about. And it was beautiful to see the different types of organizations that members of my team support, wanted to support, believe in the work of.

47:55And there's so many amazing nonprofits out there who are desperate for support. So it was a cool exercise. Like if you really want to see what people care about, see where they want money to go. And it's a powerful way to have conversations. You know, we have 138 stores and I have philanthropic managers, area managers in regions. And they're the ones, because they understand their community. I can't be here in Austin, Texas and know what does this city need or that city need. But the people that live there and work there that work with Kendra Scott, they know, right? And they're out in the community going, where's the greatest need?

48:31How can we support them? And like you said, Jenna, it's so many times the small nonprofits that are doing the most work, but getting the least amount of support. So that's why we really love having that grassroots of really going into each community. And like you said, seeing that, you know, the Kendra Scott, my employees come back and are like, this is amazing. We want to support this. I'm like, heck yeah, let's do it. You know, it's really exciting. Okay. I want to shift gears and ask you one final question that I've been dying to know is have you ever regretted having the company named after you?

49:07I think we have so many debates, you know, should you start a personal brand? Should you, you know, start a business that has nothing to do with you? Walk me through that because you are Kendra Scott and you are Kendra Scott. Yes. I, okay. So Jenna, the reason that the company is named Kendra Scott is because if you remember earlier in our conversation, I said, I didn't want to tell anybody I was starting a business. So I had just printed business cards that I made on word perfect. Okay. Hi, I'm dating myself. And it said Kendra Scott, because that's my name, jewelry designer. Okay. I didn't name the company.

49:43It was just my name, jewelry designer. And that's how I started selling my jewelry. I didn't come up with like jazzy jewels or, you know, I didn't think of it as a company. I was just a person in a bedroom making jewelry and trying to sell it until I started to get more orders. And I'm like, okay, so then I named it Kendra Scott Design. Okay. Okay. So we were Kendra Scott design LLC. Cause I thought the design made it sound a little more official, you know, as we've grown the company, we dropped the design. It's just Kendra Scott, but I, it wasn't this thought process of like, I'm going to name the company, blah, blah, blah.

50:18I literally just started and it was my name. And I ended up just, you know, if people started to know, Oh, I'm buying Kendra Scott, I'm buying this. And I was like, Hey, well, at this point, one of my, I think it's just Kendra Scott. So we just went Kendra Scott design. So So I think with people out there for me, I take it as a very big responsibility, quite honestly, because I, one, there are so many brands that the name is not a person. Liz Claiborne, Ted Baker, Ann Taylor, not really royal people. So some people don't know, like that still are learning about Kendra Scott. They think it's just a brand, like, but I really am a person.

50:53I'm a real human. I take it very seriously and I really want to be the best, brightest light for this brand that I can be and to be a positive force personally as a person because it is a reflection on the brand. It is weird sometimes for me because, you know, people like are like, you know, you become like this thing that people have in their brain. Right. And there is the brand and there is the person. And there are two different things, but there's a lot of gray area in between. But I say this to my team all the time. I'm very honored. And I feel like the lucky one to have my name on this beautiful brand.

51:33But the DNA of this brand are all my amazing people that I get to work beside every day that have given so much over the last 22 years to build this company. And so it is a true honor. And I take it very seriously. I love that. Yeah. Kendra, you are a treasure. I love what you create. Now I'm like ready to go look at all the new releases. Where can everybody find you, learn more about Kendra Scott, get your book, give me all the places. Yes. So you can find me for the book anywhere that books are sold. And the exciting thing is my book's coming out in paperback in April 16th and mid-April. So that's going to be super exciting.

52:14And there's going to be, we're even going to have a chapter that is not in the book, but you can download it if you pre-order that I wrote called Cowboy Take Me Away about me falling in love after going through divorce and all of those things. So it's super cute. And then at Kendra Scott, of course, on Instagram, Twitter, all the social channels. And then at official Kendra Scott is my personal page where you can see the real Kendra, the human Kendra, and then at Kendra Scott's the company. But again, both of them, but official Kendra Scott, you'll see a lot of animals, uh, Highland cows, alpacas, horses, and, and a lot of just, you know, me and my crazy family.

52:52Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. So thank you for your time. Thank you, Jenna. I loved this. I could talk to you all day. What a wonderful time today. Thank Thank you. They always say, don't meet your heroes. And in many ways, Kendra Scott is a hero to so many female entrepreneurs out there. What she's been able to build and the way that she's built it is absolutely admirable. I can't think of a better leader. I am so excited that her book Born to Shine is now available on paperback. If you have not read it yet, go out and grab a coffee.

53:28She dives so deep into so many of the stories that we talked about today, but so much more is waiting for you inside of those pages. Having this podcast and getting to talk to people that I admire is one of the greatest gifts of all time. And you, my listeners are right there with it. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the gold digger podcast. If you haven't taken a minute yet to subscribe, leave a review, follow us on Instagram, please do that. We would love to connect with you deeper in our community and hear from you. And of course, until next time, keep on digging your biggest goals.

54:03I'm over here giving you a virtual high five because you just finished another episode of the Gold Digger Podcast. Did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, head over to golddiggerpodcast.com for show notes and all the discount codes from today's sponsors. And if you're looking for a new crew of movers and shakers like you to bounce ideas and ask questions, be sure to join my exclusive community for Gold Dickers on Facebook. The link's waiting for you at golddiggerpodcast.com.