Brainwash Yourself to Success | Kendra Scott

Every time someone says, "Oh, you don't

have a college degree. You can't

probably do that job." Or, "There's a

million jewelry designers out there.

What's going to make you special?" It's

like, "Oh, let me show you." I get

excited when someone tells me, "You

can't do something." I'm like, "Ooh, say

it again."

>> We're here with Kendra Scott, designer,

CEO,

>> and the entrepreneur who turned $500

into a billion dollar brand.

>> Welcome to the world of Kendra Scott.

>> If you want to brainwash your way to

success and make a business or money on

your own terms, this podcast is for you.

You're going to want to hear this story

if you feel stuck, if haters are getting

in the way of you achieving the life

that you want, or if you want to figure

out how to take your business to the

next level with stories from somebody

who's done it without a legacy of money,

just with a bunch of grit. No one would

invest in me. For 10 years, I

bootstrapped this business. And as I run

a billion-doll business today, I still

have that scrappy startup mindset. You

know, when you start with nothing, you

never forget how hard that is.

>> Oh, yeah. Was there ever a moment where

you thought this business is going

under? We're not going to make it.

>> How much time do we have?

>> Like every Tuesday?

>> I mean, Cody, there were so many.

>> So, we're going to start with a tactical

question.

>> Okay.

>> You started kind of famously with 500

bucks and have built now, is this right?

A billion dollar brand

>> over

sexy. I like it. Over billion.

Uh, which is crazy because jewelry is

just hard in general to get to that

level. But do you remember what did you

spend your first 500 bucks on?

>> Materials. I mean, I had to make the

product. So, I had to make samples. I

mean, it was like that basic. I went

out, got a few tools, got the materials

and stones. My mom brought over a card

table in my extra bedroom. I had a bead

board and some wire and tools. Made my

first sample set. I put it in a tea box,

a wooden tea box, and literally took my

baby son store to store, boutique to

boutique in Austin, Texas, and showed my

collection. And I came to the last store

of the day, and they offered to buy all

my samples cuz they were going to do a

fashion show that night. And I was like,

"Thank God." Because I didn't know how I

was going to purchase more materials for

the orders that had were written that

day. So, selling all my samples, which

is what I needed to do, I got the money

to be able to buy more materials to

fulfill the orders. So it was just like

every dollar I brought in I had to kind

of reinvest it in the beginning and I

had to make it count like stretch you

know it every single dollar had to

count. How long did you work like that

where it was like a dollar in a dollar

out a dollar in a dollar out

>> for a long time Cody? No one would

invest in me. Okay. So I had to do it on

credit card debt and a line of credit

for 10 years. I bootstrapped this

business and so every single dollar I

made, I had to figure out, okay, how am

I going to reinvest it and get the

biggest ROI I can on that dollar. What I

love about it is it made me incredibly

scrappy. And as I run a billion-doll

business today, I still have that

scrappy startup mindset. And I'm so

thoughtful about how we spend our money,

what we're spending it on, what are we

doing, and thinking about it. And

everyone I hire, I really remind them

like, I remember when I couldn't afford

a second set of tools, folks. So before

we just throw out, you know, a million

dollars on this project, let's bid it

out. Let's really think about what we're

doing. What are we going to get in

return for this? Why are we doing it?

And it's kind of having that, you know,

when you start with nothing and you

build it, you never forget how hard that

is.

>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's funny. The other

day we did a YouTube video and part of

the video was to smash a cake.

>> Yeah.

>> But they brought the cake out. You know,

when you can just tell something's

expensive. I'm like,

>> that's the cake. Like we're smashing.

That's the cake you want. It was a fancy

cake. And then I asked I was like, "How

much did that case cost?" And they were

like, "Well, it was pink and we needed

pink and it was an $80 cake." And I was

like, "I know that's only 80 bucks." So

like in the grand scheme of things,

right?

>> But I do think the way you do anything

is the way you do everything. And

>> but you could have gone down to HB and

got a $10 cake.

>> Girl, I about did almost like just for

the plot. I was like, I might return

this cake and delay us an hour on

principal alone, you know. But I I

learned that same thing from one of

somebody I look up to a lot, which is

Dave Ramsey. He says

>> their business moves at the speed of

cash.

>> Yeah.

>> What would your team say? Like, do you

have sayings where they're like, "Oh,

there goes Kendrick again with her

oneliners about how we run this

company."

>> Well, you know, I mean, I I always I

like to say, "We don't play for a

second." Um, you know, they hear me say

that a lot. Like, we're in it to win it.

Um, we have a very I mean as sweet and

kind and all those things that we are,

we're extremely competitive and we're

fiercely like we want to go out there

and we want to win and we want to be the

best that we are. We are never

complacent. We are never like our

business is a billion dollars. Let's all

be happy and go, you know, drink

margaritas on the beach. It's like now

we got to work harder every day. How are

we going to surprise and delight our

customer today? And those are things

that like my team hears me say

constantly. It's like we wake up every

day, it's like we're going to be better

than we were yesterday. And you've got

to have that mindset in business to be

able to be successful today.

>> Were you always like that? Were you

always driven and like relentless?

>> Yeah, I mean I I was I mean I think I've

I've always wanted to challenge I'm

curious

>> and I've always wanted to challenge

myself and when things are hard on the

other side of fear, there's always been

something great that has happened. I

remember being bullied in middle school

and how hard that was and being made fun

of and going literally eating my lunch

in a stall with my feet up on the toilet

because there was hall monitors. You

weren't supposed to be in the in the in

the bathroom during lunch period. And so

I'd hide in the bathroom eating my lunch

because I knew I'd go in the lunchroom.

It'd be horrible. But during that time,

I was like, you know, I'm going to run

for student council president. Okay, I

was like, this is the worst time of my

life. And I didn't think I was going to

win, but I wanted to like go out there

and make some change. And I thought, you

know, there's other nerds like me who,

you know, maybe are feeling like, you

know, feeling like I do, like there's

this popular group of kids, but then

there's a lot of people who, you know,

maybe they don't feel like they have a

voice and I could be their voice. And so

I ran for student council president and

my slogan was Kendra Kan.

>> I like it. Kendra can

>> and I ended up winning.

>> Wow. And but that gave me this thing

inside of me where was like my purpose

was like I can be the voice for people

who don't have a voice and I can I can

show them not to be scared. And my dad

always said I remember dropping me off

in school and he'd be like I'd be like

God you know just miserable walking in.

He'd be like baby kill them with

kindness. And it was that idea of taking

the high road and that the more somebody

tries to tear you down just remember who

you are and use it as fuel

>> to prove them wrong. And that has always

been part of me because I've always felt

a little underestimated. And every time

someone says, "Oh, you're not you don't

have a college degree. You you can't you

can't probably do that job." Or, "Oh,

there's a million jewelry designers out

there. What's going to make you

special?" Or, you know, you hear all

those things now. Those things for me

are this like fuel. It's like, "Oh, let

me show you." I get excited, Cody. It's

kind of sick. I get excited when someone

tells me like, "You can't do something."

I'm like, "Ooh, say it again." You know?

I'm like, "Oh, tell it to me again." You

know, cuz I'm like I just have this like

I'm going to show you what you don't

see. You know, and so part of that

competition part of like when you look

at businesses, it's like I know we can

be better and I know I can create an

experience for my customer that's going

to be so powerful and so impactful. I

know that we can give her something that

she cannot get anywhere else. And so

part of that is I think stems from from

that little girl that was eating her

lunch in the bathroom.

>> Oh, it's so good. Yeah. I think you take

the hate and turn it into fuel.

>> You do.

>> And and if you can do that, you become

unstoppable. But I feel the same thing.

I remember David and I had this one

guest that we wanted that wasn't going

to come on. And I was like, it'll be

either either be now or we'll tell them

no when we're way bigger later.

>> So, you know, you kind of operate as if.

>> So, do you think there is a way for

somebody who is listening right now

that's like,

>> Lord, my brain doesn't work that way.

You know, when I when I get punched in

the face, I stay down. It makes me sad.

like how does that even happen? You

know, is there somebody if they're

listening right now, how do you

brainwash your way into success?

>> You know, it's it's really we are our

worst enemies. People say that all the

time. Our minds, you know, the the power

of what if, right? We we let the power

of what if I would have done this

instead of this or what if I would have

married Joe instead of John or what you

know we can we can spiral ourselves into

complete paralysis by letting the

whatifs control our mindset right and so

we are our worst enemy so when we are in

those moments this is where I get and

this is the competitive thing again

somebody hurts you or says something or

you know something doesn't go the way

you want it to go in that moment you

have a choice I'm going to let them

I'm going to let them have all of the

power. I'm going to let them force me to

stop loving again or believing in myself

again or trying again. I'm going to give

that to that person or that thing that

just happened to me. Or I'm going to

take the control back and I'm going to

get up right now and I'm going to

remember who I am, what I can do, what I

am capable of. And I'm not going to look

in the rearview mirror anymore. I'm

going to look forward and I'm going to

remember that. And I think when you have

that shift of do you are you going to

allow that person or that thing that

happened to you control your future or

are you going to take it as fuel to

absolutely go forward in a powerful and

strong way? That's a choice we got to

make and it's a powerful one when you

can do it.

>> I'm going to run through a wall after

this. I feel like did your team leave a

meeting and they're just like let's go.

Just have a bunch of meat eataters

working for you like selling jewelry but

not that sweet. They're like ready to

go.

>> We Hey, we we're fired up every day.

>> I I get up and I just cannot believe I

get to live this life.

>> Yeah.

>> Like I'm so grateful, Cody. I'm so

grateful that I get to do what I love.

That I get to work around such

incredible awesome people that I get to

do things and help other entrepreneurs

now and help other women founders. Like

it is like a dream. And so yeah, I wake

up and I'm really pumped every day. I

love that. Okay, I want to go back a

little bit. So, let's say that somebody

is listening right now. They're fired

up. They just heard you get after it.

They're like, "All right, Kendra, I'm

ready to go, but they're they they kind

of like don't know what to do." They're

like, "Listen, she did it with 500

bucks. I got 500 bucks." If you were

giving them a little sprinkle of magic,

what would you tell somebody who had

$500 to spend? What businesses are you

like, why aren't you starting that

business right now?

>> Yeah. I mean, look, you've got to, you

know, I love this where you kind of look

at like what is something that brings

you incredible joy and what is something

that breaks your heart? And the

intersection of those two things may be

your why. Okay? And when you start to

think about that, it's like, what is

something that I am so passionate about

that I cannot find or that I want or a

problem that I know needs to be solved

that maybe I could solve it? Because if

you have passion and purpose behind your

idea, it's going to get you through

those really rough days. is because

entrepreneurship is not for the faint of

heart. Okay? So, you've got to have a

real why and a real purpose. And that's

why I love kind of those two elements

because for me it's like what matters to

you,

>> what really matters to you. And for me,

it was like I knew I wanted to be I

loved fashion design since I was a

little girl. Loved it. My aunt was a

fashion director and she just brought me

into this world where fashion was magic.

And the reason I loved it is it wasn't

about how it made me look. It's how it

made me feel. because I could be a

little girl from Wisconsin and put on my

aunt's Donna Karen jacket and some of

her amazing jewelry and all of a sudden

I was like somebody else, you know, I

could be anybody I wanted to be. And so

fashion was important to me, but I

started this business with a newborn

baby. And I was like, I want to have a

business that allows me to be a present

mother.

>> I want to be a mom first. I didn't want

to have the the the conversation of work

life balance. I wanted my family to be

part of my business

>> and create a business that allowed other

moms and dads to be able to be for their

for their families first and have have a

great career in the making. So, it was

all those elements, you know, put

together that really helped me kind of

form this foundation of what I wanted to

do and how I wanted to do it. And then

giving back was huge. I lost my

stepfather to brain cancer. My first

business was a hat company. I created

headwear for men and women undergoing

chemotherapy. He inspired that business.

People were not buying hats, Cody. Okay.

I wanted it to be the thing. I opened a

little hat store called The Hatbox here

in Austin. I was 19 years old. I ran

that little store 5 days a week. I

helped a lot of people, but I wasn't

making money. And I had to close that

business. It was a huge failure for me.

But I knew there was something there

about what I was doing. The purpose of

what I was doing mattered. And so if I

got into business again, if I would be

brave enough to get into business again,

I wanted to be able to have those

elements to do something that I love

with all my heart to be able to have

family as the focus and the heart of it

and be able to give back in a meaningful

way. And that really was the foundation

of Kendra Scott and where we were able

to form a product that made people feel

good, look good, and do good at the same

time.

>> So good. Yeah. I don't know if I told

you this, but I've been wearing Kendra

Scott jewelry since back probably like

since the very beginning. I Oh crap. I I

got to send you a picture of it. I have

I almost brought I've like found kind of

a I guess it would be a vintage Kendra

Scott. I was like

>> It's sad when that happens now, Cody,

because people like I've got my vintage

Kendra Scott. I'm like, "Oh man, that

makes me feel so old. That makes me

vintage. I know. Timeless." Um and

quality cuz what jewelry do you keep

these days for 10 years? It's like only

the nicest, most luxurious pieces and

then I buy a bunch of stuff that I

wouldn't keep, you know?

>> Thank you. I mean, I I designed the

collection to be a collector's kind of

thing where you can pull it out of your

jewelry box 10 years from now and still

love that piece of jewelry and you can

build on it. You know, we'll use similar

stones like natural mother of pearl or

you know, whatever it might be where

it'll go back to piece that you may have

bought 5, 10, now in this case 2, 3

years ago. That is wild. How do we get

old so fast? I know. Now, well, I

started when I was one obviously. So,

yeah, that's right. Yes, you did. Me,

too. So many entrepreneurs started out

as door-to-d dooror salespeople. Sarah

Blakeley, Mark Cuban, you. Do you think

that you need to be good at sales in

order to be a great entrepreneur? I

think you've got to represent your brand

and you've got to be able to to

articulate the why to people and really

show people the passion behind what

you're doing. Doesn't mean that you

don't have to be a great salesperson,

but when you're authentic, you will be a

great salesperson. When you

authentically love what you are created

have created or or what you're building

or what you're doing, you don't have to

be good at sales because that passion

will come out naturally and

authentically. So that's why I always

tell people if you're just doing

something to make money, you people will

smell a fake in a minute when you walk

through and try to do your sales pitch

because it can just feel, you know, you

know the ones they feel a little slimy,

they feel Yeah. But when you go in with

something that feels really authentic

and real, it really translates really,

really well. I mean, I went door to door

with literally Kate and that little baby

Bejorn and this tea box full of jewelry.

And I was here in Austin. I think in

Texas, it works better than maybe if I

was in LA or New York, they may called

security on me. But, you know, here they

were like, "Oh, honey, give me that

baby." You know, exactly. It might have

helped your sales.

>> Oh, thousand%. Kate helped. He was

giggly, sweet, happy baby. He's 23 years

old now, but uh he was a great sales

associate. It's a good trick.

>> Does he get a little He's lives a great

life. This kid is doing fine. This kid's

not suffering. Okay, Cody,

>> you're like, "Calm down. He's fine.

>> He's good. He's good."

>> So, what what makes a good salesperson?

You mentioned authentic, but if you were

like, "All right, if you want to get

good at sales, this is what you need to

do." What would you say?

>> I think you need to come in and you need

to be articulate what it is you're

trying to sell in a very short sentence,

right? Be very clear, be very concise

with your pitch and eye contact. And

then ask questions. If they're saying no

to you, this is the greatest opportunity

for information. To me, that is on in

the mirror, meaning the conversation has

just got it started. So, you say no, you

don't want the collection. I go, okay,

well, what did what didn't you see today

that you would have liked to see? What

can I show you next time? Because I've

already now setting the appointment for

the next time I'm coming back. When I

come back in spring with my next season,

I'd like to know what I could could

bring that you might be more excited

about seeing. What other designers are

you buying that you're really excited

about? can you tell me what it is about

them that you like? So, all of a sudden,

my sales call became this information

source that I'm now going to take back

with me and learn from and then come

back to. And I promise most of those nos

turned into a yes because of that. I

didn't go, "Okay, oh, you don't like me.

Okay, bye." And I'm never going to see

you again. It was I'm going to learn and

I'm going to win a yes from you and I'm

going to keep trying. And there was I

would said cupcakes and cookies to

buyers in the early days. Um, you know,

if it it was a spring theme, I'd some

like birdshaped cookies or flower shaped

cookies and handwritten notes. And I had

one buyer from Neiman Marcus. She she

called me one time and I had it was like

years, I want to say, like four years or

something. She finally is like, I've

gained 11 pounds.

Will you please quit sending me cookies

and cupcakes, but I want to come see

your come in here and talk to me and

come show me your collection. She's

like, I I love everything that you're

doing. And she's like, "I was in church

on Sunday and six girls in front of me

were all wearing Kendra Scott." And

she's like, at that point, she's like,

"The scale was talking to me and God was

talking to me."

She's like, "Come on in and and show me

what you got." But I mean, it's part of

it is that persistence of like taking no

and figuring out how to turn it into a

yes and doing it through really getting

that feedback from whoever it is you're

selling to.

>> That's great. Do you teach when people

come into Kendra Scott, do they get like

a Kendra Scott sales lesson? Like is

this something you teach the the team

about a certain way that you guys sell?

>> Yeah. So we say connection over

transaction. I tell my team all the time

you look in retail stores and they're

like oh the SPT and the upt and all this

stuff and it's all data driven and their

teams are just so much on like how many

trans how many items per transaction am

I selling and they become almost

robotic. I take all that and I throw it

in the trash.

To me, brick and mortar is a place for

connection for brands, for for people to

get connected to your brand, to

experience your brand, to become in the

world of what it is that you're

creating. So, the goal for the people

that you have in those stores is not to

sell. I'm going to say it again. The

goal for the people that you hire in

your retail stores is not for them to

sell. It is for them to connect. It is

for them to make every single human that

has taken the time out of their crazy

busy schedule who decided to walk

through the doors of your store, which

is a gift by the way, to make them feel

loved, welcome, appreciated, and have

the time of their life. Whether or not

they leave with a yellow bag that day or

not, if you've created a real connection

with that customer, you will get a

customer for life. She will share that

experience with all of her friends. She

may go online later when she's in bed

after she put her kids to bed and go

back on and shop online, but we have

made a real connection. And if your

retail stores become that place of

connection, brands can absolutely blow

up. But when you're focused solely on

transaction, those are where you're

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know, it's fascinating because I've

experienced your brand so many times

being here in Austin. And you just

launched Yellow Rose, which is a

stunning store. You know, I'll let you

explain it, but let's call it like

modern western in my terms. But it is

beautiful jewelry. Kind of feels

timeless. Feels like I could have gotten

it from the best pieces from my grandma.

And we actually had a YouTube video that

we did outside of your store. And I'm

just remembering this now. Um I have a

big production team. And so they go

around to stores and ask, could we shoot

outside? And all of our videos we donate

the profits that we get to vary. This

one was like Austin entrepreneurs or

something.

>> And so we had it boys sales challenge.

So who is better? And so they went and

sold like different things, coffees,

whatever on the street.

>> Um and I had the funniest experience.

>> I had an experience with your team that

was amazing. You're like whatever you

want out front. Great. Come in. Are you

guys okay? Do you need something to

drink? Like oh we'll buy it. You know

let's let the girls win. I'm buying that

from the girl. The boys can't win this.

They're incredible.

>> Then we had another brand that I won't

say where we were in in front of their

store for like 30 seconds. They were

like mad. Came out, you know, who are

you? You know, can I talk to the

manager? Basically, you know, and one,

it's public domain. So, actually in the

place that we were at, we didn't even

have to ask, but we did it out of

courtesy. And I'm thinking in that

moment, you're exactly right. How many

times do we miss an opportunity because

of the rules or how everybody else does

it as opposed to thinking human

connection wins?

>> Human connection always wins. And when

you train your staff and give them the

power to please where they don't have to

ask a manager for approval. If I am

putting the most important job in my

company, it's not any of our sea level

suite. It's not any of our SVPs. It is

my front line. Those are the most

important people at Kendra Scott and I

need to give them the tools that they

need to be able to be successful and I

need to give them the power that they

need to be able to make decisions in the

moment to be able to react and make that

customer happy and never have to even

worry about all this red tape. You know,

I worked in retail like in high school

and in college and let me tell you like

the book you would get was like the size

of the telephone book. For all you young

folks, that was a thing. We used to have

a telephone book. Um, but it was the

size of a telephone book and it was all

these policies and procedures and and

all these rules and regulations and this

and this. That kind of stuff is not

going to work. Every single person is a

human being with a real thing that

they're going through in that moment of

their life. We don't know what that is.

So, we've got to come from a place of an

open heart and an open mind. And every

interaction we have needs to be that

way. And so, you know, it's just a way

how you train and how you set hire. It's

not just about training. Like who we

hire is most important. I don't care if

you've had any retail experience. Quite

honestly, sometimes I prefer if you

don't because I have to unteach some of

those policies and procedures and the

phone book stuff, right?

>> Rub the corporate off of

>> I got to get like, no, I don't want you

to have all that. I hire up people who

just are brimming with optimism, who are

brimming with positivity, who are

brimming with warmth. the people that

you just want to hug that you feel that

in their presence. When you interview

with somebody and you don't want that

interview to stop, you want to just keep

talking to them because they're so

awesome and so engaging and you just are

like, "Oh my god, I love this." That's

who we hire. Um, and then I can teach

them all about the stones and I can

teach them about our settings and how to

do color bar and all these other

elements, but I can't teach them that. I

can't teach them how they make people

feel. That's either in you or it's not.

And that's the number one thing we hire

on heart.

>> That's so good. My dad always says you

can lead a horse to water, but you can't

make him drink. Right.

>> And and that you can't teach desire,

which I I love that.

>> Absolutely.

>> But let's let's talk about some of the

unhinged things you've done to grow,

Kendra Scott, cuz I've seen a few really

cool things that most billion-dollar

brands don't do so much. Like I saw a

popup you guys did with SunLife, and

you're like handing out jewelry, but

like kind of in a fun way at like 7:30

in the morning on a Sunday. I was like,

"This is wild. Is it?" I was like, is

that free? Like, is this for no reason?

So, what are some of the craziest things

you've ever done to grow your billion

dollar business?

>> So, I really believe in touching the

customer, like physically touching the

customer. Now, we have all this great

power with social media and all which is

incredible, which we didn't I didn't

have when I started my company quite

honestly. But there's something again

about human connection, going out and

and not just waiting for your customer

to come walk through your doors.

Activity breeds activity. So, creating

activity is exciting. Whether that's us

going onto campuses where we're having

our Alisa tour where people could come

and pick their favorite Alisa and

they're getting cups of coffee and you

know we'd have 300 students in line.

They're engaging with an experience with

our brand that is so special and we're

meeting them where they are at and we're

bringing them into our world and then

that's where the beauty of connection

comes and now all of a sudden we have a

fan and you have an advocate for your

brand that's not just a customer an

advocate for your brand which is really

exciting like our customers in so many

ways are like brand ambassadors you know

the connection they feel to our brand is

so different because of all of the

community outreach that we do. We hosted

over 25,000 events in in our company

last year.

>> Oh my god.

>> 25,000. We have people in every single

store that that's all they're doing.

Whether that's Kendra Gives Back events

with local charities, whether that's

doing activations like you just talked

about with, you know, Sun Life or other

brands, no matter what it is, we're out

there every day hustling and we're

touching people physically touching

people everywhere we can. And that makes

such a difference in our brand. And I

think so many brands today just have

forgotten the power of that.

>> Do you think a lot of this stems from

the fact that you did bootstrap it? Like

most businesses in jewelry,

>> I definitely don't know who runs them.

Uh I've never been to an activation.

Unless it was like a very fancy one,

maybe like a luxury one at the store,

red carpet, something something.

>> Um but this isn't very normal for your

industry.

>> No. I mean, I dressed my best friend up

in a heart costume on Valentine's Day

and we walked up and down uh we walked

up and down South. This is a few years

ago. Okay. I'm already a billion-dollar

brand and I made my best friend dress up

in a heart costume as a mascot and we

just walked up to people on the street

and asked about their love story and I

gave them jewelry. I started this way

because I didn't have any money for big

ad campaigns. I couldn't take out

advertisements in magazines or, you

know, newspaper or whatever. So, the

only way I could get my product out

there was I brought literal product. I

gave away my product. And one of my

friends, Clayton Christopher, he did

Sweet Leaf Tea at the same time that I

was starting Kendra Scott here in

Austin. And he was like, I let people

taste it because once they taste it,

they want it. So they got to try it.

Well, I was selling jewelry, not tea.

But I was like, I loved that concept.

And so I would go to every hot

restaurant and I'd make sure that all

the servers and the hostess, I'd gift

them Kendra Scott. And I'd give them

cards, business cards, and be like, here

you there's discount cards to give to

customers if they ask. I just opened a

shop on South Congress. I'd go to like

the hair salons, the hottest hair

salons, make sure every stylist was

wearing Kendra Scott. You're sitting in

a chair, you're looking at a mirror.

Those hair stylists are wearing the

jewelry. They're like, "What is that?" I

got the product out there because that

was the one thing I had, the only thing

I had that I could use for advertising.

Word of mouth was how I built Kendra

Scott 100%. And this was before we had

social media and the ability to do that

virally, right? We were doing it just

like physically having people go and

tell their friends. How do you come up

with crazy ways to get attention without

spending tons of money?

>> Well, you don't need tons of money. You

just need creativity and you need to not

be afraid to, you know, like I think so

many people are like afraid like, "Oh my

god, I'm going to get laughed at or that

could be, as my 12-year-old says,

cringe." Um, you know, that could be so

cringe. Um, but you've got to be able to

just go out there and have fun and not

care. You know, stop caring what

everybody else thinks. Be disruptive.

That's the only way you're going to make

it in business today is you have to be

disruptive. I say it all the time. This

is one of my slogans. If you're doing

what everybody else is doing, you've

already failed. You have to do it with

your own fingerprint, your own voice,

and you have to do it in a disruptive

way. I love to use the example of the

Blue Man Group. Okay? How many like acts

are out there in the world, right? That

are like competing like just like

jewelry, right? Or all these other

industries. These guys said, "I'm going

to paint our bodies blue."

Like this was their thing. We're going

to go on the streets and we're going to

dance and we're going to do our thing.

Blue Man Group became because they were

disruptive. They did something that

other people would go, "What in the

world is happening?" But it caused

attention. It created excitement.

Activity bred activity and it bred

bookings and it it built a whole

business for them. So, don't be afraid

to be a little crazy. It's so good. I

think um I think often times what we

also don't realize is the more success

you have, the less people think anything

you do is cringey. So, I often like,

hey, listen, if it you know, if if it's

cringey now, once you make it, nobody

cares, right? It's not cringey anymore.

So, like just make it do everything you

can. Have zero ego in the beginning.

>> Yes.

>> You can't have shame when you don't have

money in your bank account.

>> No.

>> What about

>> you talked about um some fun things you

did, but what do you think, you know,

for somebody who's listening that's

like, I want to go out there and start a

business right now. I don't know if it's

in jewelry or I have something else, but

I know I want to go start a business

and um I don't have much money. What are

some non-glamorous

maybe doesn't require massive amounts of

creativity, but just like if you do

these three to five things, you'll have

a harder time failing in business.

>> Yeah. I mean, first you've got to solve

a problem. Um, I like to look at my

friends, you know, Tiff and Leon with

Tiff's Treats. They're they're good

buddies of mine. I know, right? But

cookies, okay, cookies are a very common

thing. Bakeries are a very common thing.

But they took cookies and they said,

"What if we could deliver them hot, like

warm?" You know, that's different than

what's out there right now. So, they

took a business that was I mean, million

cookies in the world. They took

something and they created something

that was special and disruptive by

delivering them warm, right? They

started out of their dorm room here at

University of Texas in Austin, which is

crazy to me, right? Delivering warm

cookies. But what I say, and I love that

as an example, is it doesn't like have

to be like you're reinventing the wheel

and creating some product that has never

existed. You've got to create your a

product that is unique, but it's still

solving a problem and doing something in

an innovative and fresh way that's

disruptive. And if you can do those

things, it doesn't require money. It

requires creativity.

>> And if you've got creativity, you've got

in spades over over a big check, right?

Being creative can be better than any in

in investment that you could ever get in

your business.

>> That's so good. I need to think about it

more. I have a to-do list over here for

David and I after this. Are we

disrupting enough, David? You're so

disruptive, Cody. You are. I don't know.

But I I mean, I think the other thing

that's interesting about you is you kind

of have an an outsider perspective. It's

not like there are tons of

billion-dollar jewelry businesses being

made in Texas in general. Certainly not

in Austin. Did you ever consider

yourself an outsider? And is it an

advantage to being an outsider?

>> Yeah, for sure. Sure. I mean, when I

started, I remember going to New York

and going to the Javit Center and

setting up apparel and accessory shows

and setting my booth up, you know, and

buyers and editors from the magazines

would be like, "Oh, are you in LA or New

York?" And I'd be like, "Well, no, I'm

in Austin, Texas." And they'd be like,

"Oh, you really need to move to the

coast if you're going to have a

successful brand in fashion." And I was

like, "Well, you don't know Austin,

Texas. Uh, you don't know the creativity

here." And what they didn't also, you

know, what I realized is I looked

different because I was being influenced

by this incredible place I was living. I

wasn't trying to be like everybody else

in New York and LA. They were all just

trying to look the same. You'd come

across my booth and it was like, whoa,

what's happening here? Like, this is

totally different, but it's what really,

you know, helped us get on the map

because we stood out and we looked

different. So, being from here really

was part of the DNA of Kendra Scott and

I think a huge advantage. The other

thing, you know, and I said this to

someone earlier today, was Texans

support Texans. Um, this state is a

crazy thing and it's like the

entrepreneurs here, they hold hands.

They lift each other up. They share

information. We really have a mindset of

like we're competing against the world,

so let's help and support one another. I

can't tell you how many incredible

business owners and friends I have in

this state who literally were there for

me and vice versa throughout all the

different stages of my growth of my

business. And I wouldn't be sitting here

with you, Cody, if I had started my

business on the coasts. I wouldn't

because I needed that support and that

love. And this state really gave me my

wings to fly.

>> Yeah. Well, it's also scary sometimes

doing things a little bit different, but

if you're in a place that's already

different, that's a great unfair

advantage that you can kind of mimic

what's happening around you and that in

itself is not normal. I never thought

about that for you. What about um

>> slight change of of topic? I'm seeing

this gorgeous ring on your finger. So

beautiful. Very tiny.

>> He did good. He did good.

>> He did good.

>> Okay, so you're engaged to Zach Brown.

Um who I'm a huge fan of. My parents are

too, like giant fans. But I was

wondering, there are all these

narratives about women and success and

how successful women can't also be in

good relationships. Um, and I was just

like curious your take. You know, do you

think are men intimidated by a billion

dollar CEO woman?

>> I think some men can be intimidated by a

billion-dollar CEO woman. And I think

there are some men like Zach who

absolutely just want to lift me up and

and do anything they can to support and

love and cheer me on. Um and vice versa,

right? We both have very big lives and

creatives and so so many similar things

about art. You know, he's music, I'm

jewelry, but what we do is so similar.

We're trying to bring joy to people

through the art that we create. Uh we're

trying to make people happy. We love our

kids so much and our children are the

the heart of our entire universe. And so

all of those things are so aligned and

when you find a partner that you have

that alignment with and there's no

competition,

>> it's just I love you. I'm rooting for

you. I see you. I want to do everything

I can to lift you up and then to also be

your rock. Cuz I haven't had that

before, Cody. I, you know, I had felt

like the world was on my shoulders in a

lot of ways. I was a single mom for much

of of my start, you know, starting the

business and and getting the business

going. And it was really hard and and I

didn't have someone that could hold me

when things were hard. And I always felt

like I had to be the strong like tough

one and I couldn't let the face go and

you know what I mean? And like I had to

just be like, "Okay, put the game face

on. It's going to be okay." And even

when I was, you know, losing confidence

in myself or whatever, I had a few good

friends and people that I could talk to.

But to have a partner, a real partner

that I can go, God, this is tough for me

and and have someone who gets it, who

understands the weight of what it feels

like to carry that burden. Um, and to be

able to just hold me in that space and

be like, I hear you. I see you. I can't

solve the problem, but I'm here to help

you and and and be a shoulder, whatever

you need is a really amazing thing and

I'm so grateful for

>> Yeah. Yeah. No, I I totally relate to

that. I think I I had a partnership

before that it just it didn't work for

me that way. And and I think competition

can be tough sometimes when you're

you're playing in this game. And for

most of, you know, human existence, we

weren't really competing with each

other.

>> And so I always like, you know, I go

back and forth between do I ever ask the

question or not. But I think there are

so many women out there right now who

who really, you know, we we were girl

bosses and and we, you know, climbed the

corporate ladder or built our businesses

or whatever. And then I think there are

a lot of of women that I talk to at

least it's the number one thing they

want to talk about.

>> They're like, I'm successful in my

career. I'm I'm modering, but like will

it be possible for me to find love and a

man that can handle it?

>> One, I mean, there are people out there,

there are men out there and there women

out there, too, right? It goes both

ways, right? And it's like you can't

just be the girl boss in every

situation. Like there's masculine and

feminine, right? And like I can be

totally tough girl boss making the

decisions, doing all the things, but

there's moments when I want to come in

and I want to be more of the feminine

side of me and I want him to like honey,

you decide what we're having for dinner

tonight or where we're going to go. Like

I don't want to have to make all the

decisions. And it's nice to be able to

have that dynamic and be able to know

that you can have that eb and flow in a

relationship and that you're in a safe

place to do that. Um, there's nothing

more powerful than that. And it's

important to like, you know, look, I

hadn't gotten it right all the time. And

I look at you and, you know, you've

you've known your guy for a long time

and I have friends that have had

relationships that, you know, they've

had since they were in high school or

college and like, wow, like that's

amazing. But I also think we need to

give each other grace. Not everything

works out the way we always wanted to.

No one goes into a marriage or any type

of relationship thinking it's going to

end. We're all hopeful, right, that this

could be what happens. And if we allow,

again, like we talked about before, a

failure or a divorce to stop you from

ever loving again, that'd be a shame.

You know, we've got one life on this

earth. And I want to make it count. And

yeah, some things may not have gone the

way that I had thought they would go,

>> but I still believed in love. And you

know, meeting Zach um at this stage of

my life, you know, he may not be my

first, but he's my last.

>> Oh, I love that. Yeah, he seems really

cute on Instagram,

>> which is the sweetest.

>> He's got all the hats, so you wouldn't

think

>> Oh, he's a teddy bear.

>> Is he? I won't tell anybody.

>> No, I mean, now the world knows. He as a

dad, too. He's got four daughters and a

son. I mean, he is the most incredible

girl dad you've ever seen. Just so

protective and loving and it's it's

amazing thing. You can tell them tough

guys. Yeah, exactly. We Sounds like we

want to keep up. We want to keep them

prim. Yes.

>> Yeah. I think sometimes the tough guys

also are the ones that are the kindest.

Like Chris, you know, former Navy Seal,

everybody always thinks he's the mean

guy and sometimes I'm kind of the mean

guy and then he is actually the kind

one. Um, but that's really nice of you

to share because again I think

>> yes

>> it's hard out there, you know, like all

the statistics say we're we're we're

getting married less, you know, we're in

relationships less, we're kind of a

little bit lonier and so um

>> but having a partner is so so amazing. I

mean, having a real partner in life

>> and and having it where you've got each

other

>> that you know that the other person

1,000% has your back, loves you, is

rooting for you, is cheering you on, is

your biggest supporter. if you can find

that and then give and have that the

same for your like that's how I am with

Zach like I'm his biggest fan you know

in all things that he does in his life

and I just want to be additive and I

wake up and I go what can I do today to

make him happy to you know to be there

for our family in a meaningful way to

make sure he knows how much he's loved

and he does the same for me and when you

have that reciprocation in a

relationship it it's really magical

>> that's a really good note actually that

idea of like doing one nice thing a day

for your partner like how do you go

above and beyond for them.

>> Every single day, no matter where we

are, we start our morning with good

morning. I love you so much. Whether

it's a text, if we're in a different

city, or whether we're laying next to

each other in bed, um I mean, we do not

get the first words out of our mouth is,

"I love you." Um, and the last words out

of our mouth before we go to bed are, "I

love you." And you know, even with my

kids, I mean, I don't ever get off the

phone with my kids without telling them

I love them. I mean, they hear it all

the time from me, but I'm like, "You're

I'm going to tell you. I know you know,

but I'm gonna tell you all the time

because I never want you to ever worry

about that. You know, I love that you're

so loved.

>> My mom was here today. She's been at our

event. We had an event all weekend.

She's been hanging out. It's It's the

most uh incredible thing to be able to

bring your family along with you, you

know?

>> Yes. Um I love that you do that cuz I

say all the time people, you know, we

get the work life balance question as

women.

>> Oh, a lot.

>> Right. But men don't get that as often.

We get it all the time. But I built a

business where family could be part of

my business, you know, and and bringing

my kids along with me and getting them

see what I do and what my work looks

like and understanding that gave them

such a unique perspective in life and

thinking about now I've grown men who

are my sons and then starting their own

businesses and having that almost like

by osmosis experience, you know, from

the pack and play in my office to where

we are today, watching it all along the

Hey, it's been it's really part of their

like genetic makeup now because it's

like they've been they've been in it,

you know, every single day of their

life.

>> They're like lifting off skews to fall

asleep every night. I like that.

>> So, did you actually That's I've always

wondered that. I I haven't been blessed

with kids yet. Hopefully that happens

one day for us. But, um,

>> did you bring your kids to work

>> all the time? You just you just strap

them in.

>> I still do. I mean, yeah. You know, in

the early days when they before they

were in preschool, I had a pack and play

and I had a bouncy chair and there was

like six of us in the office and I mean

I'd be on the phone with a buyer like

Nordstrom and I'd be like passing Beck

my baby, you know, I'd be like take him

cuz you know if he'd be like cooing or

you know he was a really good baby,

thank God but you know one of the other

girls in my office be like holding him

like in the bathroom while I'm on the

phone with Nordstrom, you know. Um, but

then when they'd go to school, I

remember like preschool they started at

3 and I would drop them off and it was

like, "Okay, I have until 1:45

to just do as much as I possibly can and

do all the calls and all those." And

then I would bring them back to my

design studio with me until we finished

up that night. I traveled with Cade, my

oldest, when I would do New York, all

the shows. I had friends that lived in

New York and LA. They'd baby I thank God

for friends. It takes a village. It

really does. But I would be selling

during the day and they'd be babysitting

for me and watching him. He had like

70,000 frequent flyer miles at the age

of three because he went everywhere with

me. I mean, he was my little sidekick.

And you know, but but I I loved it. And

in the early stages, like I couldn't

afford a nanny. I couldn't afford those

things. Like every dollar I was spending

I was having to put into trying to build

the business. And I was like, I can

figure this out. I mean, I look back on

it now and honestly I'm like, how did I

do that exactly? cuz it wasn't easy, but

it's the only thing I knew.

>> What advice would you have for a single

mom that wants to start up a business

like yours?

>> Well, I think that's the thing, right?

You you create a business. The beauty

about entrepreneurship is you create

your own utopia like what is your

utopia? What is your dream life look

like? All right. For me, I wanted to be

in jewelry and design and I wanted to be

there for my little baby boy. I wanted

to be the best mom I could possibly be.

I didn't want to miss any of his games.

I wanted to be there for him when he was

sick. And that meant I couldn't go back

to working in an office. I couldn't go

back to working for somebody else. So if

I wanted to create that, what was I

going to do? And that meant that I

created a workplace that allowed not

just myself, but others to be there

first for their families because it's

not just for the boss, it's got to be

for everybody. And you lead by example.

So I think, you know, you build the

world, right? And you kind of reverse

engineer it. Once you know the

destination, you can build your road map

to get there. Sometimes we try to build

the road map before we know the

destination and that can be very

confusing and that destination by the by

the way will change every 3 years or so

you're going to see it and you're going

to go that's where I'm headed and then

about two years in you're going to go

wait now I'm headed here and now I got

to build a new road map and so that's

going to change a little bit but when

you really start to think about how you

do it creating a environment where

family can be part of what you do not

every single day my kid couldn't come

with me on every sales call or

everything. But I tried to do as many

things as I could that allowed me to be

able to be there and then set

boundaries. So I knew, all right, pick

up. I'm going to pick my kids up from

school every day. I want to be that face

that picks them up. Now, that meant that

I had to do some other things and

sacrifices. I couldn't do long lunches.

I couldn't, you know, do some other

things that some of my other friends

were doing. I had to make other

sacrifices, but that was my priority and

that was important to me. And so really

understanding your priorities and what

makes what's important to you really

will help you kind of create that vision

of how to do it. By the way, I have a

live event. I only do one a year. It's

huge. How big? Really big in Austin,

Texas just for people who want to make

more money, buy businesses, build

businesses. It's called Main Street Over

Wall Street. So if you liked this

episode, you're probably going to want

to be there. There's only a couple

hundred spots left. So click below. I

want to shake your hand in person in

Austin, Texas. or go to msws.com

ms. We'll see you there. Hey, it's your

friend Cody. By the way, guys, I just

realized that a bunch of you are not

subscribed, which is crazy because I

feel like we hang out every week and we

talk about how to make your life better,

how to make your bank account bigger,

and I want to do more of that. So, one,

thank you for being here. Like,

sometimes I'm like, pinch me moment, you

know? And also, share this with a

friend, subscribe. The only way we grow

is when you share it. And we only show

up on your feed when you subscribe. So I

promise that if you do that, I will

continue to make this podcast a way for

you to steal all my rich and successful

friends so that your life can be even

better every single day.

>> Yeah. So true. You know, we've talked

about a lot of highlights, how big the

business now, some of the new launches,

but I know that that is not how business

always goes. So, was there ever a moment

where you thought, "This business is

going under. We're not going to make

it."

>> How much time do we have? like every

Tuesday.

>> I mean, Cody, there were so many I look

back on it, there were so many and I

think you talked about this something

about your dad. It was like head in your

hands moments. Is that what you you said

your dad talks about? And I remember you

hearing you talk about that because I

was like, "Oh my god, I have so many

head in my hands moments."

>> Um on my kitchen floor like sobbing,

crying, thinking I'm going to lose my

business. One of those was during the

2008 recession. I was strictly

wholesale, so just selling to other

retailers. I didn't have my own retail

stores. I didn't have my own e-commerce

at that point because my first business,

the hatbox, failed. I wasn't going to go

into retail again. I had sworn off

retail. So, I thought wholesale was safe

until the recession hit and I realized

it was not safe. That all the power of

my business laid in these other buyers,

store owners, buyers for these

department stores who were getting laid

off, stores that were shuttering. I had

no direct connection to my customer. I

was letting everybody else sell my

products for me. I wasn't selling them

directly to her and finding out what she

really wanted. So that 2008 recession

was the greatest gift Kendra Scott ever

had because it forced me to look at my

business differently. My line of credit

got called because and and I had paid

everything on time, but I was considered

high- risk because of our category. So I

had to find a local bank. I had to put

everything I own up for collateral. I

don't I joke like I told my son Kate, I

go, "You might have been on that

collateral list, baby. I'm so glad

things worked out, you know? I mean, it

was like what do you need?" You know,

like I was shoes off my feet. I was

like, "I'll put whatever I've got. Just

please take this loan." And fortunately,

it was a female president of a a local

bank, Texas Capital Bank, that took my

loan from a big bank. Um, and but that

but that moment, I remember thinking,

I'm going to lose this business. And I

had someone, this woman, I wasn't a loan

number to her. She had worn my jewelry

for years. She knew who I was. She knew

my hustle. She knew my drive. And when I

looked her in the eye and I said to her,

"I will pay this back and then some

carry." She knew I was going to do it.

And she believed in me and she took that

loan. And I mean, I say that all the

time. It's relationships, right? And

it's keeping your word and being

consistent and do what you say you're

going to do,

>> you know, and build that trust over

time. But that was a scary time. But I

opened my first retail store two years

later in 2010 when everyone was

shuttering on South Congress. Uh I

opened our first retail store, moved our

offices right above that little store.

So we all had to walk through the store

to get to our offices. And I was like,

we are going to sit in this store, all

10 of us, cuz there's only 10 of us at

the time. And we're going to learn from

our customer every day. We're going to

find out what she loves, what she wants

more of. This is going to be our

laboratory. I still didn't know we were

going to open retail stores after that.

I thought we'd have this one retail

store in Austin and then we would just

keep building our wholesale. And then I

wanted to build e-commerce. So we built

e-commerce and launched that the same

time, but that store there'd be lines

around the block to come in. And I was

like, hm, maybe there's something to

this retail brickandmortar thing. And

here we are going to have 170 stores at

the end of this year. But it was one

store at a time. You know, when you look

at the big thing and like you said, you

know, you can't eat a cake in one bite.

each store. That success gave me the

opportunity to take the money and the

funds to reinvest to look at the next

opportunity and the next opportunity and

I had to get it right and I had to make

sure the formula was right and the

presentation was right and how we were

selling was right and the displays were

right and I didn't want you don't rush

it right. You take your time and you

listen and you learn and then you act

and sometimes brands try to just act.

They forget about the listen and learn

part and then they're like,"Well, why

isn't this working and this isn't

falling apart and this thing is not

working?" Because we haven't taken the

time to really give the patience that it

takes to build a really strong business.

It takes a lot of patience. Um, and we

just did it thoughtfully and we did it

methodically and we went where our

customers were. Not that was sexy, not

where the sexy addresses were. Plano,

Texas does not sound sexy to a lot of

brands. That store was 1500 square feet

and it was doing $7 million a year.

>> Oh.

>> So I called it Plano and I'm like I made

t-shirts for our team. I was like that's

where I want to be. Let's where are more

Planos, you know? Um and so many

businesses get caught up in like what

they think, oh this brand is here and

here, so I have to be here and here. You

got to be where your customer is. Listen

to where your customer wants you and

that's where you should go.

>> Such a good point. Yeah. I mean, and

it's so easy to fall into like what you

think cool is, too. You know, I remember

falling into that, too. It was not cool

to get on the internet and talk about

finance and private equity. It was way

cooler when I was at Goldman and I ran

my own private equity firm and I was

fancy and I wore all the things

>> and but then I realized actually I I

don't really want to get rich quietly. I

want to be around a bunch of other

people and maybe help them do the same

thing, even if it's not as cool.

>> But that's a hard jump.

>> Well, it's way cooler now. Look at you.

>> It's cooler now. It's cooler now. But

when I started out, they were like,

"What are you doing? Are we Tik Tok

dancing now? Have you lost all, you

know, semblance of of care?" But I I am

curious. Let's say that there's somebody

listening right now

>> and

>> they're in the pain cave. They're

struggling in their business. What would

you say to them

>> to get them out of that deep dark hole?

>> So, sometimes it's so hard when you're

in the middle of the forest, in the

weeds all around you to get that 360

perspective, right? And to really we get

in our minds like I look at the hat box

as the greatest lesson for me. I wanted

hats. Hats were the thing. Everyone was

going to wear hats again like it was

1940. It had to be hats. What was

working was the jewelry I was making and

putting on the counter in the little

case that was selling out the day. But

in my brain it was the hat idea. It was

opening a 100 hat box stores. I wasn't

paying attention to what was working

until I closed that store and customers

started calling me and saying, "I want a

pair of earrings for the necklace I

bought and my sister loves the earrings

I bought in your hat store." So, I had

went and got a job after I closed the

hat box and I was just side hustling

making jewelry. But the point of that

story is that we're we're in it. We

can't always see it. And so to get

yourself to almost have this like bird's

eye view like just lift yourself out of

that moment and really think about

what's working, what's not working.

Write it down. What are people where are

you seeing some traction? It may not be

the original idea. It may not be what

you thought it was going to be, but

somewhere in there's something that is

sparkling, something that's standing

out. Now focus all of your energy on

that. Even though it's hard because

you're thinking, "Oh, but I spent all

this time on this other part and it was

supposed to look like this and be this."

It's sad, right, to put those things

away and go, I might need to put that in

a drawer and it's not working right now.

But this little thing over here,

something's happening over here. Maybe I

should focus a little more time there.

Maybe I should nurture that a little bit

more. And I can't tell you how many

business owners I have met that the

thing, the little thing that they didn't

think was the thing became the thing.

And the thing that they thought was the

thing ended up being completely the

opposite. And that is exactly who I am

today. It sure wasn't hats. I'm doing

hats again with yellow rose, but it

wasn't the hats.

>> Yeah, it's such a good point. Yeah. We

we call it kill your zombies. Yeah.

>> Because just because it used to be alive

doesn't mean it should always stay

alive. Some things you got to die.

>> And it's the hardest thing when you

start a business or as an entrepreneur,

it's like you become so attached. And

it's so hard sometimes to let go of

those things and disattach yourself from

it and be like, "Okay, I'm not going

that's not working

>> and to have the vulnerability to say,

>> okay, this is scary. This is new

uncharted territory that I'm going into,

but I've got to let that go. I've got to

quit putting all this focus and

attention on it because it's not

productive. Nothing is working there.

So, what am I going to do to shift into

something that can work?"

>> What made you start Yellow Rose? It's

such a cool brand.

>> Thank you.

>> And not not what I expected from like

the Kendra Scott I originally knew.

>> Well, there's two Kendra Scott. So,

Kendra Scott, I'm the person, you know,

and um and I love color, obviously. I

love beautiful color gemstones. I've

been designing for 23 years and and

being here in Texas is such a big part

of the design aesthetic and things that

inspire me. And so vintage pieces of

Kendra Scott have a lot of this western

inspiration and really cool, you know,

kind of a it's my love letter to Texas,

so to speak. So I started bringing some

of those vintage pieces back and I was

seeing such a resurgence with western

wear and obviously all of us watched,

you know, all the shows, Yellowstone and

all the things. And we everybody was

going western. I mean, you even saw

Louis Vuitton was going western. I was

like, what's happening? They're French.

We're Texas. I'm Texas. I know western.

I know western. And part of my life is

ranch life. I have a ranch in Wimberly,

Texas. Um, it's my happy place. When I'm

not, you know, in the boardroom, I'm in

my boots in the barn. And I love this

lifestyle. And I love vintage western.

So, I would go and shop vintage all the

time. And the cuts of the bell bottoms

and high-waisted jeans and the really

beautiful western cut shirts that were

fit just right and the pearl snaps and

all the details. I could wear that look

and still be very sophisticated. I could

wear a western cut shirt and a gorgeous

pair of trousers to a meeting in New

York City and people would go nuts. And

so I knew there was a way to bring this

style, this aesthetic into the modern

world and make it to where it's not just

rodeo wear. This is wear that you could

wear anywhere you go and look absolutely

amazing. And I wanted a brand that put

the woman, the cowgirl front and center.

Every other western brand was cowboy

first and then the afterthought was like

women. And a lot of the cuts were like

taking a cow a men's western shirt and

just making an extra small version of

it. Well, a man's body and a woman's

body are very different. We want better

darts. We want it to fit different. And

so for me, it was really about let's

let's figure out a way to do something

that's so unique, but doing it in a

modern way, how I dress and how I, you

know, express myself with this Texas

style. And so that's how Yellow Rose

came to life. And just like I talked

about, we tested and we learned. We put

it in the back of Kendra Scott flagship

in little back room and we tested

product and we brought in collabs and we

brought in boots and we brought in we

did a collab with Wrangler to see you

know what she liked in you know

different denim and we just learned for

two years. We had a tiny house and we

took it to every rodeo and music

festivals and it was just all about

creating experience for our customer and

bringing this vision of this brand and

just learning and learning and learning

and saying is there something here

before we're going to just open stores

and we're going to put all this

investment into it. Is there an

appetite? And there was a huge appetite.

People were going crazy and you know

still are going crazy for the product.

Um and it's just really fun that this is

a big part of who I am. So it's very

authentic. It's part of my life. Yellow

Rose Ranch is my other home. And to be

able to bring people into the place that

I love, my happy place. Um, it's really

fun to be able to build a new brand at

this stage.

>> Yeah, it was cool. I remember when you

guys launched it and there like I

believe like I don't know a couple

really cute girls carrying a bunch of

yellow roses handing them out all over

South Congress accompanied by like large

horses, cowboys, I think. I was like,

what is going on on South Congress? And

it was it was you. Well, I even in New

York City when we went, this is before

we had yellow rose. And the yellow rose

is the yellow rose of Texas. And when I

moved to Texas, my stepfather met me at

the gate. I was 16 years old with my mom

and he handed me a dozen yellow roses.

And he said, "This is the yellow rose of

Texas, sweetheart." You know, welcome

home. And every birthday, I got yellow

roses. And it just was very sentimental

and meaningful to me. But yellow is our

brand. Yellow is the color of happy.

It's color of joy. So when we opened our

Kendra Scott store in New York City, we

brought yellow roses to the subway.

hanging yellow roses in the subway,

passing yellow roses out to people. This

is even before Yellow Rose was a brand,

but it was like our way of saying the

yellow rose of Texas, we're in New York.

>> Texas is here. You know,

>> it's just so smart. I mean, listening to

this, I'm just like, God, if I'm an

entrepreneur, I'm like writing down

ideas. Like, how do we just take little

things that are real stories in our life

and integrate them? Because nothing

sells like a story. I mean, I love

Elon's line that um salesmanship is

showmanship. Yeah.

>> And it's so true. If you want to sell,

you got to show

>> and you got to be authentic. And like

you said, we all have our own unique

story. There's only one of us, okay? And

sometimes we want to be like, "Oh, I

don't want people to know that about me

or this thing, this hard thing that I

went through. I got to polish up my

persona." No, we want all that because

your unique story, all the tr the

struggles, the triumphs, all of the

things have led you to where you are in

your life. Talk about those things.

Build a business around those things.

build a life around who you are. Don't

try to be somebody else. Embrace who you

are. And when you do, people will

absolutely be attracted to that because

they're going to see authenticity.

They're going to see that it's real. And

I said this earlier, people smell a

fake.

>> Yeah.

>> You know, be your real authentic self.

And it's so amazing what can happen.

>> What was it like to work with Dolly

Parton? I got to go. I mean, I saw the

partnership and was just like, that's

the peak. It's the pinnacle.

>> My dream. So, I basically was like,

"Before I die, I got to meet Dolly." I

watched the movie 9 to5 on my VHS tape

till I wore it out. Okay. I had to get a

new one. I I'm not joking. I You can

wear a VHS out and I wore out 9 to5. I

love that movie. I watched that movie so

many times and I loved it and I What's

so funny is when I built Kendra Scott

HQ, it's got a kids room with, you know,

all sorts of kids activities. It's got

mother's nursing rooms. We've got a gym.

We've it's a whole like utopia for

working women. And I realized when I

started walking through I go, I built 9

to5. I built the modern-day nineto-5.

What Dolly and friends were trying to

create in 1980. I built that. And she's

always been this inspiration. She's

unapologetically her. She's like, "This

is who I am. This is what I am." And

she's brilliant, right? But she doesn't

care. She doesn't let anybody like it is

who I this is who I am. And I just

remember looking at her and being like,

I want that confidence and that kindness

and the warmth and all the things she

represented, but she is such a badass

businesswoman. Like, let's not be

mistaken here. She is an incredibly

smart business woman. And I just

thought, "Oh, I just want to meet her."

And so, a friend of mine arranged for me

to meet her. She was performing in

Austin and I got to go and and meet her.

And I thought that was going to be the

end of story. And I met her and I said,

"Hey, I wrote a chapter. I'm writing a

book and I wrote a chapter in my book 9

to5 about how much your the movie and

you have influenced me and she's like

well I'd love to read it darling will

you send it to me and I said oh sure you

know and I was still in the writing

process well she loved it so much she

said well she offered to write the

forward of my book so now I've got Dolly

and I'm like I don't even know like how

to describe that and as we started to

continue to talk I can't explain it to

you Cody but like I just love her like I

love her as a person and she's like well

we know we should work together and I

was like we should work together and so

we decided to do a collab in jewelry um

and I was like let's design every

collection after a song

>> and so take the song and we like play

with what the collection is so not just

getting to meet her getting to know her

getting to work with her and now getting

to call her a friend is when I say you

can't dream big enough like that was the

biggest dream of all the dreams of my

life and it's so beyond what I could

have ever dreamt It's so cool.

>> It's crazy.

>> Yeah. I just I I The woman is just

incredible. I saw she had an

announcement that she's had to to delay

some shows,

>> which is, you know, never a fun thing to

announce. And but then she writes a line

in the delay announcement that's so

good. She's like, I got to go to my

doctors. They want me to do some

surgeries. And this time it ain't

plastic surgeries.

>> She's like, I'm going in for my 100,000

mile checkup. I mean, she's just good

because she's authentic. It's like she

knows people give her a hard time for

it. She's just going to call the

elephant in the room. And I love that.

And that taught me so much, too. It's

like own who you are. Don't try to be

someone different. You know, I would

walk into boardrooms when I was trying

to get funding and I was like, you know,

be girly and feminine and all these

things. And I thought, well, maybe

that's why they're not investing me. So,

I thought, oh, I better dress like a

man. So, I wore a gray pants suit and,

you know, tried to be more businessy or

whatever. Well, that didn't work either.

And I was like, and I remember one night

and I rewatched I rewatched 9 to5 for

the 500th time. I was like, I'm no, I'm

going to be who I am. I'm color. I'm a

girl. I'm feminine. I'm all those

things. I'm going to own who I am. And

if people want to invest in me, they're

going to invest me. If they don't, well,

good riddens, you know. But that all

came from trailblazers like her who

really forged a path for women like you

and I to be authentically ourselves and

to not apologize for who we are.

>> No. And I'm still not at her level. I

mean, my mom thinks I'm pretty

authentically myself. I'm like, "No, I

still get scared all the time, you know,

and and I'll put something out there and

then I'll question it." Yeah,

>> it's it seems a constant struggle, but

maybe

>> you have to go see her musical

>> because it was her story that she wrote

and it it's so many things in it that

you would be surprised that you don't

know about Dolly and how hard media was

on her and how many people I mean right

now you think about it, no one would say

anything bad about Dolly. She's the

living legend. But in the 70s, 80s, I

mean, people were brutal and she was

coming up in a man's world and the

things that she was up against. It

really was so powerful to to watch it

and see it in her words. um how she put

together that musical.

>> Well, I'm glad you're getting on social

more because I know that really like

obviously all your brands were on social

for a long time and you know now you

have the book and you've been on Shark

Tank and you're you're out there more.

But um you know there there really just

aren't that many examples of women who

have built billion-dollar companies and

especially done it with like

>> a feminine flare, dare I say, and

especially done it without third party

funding and especially done it not

coming from money. I mean, there's like

a lot of and and and and and so it's

really cool and I'm excited for you to

keep sharing, especially cuz you're kind

of busy. I don't know if anybody's told

you but

>> it is it is a hard thing for me to be

really honest. Like, you know, it's it's

hard to kind of put yourself out there

sometimes, you know, and I think as I

look at, you know, my life and what I'm

doing, it is what you just talked about.

It's like if I can inspire one girl to

look at me and go, okay, it doesn't

matter where you come from. It doesn't

matter how many times people tell you

you can't do something. It doesn't

matter if you don't have a college

degree. All these things, if I can give

one little girl hope, that she can be

anything she wants to be, that she can

do anything she sets her mind to, then

it's worth doing it.

>> Yeah. And you know, the other cool thing

is like you have a talisman too for them

because you have the jewelry. So it's

like if they get to really connect with

Kendra the human and then get to wear

your physical representation, that's

pretty special. Yeah.

>> You know, not that many people get it.

It still blows my mind when I walk

around places or go through an airport

and I see just multigenerations like

moms, daughters, like all ages wearing

my jewelry and I literally go up to

people and I'm like, "Oh my god, thank

you so much." You know, or you look

beautiful in your jewelry and sometimes

I don't know like who's this crazy woman

coming up to me like complimenting me.

It's still like wow to me. Like it it it

never gets old. And I think, you know,

for those founders out there that are in

that place where they're in their extra

bedroom or they're shipping off their

dining room table like I did, you know,

you'll you're always grateful. Like

those moments will never leave you, but

they're such great gifts that you're

going through these moments. One of my

friends came by and I remember we had

that store and we had the offices above

and we had like a little room where we

were doing our shipping and receiving

and I had like pegboards of like all the

jewelry and he came in and he goes,

"Wow." He's like, "This is the night

before." He goes, "You need to take

pictures, Kendra." And I'm in the middle

of it just like, "What are you talking

about?" And it was my friend Cameron

Harold. And he's like, "This is the

night before. You're going to want to

remember this because your business is

about to blow up and you're going to

want to remember what this was like."

And I was like, he saw it, but I was so

in it that I couldn't see it. And I love

that analogy the night before because so

many times we're so in it, we're just

surviving like, I got to get this order

out. I got to get this thing out. that

we forget to think about where we're

going and take that moment to just step

back and be like, "Hey, this could be

the night before something really

amazing." I got the chills. That was so

good. I um Yeah, I read this line the

other day that was uh like the point the

real flex in entrepreneurship isn't the

Rolex or the car. It's the hundred

families that you know get Wait, no,

it's it was that when you walk in the

office, the hundred people in there

represent a hundred families that get

fed because of the work that you do.

Isn't that amazing? And it's a huge and

it is like I mean I've got you know

3,000 plus employees.

>> Um that's 3,000 plus families.

>> Also all the nonprofits that we work

with. I mean Kendra Scott Foundation is

such a huge part of what we do and we

work with so many local nonprofits.

There's so much that we're doing and

it's such a huge responsibility. But it

is it's like it's like okay we've

everything you do every day every

decision you make infects all of those

people and you've got to be so

thoughtful about what that is and how

and how you go about the how about how

you walk in the world.

>> I heard that your favorite vehicle is

actually a John Deere tractor. Is that

true?

>> Yes.

>> I told you I knew some things.

>> How do you know that?

>> I can't give away my secrets.

>> Well, I have posted me driving my

tractor. I love that thing, man. I'll

tell you what. I mean, it's the farmer

in me. my mom's side of the family were

farmers and coal miners and and I used

to go to the farm in southern Illinois

in the summers and I'd ride on the

combines with my uncles and I just love

getting my hands dirty. I love being at

the ranch. I love mowing. Mowing is my

favorite pastime. Like people would

>> look in your eyes when you

>> I get excited. I love mowing. Maybe the

most excited today.

>> I love mowing. I put on my cowboy boots.

I put on my overalls. I get my trucker

hat on and I will mow for hours, Cody. I

will mow for hours and hours and I'm so

It's quiet. It's peaceful. I can start

to I think about things. I don't listen

to podcast. I don't listen to music. I'm

in my own head just kind of thinking

about things. I'm working on whatever.

Making really nice straight lines with

my mower.

I love that thing. I have two John Deere

tractors now. Okay,

>> that's amazing.

>> Little Johnny and Big Johnny.

>> Dude, we need to get a collab. Kendra

Scott John Deere. Don't worry, I'm I'm

talking to them.

>> It's Dolly and Dear. Honestly, this

stuff writes itself.

>> It's also one of their colors is yellow.

So, kind of yellow and green. I I just

I'm saying if they're listening. Let's

just keep talking. Okay. There's

something there. There's something here.

>> Well, that actually makes a ton of sense

that uh you're super into the tractors

because I actually hear you got a thing

for boots and there's there's a little

sneaky thing. I don't know. Are we

allowed to talk about it?

>> I think we can just talk about it. Just

happened. It's happening. Um we are

launching our own boot line. I've been

working on it for over two years to make

the perfect pair of boots. I have so

many cowboy boots. When I am not in

menolos, I am in cowboy boots. I kick

off my heels and I literally throw my

boots on and I head to the ranch. So,

making the perfect cowboy boot is really

important for me. Doing beautiful

leathers. The craftsmanship, the

quality, all the things. They are

stunning. They are gorgeous. Um, we even

have a men's boot, so we we didn't

forget about the boys. about the boys,

but they're gorgeous. And they'll be

available at Yellow Rose stores and

Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott on the web.

>> How fun. I don't know if you know this,

but I only wear boots,

>> so I am going to be buying some. Yeah,

it's I I don't actually I mean I I

really have a lot of respect for you.

Those things are death traps. Like

stilettos are just You look hot, but

>> Thank you. Thank you. I I have just worn

them for so long.

>> You're okay, actually.

>> I Well, I was until co Okay. And then we

didn't wear we didn't wear and my feet

got only used to slippers. like even

forget that, you know? And so when we

came out of CO and they're like, Kendra,

you got to go speak. I remember I had to

go to Vegas for like some speaking thing

and I had to put high heels on and I'm

like, what are these awful things that

we put our feet in? And I had to retrain

them. But um you know, they're pretty.

But yeah, I

>> How many hours? What's the max you can

stay in a heel?

>> I mean, I'm on set at Shark Tank for 14

hours and I'm in heels all day.

>> Oh my. Come on. You wear slippers in

between sessions?

>> No, Lori does. She's really smart. I I

don't. But I think it's not a bad idea.

I just feel like if I took them off and

my feet realized that there could be a

rest, they wouldn't want to get back in.

So, it's like I can't even tease them.

It's like I can't give my shoes my my

feet the tease. Don't tease them.

>> Oh, good for you. Okay. Well, I'm more

excited you're doing boots. Then at

least you have an excuse to never wear

those things again.

>> I know. I know. Do you want to talk

about Shark Tank really quick?

>> Yeah, I would love to.

>> I am having the time of my life on this

season. Best season I have ever been on.

>> Why? The entrepreneurs are unbelievable.

I mean, I invested in a lot of deals

this season because it just I was

getting blown away one after another.

Just passionate founders, family

businesses. I love family businesses.

Me too.

>> Um, it it was it's just an incredible

incredible season.

>> Can you say which one's your favorite?

>> Um,

>> give us a hint. No, she goes, "No."

>> Well, I mean, you know, one that just

aired was Double Soul and it was, you

know, Pete Davidson is an investor. It

was a couple that Alison, I like him.

But they sent him socks. So they did

what I did, like let people taste it.

Let people get, you know, see it.

>> Pete put on that sock. And it is the

most comfortable sock you'll ever wear

in your life. It's called Double Soul.

He put it on. He called me. He's like, I

need to invest in this.

>> And so he came into the

>> Did you tell them to send them to people

or was that their idea?

>> No, this is before I knew them. Okay.

>> But they already, that's what I'm

saying. They already were doing a lot of

the right stuff. So they came into the

tank with Pete and it was just like

lights out, amazing, passionate

founders. Product is perfect. It was all

the things and they're doing everything

right. They're hustling. She's got a

brand new baby at home and they're just

like they're an amazing amazing amazing

couple.

>> Well, I love that. I had Damon on not

too long ago and he was saying that

socks and suds. Socks and the what was

that thing called? The face with the

squeegee. The spong socks and sponges

are

>> scrub daddy. Scrub Daddy. Yeah, the two

highest performing Shark Tank

investments ever. So maybe this will be

round two socks.

>> And nothing would make me I love Damon,

but nothing would make me more excited

if my socks do better than his socks.

You know, Instagram is sock war.

>> You should have a sock war.

>> He would like that, too. That dude seems

competitive.

>> I love him so much though. I mean, he is

one of my honestly one of my very best

friends in the whole wide world. But I

would love to beat him. I would, you

know,

>> he's also really funny. That's what I

said when I was hanging out with him. I

was like, I didn't realize how funny you

are. All the sharks are so awesome and

so funny and you get you see them on

there's like some things on air that you

know you're getting right. It's part of

the show.

>> But they're they're all amazing to work

with.

>> Well, I think Mark's going to come on,

too. But I I did I have a little he

knows about I had a little on air spat

with with Mark.

>> Oh, you did?

>> Yeah. It was actually kind of fun

because you know Well, cuz you should I

I think you should debate people, even

ones you respect. We shouldn't agree on

anything. That would be crazy.

>> Crazy. And and you need people that will

push you and you get to push back. Yeah.

>> Yeah. And so yeah, we some video I did

and he didn't like the idea. It was

about economics. So it's like only me

and him cared about it, you know, my my

economics professor, but but he

basically didn't agree with how I was

positioning something about pricing and

economics. Um and so he was going back

and forth and I was like, I disagree

with you intensely

>> and um I am happy to talk to you about

it. He's like, well, I'm happy to

explain it to you. I go, "Excuse me, I

don't need to be explaining economics."

Yeah, you could explain to me bank

accounts cuz you're much bigger than I.

But anyway, he's going to come on. And I

thought,

>> oh, he's awesome.

>> Yeah, I liked it. He he like slid into

my DMs. I was like, "Let's actually talk

about this."

>> Yeah. All right, man. Mark is Mark is so

solid and he's he's he's got

unbelievable instincts, but he's also

super collaborative and you know, as

much as you know, he knows a lot of

things, he does listen and he does like

really respect people's opinions and he

loves a good healthy debate. I mean,

even you know, Kevin, like Kevin and I

disagree on a lot of things.

>> Maybe can we get him pants? Can we get

pants? It's interest. He likes his crazy

pants. But, you know, there's a lot of

things we don't agree on, but you know,

at the core of it, he's just such a good

human. He really is. But, you know,

there's things in business that I'll be

like, that is not true. You don't have

to not have a family ever to have a

business, you know, like that's not

true. Okay. Well, I will now I'm going

to tune in and watch it.

>> It's a great season.

>> The goal is team Kendra because we're

both in Austin.

>> Yes.

>> Against all others. So, we got to buy

these socks, too.

>> Double soul. Yeah. Great.

>> All right. Thank you so much for being

here.

>> Thank you for having me. I I could talk

to you all Well, same. I got all the

Every time like when great founders come

in here, I'm so It's just for me, guys.

No, I'm just kidding. But it it

literally it's so useful for the next

gen. Like, if you're building a business

right now, I'm going to go back and

relisten to this because these little

stories are all things we can steal as

entrepreneurs, apply directly to our

business, and all it takes is a few more

cells of your brain thinking creativity

instead of cash.

>> Well, and I mean, talking about the

failures, the setbacks, the hard

moments. I mean, I wrote Born to Shine

for that exact reason because I wanted

every founder or entrepreneur to be

like, "Oh my god, she's in that place.

I'm in that place right now." And look

at she was able to overcome that and

take that to be the bridge to get her

where she was going. If I hadn't had

that experience or that failure or that

difficulty, I wouldn't be able to get to

where I'm going. But so many people

don't want to share that ugly stuff. And

I love I'm just like, "Here it is.

here's all the ugly because I think it's

so important and and so that you know

was the reason behind Born to Shine and

really wanting people to be able to have

the to say like hey if she can do it so

can I?

>> I also heard you would be a Broadway

actress if you weren't an entrepreneur.

>> Good grief. Where are you getting your

information? It is really true. I can't

sing to save my life.

>> Oh shoot. I was going to say is there

going to be a collab song because that's

what the people want.

>> No Zach was like babe cuz I love show

tunes. like show tunes are my thing. And

I did karaoke about a month after we

started dating. I had my friends and we

had a karaoke and I was like is he's

either going to run for the hills or

he's going to like love me. And I did a

whole I had a whole routine. Oh, I have

a whole routine. I have everything like

dance moves, all the things. And he's

like, "Babe, we need to do something

with this." I'm like, "I don't know,

honey." But yeah, I would love just even

if I could do a walk-on situation

someday.

>> I think that needs to happen.

>> I would be so excited. I'm going to I'm

going to noodle on this, but I'm into

it. All right. You're amazing. Thanks,

Kendra.

>> Thanks,