Kendra Scott's 1st Business Failed. Her 2nd Became a Billion Dollar Company.

I'm on the boat and I'm having like a panic attack because they're he sound like fighting off sharks. Can they say you have the balls? Yeah, I mean, sometimes the idea that you have isn't the idea. I wasn't thinking I was starting a brand. I have an opportunity to do something he didn't get to do. And so I've got to do it with everything I have and you're going to get the most joy out of life by being able to do something good for others. I was a mom when I started this business with a baby and my baby came to work with me. Family became part of the business, even when it's scary. Push through those moments of fear because on the other side of fear, usually something great is waiting for you. I had a boss at the magazine who was a terribly horrible boss. Bring a baby or a puppy on a sales call and it's a pretty sure thing, you know? My guest today turned a project to provide hats to cancer patients into a business, but that business turned into her first failure. Then with only $500, a spare bedroom and a newborn baby, she turned her side gig into a billion dollar jewelry brand. She's as comfortable in the boardroom as in the barn. She is the CEO herself, the newest shark on Shark Tank. Kendra Scott. Kendra, I am so excited for you to be here. I am so excited to be here with you. Something about me. I feel like you're like my little sister. I don't know why I have that relationship. I've always felt that too. Like I felt like you were the big brother. I've never had and you're just wise and thoughtful. And I can lean on you and you're fun and irreverent and also wise and thoughtful. But I love it because I feel like we have this true friendship and we have each other's back. And it's been like that from the very first moment we met. And that's when we meet through Shark Tank or yes, through Shark Tank. Yeah. And we have a friend that connected us. And I was going to talk about this at the very end, but I like this story so much. And I'm actually going to start with it. Okay. It was COVID times once upon a once upon a COVID time and once upon a pandemic. We spoke. I gave you some pointers. I had done it. I think one season before you or two seasons before you and you were coming on to Shark Tank. But then COVID hit. And so they had to redo everything. It was a time where everybody was wearing masks and we had to fly private. I tried to avoid flying private personally, but that there, that was the only option. And you reached out to me a few days before and you're like, Daniel, can you do me a favor? Yes, Mike, because I was my first time on the show. And I had a pair of, I wanted to wear this mint green pants outfit. And there were no tailors that could you could go to during COVID like everything was closed. And they, so I had to, and I, there was like, you know, tailors used to be able to come to your hotel room and they would do your tailoring there. They couldn't offer that during COVID. So when you had to take my pants, you asked me to bring them to you. Yes. And when I picked them up, they were, there was a clear packaging. I could see them. And they were not, at least this is called tapered and non-tapered. It's called what? Like a boot cut, like a, like a flare. They were flared. Flare pants. They were flared for us, mortal man. Flared is like, you know, and for me, like a bell bottom kind of beautiful, but very powerful, powerful. You call it mint green. I call it, like, you know, you're present. It's clearly a pan that a guy wouldn't wear. And somehow in my demented mind, I'm like, I'm going to tease my team about it. So when we came on the plane and I'm with two team members, they're like, what is that? Yeah. And I'm like, Oh, I forgot to tell you, Artem is the word of consultant. Told me that she thinks she wants to change things up and make it come out to not be boring with all the men's colors. And so I'm going to wear the pants to really bring out my highlight. And my team is like, I remember Ellie, she's like, I think mortified. I really know. The only thing that worked for me is that during COVID times, we had this stupid mask. And so nobody could see that I was laughing through my feet. And throughout the flight, they were like, well, can we talk about it? It was like, stop getting me nervous because we've already decided. And please don't take me. So you kept it going for a while, hours, four hours. I kept it going. We finally land and I give you your pants and my team was like, thank God. Yeah. Oh, I love it. No, that was, I mean, we hadn't even met in person yet. We had only talked on the phone when you brought me my pants. So talk about a great friend. That was so weird that how sometimes in the COVID times, and in all times with video conferences, now you think you've met the person, but we had a natural. No, we had talked, we talked on the phone for hours. We had, I mean, it was so fun because you, you obviously were so open about your experience on Shark Tank. And so wanting to help me, you know, and I, every question that I asked, you know, you had such great answers for, but you were so helpful. Like you are that person who just wants to lift everybody else up around you. And I just, when the minute we met, I'm like, this is going to be one of my good friends forever. You know, you're a lot of fun to hang out with. But let's start with, I want to have so much that I want to cover with you. But what's fascinating to me, because I remember having this conversation with you, you built a billion dollar brand. I just an extraordinary iconic brand, Kendra Scott. And it started, I think with $500 out of bedroom, but prior to that, it was a pivot from a very interesting story. Remember, you were making haps? Yes. Yes. Can you tell us that story? For me, it's like a super cool story. Yeah. You know, I, my first business was a hat company and I started it because my stepfather had brain cancer. And we were spending a lot of time at MD Anderson in Houston when I was in high school, actually. And when I graduated, you know, I was still going where need to have treatment and we would be there. And I met so many men and women that were losing their hair and experiencing hair loss through chemotherapy and some of the treatments they were receiving. And I had loved hats and I'd love fashion since I was a little girl. And the headwear that was available, a lot of them were itchy or uncomfortable. So I remember going to Joanne's fabrics and buying comfortable, like soft cotton. I was like 18 years old. And I sewed in cotton linings and some of the hats that I had and then brought them to MD Anderson and shared them with some, you know, patients and gave them to them. First as a gift. Just as a gift. And I just saw how happy it made them. It gave them confidence. It made them feel good about themselves. And I just felt like, why aren't there more hats available in the world? You know, maybe this could be a thing. Like, I'm going to start a hat company. So I dropped out of college to start my hat business. And it, you know, basically 19 years old, I opened a little store in Austin. I did every type of headwear, the hat box. And I was making hats, custom making hats, but I also sold every hat you could ever want. I've always had this kind of entrepreneurial mindset. You know, I've always been this like, if I want something, I'm just going to go figure out how to do it. I think the first time I witnessed that happening was in middle school. I was bullied really badly. You? Yes. To a point where I'd eat my lunch in the, why were you, because I see you and I think she's like the coolest person in the world. How could anyone? Well, I was almost legally blind in my right eyes. So I wore these hideous glasses that were really thick. And I had a really bad perm. I was, they called me stickster, because I was really skinny. And I had kind of a bobble head for a head. I know that you don't look at this now. And but it was the ugly duckling. Look at this now, of course. You know what? That's why I always tell people, are you feeling awkward in those stages of your life? Wait, the awkward one turned into the beautiful ones, you know, but it was a very awkward time for me. And, but I had a big personality and I tried to make friends with everybody, but there was just some mean girls. And for whatever reason, I became a target. And it was really hard. And I remember eating my lunch in the bathroom. And they'd have hall monitors that would come in. And I have to put my feet up on the toilet because you weren't supposed to be in the bathrooms during lunch. But if I'd go into the lunch room, I'd sit down and all the girls would sit up and move. Like, it was literally one of those 1980s. Why is that a thing? Like, I don't understand. I don't know. I was with girls at boys that in middle school, there's this clicks and like that movie. It's so awful. It's so awful. Where's it come from? I mean, I think we're going through a lot of hormonal changes. I'm not quite sure. I think we're definitely getting more awareness around bullying. But at the time, it was so hard. And I remember my dad just always telling me, like, I remember who you are, kill him with kindness. You walk in there with your head held high. And remember who you are. And it's not about the number of friends you have. It's about the people in your life that really see you. And surround yourself with those people, even if it's one or two. And I had a two good, couple good friends. And that really helped me during that time. But I ran for student council president during this time of being bullied. And I believe that there were more people like me that felt like they were an outsider than the popular kids. And I was going up against some of these. Yes. And I won. It was a pivotal moment of here's a girl who's eating her lunch in the bathroom. But she won student council. If I had listened to the bullies and believed the things that they were saying about me or making me feel, you know, I would have been that. But I was like, no, I know who I am. And I'm going to show you who I am. And you're saying that you were entrepreneurial, not for studying a business, but entrepreneurial and taking initiative to go on with the posters and taking risks, which is entrepreneurship. So then you fast forward. And you can I say you have the balls? Yeah, I mean, yeah, the head box. Yeah. And it was, you know, my stepfather who had cancer was really. really special to me, because he basically said, "Honey, you need to use the gifts that you were given in this life to do something impactful, to do something good, and you're going to get the most joy out of life by being able to do something good for others." And he's like, "Your time on this earth is so short, so you've got to give it everything you have, like play hard, even when it's scary, push through those moments of fear, because on the other side of fear, usually something great is waiting for you." And I think that sense of urgency, he died when he was 47 years old. Every birthday I have, Daniel, it's past 47, it's like I have an opportunity to do something he didn't get to do. And so I've got to do it with everything I have and be so grateful for all the things that I'm able to do and accomplish, but not be afraid, not let fear keep me from doing something new or trying something new. And even when I fail to know there's an amazing lesson in this, and there's a reason this happened, and it's my bridge to get me to the next place I'm going. And that mindset has really just helped me kind of get to where I am, because I have had a lot of failures, not everything has been successful. So many times in my life, I've been like, "Oh, why is this happening?" In the rear view mirror, I look back and I'll go, "Oh, that's why that happened. I needed to experience that myself to be able to learn what I needed to learn, to take that to what I needed to do in the future." Something that I read recently is that the more times you try it out, the more likely you're to win, 90% of startups fail. But if you're a second time entrepreneur where you get back on the saddle, then you have a 20% chance of success. And if you're a third time entrepreneur, you're a 30% chance of success, and that sounds like just a little bit more. It doubled your chance from 10 to 20%. And so a lot of times you need to just dust it off and then get back on the horse and learn from the lessons. But it's easier than that done when you have a failure. How do you teach yourself that it's an opportunity to learn from that setback, not an actual failure? I think in the moment, I remember when I closed the hat box feeling so defeated. At that point, my stepfather had passed away from brain cancer. So the business that I had found it for him really then inspired it. I had lost him. I was a college dropout. So now all my friends had college degrees and I didn't because I had just spent my college years running a business that failed. So it was really, really down. I just, you know, I remember just sitting here thinking, so down on myself. I don't think there's ever been a point in my life that I felt as down on me, like and my ability and lost my confidence. And I just felt like, wow, I'm a failure, like I am a big fat failure. I did. I really did. And now what? Now what am I going to do? And fortunately, one of my friends was running this travel company and travel magazine and he knew me well and he knew what a hustler I was and, you know, so that I didn't have the college degree. He still gave me an opportunity to go in and add sales and I can sell. So let me sell something. And so I was doing advertising sales and then he saw that I had this creative spirit. So he was putting me out. He started a new magazine called Destination Weddings and Honeymoon's Magazine. So I would go out and write articles about these different places where people could get married and have their honeymoon while I was selling ad space to, you know, the potential hotels and resorts. And then while I was traveling, I was still so engaged in fashion and design. I mean, that was my passion and what I loved. So I'd be in Barbados and I'd be looking at the colors of, you know, the houses there and I'd be sketching ideas of jewelry. And the travel was paid by you. Yes, yes. So I was getting, yeah, and I'd be, you know, this is before we had our like phones around with us. So you're going to resorts where there's honeymooners and I'm by myself. So I'd sit at the bar and I'd have a sketchbook and I didn't want to look stupid. So I'd order my dinner at the bar and then I would be sketching. So I could keep myself busy of ideas of clothing and, you know, jewelry and different things. I'm sure we're not that lonely. I'm sure all the people from the wedding were like asking you to come down to me. No, I mean, it was, but at that time what was funny is I was getting calls from customers from my hat store still. And they weren't calling me about the hats. They were calling me about the jewelry that I had made in my store. So the, the, the, the genesis started with hat books because you had a little jewelry line as a side kick? Exactly. And what was so funny and I say this all the time to, to entrepreneurs that we work with. Sometimes the bit, the idea that you have, the main idea, isn't the idea. There's something in there that could be the big idea. It was jewelry, but I was so focused that the hats had to work. I wasn't paying attention to what was working until it closed. So I was working at the magazine and then side hustle making jewelry and selling jewelry on the side. And the jewelry that you were making back then, if I saw it today, would it, would I be able to connect the dots? That is what today. Probably not because I was buying what was available in the marketplace. So I was just using stones that I could buy from the beach shop or, you know, from wherever and then reworking them. Now I custom cut our own shapes, our own stones. So they're very identifiable to Kendra Scott. The one thing that's the same is that I loved color from day one. So I love semi-precious stones. I loved mixing color together. I was the color girl. The parallel is that I also had pieceworks, big setback, but out of it grew a product that became the predecessor to what became kind. Because where we have commonality, where we don't have commonality is I think when people see you and they're like, oh my god, this is the Kendra behind Kendra Scott. And then they say, you know, they're like, oh, that makes so much sense. And then when they seem like, well, this is the guy behind kind of thing, what do you talk about? Look, why did you choose to name the brand Kendra Scott? I didn't actually, Daniel. It's a funny story. So when I started Kendra Scott, the jewelry company, I wasn't thinking I was starting a brand. I was starting a business out of my extra bedroom. I was hoping that it would produce enough money to help take care of my newborn baby, participate in our family. We needed money in our family as newly married, yep, newly married. We were both working and trying to figure out how to provide for our family. And so I just had made a business card on word perfect. And my name was Kendra Scott and it was jewelry designer. I didn't come up with a brand name. This wasn't a big business. That's how it started. And once I started getting sales and little boutiques in Austin, which is where it started, I had to go and file as a business. I had to go down and do the whole thing here in Austin and they're like, what's the business name? And I was like, so I just named it first Kendra Scott design because I didn't have any idea. So we were first Kendra Scott design LLC for years. When you were starting as you were still working at the travel magazine, or you? Yes. When I first started, I was working at the travel magazine. And then when I really made it a business business, I left the travel magazine and said, okay, I'm going to do this full time. And I was a new mom. And that time was Kendra Scott design and mom. And mom. And I was a brand new mom. So Cade was three months old and I was taking him on sales calls with me in a baby care. And that helped you close the deal? Oh, in Texas for sure. It works really good. They love a baby. Bring a baby or a puppy on a sales call and it's a pretty sure thing. Cade, I tell him this. He's about to turn 25 this year. I can't believe it. And I tell him all the time, like, you are the reason that we had this business start because of your cute, your cute baby and you're such a great, like, well-behaved baby. Go with anyone. So I was like, you have no idea. You helped me. It was a lot of sales. That was Kendra Scott design and then eventually became Kendra. Yeah. And it just became, in part of it, you know, as it started to grow, obviously at that point, you're not going to change the name. But then I really realized, you know, like, I'm proud of the fact that I can be a representative to this brand. And when I'm selling it, people know it's coming from me, you know, and it really meant something. And I think as the business now has become as big as it is, it's a big responsibility to hold the name of a brand. And, but the DNA of the brand are all the thousands of people that get to work with me. I'm just the lucky one that has the name. I mean, it is all of our fingerprints are all over this brand that it built it. But it's still about that for a second because for me, as you may know, I finally sold my last thing of kind and a couple of years ago. And I still connect so much to the brand. It's still my baby. I love kind of what I built. No, people said they saw you passing out kind bars on their flight recently, and they're like, I can't believe this guy. He's like passing around kind bars on our flight. I'm like, that's Daniel, you know, like kind is a big part of my identity and is not, brands not called Dubetsky. Thank God. Right. I feel the more so for you, right, and to your point, like every action you take, you're even more associated with the brand. You sometimes feel constrained because like I, for example, sometimes feel like when people say, oh, you're the kind guy, I'm like setting up a very dangerous barometer brick. Right. I'm a normal person. I try to be kind. But I'm not the kind guy. Well, you are one of the kindest humans I've ever met. And I'm perfectly. Perfect, right? Like I make mistakes too. So do you. I'm sure. But with you, the, the stakes are very high. Yeah. I mean, I think I'm a very, I am who I am, you know, I'm also very open and honest. I don't try to be anything. I'm not. I'm pretty try to stay my authentic self. I'm not afraid to also like talk about the things that are not perfect or flawed. You know what I mean? And I think. You even wrote a book about one of my favorite things that I read was about how that perfection is a myth and the messy parts of your life were critical to your success. And it goes back to who you are as a person. Reminds me a little bit of my father not to be too heavy. But my father, I think you know, he went through the Holocaust, he survived some of the words. things in human history and yet he was the kindest person he found a way in his narrative who he told himself that he was to bring out the best thing to see himself as his role to bring kindness to each other and like so I don't think for granted that from some difficult challenges you had in your upbringing you made the best of it and you're always I mean I think I think that does come from sometimes you know the people who are the kindest the people who want to help others the helpers are ones that have gone through struggle and that maybe have been hurt themselves by others and you know what that feels like and so you're more sensitive and more you know you have more empathy right you think that seventh grader that gets slightly bullied may you be more tender towards other women yes I do because I you know I see people I see when somebody's struggling I see if somebody's hurting and I always wanted to reach out and try to help them does that help you as a leader at Kendra Scott absolutely you know I'm a very I lead with my heart and some people are like what you have to be you know like when you talk to some of our other sharks right it's like cutthroat you know all these things and look you can be kind and strong at the same time it doesn't mean your weak kindness does not mean your weak so I'm a kind and strong leader I had a boss at the magazine who was a terribly horrible boss name him and I say often he was the best boss I ever had because it taught me everything I won't ever be in a boss I will never treat somebody the way that I was treated by this person and I'm but I'm so thankful and so as I even you know coach other people who are going through hard times or I have students and University of Texas with our women's entrepreneur and leadership program that may be doing internships and they're having difficulty you know and I'll go this is a gift I know it doesn't feel like it right now this this experience that you're having but I say it too like the worst boss was my best boss the other thing I want to just explore with you I don't think I have yet with others is when you're the founder and then you're working with a CEO and you're the chip visionary office officer I've had relationships where that works really well and I've had relationships where it doesn't what are the things that you've learned that make that work and what what do you need in that partnership for a tour it's you know it's a very tricky dance as you you know mention I think having a CEO that really brings to the table the elements that I don't have and identify hey these are my strengths these are your strengths these are your weaknesses which I happen to have strengths in those areas or these are my weaknesses and this is what you're really great at so I think finding when you can identify within yourself hey what are the things that I know that I excel at when it comes to understanding the customer whether that's through marketing or you know the store design or the experience like I excel in that area I don't need a CEO that that's their that's their expertise I need somebody who can help us all right where are we heading next we we're looking at international expansion we're looking at category expansion have they done this in other businesses and brands can they bring that to what I need to do what are the missing links that I don't have as a founder visionary bring in the person that fits that and then together it's like a great beautiful puzzle piece that allows you to focus on the things that you excel in and he or she can focus on things they excel in and then together it's this beautiful partnership and there's a level of respect for one another because you know I I'm not very good at that and wow he's great at that and vice versa so assumption of positive intent where you both there has to be an element of trust yes open communications and loyalty you know I have that with my current CEO and it's just we're having so much fun together and every day I'm just like amazed by him and he'll text me like he'll be amazed by something that you know I do I we're very complimentary of each other but we're also can have difficult conversations and be honest with each other you know I told him when he came on board I don't want a yes man you know I'm not here for that I want you to poke holes in things I want you to tell me how we can do things better I'm not going to be too sensitive here of like oh my idea is the best idea because it's not this is why I'm bringing people in this organization that have watched the walk that have done things before that can bring their knowledge to the organization to take us to the next place so I think as a founder it's really important to be able to be have that humility of you know not you know but at the same time not being afraid to come up with the crazy ideas and present those crazy ideas because that's and that you know inevitably what can bring your business you know forward you don't have never had this conversation and you've never brought it up but being a woman only when I was preparing for this conversation one of my team members talked about this thing called the girl boss persona I didn't even understand what it means but it brought to me an appreciation that there are challenges that you have that I think for granted that you don't have and I don't like any detail in ways of thinking I transcend that but I also don't want to dismiss the reality that things that I think for granted you can't take for granted with the realities how have you navigated that you know I it's as I've gotten further in my business and I think you know success that you have you obviously are able to handle it and navigate it easier right but in the early days I mean I would walk into a boardroom asking for money nobody in there looks like me it's a it's a you know boardroom full of men they're not funding a lot of women are not getting funded in their businesses so the first 10 years of my business no one would give me money no one so I mean either but that's just because I was a loser yeah well I mean I didn't have a great track record before that either so but I had a business that was doing well and you know we were growing but it wasn't the business that they these investors were interested in so you know I think it was hard I just kept having to go okay I've got to figure this out on my own and it made me incredibly scrappy it made me incredibly thoughtful about how we spend money how we invest in things which I served me really well I honestly look back on and go I'm actually really grateful in a way that I just didn't get a big check in the beginning because I think a lot of entrepreneurs that have that VC funding early they just don't have perspective on how to really budget and and have that scrappy small startup mentality that you need that you need even in a big business like I go back to my team all the time and like how many quotes are we gotten in this is really how much we have to spend like can we you know and that comes from that struggle that I remember so well but I think being a woman you know I was a mom when I started this business with a baby and my baby came to work with me and then when they went to preschool I would hustle while they were in preschool and then bring them back to my office after and they'd be crawling around on the floor and a bouncy seat and like I had a pack and play in my office I couldn't afford extra help I couldn't afford a nanny so they just had to be with me and family became part of the business and why family is a court pillar is like I brought my kids to work so somebody that worked for me had to be cool with that like they would have to pick up a kid occasionally and hold them and then as they started having babies they were bringing them to work remember that you sublies me on office yes when we when I moved to Austin I've six years whenever I needed an office and I almost never used that yeah but when I would go there I really was fascinated by that feeling that everybody seemed happy yeah every added smiles I don't know if it was kind of like these names that you pushed the button from you there was a lot of good energy do I recall the pets are allowed in oh yeah I would bring my dogs often yeah pets there's yeah there's kids there we have little scooters you'll see kids sometimes yeah it's special I mean but that was the dream world and so when you're an entrepreneur that's what's so cool is you get to build your own dream tell me there are origins of the real yeah so my stepfather when I first moved to Texas at 16 with my mom and my stepdad that was when you could actually go to the gate at the airport and he greeted me in Houston we moved to Houston first got there I was moving in with them and he met me at the gate with a dozen yellow roses and he said you know honey this is the yellow rose of Texas I want to welcome you we're so happy you're here and that just became our thing and every birthday he would get me a dozen yellow roses he'd get my mom yellow roses they were his favorite when he passed away we covered his casket and yellow roses and it's just always you know anytime I'd see that flower it just spoke his name to me why did he choose yellow roses it was the yellow rose of Texas he was such a Texan like such a Texan cowboy boots creased you know pants that I mean he just was like such a sharp dresser but he had always you know loved the idea of having a ranch and loved you know we watched Walker Texas Ranger together always and I always thought you gosh someday I would love to have a ranch and I if I do I wanted to name it yellow rose um after him and so I bought a ranch named it yellow yellow rose and that lifestyle the horses the wide open spaces the beautiful Texas sunsets all inspired me to create a whole brand around that part of my life it's incredible to hear how everything in your life you find the best in it it's really a beautiful feature of you well thank you I mean again I just I think that perspective of losing Rob at that young age and knowing how much he wanted to live you know when you see somebody die who is so full of life and such a like just walk in a room in a magnet and bright smile and and just people just loved being around him and he had this energy and enthusiasm for life to see that taken away from somebody who wanted to live so bad you realize how special every single day is and it just has made me live my life so differently from that moment on. It's like, I just go after it with a different approach. Like, it's not endless. So every interaction I have, I want to make it count. Every time I get with my kids, I want to make it special. Because you just, I think you look at life differently when something like that happens to you. I really love what you're saying. I'm going to now channel Mr. Wonderful to ask you a tough question on the business front. Because it sounds amazing. And there's such depth in the yellow rose name and story. But having two brands is very tricky. Like, one of the things I learned when I was doing pieceworks, and there's my hall of shame all the different brands that I did during the six years, I was trying too many different brands. I ended up trying too many things and diluting my power. Obviously, Kendra Scott now has achieved so much that you have the right to have a second brand. But you still, it begs the question, why did you feel the need and walk me through the decision how should I burn or decide? It's there, substantially different. But how do you say, will you wait, actually make sense to have a second brand as opposed to double down on the first round? Well, I think, you know, for me, it's 10 been 25 years of building a very strong foundation and a core business. So before you're just going to launch multiple brands or go into other categories, I look at my friend, Ralph Lauren, as a great example. He's built this house of Ralph Lauren. He has everything from Ralph Lauren collection, super high end to Chaps, which is sold in Walmart, and everything in between. He's created many different sub brands underneath a brand, but they all have a Ralph Lauren kind of thread that runs through each of those brands that make them relatable, brothers and sisters, so to speak. That's really what we've now, after 25 years, believe we're, you know, our customers want more from us. They love our products and we look at, where can we feel right, white space? Where can we be disruptive? And where can we do it with a very authentic voice? Yellow Rose is a part of who I am. And so the Western, it was taking this big surge in like, you know, popularity. Even the Western's been around forever. The whole world is starting to notice with Yellowstone and all these other things happening. This is part of my life. This is authentically who I am. When I'm not in the boardroom, I'm in the barn. Like that's really who I am. So for me to be able to bring a lifestyle, my love of Texas, my love of this style into the world, felt authentic and real. And I knew I could do it in a way that would be so unique and also do it from a woman's perspective. Most Western brands were cowboy first. It was the man and then secondary, they'd make things for the women. I wanted to launch a brand that was female first. We have things for the guys. - How did you have the VF for Yellow Rose before you launched it? - So we tested it for over two years. So we had a small, tiny home that we were bringing to rodeos and music festivals. We were testing product. We were just doing tons of test and learn, test and learn, test and learn. And once we saw what was working, then it was like, okay, we know we've got something, we can invest. - When did you launch it officially? - We started launch, soft launching it in 2023. We were starting to test it. And then 25 is when we really opened our first door. - How many stores do you have for Kendress Code already? - We're at 165, I think. - That's right. - Yeah. - Crazy. - Crazy. - I want to go to your office and say, I'm like, you walk sometimes without being announced and people are like freaking out or what? - Oh, I love walking into a store. Usually somebody has made a exit and they tell them I'm coming. I'm gotten now more sneaky where I won't even tell my assistants or anything. If I'm in certain cities and I just want to pop in, but I do like to give warning, 'cause I do like to meet as many of my team members as I can and if they don't know, then they're like, oh my God, I missed meeting her and I hate when that happens. So most of the time I let them know I'm coming so I can really say hello to everybody. - For people telling you what they want to tell you, because one of the things that the more you succeed, the more that the younger people might feel intimidated to just speaking up and you really value it, right? Like you want to know what you can do better. - I want to know the hard stuff and I walk in. - How do you help them know that they have the permission? - When I meet with a tier store team, I walk in, obviously, I'm getting to know all of them and I say, what can I do to help make your job better? What could I do to make the store better? Like if you had a wish list of things that needed to get done or that you wish you could have access to or that would help you do your job better, what are those things? So that I can just maybe take the Kendra Scott magic wand and make that happen for you. So I'm digging, I'm like digging in for those questions. Not like, oh, so good to see you, how are you? It's more like, tell me the stuff. What are, where are your blocks? - You're not jumping, you're going to the substance. - I want to know what I can do to it. And then when they, they feel like they can tell me that and I'm like, okay, oh, this is good. Tell me more, what else? - When you're at a party, can you make small talk or you want to go into the substance? - When I'm at a party, oh, I can make small talk, but-- - I have a lot of difficulty enjoying. I don't mind, I can connect with any human being. As long as you let me do what I do, the call the Mexican Inquisition, when I just jump into a lot of questions. - You do do that. - And we're going to go into Mexican Inquisition in a few minutes. - Right. - But not that this isn't dirty already. But if I can't go deep, it boards the fuck out of me. So if I have to just stay with a very quickly pivot, and I wonder if people have find it, or like, oh, that's fun because I grew from this conversation with both groups, we were curious about each other, really get to learn. Or is like, this guy is intense. Joni, don't invite-- - No, I love that, I love that about you, Daniel. I think for me, I find myself, you know, not doing as much bigger social events that I used to do. Like, I don't-- - You could have fooled me. You throw some parties, will you? - I do. I throw some fun parties. But those are all people that I know and love. They're like my family. So I'm very comfortable. It's one I'm more going into in vents where it's like, yeah, where you're in like a gala or something like that. I'm finding myself doing less of those things as I've gotten older. And I feel like getting just my people, like being around my people, time is so precious, Daniel. And it's like every moment that I have, you know, that I can spend with my family, my kids, my, you know, my dear friends, like, I just want to be able to do those because you don't get as many of those when you're running businesses and you're doing the things that we do. So I value those times so much. - It's funny, like, it's the little things in life that mean the most. And like, it's not like where you live or what you drive or like-- - It's just a song. - The price tag on your clothes. - There's more dollars in a piece of mine than I think I've come to know this. So if you agree, like, have a drink with me, raise your glass over a toast and let's do a little bit of chicken fry. - Yeah, I've done such a super familiar song. Yeah, I happen to know that one. The artist is really cute too, the lead singer. - That was, I wanted to see how long he would take before Kendra. - I knew right away, I knew right away. - That's Zach's, one of my favorite things about you was when you called me and like, "Would you be friends with my fiance?" And I really love Zach. - I know. - I think you hit it out of the park with this guy. - He was so excited to spend time with you too. And he's just such a special loving. I mean, talk about kind. I mean, kind and generous person. - It's super interesting. - Super smart. - Really? - And he, you know, what the two things, like, he uses his art, his creativity, his music. He's built a camp for kids and veterans. Like, it's very similar in how we think about the world and like wanting to utilize the gifts that we were given to do something bigger than ourselves and to find that in a partner is really special. - He's very special. You're not gonna know what I love the most about getting to know him. - What? - Spear fishing. - Yes. - Holy shit, like, my son and I just discovered it and we got a little fish like this. - You need to go out with Zach. He showed me the videos and the photos. It's like, I know. - He's seen what he's done. - I know. And what's crazy, I mean, I'm on the boat and I'm having like a panic attack because they're, he's down there like fighting off sharks. Literally sharks are, come around when you spearfish and you have to like, he'll like push them away. And I'm, I'm just like, he doesn't think it's a big deal. And I'm like, honey, there is no way I'm getting in the water with you with these sharks around. But it's really impressive. He's teaching my sons to do it. They're loving it. - Well, they're, one they have to. - You have to go with him. He's an incredible instructor too. He just has a very good way of teaching. I'm so patient and he'll be right there with you in the water so you feel very secure and safe. He'll fight the sharks out for you so you don't have to worry about it. But it is something that, you know, that's his happy place. - And for sure. - You, if I recall correctly, went to be with him at that like, - The spear. His spear and Las Vegas, and he's going to do it again or no. - In 27, yes. So this year he has his tour. So he will be on tour going to cities all over. - I don't know about this fear yet. I want to do it. - It's amazing. I mean, it was such an incredible thing. - Will you please fight me next time he does it? - Yes. - So something really exciting just happened. - Yes. - You were announced as a full-time shark. - I mean, here we are together. We're going to be on the poster together, Daniel. - I'm so excited. - Oh my gosh. I mean, I, I'm so excited. I love it. I mean, from the first minute, I stepped in the tank with my lucky shoes. I just felt at home. Like I felt like, oh, this is my place. And I love entrepreneurship. I love the entrepreneurial journey and the spirit. And just being part of that is just, you know, I mean, we're on set for many hours. - But you bring something really special to it. I mean, you can come from this conversation. Why do you do it? - Because of the entrepreneurs. Like I just love being part, a small part of this, like a Mary. can dream, you know. And when you, when they walk in, I just see myself and my journey so much in these entrepreneurs. And I know I can help them. You know why I do it? I just love it so much. I also do it for the entrepreneurs, but I have to confess. I also do it because for me, it's so intellectual stimulating. And with this show, learning something new, like something that's been fascinating for me is learning the art of interviewing is actually harder than being on the receiving end. I've gone on so many interviews and it's just so comfortable. You come in, they're keeping, it's kind of like the context of meeting the founder versus being the CEO. As the founder, I can misbehave, do whatever I want, be creative, but the person in this journey has to keep the things going. It's just this job for me is challenging. And when I go to Shark Tank, I have to put in my best work to keep up with the weight of the other sharks, to out negotiate them, like you have to have bad recognition. It's challenging for me. I enjoy it because it's intellectual stimulating. It is. I mean, it definitely, you have to be ready to get in there and not be afraid to jump in and it can be super intimidating. I remember when I met Kevin, he told me that he was going to chew me up and spit me out in a million pieces. He literally said that to me when he first about me. And I was like, oh, I can't wait. Like, that was my response. You know, like, great, let's go. You know, and we've had, and I love Kevin, by the way, and we've had so much fun since then, but you know, it is fun getting in there and it is such a challenge, but it's also like I get so excited, like, especially when I can like beat out Kevin in a deal, you know, or partner. I mean, partner with another shark on a deal is always fun too. One of the things you said that is really interesting. I don't lack for the ability to have energy. And when I showed up there, after my first segment, I thought, oh, my God, I overstayed my welcome. I was too aggressive. I talked too much. And the producers like Claire and you was like, Danielle, you need to wake up. I'm like, what? Like, yeah, we need more of you. I'm like, what are you talking about? Because the studio is so big that you need to project. And the sharks are fighting each other and you don't want to interrupt because of the new one and right. And they need you to assert yourself. Yeah. It's the only place where I've ever been to exit that took me that took me a lot because I was like talking over like I didn't want to talk over another one of the sharks or like be that. And they're like, no, you have to. Otherwise, you won't make it basically, you know, like you have to get in there and be more aggressive than you would typically be in any other situation because I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't you know, talk on top of somebody else trying to like, hey, wait, wait, wait, you know, like, I wouldn't do that, but you have to do that when you're in the tank. And they turn off the mic of the guys that don't get the thing. So for the for the audience, it's not as difficult as experience as when we record it. We're recording. We're interrupting each other. But once you get set it, you don't feel the picture. Except when they tried it live and it was a disaster because the audience wasn't used to the reality of like, how much it is. Yeah. Yeah. That was crazy. What are something that you would share with the audience that surprised you? It was different for you would expect that having done shark tank already a few seasons is different for people might expect. I mean, I think, you know, everyone always asks me, are the sharks like nice? And they are like, I think everybody is so amazing. Not just the sharks. It's the whole shark tank family. That's incredible. The producers, the assistants, the wardrobe. I mean, everyone that's there, it is such an incredible culture there that you feel of like love and commitment. And I think that's what has attracted me most to it. And everybody is working towards the same thing. They are. And we all want these entrepreneurs to succeed. It's like, we want them. You know, when they come into the tank, we don't want to like tear them down and, you know, make that we want them to be successful. We want them to have a great pitch. But even Kevin, you know, you know, what people don't understand sometimes is that Kevin has the strength to sometimes say what needs to be said. And I have to say at least for myself, sometimes I need to share something, but I don't want to hurt the feelings of entrepreneur. And most times I'm actually, I managed to be both Frank and nurturing. But once he was like, oh my god, I, I don't have the guts. And Kevin always has the guts. Yeah. Now, and he delivers it. He, what I say, I have a jukewarm on whether the sharks are the way you see him. Right. Yes, except they just elevate them. They amplify. They amplify. Yes. Yes. But the essence of Lori is her essence. I'm a barber. I agree. And from everything is just volume up. Yeah. A little bit. Yeah. From their typical day to day, I think. Yeah. Who is there a particular? You said Kevin, but is that who you Kevin wants to be the foil? But beyond that, is there a shark that you find naturally competing more with or not? No, I think no, not at all. I mean, I feel like we're all, you know, if we see something good, we all want it. You know, there's, so it doesn't matter if it's you, my like dear friend or whatever, I'm going to be like, Daniel, I want that. You know, actually look forward to competing with you because it's fun. I don't think you and I've gone at each other's throats yet on the show. We have it. We haven't. And just, we just, okay, I'm ready. Yeah, but if there's something real, we did, we did try to go in on some things together. So yeah, so we've, we've tried to work together, but you're just so sweet that, you know, I might, I might, but I, if it's a good deal, we're not going to give it up. Be careful with this guy because he seems sweet, but then he goes with it. Yeah, that's what Rashon said. Rashon's like, I thought you were like this. And you just, yeah, you're a tiger. So Kendra is, I tried to ask every guest on the show to signature questions. One is, is there a builder behind the builders? Is there somebody that made a huge difference in your life that you want to honor like an unsung hero that like, yeah, honestly, you would have not gotten here without that person. I mean, I think for me, I've been so blessed to have a lot of people that have been mentors or who have showed up in times that were really tough, who believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. And that has happened throughout my life. You know, I have my first investor. I think was one of those unsung heroes, Steve Hicks. He was an advisor. So I had formed an advisory board because I didn't have a typical board because nobody would invest in me, but I wanted to discipline of having quarterly board meetings. I wanted to have, yeah, so I was like, let me get some advisors. I gave them a small earned in equity position because I was like, I can't pay you, but, you know, I want to give you something. Board has the legal oversight responsibility. It comes with fiduciary duties. An advisory board doesn't have those fiduciary duties. They can, they're not going to have liability, something going on, but you still try to draw advice from them. And it's great if you're a founder and a business where you're not ready to bring an investment capital, but you want to have more people around you. It can be very lonely at the top as an entrepreneur. So I always tell my young entrepreneurs who are just like one or two people in their company, you need more than that. So find three people in the community that you really admire and respect and ask them to be part of your advisory board. Be very thoughtful of their time. You know, I would meet quarterly and maybe, you know, every now and then I would ask for a phone call and I would have 10 minutes of like, here's what I need to accomplish or a question that I have that I need help with to be really thoughtful. But I also respected that this was their time. And so I gave them an earned inequity position. And one of those advisors at one point came to me and he's like, Kendrick, you're building something amazing. I'd love to invest. And I remember I had never, nobody said, yeah, I had said yes. It was Steve Hicks. And he was my first investor. And he, I think his confidence. And then for once I had somebody that was a partner in a way. It was a small, you know, percentage of investment, but still. He's still Hicks. He recently passed away. And so it's just been a devastating. I miss him so much. He was like a second father to me. You got to say thank you, though. Yes. Many times. You know, he's very special. And, you know, his, his wife Shannon and I are very close and his family, his kids. I mean, they're like part of my family too. I love them all. And I really just love him because he believed in me when no one else did. And I'll never forget that. Got me already. Is there any hacks, very practical hacks that you use to manage yourself, your business, your daily life, any, uh, managerial thing or how you time management or any tool that you use it, you want to show you? Yeah, you know, I mean, I, I think about health and wellness is really important to me. And as I've gotten older, I realized that I've got to prioritize my health. One thing I know you do, Daniel, because I happen to see you in the neighborhood is you walk and talk. You're a walker and a talker. You're always taking your calls. I have now started walking and talking, thanks to you to get my steps in. So there's things like little hacks like that, like how am I going to get all my steps in today, but I have all these calls. Okay, well, some of these calls I can do while I'm walking the trail or walking in the neighborhood and really trying to prioritize my health in this. I stopped drinking last year. It's been over a year, alcohol. I was like, why am I putting poison in my body when I'm doing all these other things for longevity and health and wellness and, you know, and supplements and all the things we're trying to do, creatine and weightlifting and the things that they're telling you to do as you age. I cut that out of my life and it was been such a game change her for me. And so little is things I'm sleeping better. Well, better. sleep means to being a more productive person. My mind is clearer. I'm able to, you know, do more. And so it's little things like that that are hacks, I don't know if they're hacks or not, but they're lifestyle changes that have made a huge difference in my productivity and my ability to be a better mother, a better leader, is that you have to take care of yourself. Because if you're not, then you're not going to be able to take care of everybody else. The walking thing was inspired by Michelle, like the woman I never, every time I was like, okay, Michelle, check a look. I got 13,000, it's actually, I got 16,000. Meish, look at this. I got 19,000. It's like 24,000. She always beats me. But what's interesting is ever since we moved to Austin, it just became so. I cannot not walk now. Like if I go three, four hours of meetings, I kind of need it. And it's, it's so pleasant. It's nice. Like it's called while walking, it really helps digest. It helps process. It helps. Yeah. It's a very, I love it. No, you inspired me. You really did. I want you to know that. Hopefully not with the outfits. You look great. All right. We have moved to the final segment of this very important time. I'm so excited. It's called the Mexican Inquisition. Oh goodness. Here we go. I'm going to ask you a question. You have to quickly react. Okay. If it's a build or a break, build or break, I'm answering build or break. And you say, yeah, do you think it and you can provide a parenthetical, but okay. We'll keep it moving. Okay. Are you ready? I think so. It's very deep philosophical. Oh goodness. Okay. Build or break breakfast tacos. Build. Love a breakfast taco. There's nothing about a breakfast taco. I want to tell you for me. It's a break. What? Because breakfast tacos are like these texts and gringo. I like for me, a real taco. Gringo. Yeah. Let me explain it to you. Oh my god. It can be corn. It can be corn. Real tacos made with corn. It's got me. It's got perjee, cilantro, onions, like parsley. Okay. Well, that sounds delicious. And and this thing that's just like beans and I mean, I'll eat it, but it depends on the place. I'm with you. Not everything. I'm going to get a lot of hate now. I love a breakfast taco. Build. Build all the way. Okay. Build or break Instagram filters. Is there a mid ground? What's between builder break? I think there's moments when like lighting isn't good and you need a little like judge, but I don't like it when people are doing them so over the top that they don't even look like themselves. And then you're just like, that's not even you anymore. And it's not real for other people. So I would say I'm leaning more towards break. I'm where you are. Okay. Build or break synthetic diamonds. Build. And they're not synthetic. It's called lab grown. Lab chrome. They're lab grown diamonds. They are formed the exact same way natural diamond would be, except they're in a lab. And so they're cruelty free. They have you cannot tell the difference. You can put them under a loop. And as a jewelry designer, you can look at a mine diamond and a lab diamond of the same quality. And they're going to look exactly the same. I think it's helping people have be more affordable. I think it's more attainable for people. They're beautiful. They're radiant. Build. Build or break the CMAs. Build. I love the CMAs. Well, be too, but not more than I fall in love with Zach. Yeah. Build or break owning a ranch. Build. I don't have you had a ranch. I love it. Since 2021. So it's not up to the work. No, it's work. I mean, we have land. We have animals. Grandfather was a rancher here. Yeah. I mean, I'm not like ranching ranching. Like I have a cute ranch. I you know, my I have some long horns. You know, I have mini cows. I have horses. We have trail rides. No, it's at the ranch. We have four now. Those are cute. They're precious. They're precious. Yeah, you know, it's it's work, but it's also like we have a full garden. So we've, you know, we're getting fresh veggies and fruit, fruit trees. We're making our own jams. I have honey bees. So we'll be harvesting our own honey this summer. I love it. I mean, my mom's family were farmers. So I would go to the farm when I was a kid and being raised around that for me to now get to do this with my own family, it's kind of kind of full circle. Round them question. My son Jonas saw in a video how people harvest honey and he asked me to get a kit. We got this big thing. And they didn't cross my mind to check whether they are certain conditions that are required. Like when it's be done in a forest teoria, you have to be a low-open field. Does it not matter? There's a lot of things you need to learn. I have a beekeeper who is a specialist. Do you connect me? Yes. And I'm learning. I go out with him in my little bee suit. Oh, docees. Would you connect me? Yes, I will connect you. And he is, he knows everything. He there's a lot of complexities. So many more than I have any idea about keep beekeeping to keep your bees healthy and happy and all the things that happen. So and you harvest your own well harvester own honey. Yes, but you've never once let me try your honey. No, because last season we didn't harvest because we did we didn't we were just learning, but I brought in this new beekeeper who's in Beijing. So this year I will hand deliver you yellow rose ranch honey. I like to call it. Yes, what I'm calling it liquid gold. I like it. I know. Once we scale it. Okay. Build or break private equity. Build. Because I have private equity in my company. I know, but it's tricky. I mean, what I want to communicate through this is you have to choose your partners. Yes, you do. You have to set your terms to protect yourself. And it really matters who your partners are because sometimes a thousand percent. No, it's great. I wouldn't have the business I have today if it hadn't been for private equity coming in and helping us scale. So I absolutely would say build. But like you said, I've had a lot of founders who didn't have the right private equity partners and maybe were forced out of their business or had they were making decisions based on their business because maybe they had more of a majority, you know, control rights and things like that. So it's very important. And also don't assume that you know for sure where you want to be five years from now because you set some terms. Yes. And then you change your mind. You want to continue running the company that the private equity firm requires you to sell it, which was in my situation something that caused me a lot of grief that they were pushing me to sell and I was able to overcome it, but it was a very big challenge. I think, you know, look, like with anything, I mean, it's like the partnership, right? You really need to do your due diligence. You need to ask a lot of questions and you need to ask people who have worked with them other businesses. What are they like on a bad day when the business isn't doing well or didn't have a good year. What are they like then? Because they're going to show their shiny, happy, amazing self when they're pitching you to come in. That's their best day. What do they look like on their worst day? And what kind of partner were they? Were they collaborative? Were they helpful? Were they there to like all hold hands and get through that rough spot? Or did they become, you know, very dominating and, you know, aggressive? What would what were they like? And I think getting those questions answered helped me find the right private equity partners. Because I did a lot of due diligence in just finding out what they were like, you know, working with other businesses. Love it. Builder break, side hustles. Build. I mean, my business started as a side hustle. So I think for a lot of us, you know, until you have the kind of the ability to let go of that other job before I could let go of the advertising job that I had, I had just, I had this as a side hustle. And I was that meant I was working a lot of hours. And I was making jewelry when I was coming home from that business at night. And, you know, and on the weekends, like making deliveries or whatever. It's not like this question, but I loved it. I mean, I loved it. The reason I like this question for you sort that interrupted you. No, it's okay. The reason I like this question for you is that it worked out in your case. But the danger with side hustles is that if you get distracted doing too many things and you don't sometimes, like in my case, I was trying before kind of string hundreds of things at a time. And I always ask myself, had I not tried so many things, if I'd been more focused, would I've been more likely to succeed in one of those or it just how it came that it was what it meant to be one kind became the focus. But you would have not built it. No, I mean, I think for me, it was like the timing, you know, and I had to see that the jewelry had enough legs to support me dedicating my time to it and get to a place where I felt like I could do that, that I could let this other job go to be able to do that. But you have to at some point, if you're like, okay, it can't always be a side hustle or it'll never scale. So at some point, you're going to be like, I even am in or I'm not, right? And there's going to be that day where it's like the line in the sand will be drawn and you're going to have to make that leap of faith. And it is a leap of faith. And the way I looked at it is like, okay, I'm going to put both feet into this. I'm going to go for it. And God forbid if it doesn't work out, guess what? I'll go get another job, you know, but I'm going to I'm going to give it everything I have and I'm going to like throw it all in there and go for it and see what works if it works out. And fortunately, it did. Fortunately, it did a little bit. Yeah, it took a while. Build or break, franchising your business. Break. Look, for my business, now there are very successful franchise businesses out there. For my business, I felt like there's no way that I could give away that ability to make sure that the customer is going to be able to do it. experience wasn't at the level that I knew it needed to be. And with franchising, you can sometimes lose that ability, right? You can give them a toolbox and say, this is how we run things. But they're running their own business. That you're just allowing them to use the name or the products that they're selling. For me, that was a non-negotiable. I wanted to own every store. I wanted to make sure I was training everyone. That it was our people that we were really giving that customer the experience that I wanted to make sure that was consistent every touchpoint, whether that was e-commerce or our stores. Now, there are other businesses that maybe franchise works for, right? It's a little simpler model. There's not such a high touchpoint of customer care and connection that you have like with us within the jewelry business that it may work. But for me, there was never a question that I would never franchise Kendra Scott. - Yeah, it's interesting. I also like this question because it's almost sacrilegious to think of a Kendra Scott store as a franchise. It's just a small work, right? Like, you can expect the same identical quality experience and what-- - Yes. - And the franchise business, you were aiming for the same quality, but it varies depending on the franchisee. Barbara's done such a good job with franchises on track, and it's been interesting for me to behold. I've never successfully invested in a franchise business. Of course-- - No, and there are so many that work that I think, whether it's maybe car washes or laundromats or maybe there's different ones that can work, but I think when you're in high touch, high customer connection, we have color bar where customers are customizing pieces. And all of these different elements happening and we're such experiential retail to have that experiential retail to me, you need to own that. And that you never can be complacent. So for me, I wake up and I'm like, okay, we're gonna be better than we were yesterday and we may be implementing something company-wide that is elevating the customer experience. If I had a franchisee, that's their own business. I'm not able to implement all of this, how we were going to do business today versus how we did it yesterday. It's like, they've already got the plan. So I think it's just for us that ownership of owning the customer experience is so important. - If I go through one of your stores in Kalamazoo and another one in Shimolamo. - I love those stores, Kalamazoo and Shimolamo are my favorite. Yes. - Are the people working there taught to manage the experience? Like, will I feel, oh, same culture, same experience? Like, I will feel that. - Oh, before you get on the floor at Kendra Scott, the training that our team goes into is really extensive. And it's all about connection versus transaction at Kendra Scott. - When I feel you're warm when I go into it. - Yes, and we hire people on heart. So I don't care if you've had any retail experience. When I interview you, I'm looking at how you make me feel. - You have people with high emotional intel. - Yes, so I'm like, when you're interviewing somebody, I want you to be like, is this the person you don't want to stop talking to? Is this the person that just make you feel their warmth in their presence? It's how they make you feel. - I love that. - And if they make you feel great and you want to keep the conversation going. - And you're HR personal. - And we can train them on, what are the stones? That's trainable, but I can't teach that. - I love it because I can't teach that love. - We are looking for skills rather than energy, values, integrity. Like, they need to first and foremost be the culture. - Anything retail customer facing, don't just hire unexperienced. So many times a lot of times they've come from retail and quite honestly, how we do retail is so different at Kendra Scott. I have to like to un-teach them. All the things they learned at some of these other corporations. So it's not about that for me. It's about somebody that has this warmth and energy and love and passion and kindness. Those are the people I want working for me. That's the front line that I want. And then I can teach them everything else. But I cannot teach that. So that's what we look for and you're gonna feel it everywhere you go. We hire on heart. - Build or break, Texas TV. - Texas TV? - Like Landman, the whole thing. - Oh, build. I am obsessed with anything Taylor Sheridan does. I love them all. I love that we have all this happening here in Texas. - Did you come out where Texas is in the Hall of Fame? - Yes. - And he became a fellow where do you know? - No, do you know Ham or no? - I've met him a few times. But yes, they're amazing. I love all their shows. I love that all this is coming out of Texas. It's so exciting. - Build or break, online shopping. - Build. - What percentage of yourselves are in the store versus online? - About 30% is e-commerce. And then for me, I mean, I do probably 95% of my shopping online. I don't have time to go into stores anymore. I am an online girl. I know my brand. - We do walk in the airport during the store. People recognize you and then stop you. - Yeah, I mean, it depends on where I am. More in certain places than others. But yeah, they do and you know some of them. - And do you like it or do I drive you nuts? - No, I love it. I love meeting people. And I love seeing people wear my jewelry. Many times I, like you, I go up to people. And if I see them wearing my jewelry, I'd be like, "Thank you. I see you're wearing my necklace." Or, you know, you're wearing Kendra Scott. And then then there'll be some of these people like, "Wait, you're Kendra." And they have this moment. - I go to them and I see the meeting of Kendra. It's like, "Oh, I love that you're in Kendra." And they're like, "We're no police. Please go over." - No, they're, I mean, but I do. I go up to people all the time. I thank people. I love seeing how our business, so many times I people come up to me and be like, you know, you've donated product for our charity or my son was in a hospital and your team came up for Kendra cares. So a lot of times they're sharing how our business and our brand has touched them in a meaningful way. And I love to hear those stories. And it, they have no idea how much that gives me is to know that, okay, we are making a difference. And the things that we are doing are making a positive impact. So I love it and I'm always excited. - Well, my daughter was like, that I know it's too fancy, but I would love if you can please, for my birthday, get me a Kendra Scorpio jewelry. And I thought it was adorable. I meant to tell you. - Yeah, I love that. What a sweetheart. - It's very, for, it's very aspirational. It's achievable and aspirational. You've done a very good job in building a brand that's a lifestyle brand that people wanna relate to, but it's not prohibitive. - Yeah. - So you're not, you're not a jerk. You're not obnoxious. What I like about your brand is it's you. It's a person that's very fashionable, but not an arrogant brand. It's a very well done job. - Yeah, very relatable and authentic. And I think that customers can smell a fake. So when they see a brand that continuously shows up, whether that's in their community or how they're treated when they walk in the store, all of those things, every single thing matters. And when you can do that authentically, every time that customer is interaction with the brand, that gains their trust. - Okay. - And that's ultimately what you're hoping to get as a brand is that you're getting their trust and that they become brand fans, not just customers, right? That they become a fan of the brand and-- - An ambassador. - An ambassador, exactly. - We're gonna end with that somewhat serious, a little bit philosophical question. Build or break, asless chaps on me. - Wow, let's just not do it. Okay, let's just not do it. - Let's not go there. - It's a capital B break. Okay, don't do it, Daniel. - Kendra, this has been so much fun. Thank you for doing this. - Thank you for having me, this was fun. You're the best. - We want you to become a builder with us. So subscribe to Build or Break Now. And leave us a comment to our review. We're trying to build a movement and you can be part of it by hitting the notification bell and telling us what you think about this episode. By telling all your friends to watch it. Thank you.