Shark Biography

Designer, founder and CEO Kendra Scott started her company in 2002 with only $500, just three months after her first son was born. As a creative mind with a love of natural gemstones, Scott began going door-to-door to Austin boutiques armed only with a tea box full of her jewelry, captivating businesses and customers with her vibrant personality and unique eye for design.

Determined to maintain growth and preserve the vision of her business, Scott waited over 10 years to accept outside investments. She has since grown the company to a billion-dollar valuation with over 100 stores nationwide and a thriving e-commerce and wholesale business. According to a 2018 PitchBook study, Scott is among only 16 women in the United States to carry the title of founder of a company valued at $1 billion. Today, Scott's company continues to operate out of Austin, Texas, with their state-of-the-art corporate office complete with design lab and an industry-leading distribution center, both catering to her employees' career goals and family-life balance.

With family and fashion as two core pillars of her business, Scott maintains a focus on her third core pillar of philanthropy in all she does. Since 2010, the company has given back over $30 million to local, national and international causes. The brand is able to give back locally through the Kendra Gives Back program, which allows community members to host in-store and virtual events for important causes, with 20% of the proceeds donated directly to the benefitting cause. On a national level, Scott supports organizations that actively help women and children live their brightest, healthiest and most empowered lives. The brand supports these philanthropic efforts by funding grants, volunteering time and hosting or sponsoring events. This comes to life through initiatives like the Kendra Cares program, where the brand brings its customizable Color Bar™ to pediatric hospitals across the country as a creative arts program. Scott believes in the uplifting power of beauty, and she works to deliver that feeling to individuals everywhere.

Scott has been awarded with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 National Award and Breakthrough Award from the Accessories Council Excellence Awards; named Outstanding Mother of the Year by the Mother's Day Council; awarded Texas Businesswoman of the Year by the Women's Chamber of Commerce; listed by Forbes as one of America's Richest Self-Made Women; listed among the Top 100 Entrepreneurs of the Year by Upstart Business Journal; and named Best CEO by Austin Business Journal. In 2019, she was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame. Scott is a member of the board of directors for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and she maintains her position as Chairman of the Board of Kendra Scott, LLC.