How to Differentiate Yourself as an Entrepreneur with Kendra Scott

Creating your own brand and delivering a successful product can be a challenging yet rewarding path to take on. Entrepreneurship can feel like a rollercoaster of emotions but successful business owners like Kendra Scott serve as an inspiration to keep pushing for success.

Scott joined the 2024 SXSW Conference to give a glimpse into her success story and to provide some keys to differentiating yourself as an entrepreneur. After her first business, The Hat Box, shut down, Scott launched her popular jewelry brand in 2002 from Austin, TX. Crafting jewelry pieces soon went from being a side project to her namesake success story. Delving into the process of building a brand reputation around her own style of combining unique shapes, colors, and materials to stand out, Scott gives credit to her friends and family for igniting her confidence and helping her to pursue her jewelry business. 

“We all have this light in us…sometimes it dims, things happen to us, and we lose that confidence, that brilliance. But when you surround yourself with people who can see it, and then you see it in their eyes, that gives you the confidence to keep trying. It was my family, it was my friends, it was the people in my life that lifted me out of that and helped me have the confidence to try again.” – Kendra Scott

When it comes to maintaining success, Scott’s key focus is on customer service. Since it’s launch, the Kendra Scott jewelry business has opened over 100 stores across the U.S. and became a billion dollar company according to Forbes.

“Connection before transaction. The transaction will come, I promise you it will come. It may not come in that moment, but it will come. If you and your team focus on connecting in an authentic and real way with your consumer – connecting with who they are, understanding their needs and their wants, listening to them, making them feel special, and making them feel connected to your brand – they will leave that experience sharing it with everyone they know.” – Kendra Scott

Joined by CNBC’s Jennifer Liu, Scott sat down at SXSW 2024 to discuss the trials and tribulations that go into starting a company, advice for entrepreneurs, her philanthropy efforts, and more. Watch the full Featured Session, How to Differentiate Yourself as an Entrepreneur below.