Jamie Dunton and Gabriella Botelho are the first graduates of the program, created by the WJA Foundation and Julius Klein Diamonds.
Find Out Which Jewelry Designer Will Appear on Shark Tank
They will be a guest judge on the new season of the business reality show.
Las Vegas—Debuted more than a decade ago, business reality television show “Shark Tank” sees a variety of startups pitch their business to a group of sharks, or investors, who choose whether to invest.
This season, a well-known jewelry designer will join the sharks’ ranks as a guest.
Kendra Scott will be a potential investor, giving up-and-coming businesses her insights.
Scott is more than qualified for the role.
The CEO launched her eponymous company in 2002, three months after the birth of her first son, with only $500.
She approached stores in her local Austin, Texas with her bridge jewelry designs, adorned with gemstones, and gained legions of admirers over the years.
Today, she designs fashion and fine jewelry sold in retailers around the world, including about 1,400 nationwide, in addition to her own 100-plus storefronts and e-commerce site.
In an announcement, ABC cited a 2018 PitchBook study that listed Scott as one of only 16 women in the country to be the founder of a corporation valued at $1 billion.
She’s been on Forbes’ ranking of “America’s Richest Self-Made Women” the last three years in a row, with the media company estimating her personal worth at $550 million, and Kendra Scott annual sales at $360 million.
In 2016, Berkshire Partners invested in Kendra Scott at a valuation of more than $1 billion, according to Forbes.
Scott waited more than a decade after her company’s launch to accept outside investments to ensure full brand control and integrity.
The Kendra Scott headquarters occupies more than 75,000 square feet in Austin. replete with design lab and distribution center, and employs more than 2,000 people, 90 percent of whom are women, according to the University of Texas official alumni association the Texas Exes.
Scott didn’t attend the school, or even finish college, but she’s donated $1 million toward the creation of the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute there.
Philanthropy is a major cornerstone of Scott’s brand, which has donated more than $30 million to a variety of causes since 2010, especially those dedicated to women and children’s well-being.
Scott will appear on Shark Tank alongside resident sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary, in addition to fellow new guest shark Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes and co-founder of Madefor.
Guest sharks Alex Rodriguez and Daniel Lubetzky will also return.
The new season of Shark Tank
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