Photo above: A stylist displays jewelry at a Stella & Dot trunk show.
In a recent interview for the Los Angeles Times, Stella & Dot Founder and CEO Jessica Herrin shares some of the inspiration behind her social selling business.
Herrin earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University before dropping out of the MBA program to cofound a wedding content website that would become WeddingChannel.com—later acquired by TheKnot.com. When her next job brought her to Texas, Herrin had the opportunity to experience a Mary Kay convention during a business trip to Dallas. The passion and excitement of the women inspired her interest in the direct selling model.
Herrin, then working for the global e-commerce group at Dell, brought her tech savvy to bear in launching the jewelry business that would become Stella & Dot. She wanted to empower young women entrepreneurs, and those women had grown up with a new set of tools at their fingertips.
Stella & Dot also pays homage to an inspiring older generation of women. Herrin and Chief Creative Officer Blythe Harris named the company in honor of their grandmothers. “We wanted a name that really spoke to the spirit of the business, which is — it’s a company inspired by and created for strong women,” Herrin said.
