Female Founders: Amber Kers On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Don’t rate your success on the success or perceived success of others. It’s so easy to look at someone on social media and assume they are doing really well; better than you are. That may not be the case, but it’s your perspective. Just worry about you and appreciate the hard work and struggle that the artist probably had to go through as well.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Amber Kers.

Amber Kers always loved jewelry, but it wasn’t until she started creating it as a hobby that she discovered it was her passion. From the moment Amber lit that torch in her “Intro to Soldering” class, she realized she had found something she never knew was lost and was forever changed. What often takes people a lifetime to find, Amber was lucky enough to stumble upon and she created Amber Krs Jewelry.

Mastering the basics as well as silversmithing, Amber learned about setting stones, and as her love and curiosity for the material grew, so did her desire for knowledge. She began dabbling in the art of stone cutting, lapidary, to understand how to fashion gemstones and the degree of care each stone requires in order to maximize its natural beauty. From there, Amber earned her Gemology degree at the Gemological Institute of America, where she learned how crystal structure and formation contribute to unique physical and optical properties. To this day, she continues to master her craft and expand her wealth of knowledge as well as her creative consciousness.

From concept to creation to the finished project to finding each jewelry piece a forever home, Amber loves every step of the process in her business. Thoughtfully handmade with intention and purpose, each piece is conceived and crafted around the beauty of the gemstone. Every stone is chosen for quality, beauty, and uniqueness, ensuring no two pieces are alike; much like us a people!

For her, jewelry provides a physical symbol that changes the way we feel when we wear it — if Amber can be part of a positive impact on anyone’s day, she feels she’s completed her life’s passion with purpose.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I started out doing hair, it was the only thing I ever really wanted to do, my first love. As I was doing hair, I also did jewelry as a hobby. I’ve always loved jewelry. I loved wearing it and buying it, it’s an important aspect of how I represent myself and my own personal style. It got to the point where I would want a particular piece of jewelry and couldn’t find “the right piece” or I would make additions to pieces I had already bought. I had even started making simple pieces for friends and family. Then one day a lightbulb went off in my head where I thought “well why can’t I just make everything myself?” I took an “Intro to Soldering” class and that was it, I was hooked. I was finally able to create jewelry myself without the restrictions of having to find everything to put my pieces together or modify pieces from other artists.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

One of the most interesting things that happened was about three years into making jewelry. I walked into a shop where they sold gemstones and jewelry, all the things I love! I get to talking to the woman behind the counter who was super nice and very interesting. She complimented me on a cuff bracelet I was wearing. I said, “Thank you, I made it. I’m a silversmith and jeweler.” She then proceeded to invite me to coffee and said she would love to see my collection to potentially purchase some pieces for her shop. I was super excited but nervous as I was still pretty new at doing jewelry and was afraid she’d leave having not bought anything. I convinced myself that no matter what happened I’d just be happy to have had the opportunity to show her my collection and that she took interest in what I was creating. I met her for coffee with all my wares, we were talking and went through everything, and she ended up buying my WHOLE collection. I was honored and SO excited I wanted to cry. It was so validating. It was one of the many moments I thought, “I’m doing it! It’s happening!”

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was working on one of my first custom pieces; a pendant. I was a little nervous but it had been going well. I was 90% finished when I realized I hadn’t soldered on the bail, the ring that the chain goes through to hold the pendant. At that time I didn’t know how to do simple repairs with stones set in the piece. So I had to start all over again. The lesson was, “The details are not the details, they make the design.” Something so simple I had overlooked in my haste to get the piece done, a piece rendered useless without the bail.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My partner Bek. She still has the first piece of jewelry I ever made at my “Intro to Soldering” class. If it weren’t for her I might not have made it. I wasn’t feeling well. I had menstrual cramps and was feeling sorry for myself and she convinced me I should go. It was hard to get into the class and I didn’t know when I could make it to the next one with my work schedule at the time. She believes in me even when I’m having trouble believing in myself. Honestly, success is a mindset and she has been instrumental in keeping my mind clear and open to success.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience, what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I think it’s a lack of understanding that’s even a possibility. Outside of questionable celebrity fame, there aren’t a lot of successful women founders in the mainstream. I think for me, what’s been most inspiring is having found people I can look up to and try and emulate. Hearing stories of hardship and struggle with the outcome of success is always a great way to inspire people who may be doubting themselves and questioning whether they can or can’t.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

I think any true change has to be done from within. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” It’s easy to blame outside sources when things don’t work out. It’s hard to look within oneself and go, “OK this isn’t working, what can I do to correct and make it happen?” It all starts with empowering oneself and validating your ideas and self-worth. Everything starts with you. I think at the end of the day you need to decide whether working for your dreams or someone else’s dreams is worth it.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Because women can do it all! Women are hard workers, great communicators and great listeners, problem solvers, empathetic, and above all, brave. These are all admirable traits that should be exercised and celebrated.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

1. That it’s easy. Don’t let the Shopify commercials fool you. It’s not as easy as creating something, posting it on your website, and getting a sale. You are competing against big box stores that have advertising and marketing departments as well as other small businesses. The hardest part about this is setting yourself apart from all the other people doing the same thing as you are.
2. That it’s fun. I know this sounds counterintuitive because I LOVE what I do. But sometimes it’s not fun. I don’t just create jewelry and play with pretty sparkly things all day. The amount of blood, sweat, and tears (literally) that have gone into creating and sustaining my business has been astronomical. Some days I get frustrated and don’t know what to do. I don’t have a boss or manager I can go to for direction and advice. I have to figure it out on my own.
3. You’re your own boss. In a lot of ways, I get to dictate how I do things. However, I still have custom clients I need to please. You will always have to answer to someone.
4. It’s the best way to make money and get rich. It’s not. I can think of a million different ways that would be easier and more reliable to make money. With no risk.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder, and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

Absolutely not, and that’s OK. To start your own business you really need good time management skills, discipline, and willpower. I don’t go into an office where I have a boss or manager dictating to me what I need to get done and by when. I’m solely responsible for everything that happens or doesn’t happen in my business. Some people don’t want that responsibility or stress.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Don’t rate your success on the success or perceived success of others. It’s so easy to look at someone on social media and assume they are doing really well; better than you are. That may not be the case, but it’s your perspective. Just worry about you and appreciate the hard work and struggle that the artist probably had to go through as well.
2. You’re going to want to quit but don’t, keep going. It will be worth it. There have been so many times I’ve wanted to quit because it’s hard, but I worked through that and kept going and it’s been so worth it. I’d always say to myself, “Well what else are you gonna do?” and truly quitting was never an option. This is what I want to do, so I’ll make it work.
3. Don’t be afraid to fail, because you will. If everyone were to quit after the first time they tried something, think of all the beautiful art we would’ve never been able to gaze upon and admire, or all the ideas in science and technology that benefit our lives every day. If all of these wonderful creators that have impacted our lives in such positive ways would have quit because something didn’t work, we would have truly missed out on so much beauty and innovation that make this world and our lives so amazing.
4. “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” This is a favorite quote of mine from Salvador Dali. You can always find something that you can pick apart, but the variations and imperfections are considered part of the beauty of the design. It’s what makes every piece valuable and unique.
5. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. No one should believe in you more than you do. You have to be confident in your talents and abilities and sell yourself. Because your customers aren’t just buying a thing, they’re buying a small piece of you.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I make people happy. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in major milestones in people’s lives by creating jewelry pieces that mark those special occasions. Weddings, anniversaries, graduations, birthdays, and holidays. Pieces that trigger those happy memories they can hold onto forever. I create simple beautiful pieces that are empowering and meaningful.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Focus on the beauty and individuality of people instead of the minutiae that makes us different. I think the majority of what we’re exposed to daily is meant to take the focus off the real problems of the world and to separate us. Corruption, wealth disparity, poverty, hunger, pollution, etc. are things that affect all of us. If we could come together we would be unstoppable.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Kris Jenner; get at me! Say whatever you want, Kris Jenner is a marketing genius. I would love for her to do my marketing and PR. There is a reason why everyone knows who that family is and why they are so objectively successful and always relevant.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.