The Namesake

The name Scout & Nimble is a tribute to founder Jesse Bodine’s grandmother, affectionately known as "Yai-Yai," who instilled in Jesse an entrepreneurial spirit and was a daily example of perseverance, determination, and grit.

Yai-Yai's life story is a testament to resilience. Left on a doorstep as a baby, she was adopted by a family and eventually made her way to Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1963, she courageously decided to head west with her four children, trusting that things would work out and embracing hard work with a resourceful spirit.

After coming across farmland in Springfield, Missouri, she decided this was where she would put down roots and become a successful cattle farmer. Her garage housed two vehicles: an International Scout and a Buick Riviera with a personalized license plate reading "NIMBLE."

For Jesse, seeing Scout and Nimble in the garage was a comforting sign that Yai-Yai was home. At Scout & Nimble, the spirit of Yai-Yai is reflected in everything we do, honoring her legacy by helping others create beautiful, meaningful spaces in their homes.

Then and Now

Early Inspirations: From Playrooms to Pinterest

Our journey began with the vision of our founders, Jesse Bodine and her husband, Sam, who sought to simplify the process of sourcing designer pieces and bring joy to home decorating.

Jesse’s fascination with design started early in life. Instead of asking for toys, she preferred furniture and décor items, often rearranging her room and watching home decorating shows on TV. Although she pursued a nursing degree after high school, her passion for design never fully faded.

In 2010, after the arrival of her second child, Jesse launched the "Scout & Nimble" blog. Named after her grandmother’s cherished vehicles, the blog was initially a space to share family photos and home design projects. The blog quickly gained popularity, driven by Jesse's design projects on Pinterest (which was also gaining popularity at the time). This led to numerous requests from individuals seeking her design assistance.

From Blog to Business: The Big Idea

As Jesse continued to lean into her love of blogging and interior design, she began taking on small design jobs for friends and family. These projects, initially free of charge, soon turned into paid opportunities as word spread. This side-business of design projects began to grow, and Jesse hoped it would eventually allow her to leave her nursing job and work full-time as an interior designer.

Jesse was ordering from multiple retailers and vendors, and managing the tracking, logistics, and damages became a full-time job that distracted her from what she loved. To obtain unique pieces from trade sources, she needed to place substantial orders due to minimum requirements, which was frustrating and limited her options. As a small firm, she couldn't partner with all the desired vendors. Conversations with other bloggers revealed they faced the same challenges.

Determined to find a solution, Jesse and Sam brainstormed for hours. In 2013, they began discussing the transformation of the blog into an e-commerce platform. Their vision was to create a site that offers interior designers a way to feature their work and grow their businesses while providing consumers access to high-end designer furniture and décor.

From Concept to Launch

Armed with a big-picture idea, Sam and Jesse immediately began reaching out to suppliers. One of them mentioned they would be attending market soon. Jesse had never attended market but was eager to pitch their idea; she quickly threw together a mock-up of a three-page website to demonstrate their business idea. Despite the website still being under production, Sam & Jesse's idea was met with enthusiasm by several suppliers and designers. This newfound confidence, combined with thorough research, confirmed the need for their business model and led to the creation of a detailed business plan.

In 2014, Scout & Nimble launched as an e-commerce site with the mission to streamline logistics and ease stress for budding interior designers while providing them with top brands to shop all in one place. The initial launch was met with excitement, but not without its challenges. The first iteration of the website faced numerous delays and additional costs, draining our finances and hopes for a successful launch.

We were out of money and our only hope was to ask family for help or seek investments. To our surprise, we discovered that Yai Yai had set up land in her grandchildren's names. The land had been put on the market at the height of the 2007 downturn, so it sat unsold for years. Seven years later, when we hit rock bottom, the land had finally sold. Remarkably, the check was on its way to me just when we needed it most, and the amount was exactly what we required. I distinctly remember my dad telling me he couldn't help us, but my grandmother, who had passed away seven years earlier, had come through for us.

With renewed determination–not to mention an overwhelming sense of serendipity–Jesse and Sam invested in a new developer and a simplified website that focused on functionality. This time, the launch was successful.

Overcoming Obstacles

After three exhilarating but tough years, we hit our first major milestones: a fully renovated and newly designed office space with a full staff of customer support, marketing, and design employees in our home state of Missouri, AND we reached $1 million in revenue.

Today, Scout & Nimble serves thousands of interior designers across the United States as well as tens of thousands of general customers. We remain an online retailer selling expertly curated styles from top brands, and providing excellent customer support. Jesse and Sam still have complete ownership of the company, which allows us to focus on strengthening and growing the business for ourselves and our employees.

We continue to carry out our mission of supporting designers and educating our customers through a community of design professionals.

Our Office: Before & After

Where We're Heading

As we celebrate this decade-long journey, we are excited about the future. We remain committed to providing exceptional design services and high-quality products to our customers. Thank you for being a part of our story. Here's to many more years of Scout & Nimble!