Ann Williams

Ann Williams is the founder and CEO of Yearly Company, a Nashville fine jewelry brand built around solid 14 karat gold bangles and minimalist design. She launched the company in 2016 after noticing a gap in the market for well-crafted everyday fine jewelry sold directly to consumers. By focusing on a single product category and cutting out retail markup, Williams built Yearly Company into a brand with a loyal following seeking quality and simplicity.

Williams developed Yearly Company around a straightforward premise: women deserved versatile gold jewelry combining fine materials with accessible pricing. She invested in domestic manufacturing and transparent sourcing, and the direct-to-consumer model let the brand grow rapidly through word of mouth rather than costly advertising. The tight focus on bangles gave the company a clear identity that bigger jewelry retailers struggled to match.

By the time she appeared on How I Built This, Yearly Company had reached approximately $11 million in annual revenue through its own website and digital channels. Williams resisted pressure to endlessly expand the product line, instead deepening the core collection and prioritizing customer experience through thoughtful packaging and responsive service.

Williams has continued steering Yearly Company through rising gold prices that squeezed industry-wide margins. Rather than substituting materials, she adjusted pricing and communicated transparently with customers about the value of real...