Building a $150MM Empire from Scratch, with Ariel Kaye, Founder of Parachute

Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners

Lindsay Pinchuk

Ceo, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Women In Business, Careers, Small Business, Marketing, Business, Bobbi Brown, Female Founder, Pivot, Business Owner, Foundher

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2023

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“I’m really passionate about creating beautiful spaces,” says Ariel Kaye, founder of home and lifestyle brand Parachute, which she founded in 2014 after realizing that she and her peers were having trouble finding cozy, quality sheets to furnish their post-college apartments. Since then, Parachute has become an industry disruptor in the home and textile space, evolving into a lifestyle brand which provides essentials for all rooms in the home. In nine years, Parachute has earned $150 million, added 20 brick-and-mortar locations across the U.S. to its direct-to-consumer model, and expanded into the Canadian market with the Hudson’s Bay Company. The brand is dedicated to sustainability and climate neutral certification as well as to cultivating wellness and kindness. Come on in and meet Ariel, the founder who is spearheading a comfort movement across North America.

Top takeaways from today’s episode:

You know you have a good idea when you can’t think of anything else
Asking for help isn’t a weakness–people are happy to give you their time
PR is important
Look for consumer feedback when making decisions–especially about product extensions
Being a founder can be chaotic and lonely. Keep a community around you to stay focused

Quotes

• “I was 100% positive that this was a great idea. I felt it in my bones. I could not shake it.” (10:54-11:00 | Ariel)

• “The response that we got from the customer was the indicator for me that we were onto something…It was just this, “ I see you,’ moment.” (24:51-25:09 | Ariel)

• “As someone who has a background in building relationships with the customer, the whole idea around Parachute was, ‘How do you build a relationship with the customer so that they keep coming back?’... I knew that retail had to be a big part of it.” (28:12-28:46 | Ariel)

Connect with Ariel Kaye:

Instagram Ariel | https://www.instagram.com/arielkaye/

Instagram Parachute | http://www.instagram.com/parachute

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Dear Founder, as you know, there's no blueprint for entrepreneurship. You wear so many hats,
0:08.4	you burn the men'side oil, you pour your heart and soul into everything that you do. But without
0:13.4	a doubt, the journey is worth every single second that you put into it. I'm Lindsay Pinchuk,
0:19.4	host of the Dear Founder podcast. I say this because I've
0:22.7	lived it for over a decade. I started my first company with $500 in my pocket and a baby in my belly.
0:29.3	I grew it and I sold it all. This podcast is my weekly letter to you. We'll talk all things
0:35.6	starting, growing, nurturing, and in some cases, even
0:39.2	selling a business. Together with some of my closest contacts, I'm here to help you find your
0:44.2	own success, whatever that means to you. The ride as a founder is the ride of your life. So come on
0:50.2	and join me for another episode that will get you one step closer to reaching your own
0:54.6	founder goals.
0:56.7	Welcome back to another episode of Dear Founder.
1:00.5	Today's guest saw an issue among her peers, like so many entrepreneurs.
1:05.4	Basically, no one could find good quality, cozy sheets for their new apartments post-college. And so she sought to
1:13.3	change the industry. And she did. Nine years and $150 million in revenue later,
1:21.8	RELK, founder of Parachute, has disrupted the home and textile industry. I cannot wait to share her story with you.
1:29.5	But before we get into today's episode, I'm your host, Lindsay Pinchuk, and I've been building
1:34.4	brands for nearly 25 years. With just a $500 investment, I founded, built, and sold a seven-figure
1:41.0	business that reached three million people per month. This podcast is my twice
1:45.5	weekly letter to you to inspire you to find success through your own entrepreneurial endeavors.
1:51.9	This podcast is the show I wanted 13 years ago when I myself became a female founder accidentally.
1:59.2	So if there's anything that you want to hear about or anything
	...

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