Advice Line with Ariel Kaye of Parachute Home (August 2024)
Feb 20, 2025
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Ariel Kaye, founder of Parachute Home, leads an insightful discussion with guests Daen Brown, co-founder of King Brown Pomade, and Deanna Blasi-D, founder of Mindset Tapestry. They tackle smart strategies for brand growth, with Daen seeking investment after a decade of self-funding while navigating the grooming market's challenges. Deanna shares her journey of creating an emotional health tool for children, emphasizing the impact of affirmations and effective marketing strategies. The conversation also highlights women breaking barriers in male-dominated industries.
Ariel Kaye emphasizes the necessity of assessing new product viability through reasonable trial periods to ensure alignment with core offerings.
The podcast highlights the significance of leveraging unique perspectives, particularly for women entrepreneurs, to overcome gender bias and secure funding opportunities.
Kaye advocates for maintaining a flexible risk profile, allowing businesses to adapt and innovate while being comfortable with discomfort during growth.
Deep dives
Building a Successful Brand from Scratch
Arielle Kay, the founder of Parachute Home, shares her journey of launching a home goods brand without prior business experience. Starting in 2013, she drew inspiration from successful direct-to-consumer brands like Warby Parker. Despite having no background in textiles or manufacturing, she identified a niche for affordable luxury bedding and home goods. Over the years, Parachute has grown to offer a wide array of products including bedsheets, towels, and even mattresses, establishing itself as a leader in its category.
Navigating the Challenges of New Product Lines
The podcast discusses the complexities of introducing new product lines in an established brand. Kay shares her experience with experimenting in furniture, which ultimately became a challenge due to logistic issues and insufficient margins. She emphasizes the importance of assessing the viability of new categories by allowing a reasonable trial period to gauge their success. Kay explains the delicate balance of taking risks while also knowing when to refocus on the brand's core offerings that resonate with customers.
The Importance of Embracing Risk
Arielle emphasizes that being a founder often entails accepting a certain level of risk in business decisions. She discusses how it’s essential to remain open to exploring new opportunities while finding the right timing to innovate or introduce new products. Maintaining a flexible risk profile allows a business to adapt and grow, which can lead to unexpected successes. Kay underscores that growth often comes from being comfortable with discomfort in order to push boundaries.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
During the podcast, callers seek advice on how to tackle their unique business challenges. Arielle and host Guy Raz offer insights into finding strategic investments and how to navigate potential pitfalls when launching a new product. They stress that leveraging past experiences and gathering consumer feedback can provide invaluable insights for future business decisions. The conversations highlight the significance of networking and reaching out to mentors or industry professionals for support.
Overcoming Gender Bias in Business
The podcast addresses the serious issue of gender bias that women entrepreneurs face, particularly in male-dominated industries. Arielle discusses the importance of leveraging one's unique perspective as a woman in business as a strength rather than a limitation. The conversation highlights the challenge of securing funding and the frustrations that often arise from such encounters. Ultimately, they suggest focusing on the product's strength and market fit, advocating for women to be proud of their voices and contributions in their respective fields.
Parachute Home founder Ariel Kaye joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three founders on being mindful and strategic in their next expansion steps.
Today, we meet Daen, an entrepreneur in Australia considering investment for his line of men’s grooming products after ten years of self-funding. Then Deanna, a former educator in New Jersey seeking new press for the emotional health tool she designed for children. And Meaghan, a Florida-based hard seltzer maker trying to gut-check biases in her male-dominated industry.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.