Advice Line with Ariel Kaye of Parachute Home (August 2024)

25:51So that's when the light bulb went off and I said, why aren't we doing this for kids? Like, why aren't there tools? Why aren't schools doing this? Like, why are we not teaching such a simple thing to these children? So that's really what was the inspiration behind all of this. Obviously, and just I think we all agree that we were, you know, like postpartum depression and certain types of depression can be serious and sort of chemically driven and affirmations or meditation or exercise alone don't always help. But for many, many people, they can be transformational. And here's the thing. There are going to be people who hear this, and I'm sure you've come across this too, Deanna, who are like, oh, that's all hokey and that's all nonsense.

26:39But the thing is, is that affirmations, I've come around on this. They really do work. And I'm, you know, I'm about to hit 50. So it's taken me a while. But like, and also things like just meditation, they do really work. There is a physical, like, physiological, like, like exercise, they really do work. And so it's interesting that, you know, to take this approach, basically to get kids to say, I am strong, to look in the mirror just to say that every day. I mean, this is like goes back to like Zig Ziglar, like these guys, you know, or the power of positive thinking, Norman Vincent Peale, like all these people who had these like tapes in the 50s and 60s.

27:22They were basically saying, you know, repeat an affirmation or mantra. Right. So there's something to that. Are we all questions for Deanna? Well, I just think it's amazing what you've created. And as a mom of two young kids who is constantly thinking about the social emotional development of their children and just how to support them and how to give them the tools, I think that there is such an opportunity for this product. And I think that it's incredible what you've created. Thank you so much. Not a question, but a comment. You know, I have some ideas. I'm not sure we're ready to dive in. I'll take all of them.

28:00Yeah, we are. Yeah, about how to get this into gift guides and press places. And Arielle, you did this early on. Yes. You got to the right editors with your products, which proved to be transformational for the business. My first job out of college was in PR, and I really do believe in the power of press. And I think that you're early on enough in this journey where you haven't had this big launch moment in the press. And I think, you know, just this, the whole mom influencer world has exploded over the past few years. I think especially throughout COVID as moms were struggling with how to take care of their children and to support through a really challenging time.

28:42You know, I hear you that, you know, budget is very tight and that there's not a lot of opportunity to invest. I do think that there's a few things that you can do, especially quickly in order to take advantage of this holiday season. which editors are already starting to work on. I think there are freelancers who will work on a fee per placement deal, so you don't have to pay them. Most of those people have come from agencies and have really strong relationships. And so that's one route. I do think that for gift guides in specific, affiliate is sort of king these days. A lot of these publications are leveraging the affiliate commissions in order to just as like a bare requirement for inclusion.

29:31And so there are affiliate programs and networks. There's one called ShareASale that you can partner with. And then you work with a sub-affiliate network like Skimlinks. skim links and you can set commissions and then pitch different publishers through those platforms. Oh, amazing. And that doesn't require a lot of upfront investment. And during the holidays, people generally set a higher commission because it's so competitive, but that's really how many publishers are making real money. So a 15 % or even a 20 % commission really puts you on their radar. But for gift guides, which I agree is such an like could be such a huge visibility moment for you.

30:17I think it's a it's a really great opportunity and one that you should dig into. Thank you so much. Thank you. That's incredible. I also think that you will be surprised at how many people will respond to you if you reach out to them. I mean, I know that as you say, Arielle, you know, mommy bloggers and influencers are huge. I have a kids podcast that I do, and we've for years have worked with different influencers to get the word out about Wow in the World. I think that you'd be surprised and delighted at how many people respond to you, especially the ones that are focused on social emotional learning.

30:56And so I would just start cold reaching out to some of them to see if they're interested in just getting one. I mean, I think that you're going to the investment you're going to have to make is giving some away. Yeah, I do a lot of that. I will be honest about that. That's kind of what I've thought is like, you know, that's the leverage I have is inventory. And sometimes it is a little bit painful to just be shipping it out all the time. But yeah, I have gotten a lot of great user generated content and people posting about it and really like following me on social media. But I don't, maybe I'm impatient.

31:32I'm just not seeing the traction that I expected like midway. through my first year. And I think, you know, I have this huge vision and I just want to make such a big impact. And I'm like, am I going to get there? Like, I feel like I'm snailing there. One of the other ideas that came to me is, you know, have you tried reaching out to other brands to do, whether it's a co-marketing giveaway or put, you know, a flyer with a discount code and boxes, other kind of developmentally focused toys. I can think of quite a few of them. You know, not everyone is on board for that, but a lot of people are excited to surprise and delight their customers and create some sort of added value.

32:21And that can be an effective strategy is just like a note card with a discount code. A lot of those happen before the holidays because people are looking to build their email list and giveaways are usually an effective way to do that. So trying to tap into other giveaways or reach out to brands and say, are you doing a giveaway? I'd love to be part of it. No, that's a great idea. And I just actually did one this week for back to school with a bunch of different similarly aligned brands. And it, it was very successful. And I think it's something I definitely want to continue to do because I definitely see the value there.

32:59You could do one every month. I mean, you know, I think at some point you could, you know, you might want to dial it back to quarterly, but, you know, there was a period of time where we tried to do those every month because it was the quickest and easiest way for us to grow our follower count, whether it was on social media or our email list. Yeah, that's great advice. Thank you. Dan, I'm looking at your website and I see that you've got an affiliate program and you've got this thing called educational partnerships. But what could be interesting to do here is to kind of make it easy for parents and grandparents to gift these to classrooms because this is something that you – right?

33:34I mean it's something that would be – you can imagine – I'm just throwing – just kind of spitballing, but like a Montessori school, for example. Like a lot of – and a lot of sort of kindergarten, first-grade classrooms, you can imagine this just hanging in that room. And so is there a way to create a gifting, like gift this to your kid's classroom or to a school or whatever? I actually love that idea so much, and it's something I never thought of, so I'm so happy you just said it. Awesome. I am in some schools, but I'm a former teacher, and the success I've had in getting into schools is all through people I know.

34:12Because I'll call anyone. Like, I have no shame. I'll do it. but I'm having trouble getting into schools where people don't know me. But that's a really amazing and crafty way to get into schools. If the parents and grandparents, they paid value here, teacher, decorate your classroom. I love that. I also love the idea of reaching out to, you know, whether it's occupational therapists or baby groups. I was part of a baby group for both of my kids. and whether, again, it's by offering a discount code or some sort of incentive for those groups. But there's baby groups everywhere. Yes. And you could even focus on just a few specific markets and see how they convert.

34:56I mean, there's Facebook groups. There's listservs. I mean, there's so many mommy-centric. It's almost like 2024, it's like so much. It's like you don't even know where to start, which is a good problem to have. But it's a lot. It's oversaturated. It is, but it's a captivative audience. And I think if you're providing a real product that's going to help you connect with your child or, you know, just help them through a challenging moment or give them tools that are going to be beneficial, I mean, we'll pay anything for that. You know, as a mom, you're willing to do anything to help your kid have those tools to succeed.

35:36I'm always fascinated by how few people do this. because I get pitched, you can't imagine how much stuff I get. I mean, I don't even read it, right? I have multiple, you know, just this is my official pitch right now. I just get endlessly pitched, right? So, so I don't even see them because it just becomes a blur. They're just it's 1000s of them a week. But what's surprising is when I do kind of dive into them, 99 % of them are not relevant to what we do on how I built this. It's like, hey, my client, you know, just wrote a book about how to how to get the most out of your Bitcoin, you know, investment.

36:14And I'm like, great. When have you heard that on how I built? Yeah, never. And so I'm I think that that somebody like you, especially given that you know, you don't have the cash to work with a PR rep, do something simple, go buy a bunch of magazines, buy all the magazines that you like and all the places that have gift guides and just read them and look at the bylines and just try and find out who is writing about like kids stuff right who's like who is the reporter you'll be surprised when you target somebody and you say i know that you work on this and i follow your writing and i'd love for you to take a look at this when you when you respect them enough to say i've been following what you do and i'm targeting you specifically because i like what you do, you'd be surprised how many of them will respond.

37:01Yeah, no, that's great advice. And I've done a lot of cold reaching out on LinkedIn. But when you say it like that, maybe I've been framing it the wrong way. I also think on DM and on Instagram, I mean, I've had collaborations come to fruition based on someone reaching out to me on Instagram. And I got really excited about the opportunity and it manifested into an actual collaboration that, you know, was out in the world. Can I ask you a question about that? Yeah. Because I think about that often and I'm always sliding into the DMs, but when it comes to other brands that are like a lot more established than I am, like I'm a little insecure about like when they see my social following, are they just going to not take me seriously because of the amount of followers I have?

37:53Or do you actually, as a founder of like a big brand and company, sometimes look more into like what the product is and the integrity of it? Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, there's, there's a time and a place for both. You know, there's, there are moments where we say, Hey, we need to find someone and a partner with someone that has a huge distribution. Cause that's what we need. And there are other times where we're, you know, let's curate stuff that we really love, that we know other customers are going to love and that are in line with our values. And I would say it's a range, but it definitely doesn't hurt to ask.

38:26And, you know, I would try to shake off any kind of insecurity around, you know, your follower count and really focus on the value that you've created with this product and leverage your testimonials too. You know, I think people love to hear those stories. I mean, reach out to your customers and ask if they'll make a video for you that you can share. You know, I think there's a lot of opportunity in just getting those stories out. Right. No, thank you so much. Awesome. The product is called the Mindset Tapestry. Deanna Dandino, thanks so much for calling in. Good luck. Thank you so much. Thank you.

39:06Awesome. Do you ever do that? I mean, this is a little personal question, but do you ever do affirmations? Yeah. No, I, yes, I do. And I do them with my kids too. I mean, it's part of our bedtime routine, you know, and I, you know, my daughter and I do them together, you know, when she's, yeah, when she's having a tough moment, you know, we look at each other, we, you know, we both say, you know, we're strong. Like, you know, we say it together. We, you know, I think it's, I think it's really powerful, like manifesting and, you know, visualizing and repeating. It's real. Yeah. These mantras can really transform.

39:44I mean, I have a gratitude journal practice. It's quite similar to an affirmation practice. And I find even if you find yourself affirming the same things every day, at some point, it really starts to seep in and become part of your identity and who you are. It's actually amazing how something as simple as expressing gratitude is so effective when I'm feeling just like frustrated or mad. I'm just like, and oftentimes my wife and she's like, hey, can you stop and just think about all of the things that you have in your life, your kids and me? And I stop and I do it and I'm like, wow, yeah, you're right.

40:25Like, yeah, you're right. None of that matters. Like this thing is just a distraction. I don't know why I'm all tied up in knots about it. It's so crazy. And I know there are people I've talked to people and like, you know, it's it's eye rolly stuff. But I'm like, hey, roll your eyes all you want. Let us do the gratitude practice and watch because it's actually really powerful. It works. I try to write three things that I'm grateful for and three things that I love about myself. And some days, you know, I can't think of a single thing. So I just write whatever I wrote the night before. But I find that's, you know, ending my day with that moment.

41:02It takes 30 seconds. You know, it's such a short practice, but one that if you do it with consistency, it really can completely transform your spirit, I think. Yeah. All right, we're going to take another quick break, but we'll be right back. We'll talk to another founder working to take their business to the next level. That's after the break. I'm Guy Raz, and you're listening to The Advice Line right here on How I Built This Lab.

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43:42Individual responses may vary.

43:52Welcome back to the advice line on how I built this lab. I'm Guy Raz. All right, let's bring in our last caller. Hello, caller. Welcome to the advice line. You are on with me and with Ariel Kay. Hey, y 'all. How you doing? Hello. Hello. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. Tell us where you're calling from and just very briefly about your business. My name is Megan and I'm calling from 30A. It's in the panhandle of Florida. My business is Palm Folly, and it's a hard seltzer craft brewery. Got it. Okay, and what's your question for us today? So I hate my question, but I hate it because I have to ask it.

44:27I really love y 'all's advice on being a female business owner and just some of the bias that exists in the world towards female founders and especially my area that's super male-dominated. Got it. Okay, we'll get to your question in a moment. So let's talk about your products. So this is a hard seltzer. That's what you're making. Yes, but it's not like anything else on the market. It's super unique. Yeah, tell me about it. Yeah, it's sort of beer adjacent, but better for you. Almost like an American fruit beer, but gluten-free and truly a hard seltzer. We brew with fruit purees instead of a grain like a beer would have, but it's brewed in the process almost identical to beer.

45:06So the idea has been to kind of take what's existed in the hard seltzer market, which is largely soda water and vodka or a cheap alcohol or malt-based. And flavoring. Yeah, and flavoring extracts and just kind of usher it into a craft brewed market. Sort of what happened in beer about 14 years ago or more, where all we had were these domestic beers and then the craft market kind of exploded. That's awesome. How did you get into this business? Well, lived in Fort Collins, Colorado for about six years and just love the brewing industry. Fort Collins, home of Fat Tire and some great beers. Yeah. New Belgium is just my idol.

45:48Love and obsess over them. And so I just love that brewing is often collaborative. Brewers are family-friendly spaces. They're positive. They're happy. It's not a bar environment, you know? So when we moved down here about three years ago, I just was looking at what my next 20 years was going to be. You know, my kids are getting older and wanted to have my own business. And so I decided it was going to be a brewery. And when I started looking at beer styles, you know, I eat gluten-free and I try to not, you know, make myself bloated. You know, we're on the beach. It's a beach community. So I was like, what could we do that was a better for you beverage?

46:27And so often people here are reaching for the hard seltzer for that, lower calorie, lower carbs, all those things, but they're just not great products, a lot of them. So it just all kind of pivoted from brewing beer to brewing seltzer. And you mentioned, you said we, is it you and presumably somebody else who's part of the we, are you running the business on your own or with somebody else? It is the royal we of me. You know, I so often say that. No, it's really me. I do that too. I'm a one-woman show, but I do have a head brewer who's my right-hand man, and then I do everything else. So you have, just to be clear, you have a restaurant or a bar already in Florida that you run?

47:13A brewery. Okay. Yeah. And do you sell the hard seltzer there? We do. So we're on draft at about 60 restaurant locations here in the Panhandle and in a couple locations in Alabama around Fairhope. Ultimately, scale would be fantastic and fun, and it'd be really cool to be a national brand, but it's so complicated. And so you are – just before we get to your question, because it's about navigating bias, right? especially in this industry as a woman brewer, you are looking for capital. You're looking to raise money right now? Yeah. So this is where the caveat comes in. I mean, I've probably sat down and met with, I'll be conservative and say 10 different people about investing.

48:06And every single investor has been a man. I've tried to get bank loans, especially at the beginning. I was trying to get an SBA loan to get this off the ground and then just construction loans. Every interaction is with a male, you know. And I just, I didn't ever really foresee a problem until one day I was talking to my husband on the phone. And I was like, I had just talked to another investor. And I was like, I just don't know that this is going to come to closure. And he was like, you know, maybe you just need me to field the calls. And you tell me what you want said in all of this. And he was like, I'm just wondering if they're talking to a woman and not a man.

48:48And it never really crossed my mind. And I literally had to hang up the phone with him. It made me so frustrated and upset. And I'm dying to hear your perspective on it all. I've got a lot of things to say. It might be my part of the country I live in, too. I mean, it's the South. And then also I see all these groups of we're in a very entrepreneurial community. There's almost no national chains that exist here. And I see all these collaborative business meetings happening, you know, on the golf course or all these different things. You know, it's it is a bit of a man's world. And I'll just pause there.

49:26I'm dying to hear what you have to say, Ariel. Well, I mean, look, less than two percent of funding goes to women. So that's just a fact. And we can all agree that that's what is happening in the industry and has continued to happen. I think that you are a female entrepreneur and that's not going to change. And what you're building, it sounds amazing. It sounds like a product that I'd love to drink and something that is innovative in the space. And I think the opportunity is that you are a woman because this is a male dominated space. And despite women being drinkers, you know, a lot of the marketing and a lot of the positioning goes to men.

50:07And so I think that you actually should use the fact that you are a woman and you're a consumer, you know, that's that you can understand this audience and the opportunity so authentically. I think that's like, that's part of your superpower. You know, many of the people that are in those boardrooms and making decisions on how to market alcoholic products, they don't have that intuitive sense of how to speak to a customer like us. And that should be part of how you communicate to investors. You can tell the story of your product better than anyone else and the fact that you are at the helm and leading this.

50:50Yeah, I agree. It seems like you mentioned you spent time in Fort Collins and I keep thinking about Kim Jordan who founded New Belgium and she was on our show a few years ago and an amazing founder and sold that business and a great brand. But yeah, I mean, I think that the statistics are clear. I mean, this is an industry, whether it's beer or wine. I mean, right now I'm in Sonoma County, California, dominated by men. That being said, I mean, it sounds like you have had a lot of traction with the product. And - I have. So despite the challenges that you will face and that you have faced, you know, at the end of the day, the product is going to speak for itself.

51:36Like what you make and what you offer is going to win the day. I 100 % agree. You know, having that product to show investors and, you know, having people come to your taproom and try the product there. I think that, again, like the marketing opportunity and this category, which, you know, seems to be exploding right now. There's just so much potential. Yeah. I'm curious, Arielle, and this I think hopefully will be useful for Megan. And, you know, when you started this brand, you know, we're talking now more than 10 years ago, you were inexperienced, you were younger. And I remember when we talked when you're on the show, you expressed that you had some, you know, days where you would kind of show up to pitch meetings and try to be something, you know, and when you were kind of more aggressive and assertive, you found that people responded to you differently.

52:38Now, 10, 11 years into the brand, you are the leader. You're a CEO. You're respected. And so with that comes confidence, right? How long do you feel it took you to get to that place? I mean, it's an ever-evolving journey. But I do think that as you have more product market fit, the brand starts to speak for itself. So you become the voice of the brand. But you're using numbers. You're using data points. You're using anecdotes. you're able to speak to the opportunity in such a different way than when you're just getting off the ground. You know, you have, even though it's, it's still new, you have two and a half, three years of, of a product that has become popular within your community, you know, a place that is a gathering center, you know, so I think having that passion for what you're building mixed with the real information that this is a product that people want, and that would have great appeal on the shelves and, you know, just is going to require some capital to take it from point A to point B is a story that people want to hear about.

53:41And I think, you know, you're looking for the right partner. So for someone who's going to understand, you know, I think for me, that was also a great way to weed out people that I didn't want to work with. And, you know, you mentioned that too, that some of these people that have talked to you about potential investments, you wouldn't want to work with anyway. And that's a really great bit of information. And so, you know, if someone is hung up on the fact that you're a woman. I mean, it's not their journey. Like they don't get to benefit from this ride. Totally. It just, it feels like a very different journey for women.

54:14And, um, I feel like I shouldn't have been blindsided by that, but somehow I just thought maybe I wouldn't ever have to face that. And it's really been surprising. It is. And I think also So the sooner that you can let it go, the better. Because you're right. There's a lot of golf course bro chats and deals done in that way. And so be it. That's not going away. But you've created a product that people love. And so that's so much more than most people can say. And what you've been able to do in a short amount of time is really impressive. And so I think that just focusing on that and putting your blinders up to the rest is the best possible path forward.

55:05Indeed. I agree. Megan Easterhouse, the brand is called Palm Folly. Thanks so much for calling in the advice line and good luck. Thanks, y 'all. Such a privilege. All right. Arielle, I'm wondering when you – if you were to go back to you in 2013 now and give her advice and not advice like, hey, it's going to be okay. I've got a crystal ball. You're going to be fine. But more like, hey, just focus on this. What would you have said to yourself? Oh, that's a great question. I mean, I think that for me, looking back, just always being true to who we were at our core. I think it's just, there's so many bright, shiny objects.

55:47And we talked about testing earlier in our conversation. Testing is important, trying new things, not being too risk-averse, but also just always coming back to that core and never losing sight of who you are at your core and why people fall in love with the brand to begin with. And I think that we've done a pretty good job at that, but there are instances and moments that I'm like, oh, we could have done that better. and so I think just like really really going back to those mantras and those you know affirmations like who are you as a brand yeah and making sure that that is your north star from now until forever amazing Arielle Kay founder of Parachute Home thanks so much for coming back onto the show and for for coming on to the advice line this was so fun thank you and by the way if you haven't heard Arielle's original How I Built This episode, you should go back and check it out.

56:40You can find a link to it in the podcast description. And here's one of my favorite moments from that interview. I went with my pitch deck. I went with some pillowcases. I had like a Mary Poppins box of fabrics. I mean, I was I felt like a traveling saleswoman. And what would you say in the pitch, basically what you're describing to me now? Yeah, I would say you spend a third of your life in bed. There is no brand in this category. I'm going to start with Sheets, but I'm going to build a massive brand. We're going to be a billion-dollar business, and there is no one doing this. This is special, and no one wanted to give me money.

57:17Thanks so much for listening to the show this week. Please make sure to check out my newsletter. You can sign up for it for free at GuyRoz.com or on Substack. Each week, it's packed with tons of insights from entrepreneurs and my own observations and experiences interviewing some of the greatest entrepreneurs ever. And if you're working on a business and you'd like to be on this show, send us a one-minute message that tells us about your business, the issues or questions you'd like help with, and hopefully we can help you with them. And make sure to tell us how to reach you. You can send us a voice memo at hibt at id.wondery.com or call us at 1-800-433-1298 and leave a message there.

58:03And we'll put all this in the podcast description as well. This episode was produced by Carla Estevez with music composed by Ramtina Arablui. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Sina Lafredo. Our production staff also includes Alex Chung, Casey Herman, Chris Massini, Elaine Coates, J.C. Howard, Catherine Seifer, Kerry Thompson, Neva Grant, and Sam Paulson. I'm Guy Raz, and you've been listening to The Advice Line on How I Built This Lab.

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