Behind Her Empire: How Ariel Kaye Launched Parachute With Zero Experience

Yasmin Nouri

Yasmin is the host of the "Behind Her Empire" podcast, focused on highlighting self-made women leaders and entrepreneurs and how they tackle their career, money, family and life.

Each episode covers their unique hero's journey and what it really takes to build an empire with key lessons learned along the way. The goal of the series is to empower you to see what's possible & inspire you to create financial freedom in your own life.

Ariel Kaye

On this episode of the Behind Her Empire, Ariel Kaye discusses how she went from leaving her successful career to launching her own brand with zero experience.

Today, Kaye is the founder and CEO of Parachute, a direct-to-consumer home essentials brand.


Kaye says that after spending a decade in advertising and brand development, she was yearning to do something more. She always considered herself a home and interior design enthusiast, describing herself as a super consumer of home goods, but she struggled to find a single brand that was affordable, high quality and easy to shop.

That's when she saw a gap in the market and knew she had the perfect skills to create the company she was looking for.

She took some money out of her savings and booked a one-way ticket to Europe in search of a factory. After reviewing 15 factories, she learned about craftsmanship when it came to bedding and sheets, got pricing, and came back home, ready to take on the industry.

"Being good at searching is a real superpower," she said. "Searching and follow up, follow up, follow up."

Kaye says she spent around a year developing the brand, raising small amounts from friends and family, and then launched Parachute in January 2014.

"As a sole founder, I really did feel like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, there was so much pressure, and it was really hard to not have someone that was in the thick of it with me."

In this episode of the Behind Her Empire podcast, Kaye talks about the "aha" moment when she realized she had to leave her successful career to start her company, the benefits that come with being a first-time entrepreneur in an industry where you have zero experience, how she built a strong foundation with her customers and brand from day one, and so much more.

Kaye also talks about the initial steps she took to launch Parachute — finding a factory and learning about supply chains, as well as using loans from friends and family to fund her business — and why she became a big proponent of taking breaks from work.

dot.LA Audience Engagement Editor Luis Gomez contributed to this post.

Want to hear more of the Behind Her Empire podcast? Subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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