YouSaid · the spoken record

Ariel Kaye

lines on the record: 92
first: 2024-02-05
most recent: 2024-02-05
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Yeah, I mean, the questions I kept getting were why don't you have someone doing this with you? And I can't invest unless there's a technical co-founder or a technical partner.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, there was. I mean, for some more than others, I mean, I got a lot of, oh, let me talk to my wife about this. Oh, I never bought sheets before. People buy sheets. I'm like, well, do you sleep on sheets? I think you might. So yes, people are buying them. You know, I was a soul founder. So like there was. There are a lot of questions about why you have anyone doing this with you. Right.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, I would say you spend a third of your life in bed. There is no brand in this category. I'm going to build a home brand for today's modern shopper. And 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. And these are the products that you touch and use every day. This is like this is special. And no one wanted to give me money.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“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.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Which is where I grew up. And so I came back to LA and I was like, okay, now I need to raise money because I don't have any money and I can't actually buy this inventory and companies with good ideas raise money. Like that's what they do. They go talk to an investor and investor is like, yes, this is a great idea. Here's the money. And so I started to get some introductions.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Good old, like, true thread count because that is actually the best quality. I wasn't going to use any toxic chemicals artificial dizer synthetic finishes. And then I had this idea that I wanted to create a more polished clean modern pillowcase. So normally pillowcases have the side opening, which leaves this flap of fabric and the pillow can kind of move within the pillowcase and that always bothered me. So I decided to create a back envelope pillowcase. I'm not the inventor of a back envelope pillowcase, but it's something that you saw more used for like shams. And so that was those were some of the differentiators.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Coca-Cola. Yeah, so I mean, there were a few different things. So, one was being able to package a set without the top sheet. So that was one differentiator. The other was my knowledge of thread count. So I was going to just go with”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, by the way, I work with many of these factories now. And let me tell you, they love to remind me of how ridiculous I was in that first meeting and how little and how they cannot believe that parachute is actually a real company and that they most definitely laughed at me and thought that I was ridiculous and never thought that they were going to hear from me again. And it comes up every time we talk”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, so there were probably two. But, you know, I had to pay up front with the PO. You know, it wasn't like they were like going to talk about payment terms or, you know, it was like, okay, give us money and we will make you some sheets.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, and they're like, why are you doing this? What's the top sheet? It's not a European way of sleeping. So there were certain things, and I was like, and I don't want to talk about thread count because I know that thread count isn't what matters. And so they were intrigued by my desire to package products differently and to create an option for a top sheet instead of a mandatory shop sheet. So we did have a nice rapport.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. And so then you're making your bed. It's an extra step. For me, it was not. It was not the vibe. So, you know, I found myself when I was living in York, as I bought sheets, I had this like stack of top sheets that were in my closet. And I realized I was paying for that material because you're paying for the set. So, you know, I had this idea that I was going to go and create this new way of buying bedding. And my point here is that when I went to Europe and visiting these factories and I said, I want to sell a new type of set, they were like, yes, yes, finally.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, and then in the morning, no matter what, no matter how... You sleep. That fitted sheet is curled up in a ball at the bottom of the bed.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Okay, so, but one of the things that I learned is that about 40% of people do not use a top sheet. And so I was like, huh, this is just another opportunity for me to do something different and better. And then if you go to Europe, they don't use a top sheet.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I wanted to create the first bedding brand that wasn't just sold as sets. Because if you went to any big box retailer, you could buy a pillowcase, but beyond that, you're buying a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and two pillowcases. And I personally don't use a top sheet. I know that that's a very triggering statement for people.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“At that point, I was like, there's nothing that's going to stop me. I'm going to figure out 15 factories to visit. I know I'm going to go to Portugal and Italy because these are the places where there's heritage, there's factories that have been around for 100 plus years. This is where I can tell that quality story. And it's going to be great. I mean, I was just so excited. You know, I think there's like this, I can hear it now. Yeah. I mean, I was so excited and I maybe was slightly ill-prepared because I just was like, I'm going to figure this out. And I also had this idea.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, this is Eddie's friend, and they had done some business together, and so he was helping me set meetings up, and he had offered to drive me through these countries.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I emailed them and then I had this our friend Arthur in Paris who was able to call some of these factories. He had some contacts.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, you know, I think probably more people should have said that. I mean, I felt there was a moment where I started telling people that I was going to do this. Not because I had so much confidence. It was more like I wanted to hold myself accountable. You know, I was like, if I put this out in the world and I say I'm going to do this, then people are going to check in with me and they're going to say, how's that going exactly? And I'm going to be like, well, but yeah, so I was fully consumed. And in March, I went on this trip to Europe.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So I felt like in order to build trust, I had to prove that this was a quality product. And some of that came from my experience in advertising. You know, it's like there's very fundamental things that you need to do to get people excited about a product. And trust is one of them. And, you know, it also was looking at these successful D2C brands. creating premium quality products at a more accessible price by going directly to the factories. And so I was like, surely I can go to Italy and find a factory. And if I'm going to sell it online, I can cut out all of these markups and all of the pricing inflation things that happen. And I can just celebrate product for less.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Guy, I'm Damila from To Georgia, one of my favorite episodes of how Built this has to be RJ Scringe of Rivian What an inspiring and mind blowing story. He was such a visionary from the get-go, always laser focused on his bold dream, and His journey is a powerful testament of what happens when we identify our life's purpose and then we pursue it with every ounce of our soul. It's definitely inspired me to not only dream big, but also chase my dreams with every ounce of my being.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“All of a sudden believed him. I was like, You're right, I'm a founder. And I remember calling my parents saying, I'm going to found a company and I'm going to be the CEO of this company. And my parents, I think, fell off their chair.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He was a friend that I had met in New York through the startup world, and he had started many different companies and he was like, yes, this is a great idea. But I will say at the time, I also was like, this is a great idea, but like, who's going to do it? You know, like I had this idea, but it hadn't really dawned on me that I could be the founder. And my friend looked at me and he said, you are a founder. I said, what? No, I'm not. What do you mean? And he said, I've never said this to anyone else, but you are a founder and you are going to start this business and you are going to be the CEO. And, you know, sometimes there are these moments that are so transformative. And this is one of them for me because he saw something in me that I did not see in myself. And I...”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Know, I started having conversations with a friend of mine who is very much involved in my business today and sits on my board. And he's a serial entrepreneur. Eddie”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And brands got in trouble with that in the past. But what happens is it's actually not softer. It's coarser to the touch and it's thicker. And so the way that they compensate for that is by using synthetic finishes.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And it's not true. Let me explain it to you. Please. Yes. So anything over 300 is a result of manipulation of the fabric. So 300 is that number. It is the square inch. That's how many weaves. But about... I don't know, maybe 20 years ago, 15 years ago Ferra launched high thread count sheets. They created a fiber that was extremely thin, that allowed them to create a higher thread count. And the rest of the world saw this and said, oh my gosh, we need higher thread count. However, they didn't have that fiber. So in order to get that higher thread count, they would double weave, triple weave, they would fold the threads together to create this extremely high number. Now, mind you, there is no regulation at all. So you could literally say any number.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Right. And then I realized a thread count was a marketing gimmick. And so it was just like as I dug deeper, I was like, oh my gosh, this is a $30 billion market with these products that had no name. There was marketing gimmicks like Threadcount, which have no indication of quality whatsoever.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so this is really end of 2012. And so I started talking to friends and asking people what sheets they slept on and what sheets they had on their bed. And no one could name a single brand.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's so important. You know, you spend a third of your life in bed. Sleep impacts everything. It impacts your health, your productivity, your happiness. It's intimate. It's cozy. Yet here we are buying no-name products wrapped in plastic. Many of them have toxic chemicals, synthetic finishes formaldehyde coatings. Like, I mean, it was unreal to me. I thought this could be life changing for the customer. Like this is not just. Another thing that I buy because I need to. I mean, you need to, but maybe you even want to.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, I would say Warby Parker and Everlane were two of the companies where I was just like, huh, so smart. And so I started to think more critically about directing consumer because, you know, this was at a time, and this continued for many years where it was like you could, the warby Parker for the X, the Warby Parker for anything. People were trying to make the D2C model work for... Truly any product that existed. And, you know, one day I was walking through Bedbath and Beyond. And I looked around and said, what is going on here? There are Florida ceilings stacked products under fluorescent lights in plastic packaging. Why am I buying this? Like this is what I'm buying. This is what I've been buying for years. So I looked at the home and I thought, you know, hmm, your bed.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so I mean, this was, we're now in 2012. In the middle of 2012, I decided that by the end of the year, I wanted to figure out what my next move was. And I had this idea that if I could merge my interest in home and design and in building brands, there could be this convergence of my interests. And together, I would find, I would be me. It would be perfect. And so, you know, again, we're in 2012, and the D2C world was just starting to really become significant. There was, you know, Warby Parker and Everlane and brands that were so inspiring to me, you know, here they were creating this new vocabulary around cutting out the middleman and going direct to consumer and quality at an accessible price. I was just blown away by this concept. Originally, just as a consumer.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, no, no, no. I wanted to join a startup. I had this idea that I wanted to join a startup that was someone in its infancy stages. Like I wanted to be at a company that Was figuring it out. I wanted to be part of figuring it out. I never thought I was going to start a company. That wasn't part of my I didn't think that was part of my DNA. I didn't think that I was that person.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, I was, and then I wasn't. I think over the years, it became harder. There was a lot of turnover. And I started looking around and realizing that I at one point thought that, you know, my goal would be to climb this corporate ladder and to be at the top of this agency. And then one day I said no, that's not what I want. And I was watching friends join startups and start their own companies. And I was seeing this passion and this fire and desire to work all night long.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I presented on a little thing called Bitcoin that at the time was worth five cents. And stuff like that, which at the time I could have put a few bucks behind it. Become a multi-billion and become a multi-billionaire. I did not. So that's a fun lesson.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So at Digitas, I was really identified as the millennial advocate. It was my job to understand what millennials were interested in, what they were inspired by, how to get them involved in brands, how to speak to them. And it was really fun. I mean, I loved it. It was so intuitive because I am a millennial. And I also got a sense of what was really happening on this growing startup world, both in New York and across the country. I famously love to run myself that I worked on American Express in the membership awards program. And I was in charge of sharing a project about alternative currencies as we were thinking about how to talk about membership rewards as a real value proposition.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think it was really when I got this first apartment in New York City. You know, I went out and designed it myself and friends would always come over and be like, this looks so great. And, you know, and it wasn't fancy. It was just, I think the way that I pulled it together and the way that I just had this eye for it. And at that point, I also, it felt too late to go and learn how to be an interior designer. So it was just going to be one of these things that I did on the side for fun as I continued to. Study media in grad school”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“2006-7 ish, so very early days of blogs and, you know, started getting some comments on the blog and I got some of my project featured on much more prominent blogs. And it was fun.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, I always have loved home and design. I grew up in a house that was always the house that was hosting friends. And that desire to host and create a welcoming environment just really stuck with me. And so when I got my first apartment in New York, which is such an exciting moment, I took a lot of pride in that space and I was constantly decorating and redecorating and doing DIY projects. I started to document them on this blog while I was in grad school because I had some time. And I started helping friends decorate their apartments. I had a sister who was working in the government at the time and was moving to a new city every year. And so I, you know, go set up her apartment for her. And I just was really enjoying this art of creating beautiful spaces. And I just put it together on a blog. I mean, this was.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, no, no. I was not thinking that. However, I just was blown away by architecture and art and the people that I would meet who were makers and had been, you know, doing their craft for centuries and had been passed on from generation to generation. And I found myself just thinking about how cool everything was and how beautiful everything was. even the most simplest products like a napkin or a bedsheet were made with such attention to detail and pride. And you could feel it. You could taste it in the wine. You could taste it in the olive oil. You know, it was just this real... I mean, it was so cool for me at that age to just be exposed and dive into this different type of lifestyle.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And singing every Disney song with my daughter at the top of our lungs. I mean, music is still a part of my life. It's just in a much Less professional capacity”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, well, thanks. Change your name. I know. And you better believe that my daughter has a name that I think could be a stage name. But I think I quickly realized that that really wasn't going to be my path. And once I got to college and thought about music as a major, I realized that I was good, but I was not excellent. And so I pivoted away from music as part of academia and just continued my music as a passion.”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And 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 like, this is special. And no one wanted to give me money”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I went with my pitch deck. I went with some pillowcases. I had a Mary Poppins box of fabrics. I mean, I was, I felt like a traveling saleswoman”
2024-02-05 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Parachute Home: Ariel Kaye · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT