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Chelsea Parke, Founder of Parke - A Gen Z Brand Built Around Community
Season 1, Ep. 20
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In this episode of More to Say, host Amber Venz Box sits down with Chelsea Parke, founder of the beloved Gen Z cozies brand, Parke, to talk about the unconventional path she took from creative spirit to founder. Chelsea shares how she started Parke not as a creator, but as a person deeply passionate about connection and comfort and how that authenticity has fueled a brand that now sees 7+ hour pop-up lines and over $16M in annual sales.
Chelsea shares how her approach to creator marketing is rooted in community and trust, the importance of meeting your community in real life and the strategy behind Parke’s exclusive product launches. She also gets personal, opening up about protecting her energy, staying present, and the underrated power of being kind.
If you're an emerging founder, creator, or just someone chasing a passion, you'll want to hear this.
WE DISCUSS:
- (04:05): Getting to know Chelsea and her journey to founding Parke.
- (15:15): Building a community-driven brand - never running a paid ad for Parke.
- (16:51): How Parke became a social phenomenon among Gen Z and college campuses across the nation.
- (23:15): Parke pop-up success: Behind the strategy resulting in 7 hour lines around the block.
- (28:30): Chelsea’s DTC strategy and importance of keeping Parke exclusive to its community.
- (37:35): Future of the creator economy for emerging brands: Storytelling and building community are key to being successful.
- (38:40): Chelsea on scaling Parke to a $16M+ business.
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