Summary:
In this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Grace Gill talked with David Baker and Eric Hinson, CEO and COO and co-founders of Parable, a company that preserves family legacies through the creation of documentaries. After starting their careers in different fields, David and Eric both felt that they were not contributing meaningfully to the world. Nearly three years after they had last met in person, the duo got together again and dreamt up Parable and began telling different families’ stories. Now, they enjoy making a difference and fulfilling their passions as they help others preserve their legacies. Throughout the episode, the hosts talked with David and Eric about their pasts that led them to create Parable, what the company does, and what legacy David and Eric hope to leave with Parable.
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Show Notes:
(0:36) Welcome and Introductions
(1:30) The Story of Parable
(17:22) The Process
(20:18) Product Value
(34:31) Looking at Parable’s Future
(37:51) Eric and David’s Legacies
(44:24) Landing the Plane: Advice to Younger Self
Links:
Quotes:
“This seem[ed] like a really good idea, you know, to sit down and interview people. It gets that human side that I’ve been missing, working in products and marketing. And I just saw the power of it.” Eric Hinson, (6:39)
“Parable exists to turn stories into legacies.” David Baker, (16:26)
“People always say…look forward to the goal. But nobody ever thinks to look back to where you’ve come from, and that’s the better way to measure success. How far have you come?” Eric Hinson, (22:28)
“…The product that we provide is a lot more than just capturing the stories. It’s giving everyone a chance to connect in a way that they haven’t ever really connected before.” David Baker, (27:17)
“I think there’s something special to realizing that the people that we come from are human also. They become sort of mythical… in negative or positive ways over time. And they’re not tangible in a way. This is an opportunity to humanize those individuals and hopefully kind of help someone understand how they’re anchored in the world and where they come from.” David Baker, (34:02)
Measuring Success through Significance
In this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Grace Gill talked with David Baker and Eric Hinson, CEO and COO and co-founders of Parable, a company that preserves family legacies through the creation of documentaries. After starting their careers in different fields, David and Eric both felt that they were not contributing meaningfully to the world. Nearly three years after they had last met in person, the duo got together again and dreamt up Parable and began telling different families’ stories. Now, they enjoy making a difference and fulfilling their passions as they help others preserve their legacies. Throughout the episode, the hosts talked with David and Eric about their pasts that led them to create Parable, what the company does, and what legacy David and Eric hope to leave with Parable.
Eric and David’s Stories
The first idea of Parable began when Eric decided to interview his dad and record it after his dad experienced some significant health scares. Eric had been running Explainify, his animated marketing video company, for about nine years and was beginning to feel the nudge to move on to the next thing. However, Eric was also struggling with feeling irrelevant and unimportant and was suffering from panic attacks as a result. After interviewing his dad, Eric realized that many of the problems he faced stemmed from the fact that he had lost touch with the human aspect of entrepreneurship.
David had owned his own agency and was working at RevUnit when he and Eric connected. David, too, was feeling a lack of significance and a feeling of being stuck in his job. In November 2021, David left his career at RevUnit with no plan for the future. Three days later, he ran into Eric. Eventually, the two sat down together and talked about branding ideas and identity for the company until they came up with Parable. David and Eric both believed the work they planned to do was meaningful and could help them use their gifts to connect people with themselves and with each other.
Creating Significance with Parable
“Parable exists to turn stories into legacies.” David Baker, (16:26)
For Parable’s product, David and Eric set up a pre-interview with the family to figure out what information they are hoping to get out of this project. Then, there is a general outline of questions to get the interview started, and from there, the team at Parable lets the questions create themselves so that the story evolves naturally.
The final product that Parable offers customers is a 45-minute documentary containing information, images, videos, stock footage, and music centered around a family member. These documentaries not only tell the story of the family member interviewed, but they also create the context for the rest of the family to understand where they came from and what makes them who they are.
“People always say…look forward to the goal. But nobody ever thinks to look back to where you’ve come from and that’s the better way to measure success. How far have you come?” Eric Hinson, (22:28)
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