This week, as the last episode in our mini-series featuring the founders of Parfait,  Co-Founder and CMO, Simone Kendle dives into the importance of understanding the customer experience and the product development process. She also discusses the decision to rebrand the company from “Hair Intelligence” to “Parfait” saying “And we really decided that at that point, we wanted to redefine a word for ourselves. And that's where Parfait comes in, right? The word literally has AI in it.”

Simone also emphasizes her appreciation for having co-founders, Isoken Igbinedion and Ifueko Igbinedion, who have complementary skill sets and how they all fit together to shape the direction of the company. As an operations manager by trade turned stylist and founder of two hair businesses prior to launching Parfait, Simone credits community support and the commitment to her entrepreneurial passion as the guiding principles of the brand’s success. 

Follow @simonekendle, @my.parfait or visit https://myparfait.com/!

In the spring of 2021, Simone was approached by Iso to join Parfait. At the time, Simone had just finished her MBA program at Wharton Business school and was set to return to her previous employer, Capital One, with no intention of looking elsewhere. As the school year ended, Kendle realized she needed to take a leap of faith toward her entrepreneurial dreams and set aside the security of working in corporate America. This meant fully committing to the entrepreneurial community, but in what capacity was still unclear. Serendipitously, just weeks later, Iso and Simone met for happy hour, where Iso convinced Simone to join the growing team. 

Simone graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in operations management. She interned at Capital One throughout college and built a career across operations, process management, and customer insights strategy roles. During her college years, she started two hair businesses, one while in school and her second business once she graduated, which she ran for five years alongside building her career at Capital One. To finally bring her two career paths together, she decided to return to school and get her MBA at Wharton Business School. 

With a deep knowledge of the wig industry’s product and customer experiences, coupled with formal customer insights strategy experience gained from Capital One and elite business skill building from Wharton, joining Parfait was a no-brainer for Simone.

In her spare time, Simone watches after her daughter Kaia and takes her to dance classes where she is on a local majorette competition team⁠—Simone is slowly becoming a dance mom. When the workday is over, you can catch her snuggled up with Kaia watching Disney’s latest release or jamming out to some old-school R&B.

Influencer & Brand Shout-Out: @swellabeauty

“I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. If it's aligned to what God has called me to do and he told me, then I'm doing it.”

Simone’s Word of 2023: Parfait

Tune in to learn more from Kendra and Simone!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.