We had the good fortune of connecting with Kyle Parker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kyle, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I truly believe that it is not possible to reach your full potential without taking calculated risks. Whether taking the risk works in your favor or not, you always learn something new about yourself. The more you understand yourself, the easier it is to navigate through life. I believe one of the most important aspects about taking risks is intentionality. To fully understand my own intentions, I need to have strong self-awareness. I have found that my self-awareness improves the more I take these calculated risks. When taking a risk, I try to focus more on the lesson that I will learn rather than if it will work out the way that I believe it will.

Throughout college, I spent a lot more time training for basketball and working on ClipDart than going to social events. My dream was to play professional basketball in Europe and be an entrepreneur. It was a risk to give up a majority of my social life in college. It was a risk to try and play professional basketball when I was playing basketball at a Division III college. It is a risk to become an entrepreneur while completing a Biology degree. But, I felt that these were only risks to those who did not understand that was I taking the risk with the focus of learning rather than “winning”. To me, I knew if I put everything I have into accomplishing this dream, then I will be a better version of myself on the other side and that is all that is most important.

Every day I take calculated risks because in order to do something that you have never done, you have to become someone that you have never been. You must be uncomfortable with being comfortable.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
ClipDart is on a mission to improve the mental wellness and confidence of individuals by providing mobile barber and hairstyling services at no cost for vulnerable and underrepresented communities. Our efforts help inspire self-empowerment through the work of frequent and free haircut appointments provided by mobile hair professionals. The ClipDart Team has provided over 5,000 free haircuts around the nation and are constantly looking for a new ways to improve our communities.

From 2016 to 2020, ClipDart was only focused on designing an on-demand barber app which brought nearby barbers to a client’s preferred location at a client’s preferred time. The app’s official launch date was March 15, 2020. During this same time, the COVID-19 Pandemic was announced. This was devastating for our team after working four years on app development. However, today, we see it as a blessing in disguise because, during this time, we were able to realize that our mission is to improve mental wellness and not to just create a “cool” app. So, we opened a business-to-business sector of ClipDart where we focused on partnering with organizations who service those who have a lack of access to haircare. The business-to-business model allows our haircare to be free for those who we serve because the business takes the cost.

Today, we have 60+ nonprofit partners (30+ in Arizona) and 40+ business-to-business partners (which include colleges/universities, K-12 schools, hospitals, seniors homes, conventions, and more) where we provide free, monthly haircare.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
To show my best friend the best time ever, I would travel to Europe and explore as many countries as we could in 2 weeks (before he gets too homesick). We would start in Greece, head east to Italy, then north to Denmark, short stop to UK over west, then east to Germany, southeast to France, and finish in Spain toasting Teso La Monja in Seville to our successful vacation. The order of the countries will be the only itinerary. Everything else will be a “we’ll walk around and find something” situation.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to give a shoutout to my mother, Rev. Dr. Valerie Toney-Parker, my brother, Justin Parker, and, my wife, Mara Baller-Parker! As a social entrepreneur and professional athlete abroad in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. racial unrest, I, quickly, realized the importance of having a support system of faithful, honest, and loving people (just like them!). Every day, unconsciously or verbally, they encourage me to be a better person than I was yesterday. I am truly blessed to learn & grow through life with them!

Website: https://www.clipdart.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ClipDart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clipdart

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ClipDart

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ClipDart

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ClipDartVids

Image Credits
Justin Parker, Foundation for Senior Living (FSL), Nourish Phoenix, Best Buddies Arizona, Social Spin Foundation, Chicanos Por La Causa

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.