Not everyone has the drive and courage to build a company from the ground up. At Parachute Media, we’re lucky to have one such individual charging ahead of us and setting an example of what it looks like to work hard and have a darn good time.

Ryan Carter decided to pursue social media as a career following a mission trip to Africa. 

In August of 2015, he hired his first employee. By January of 2016, he had seven employees and had upgraded office spaces three times to our current location at 708 Gallatin Avenue. A little over a year and a half later, he has built a team of fifteen with no plans to stop growing and chasing the next milestone.

Ryan knows how to hustle to get any job done. He’s innovative and driven, which means he’s at the heart and soul of everything we do here at Parachute. But he also knows how to let loose and have fun (as proven by frequent team lunches to Rosepepper and the occasional staff go-kart outing).

When he’s not bringing kolaches in as an office breakfast treat, you’ll find Ryan at home, cooking and playing in the backyard with his dogs, Cooper and Bailey.

Ryan’s professional hero is Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. According to Ryan, “if Nike was created by anyone else it would have failed. It takes a special kind of resilience to push through the number of failures that he did.”

Ryan combines dreaming with doing, analysis and creativity, and work and fun in a way that makes him unstoppable. When we asked him what his most audacious goal was, he replied: “I don’t see any of my goals as grand or audacious. I feel like I can do or accomplish anything I want. To me, my goals feel normal. Like obvious next steps. I guess I don’t allow hurdles or roadblocks change my vision of what I want.”

Parachute Media wouldn’t exist without this guy, and we’re thankful to have him at the helm of everything we do.

Let’s learn more about Ryan.

Parachute Media: What is something quirky about you?

Ryan: I was born with two webbed toes and Polydactyl, which means I was born with extra fingers and toes. I was born with 24 digits- 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot.

Parachute Media: In your work or creative process, what do you love creating the most?

Ryan: I love building out an idea and seeing it come to reality.

Parachute Media:  What is your favorite quote?   

Ryan: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’” -Erma Bombeck