Entrepreneur, Humanitarian, Product Designer, Erik Workman has committed his life to providing tools to disadvantaged people to help them escape poverty.

Erik Workman is a third generation entrepreneur and co-founder of Goal Zero, Barebones Living and the non-profit TIFIE Humanitarian. In 2007, working with his father and cofounder Robert Workman in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Tifie, They realized one of the biggest hurdles for the Congolese people was having reliable power and light, so they started working on a solution. By 2008, the first Goal Zero product the GoBe (now known as the Escape 150) was designed, created, and taken to the Congo to provide a brighter future for the people there. Since then, TIFE and Goal Zero have worked hand in hand bringing light and power to villages around the world—from Congo to Indonesia, to Haiti and the Rockaways.

After Goal Zero came Barebones Living. The products at Barebones were first imagined and developed to support Erik's and his father's passion to help people lift themselves out of poverty, and dignified and long-lasting shelters for disaster relief was paramount to the vision. Barebones and Tifie have worked together to deliver over 250+ shelters around the world to provide safety and dignity to disaster survivors in the Philippines, Nepal and Fiji.

Erik is currently a consultant to Barebones and the founder of a novelty business called Stretched Politics. Stretched Politics started out as a joke with a few beers and a Stretch Armstrong, but now it has become about laughter, community, and less idolization.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

Product Innovator and Designer, Adam Vollmer, Harnesses Novel Technologies to Open New Horizons for Consumers.

Adam Vollmer is a multidisciplinary design and engineering executive with a track record of creative problem solving, initiative, leadership, and impact.

Formerly a senior engineer in IDEO's Palo Alto office, Adam brings years of expertise in medical device design and biotechnology, as well as a passion for designing considered products and services that responsibly address pressing human needs. During his time at IDEO, insights around disrupting and democratizing transportation led Adam to found Faraday Bicycles, a trailblazing electric bicycle brand. Faraday's design-forward, consumer-centric approach to building both product and brand helped catalyze the rapid growth of the US ebike market into the multi-billion industry that it is today. Faraday was acquired by Pon Holdings in 2016.

Currently, Adam is a Systems Engineer and technical lead with Nike's NXT Smart Systems group. Smart Systems synthesizes consumer electronic expertise with Nike shoe and apparel design to bring smart, embedded technology to Nike products and help advance the future of sport.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

Professional People Person, Lauren Batcheck, is a Curious, Intuitive, Adventurer, Explorer and Connector.

Live up to why you exist. The creative impact agency’s former Senior Talent Manager, Lauren Batcheck, created shared missions with brands at Enso. A born leader and active change maker, she bases her work on, “the premise that you can learn anything.” She has a distinct vision for every company by helping transform the current DNA into a meaningful brand identity and executing individualized campaigns.

Lauren is passionate about people, developing relationships, and facilitating connections in order to make good ideas become awesome and actionable. She loves walking into ambiguity, learning and deciphering others’ strengths, and creating process and structure where it is needed. Enso, the peacemaker company, has high hopes of continually creating positive impacts with foundations. Looking at the bigger picture, they are also pushing for innovative things to create more of an understanding in the world.

Recently, Lauren, joined Good Money as their Director of People Operations. A perfect job for this professional people person.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

A Cultural Engineer Creating Timeless Designs: Philip Otto Supports Emerging Businesses & Communities

Adam Lewis, founder of Foghorn Labs, is an experienced digital tactician who focuses on helping brands grow their direct-to-consumer business online. Before Foghorn, Adam worked at Google on a variety of teams from Media Sales to International Product Marketing, giving him a unique perspective on how to help companies leverage the web to grow their business. Now he combines his passion for outdoor sports with his marketing experience. He is a powerful hybrid of quant and social scientist and gets his brands excited about establishing a more direct relationship with their customers and while developing the programs to help them do just that.

His small but mighty digital marketing consulting agency, Foghorn Labs, is focused on developing outstanding integrated marketing campaigns for outdoor and active lifestyle brands selling direct-to-consumer online. Adam's expertise is making brands larger than life through digital strategies such as SEO, eCommerce optimization, social media efforts, and more.

Recently, Adam, moved his firm into a building they affectionately call “The Lighthouse”. Now they are back on the Eastside of Portland looking to have you visit when you’re on Alberta grabbing BUNK Sandwiches, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, Bollywood Theater, or any of one of the other delicious food options nearby.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

A Cultural Engineer Creating Timeless Designs: Philip Otto Supports Emerging Businesses & Communities

Philip Otto, founder of Seeds & Growth, is a hands-on designer and big picture strategist. A Stanford graduate, he received a degree in Cultural Anthropology and began to immediately utilize it within the booming art world. His interest in fashion, spaces and experience design coalesced with a first job at Commes des Garcons. Phil’s direct engagement with brands began with Urban Outfitters, where he also played a central role in the Free People experience. He now resides in Topanga Canyon with his wife and two children, where he is a influential member of the Chamber of Commerce in his community.

His culturally based Seeds & Growth develops simple strategies with long-lasting solutions. The company has vastly explored the intersection between design, innovation, culture and enterprise. From pop-up shops, restaurants and cafes, to store designs for international retailers, their designs have stood the test of time in this ever-changing marketplace.

Phil and Seeds & Growth is currently working with REI to open a design concept for their new store location in the heart of Chicago’s “wild mile” along the north branch of the up-and-coming canal area.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

Movie Makers on the Go: Bone + Gold Capture Creative, Compelling Brand Stories Worldwide

Rachel Dorsey, Executive Producer at Bone + Gold, is originally from San Diego but now resides in NoCal with her husband who is also her business partner and their two children. She is a creative soul who is a big believer in community. Her entrepreneurial and open minded spirit create outstanding client relations and inspiring brand stories worldwide.

Rachel started Bone + Gold as a full service commercial production company four years ago. Driven by the daily “doing,” she feeds off of collaborating with like minded individuals and being on energetic sets. Rachel makes sure that her team’s work captures a vibrant, playful mood, but always ensures that it also is delivers a compelling story that includes depth and grit.

Storytelling and aesthetics are two advantages Bone + Gold have mastered when it comes to working with brands. This provides a dynamic versatility by offering a variety of visual experience services for brands, concepts, products, and more. The three main company principles are based upon trust, respect, and family.

Rachel’s new podcast, This Guy’s Legit,  lifts the veil on entrepreneurship at every stage, across industries and discusses business logistics, acquiring clients, and more. Discover your creative passion and pursue it now.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

Illuminating Your Outdoor Path: Power Practical Builds Light, Power, & Fire Gadgets

There’s no doubt that Caleb Light, VP of Sales at Power Practical, absolutely shreds. Caleb & Co enable you to free your mind for pure adventure, creativity, and productivity.

Power Practical prides themselves as being designers of unique lighting solutions & USB-powered products for adventuring and everyday life. Caleb has been with the company since its birth in 2011. His main goal was to find a way to harness wasted energy and turn it into something useful.

Power Practical’s most famous product, the Luminoodle, provides deployability, versatility, and the ability to shed light on any wilderness path. The five foot long, silicone covered, USB powered, LED light strip is waterproof, diffuses any light, and is a hands free solution for enjoying a good book while out in the wilderness.

Throughout all of his business endeavors, Caleb has learned to continually tell stories online and establish a direct connection with the consumer. By switching to a direct consumer model, he’s found that immediate feedback is extremely necessary when developing and tweaking products in the competitor market.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

Gear Junkie Creates Immense Hype in Outdoor Product Development.

Ryan Johnson, VP of Marketing & Operations at Gear Junkie, is a born leader who delivers strong brands that create demand. Ryan’s main focus is to find creative, emerging brands that are disrupting the space in the outdoor industry. He is a big advocate for experiencing products hands-on where he is then able to gain a deeper understanding of consumer motivations and behaviors.

Gear Junkie is known to be a trusted brand with a massive audience in the outdoor, active lifestyle, adventure travel, and gear space. Their authentic voice and engaging, polarizing content resonates with nearly 10 million readers per year.

Ryan deeply values Gear Junkie because he believes as a company, “we aren’t just another news source that’s covering outdoor, we’re deep in outdoor, and that’s all that we do.”

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

Red Rainey, Raconteur

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

Around the Globe We Go: Airbnb Experiences Provide the Ultimate Adventure.

Farzad Sharif, Airbnb’s Senior Marketing Manager & Outpost Community Member, has helped launch, develop, and grow several products and brands throughout his career. His latest enterprise, Airbnb Experiences, hit the ground running in 2016. The new platform is designed to combine where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet along the way.

Farzad creates an identity for each experience by creating an immersive, experiential full or multi-day adventure. A few of his favorite “experiences” include bar crawls or speakeasy tours to connect with likeminded people.

It was Farzad’s job to introduce Trips to the world by producing the reveal film shown in CEO Brian Chesky’s Airbnb Open keynote at the historic Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The company has ambitious endeavors to add car rentals, grocery deliveries, and flights to its platform to make it a seasoned travel company.

Podcast Co-Hosts

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.

Does your current business have potential for critical mass to make your vision a success or is it in its best interest to find like minded companies to align yourself with, leverage different markets, and build a new addition to your customer base. Partnering with other brands can make this possible. Is partnering for you or should you continue to go it alone and make it all happen yourself?

This forum discusses the opportunities for brands as they come of age, grow market share, and break into new markets. The attendees and speakers discuss the option to go it alone and build a brand as an island or partner with other like minded or distinct but synergistic brands to attain their market goals and business objectives.

Speakers

Farzad Sharif, AirBnb

Host

Marcus V Colombano, Pineapple

About The Outpost Redwood Forum

For Outpost's 2018 flagship event, Pineapple produced and hosted the Redwood Forum. As the business track for the event, Pineapple led an open discussion with industry insiders who shed light on business growth, market risks, and brand partnerships. They contributed anecdotal tales of past experience and broader insights from their current positions. As a forum, the panel and Outpost attendees joined in an interactive conversation to discuss key themes and related insights.