The Intrepid Entrepreneur

There are a lot of things to think about when you start a business. Location, markets, consumers, branding, budgeting, the list can be overwhelming. But what we're talking about today on the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast is passion! Consumers can tell when you have it, and they most certainly can tell when you don't.

Today, I have the honor to interview Dave Thibodeau, co-owner of a path-burning, stalwartly independent craft brewing company, Ska Brewing, which is located in my hometown of Durango Colorado.

Dave and one of his co-founders, Bill Graham, got into homebrewing as young adults and laid out their business plan on the back of a bar napkin.

When they went to the bank with their idea, no one was interested in funding them. But hearing that no one believed their company could work only made Dave even more determined to be successful.

Twenty one years later, Ska Brewing Company is growing on its own terms, keeping creativity, independence and their vision crystal clear as they continue to knock down the success milestones.

What makes them so successful? Dave says it's their authenticity. It's something national companies can't replicate, and consumers not only notice, but revere.

Back when Ska was founded, Dave says he had no specific consumer type in mind mostly because back then, there barely was a consumer type for craft beer! They just tried to appeal people who wanted to be a part of their story, and share in the experience. Little did he know that he was on to the success formula for any passion-driven entrepreneurial business. It just came naturally to them.

Let's be honest. … Craft beer is an experience!

Ska does a masterful job offering the experience of creativity without rules or boundaries, and the experience of location - there's a reason the company has dropped the clutch on its growth and reach right from its founding in Durango.

Ska's all about being at the outdoor festival listening to music, doing epic outdoor endurance sports, sitting at the local brewery where your beer was made and surprising and delighting the customer with a true, creative craft experience.

Bravery in Business Quote "Whenever you're talking about craft brewing or entrepreneurs, passion is the term that gets thrown around like crazy. But I really stand behind that." - Dave Thibodeau (click to tweet)

Cliff Notes:

• Early support and assistance from other local brewers set a precedent for how they would treat other brewers and businesses, with a lot of camaraderie. There is so much to learn about the business and the product, that it takes a lot of collaboration and sharing of knowledge to be successful and get the information you need.
• Craft brewers are just 10% of the entire beer market in the U.S.
• Like some outdoor lifestyle markets, craft brewers are motivated to work together because they are all facing off against the same mega companies, Anheuser Busch, MillerCoors, etc. Corporate competition gives craft brewers a common cause.
• Dave's passionate about the authenticity of Ska. It's something that really shows, that consumers notice in craft breweries that national companies can't replicate.
• Craft beer is offering an experience to the customer. Extending the experience of being in their brewery, at a mountain festival in Colo., etc, to people who don't live there or can't come.
• Had no "consumer type" in mind when they started the company. Twenty years ago, there barely was a consumer type for craft beer. Ska just wanted to appeal to the type of person who wants to be a part of their story, and share in the experience.
• Slow growth as a smart strategy to build a strong foundation. Recently looking for way to expand but decided not to borrow a lot of money to open another facility/ building/restaurant. Instead, they started "Mod Brewery," a second brewery inside of their current facility completely dedicated to creating artful brews in small batches.
• The Mod Brewery enables Ska's artisan brewers have some fun and experiment with brewing techniques, 14 kegs at time.

"You can't replicate it if it's not genuine" - Dave Thibodeau (click to tweet)

Resources:

SkaBrewing.com

Show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/Dave-Thibodeau

On Monday, May 16, 2016 the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startup) Act went into effect in our country and the rules of investment and fundraising were altered forever.

What happened on that day changed everything. Meritocracy stepped into the entrepreneurial funding equation and people -- ordinary people — not just accredited investors, got the lane to invest in early stage companies.

This opportunity extends far beyond donating money to a single product. Instead, it's investing with a stake and a return if the project does well over time.

I'm off the charts stoked to be talking about these exciting changes with Dylan Enright of Wefunder, an equity crowdfunding platform that launched on May 16th, just as this new form of crowdfunding was made legal.

The power of Wefunder and the new opportunity for equity crowdfunding is that they're keeping alive the American Dream, making it possible for anyone with a great idea to get that idea to market. Banks and big time investors who used to be the gatekeepers of innovation are no longer the only way to fund a new company.

As Dylan says, "Even if you have the best idea in the world, it costs a little bit of capital to get it off the ground." And this is what Wefunder is doing: helping early stage companies get investments from average people taking a risk on your idea because they believe in your story. If your company does well, so do these people who helped fund it. People can invest as little as $100!

The first step toward harnessing the power of the crowdfunding platform is to understand it. My hope is that Wefunder's Dylan Enright can help bring clarity to your decision around gaining traction through securing creative capital.

If you know anyone with a dream project (or maybe you have one yourself) and are afraid to start, this conversation with Dylan is an incredible, and I hope, inspiring experience you won't want to miss. Thanks for listening!

Bravery in Business Quote "Before this there were a select few people sitting behind a desk who decided the fate of your business . . . we're letting the community decide."- Dylan Enright

(click to tweet)

The Cliff Notes

• Wefunder started in Boston 2012, some friends wanted to invest in each other but were only able to donate (investing was illegal). To change this they got people to sign petition stating their intent to invest in early stage companies. Added up to millions of dollars people would invest if legal, and this got the attention of Senators and eventually people in Washington D.C.
• Dylan got involved with the company after that. He was "Employee #1" at Wefunder
• Dylan believes that giving everyone the ability to invest or raise money for their company is leveling the playing field. Before, only a select number of people got to decide what the next innovation would be.
• Crowdfunding brings meritocracy and makes it easier for anyone everyone to make their own American dream by telling their story online. "Break the Monopoly of the Rich"
• Lead-up to Wefunder launch (May 16th) was crazy. They wanted to come out strong w/more companies than their competitors. Really busy getting all these companies and pages ready.
• Wefunder's platform aims to make visitors to the site to feel like they are in the room hearing the pitch right from the founders.
• Wefunder is not protecting people from risk. Early stage companies are very risky to invest in. Wefunder is creating an uprising against buying safe.
• Outdoor active lifestyle markets were built on back of inventors who went big with their ideas and took big risks. Crowdfunding makes this possible for companies of all sizes.

"It's not just a donation. You're investing your money with founders and understanding that you'll be earning a return if they do well." - Dylan Enright

(click to tweet)

Resources

WeFunder.com

Dylan's email: [email protected]

Six years ago, crowdfunding barely even existed. Now, it seems like every start-up and invention idea is launching a crowdfunding campaign. But what sets the successful campaigns apart from the ones that don't hit their funding goals?

I'm super excited to be talking with Roy Morejon, digital marketing powerhouse, crowdfunding expert, and President and Founder of Command Partners digital marketing on this week's podcast. With you in mind, we're talking about the incredibly important topic of raising funding in a constantly changing world.

Roy launched Command Partners in 2010, when crowdfunding was just beginning to show up on the scene. His company was focusing on digital media until a client approached them with a crowdfunding project. Command Partners doubled the client's funding goal in a matter of weeks!

After this experience, Roy saw the niche need for crowdfunding expertise and started replacing retained clients with crowdfunding projects for start-ups. To date, they've worked on over 175 campaigns and have raised over $75 million dollars. This year, 95% of their projects have raised their full funding goals. Wow!

As Roy says, crowdfunding can be a challenge because you're selling clients on a product they don't know exists yet, something they might not have known they needed until they hear about it or visit your site. You only get one opportunity to get them to that page, so you want to convert them right away!

This is why crowdfunding can also be a great way to build your market—it allows you to directly interact with potential consumers and industry experts. Social media enables you to be in conversation with people interested in your product all throughout this funding and producing process.

These people supporting your campaign are the people that will become your brand evangelists. When your product launches, they'll be the ones telling their friends that they knew about it before it was cool, maybe they can even say they tested out a prototype!

Along with all this, you're about to hear Roy's list of the five most important things to know about crowdfunding. It's all super interesting and helpful, you won't want to miss a minute of his advice!

Bravery in Business Quote "In crowdfunding, you're selling people on something they don't know that they need yet. But they will." - Roy Morejon

(click to tweet)

Cliff Notes

• Command Partners has 15 -20 crowdfunding client a month, on average raise 100s of thousands, have run over 175 campaigns and raised $75 million
• This is an exciting time because so many people have not heard of crowdfunding or haven't backed their first project yet, There are 11 million backers total on Kickstarter, 15 million Indiegogo unique visitors
• Crowdfunding allows companies to fail faster, getting direct feedback from customers and industry professionals, before they've sunk years of time into to project
• An exciting new market for Roy's business is enterprise clients—big corporations looking to use crowdfunding to test out ideas. Sony has an internal crowdfunding site for employees, GE used Indiegogo for several campaigns
• In the past these companies would have paid for focus groups and feedback from customers but social media & crowdfunding allow them to get this crowd response for free.
• Clients don't have the chance to touch the product so you have to really sell them on it and make them believe that you will deliver.
• Press is a key component in any successful campaign, connections and interviews/ PR should be arranged before the campaign launch, not just to drive it mid-campaign
• Do your homework before the campaign launches: talk to industry, experts, make sure you are selling a product with a market and that hasn't been made before. Build a pathway back to consumer, reach out to journalists & try to get feedback on prototype
• To crowdfund successfully, you "gotta have that hustle", even before you turn the key and launch the campaign
• 90 % of crowdfunding projects don't deliver on time, but this is often because they're doing their due diligence, testing out the product with all of the community feedback and responses available through social media. Crowdfunding allows for easy communication channels with backers / clients so that they can understand your timeline/ process in production.

5 Things To Understand About Crowdfunding

1. Make sure your idea is a good fit for crowdfunding
2. Set a realistic funding goal
3. Do your homework and pre-campaign before you launch
4. Have good design and quality video for your site
5. Communicate with your backers and potential customers, industry professionals, throughout this process.

"Crowdfunding allows companies to fail faster. Take their product/business, through it out, and then pivot toward a need their consumers are stating." - Roy Morejon

(click to tweet)

Resources

CommandPartners.com

TheArtOfKickstart.com - Roy's podcast

Full Show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/roy-morejon

I feel honored to be able to interview Martin Zemitis in this episode of the Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast.

Martin is the founder of SlingFin, a technical tent and shelter company headquartered in the Bay Area.

For 33 amazing years, Martin has served the outdoor active lifestyle markets with the world's best tent designs. He's literally been part of every tent innovation over the past three decades and has designed for The North Face, Sierra Designs, and Mountain Hardware.

What a stellar career, you might be saying. You may even think I'm about to tell you that Martin decided to retire after leaving Mountain Hardware nearly 20 years after he helped found it.

Well, you'd be wrong.

When he left Mountain Hardware, Martin was dreaming and scheming about launching his own tent brand – the one that would enable him to finally design for the user, for the harshest environments.

In SlingFin, his upstart company, Martin wanted to truly innovate with his passion for tent and shelter design and not be walled in by the guardrails of the wholesale market. This is where things got interesting. Martin set up SlingFin in 2010 and set about protecting his trademarks. then, like all of us entrepreneurs, he needed funding.

Today, in this interview, you'll hear about the six-year battle he fought staying true to his vision while working to find the right funding solution. You'll also hear what happens when an entrepreneur hell-bent on doing it his way collides with equity crowdfunding.

That's right – Martin and SlingFin were part of the 20 company launch of the Title III Wefunder portal that went live May 16, 2016.

This episode tells the story about one of the outdoor industry's absolute legendary gear designers staying true to his vision and making it work with the Wefunder platform.

After listening to this podcast, you'll be convinced that things will never be the same again for entrepreneurs in the outdoor active lifestyle markets – HERE WE GO!

PS - Turns out that Wefunder's Operations Director, Dylan Enright, is a former river guide and ski instructor. He wants to see the Wefunder portal become the go-to location for outdoor brands to connect with outdoor enthusiasts. I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Intrepid Entrepreneur as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. This episode is a super important one – by going to ITunes and giving the Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast a positive rating and review, you'll be giving Martin, SlingFIn and the WEfunder platform more visibility. And iTunes is a HUGE platform – let's light it up for Martin!

Until next time, GO BIG!

Bravery in Business Quote

"Time in the past doesn't mean much to me, because it's all about what's going to be done in the future." – Martin Zemitis

(click to tweet)

Resources:

SlingFin.com

Slingfin: WeFunder Campaign

GearJunkie: Title III Jobs Act Equity Crowdfunding

Forbes Article About Equity Crowdfunding

WeFunder.com

Full Show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/Martin-Zemitis

Have you ever had a business idea that you were immediately passionate about and felt on the most guttural level, an incredibly strong need to create?

You're about to meet two outdoor founders who have gone through just that and emerged – somewhat - on the other side, successful Kickstarter campaign in hand.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, my Intrepid Entrepreneurs. Lindsey Elliott and Jainee Dial, the co-founders of Wyldergoods.com, are alive to share this story in podcast form with you today.

Lindsey and Jainee personify a modern outdoorswoman. It's an archetype who they're intent to serve with a new formula that's not retail or storytelling – it's both and it doesn't fall under either.

Wyldergoods.com is an online marketplace, community and network hub for today's outdoor adventure-ess.

Lindsey and Jainee didn't stop with just the concept – they focused on creating a Benefit Corporation (B-Corp), and use their sustainability and give-back mission to screen potential brand partners on their platform.

You're about to hear first-hand what it's like to do a Kickstarter campaign. First of all, it's really ((*&%$#) nerve-wracking. As Jainee says: You're putting yourself and your ideas out there, and people judge and vote for your work with their money.

But Kickstarter is, above all, a storytelling platform, and Lindsey says it needs to treat it as one to be successful.

Let people know the story of your business and how that story is relevant to their lives. In her words, "If you believe in it fully, and you're telling an authentic story, the people who align with that will find you."

You won't want to miss what else Lindsey and Jainee have to say about getting this company started, serving the greater good, and how their love for the outdoors affects their professional lives!

Bravery in Business Quote

"How can we serve a greater good, outside of a basic consumer model, and bigger than business as usual?" - Lindsey Elliott

(click to tweet)

The Cliff Notes

• Focus on products that can meet a diversity of needs
• Kickstarter is a storytelling platform, and should be treated as such if you want to be successful on it
• Kickstarter gives potential customers an opportunity to vote with their dollars, showing their true commitment to the idea
• There is something really nerve-wracking of putting yourself and your work out on kickstarter, with how much people judge you based on the response the dollar number
• Find time to get away. You have to clear your mind, and find the activity that will do that for you
• Keep the question "how can we serve the greater good?" in mind all the time
• As money cycles through hands in the economy, businesses need to drive the economy to be more responsible
• B-Corp: Benefit corporation. Corporations that are vetted and analyzed for the amount of good that they are doing in the world. Wilder Goods is working toward that certification

"If you believe in it fully, and you're telling an authentic story, the people who align with that will find you." - Lindsey Elliott

(click to tweet)

Habit for Success

Find whatever it is that recharges you, gives you renewed energy, strength and purpose, and make sure that you make time for that activity!

Resources:

WylderGoods.com

Wylder Goods Kickstarter Project

Show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/WylderGoods

As we go through life, we tend to gradually and over time lose more and more of the enthusiasm we had as beginners in whatever field we find ourselves. Shoshin, a concept of Zen Buddhism, refers the idea that "In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities. But in the expert's, there are few." Believe it or not, this is why beginners can often accomplish such incredible things!

This is another SoloCast from the Intrepid Entrepreneur, and on this episode I'm introducing you to an awesome new offering I've been working incredibly hard on for months and months now. That is, my brand new membership site, A-Game Alliance! This is the first ever membership community designed to help entrepreneurs, founders and other leaders in the active outdoor and lifestyle industries!

If you've been an entrepreneur for a while, you've probably become a lot wiser over the years. Entrepreneurialism is a crash course in a lot of things, including business, personal skills, resourcefulness, energy, and much more. And while that knowledge and experience is valuable and essential, it's also important that we never lose our enthusiasm for the dream that started it all!

That's the encouragement that I want to bring you through the A-Game Alliance membership site. Whether you're just starting out, seeking the wisdom of those who have been through it all, you're in the middle of your journey and need inspiration to keep plugging away as well as some advice to skyrocket your results, or you consider yourself an expert in the industry, the A-Game Alliance is the place for you to learn and take your business and life to the next level!

Full show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/Community

On this episode of the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast, I'm talking with Andrew Batey, CEO of Spinlister, the global bike and gear sharing platform, and owner of eight (count 'em) bikes.

Spinlister is a peer-to-peer bike and gear rental platform that connects enthusiasts in bike and outdoor with other like-minded enthusiasts. If you have gear that isn't being used all the time, check out Spinlister.com.

There's so much to learn from Andrew and Spinlister, and I invite you to drop in to this episode with an open mind. In it, Andrew and I discuss how to build a customer base via a digital platform and service offering, and the tough part, how to build and gain the end-consumers' trust.

In this interview, Andrew talks a lot about the fact that in today's economy, the consumer is driving. He also points out that people are on the hunt for authentic experiences. This is a critical takeaway for the active outdoor lifestyle markets to hold on to -- we're passion-driven industries, this is something we know. Considering this through the customer's vantage point is what Spinlister.com does very well and what we can all learn from.

Andrew is an avid cyclist and bikes to work every day. He knows what kind of experience cyclists like him are looking for, and so he and his team are building Spinlister to meet these needs. And because consumers are people and "tribes" can change, his vision for Spinlister is growing. In 2016, brands are as varied and eclectic as consumers. Don't put your consumer in a box!

Another great takeaway that Andrew offers is the fact that the best time to demonstrate the value of your brand to a customer is when things go wrong.

"When there's a problem, that's when the rubber meets the road," he says. "It's great when it's great, but when it's bad for somebody, we want to also make that great."

Earning consumer trust is a difficult thing to do, but when consumers learn that your brand is there to help and responsive when something goes wrong, that goes a long way.

This episode has a TON of great intel in it - drop in and listen to it now and share it with a colleague or a friend who you think wants to learn more about how the sharing economy and the outdoor markets will merge going forward.

Bravery in Business Quote "When there's a problem, that's when the rubber meets the road. It's great when it's great, but when it's bad for somebody, we want to also make that great." - Andrew Batey (Click to tweet) The Cliff Notes

• It's essential that your consumer trust you, but trust is a difficult thing to earn. All you can do is provide a lot of inputs for consumers to make the decision about if they trust you or not
• When your word-of-mouth happens offline, it's extremely valuable, but very difficult to track, and to amplify and facilitate. All you can do is try to add value to facilitate sharing
• Spinlister wants to be the universal key to unlocking a bike, whether that's renting for the purpose of a trip, or trying out a bike before buying
• You have to be part of the "tribe" of your customer if you really want to connect with them
• When things go wrong for a customer, that is your opportunity to really demonstrate the value of your brand by how you handle it
• If you want to appeal to massive numbers of people, you need to create an ok experience. But if you want to truly connect with your specific tribe, you can create an incredible experience for them
• Brands in 2016 are thinking about the ways that they can make their company as varied and eclectic is their consumers are. Don't try to put your consumer in a box
• Instead of one product, understand the common trends of how your consumer behaves, and meet those needs

"I can't tell you what you value as trust. All I can do is give you a lot of inputs to decide if you trust me or not." - Andrew Batey (click to tweet) Resources:

SpinLister.com

The Bold Betties is a travel and adventure platform that empowers women by eliminating the barriers and logistics that keep women inside, stuck in the monotony of day to day life. Today on Intrepid Entrepreneur I’m talking with the founder, Niki Koubourlis, on her experience starting and managing the Bold Betties, and the incredible places this adventure has taken her.

Niki Koubourlis started out in a stable, successful corporate career, which she ultimately found very unfulfilling. She was starting to worry about what she was accomplishing with her life, and questioning whether it was what she really wanted

It wasn’t.

And so, she moved to Colorado, the land of adventure.

In Colorado, Niki forced herself to not take a job and instead, she took some time to develop friendships and to get in touch with her passions. And then – one thing led to another, and Niki stumbled into founding the Bold Betties, a meet-up group for women looking to bond with each other and to get outdoors. The group grew quickly—within its first week, there were 200 members. Honestly, I’d never heard of a business built on “Meet Up” groups, and I think it’s such a cool idea (note: I realize that many companies have been built this way, I just have not been familiar with this path).

One of her important early insights as that there were few opportunities for novices to learn and enjoy outdoor activities, so she saw her business as filling that niche. But the biggest commonality between people who sign up for Betties events is women in transition, looking to start something new.

You’ll be inspired by what else Niki tells me about getting started with the Betties and where this adventure has taken her, on this episode of the Intrepid Entrepreneur!

Habit for Success

Build business around community. When you can bring together groups of people, you are providing them incredible value, and you will probably find that that community is the most important part of your business.

Resources:

BoldBetties.com

Show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/Niki-Koubourlis

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is one of the most treasured celebrations of conservation in the outdoor active lifestyle markets. The organization literally inspires activism through film, and the 2016 traveling film festival kicks off on Earth Day in San Francisco. What a fitting venue for the global premiere of KEEN Footwear’s Live Monumental documentary film. I have the privilege of interviewing Wild and Scenic’s Melinda Booth and KEEN Footwear’s Kirsten Blackburn in this very special episode of The Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast. Listen in and learn how both of these amazing organizations use their reach and impact to affect awareness, activism and positive change.

The Live Monumental documentary chronicles KEEN’s cross-country road trip advocating for the protection of 3-million acres of public lands – no small feat. KEEN and Wild and Scenic invite all of us in to become part of the movement to protect America’s precious public lands – there’s a lot of awareness and action that must happen before President Obama leaves office this year. Get outside and enjoy our public lands and get your family and friends to do the same! You can’t believe in and protect something you haven’t experienced, as Kirsten Blackburn of KEEN says in this podcast. Please share this podcast with everyone who appreciates America’s natural environment and sign the digital petition at LiveMonumental.com.

Full Show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/Keen

Third generation entrepreneurs Kelly and Will Watters have had an epic journey in year one of launching Western Rise apparel, a collection of men’s and women’s lifestyle apparel built for the mountain lifestyle.

The Watters are enrolled in the Telluride Venture Accelerator program, a fantastic start-up accelerator where I’m proud to serve as a Mentor. The founders of Western Rise have been nimble and agile through their first year of concept to launch, navigating and route-finding their way through sourcing, supply, manufacturing and distribution. The Watters are feeling locked and loaded on their strategy and are ready to grow with a direct-to-consumer strategy. In this interview, they share incredible insights on what the entire launch process has been like for them.

The key to the early success of Western Rise is the absolute commitment the Watters share around listening and responding to their target customer (avatar). There’s a ton of great insights on social media, Millennials and today’s mountain lifestyle consumer. Get ready to be inspired and educated by what they have to say on this episode of Intrepid Entrepreneur! If you love this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes Rating and reviewing this podcast greatly increases the visibility of the amazing entrepreneurs featured on this podcast and the outdoor active lifestyle markets.

Full Show Notes: IntrepidEntrepreneur.net/Western-Rise