Join us for in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs and leaders in the outdoor industry. In these conversations, we’ll discuss insights and actionable strategies to give you knowledge and inspiration to navigate your journey of entrepreneurship in the outdoor industry. Hosted by Christian Rawles, a KORE member & board member. He is the co-owner of Ambler Mountain Works. This podcast is brought to you by KORE - the Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise. KORE is a non-profit organization ba ...
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Raquel Vélez of Alpine Parrot on the Importance of Mentors & Peers
1:03:34
1:03:34
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Raquel Vélez is the founder and CEO of Alpine Parrot, a company that makes technical outdoor apparel for sizes 14-30, which, until now, has been a category that the outdoor industry has all but ignored. Raquel has a background in engineering and she used her experience working with Bay Area tech companies to springboard her journey into entrepreneu…
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Georgia Grace Edwards on the Power of Pitch Competitions
1:09:16
1:09:16
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Georgia Grace Edwards is the co-founder and CEO of outdoor apparel brand Gnara. She is a driven business person who has raised millions of dollars for her company by winning pitch competitions and winning over investors. Gnara is well-known for its patented Go Fly zipper technology, which allows women to pee outside without removing clothing. They …
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Alex Lauver of Outdoor Research on "The Future of Innovation"
1:14:30
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Alex Lauver is the Senior Director of Materials, Innovation and Sustainability at Outdoor Research. As his title implies, he operates at the intersection of multiple disciplines. He works on projects that bring innovation to market as well as on the operations side of the business. It's a position that requires the ability to take complex topics an…
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James Friedrich of MEC – How To Price Your Product
1:14:34
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James Friedrich is a senior merchant at Mountain Equipment Company and a consultant at his firm Venturing Up. James has experience on the brand side as well as on the retail side, which provides him with a unique perspective. In this episode we learn how to position your product in the market, the importance of the value equation, how to price your…
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Ep. 8: Robin Hall of Town Hall Outdoor Co. on How To Gain Traction as a New Brand
57:12
57:12
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Robin Hall is the co-founder of Town Hall Outdoor Co, based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, which produces high-quality, sustainable outdoor apparel for kids. In this episode, we talk about utilizing in-person events to gain traction as a new brand, working with co-founders to bootstrap the business and the importance of finding the right retail pa…
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Ep. 7: Wes Allen of Sunlight Sports on How To Grow Your Brand
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Wes Allen owns Sunlight Sports in Cody, Wyoming with his wife, Melissa and both are advocates for strengthening the outdoor industry through independently owned retailers and brands. Wes has enjoyed a wide-ranging career in the outdoor industry: he's worked in sales at REI and Chaco and he's president of the US-based Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, a …
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Ep. 6: Mallory Ottariano on How to Build a Clothing Factory in America
1:01:31
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Mallory Ottariano is the founder and Chief Everything Officer at Youer Apparel. She started her brand as a creative side project making one-of-a-kind apparel and has grown it into a full line of active lifestyle apparel for women. Today, Mallory owns her own factory in Missoula, Montana where they produce thousands of pieces of apparel every year. …
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Ep. 5: Reinventing Gear Storage With Jamie Bond at Rux
55:43
55:43
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Jamie Bond is one of the founders of RUX, the Squamish, BC-based innovative gear storage brand. In this conversation, we learn about how he and his team took RUX from an idea to a reality through a successful Kickstarter campaign. We dive into the do’s and don’ts of running a crowdfunding campaign, how to grow an early-stage e-commerce company and …
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Ep. 4: Deep-Dive Into the Bike Industry With Greg McDonald of Ridley Cycles
57:37
57:37
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Greg McDonald is the General Manager of Ridley’s Cycle, an independent bike retailer with three locations in Calgary and a very successful online store. Greg is also a board member of the National Bike Dealer’s Association and, prior to Ridley’s, he was a sales rep in the outdoor and bike industry. In this episode we discuss the current situation i…
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Ep. 3: The E-Commerce Secrets of Popov Leather
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Eleven years ago Ryan Popov began Popov Leather as a passion project, hand-crafting wallets on his dining room table during nights and weekends. Since then, his company has shipped over 120,000 orders through Shopify and it now employs over 20 people at a workshop in Nelson, British Columbia. The latest episode of the KORE Outdoors Podcast is a dee…
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Ep. 2: Relational Selling with Louis-Julien Roy
51:18
51:18
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Louis-Julien Roy is the Founder & President of Mountain Exposure, a sales agency in Western Canada serving both the outdoor and cycling industries. Mountain Exposure is also the Canadian distributor of Ibis Bikes. In this episode, we discuss the role of sales representatives and best practices for early-stage brands to work with reps. We dive into …
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Ep. 1: The Founders of Bivo - Carina Hamel and Robby Ringer
1:15:13
1:15:13
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Carina Hamel and Robby Ringer are the wife and husband partners behind Bivo, the performance hydration company that hit the market in 2020 with the first-of-its-kind stainless steel water bottle built specifically for cycling. Hosted by Christian Rawles, co-owner of Ambler Mountain Works, this episode of the podcast touches on the R&D that went int…
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