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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Sonya Looney, a professional mountain bike racer and ambassador, is an international phenom who specializes in connecting with her fans and followers about her passion for living an adventurous life astride a bike – globally! Through her commitment to doing just that, she’s developed an approach to furthering her reach and the reach of her sponsor partners that’s bringing more value than ever before to the sponsor-athlete-ambassador equation. And it’s about time. … Sonya knows that connection is what brings return on a sponsorship investment and she relishes in doing just that to all fans and followers online, offline and inline within her network. There’s so much to learn today from this podcast – starting with what’s the true value today for a brand ambassador? Sonya’s authoring that job description, and you’ll get a front row seat to hearing it today on the Intrepid Entrepreneur!