Starting Line
We crossed paths with today’s guest at Outdoor Retailer, and we’re excited to have Lizzie Shilko from Revi on the podcast. There are so many incredible founder stories out there, and the lessons that she’s learned along the way are great additions to the “playbook” for starting and growing a company in the outdoor industry, including some of the unconventional (but incredibly effective) things you can do to open up new opportunities along the way.
She Wore the Same Broken Helmet for 10 Years, Then Built Her Own
Lizzie Shilko wore the same busted ski helmet for more than 10 years, the foam coming loose from its shell, and every year she looked for a replacement worth buying and found nothing she liked. So she wrote a business plan in her notes app and built the helmet herself.
Now just over a year into Revi, she joins Second Nature to trace the path from that note to product on retail shelves: why putting a helmet on someone’s head sells it better than any website copy, the customers who walked into ski shops and pitched Revi to buyers unprompted, and how sharing her story on TikTok, shot on her phone, put her in front of two major retailers who reached out by DM. Lizzie also shares what she’s learned about showing your work as a founder, why she’s choosing slower, more deliberate retail growth over launching more products, how Backcountry Garage fits in, and what she took away from a week at her manufacturer overseeing safety testing.
We Want To Join The Fun
If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you’ve heard us talk about Halo, the platform that helps brands create hotel-based experiences around events, and helps athletes find awesome places to stay during races.
But the thing that we think makes it special is how it helps brands break out of their typical activations and create memorable, elevated experiences for their community.
Aaron loves this idea so much that he wants to jump in on the next round of brainstorming calls with Halo. If you’re a brand and you reach out to Hilary at Halo to learn more about the platform, please tell her you heard about it on Second Nature. If you do that, she’ll add him to join the brainstorming session and we can come up with some really fun concepts together.
If you’re not already familiar with this platform, click here:
Job Of The Week
🙌 Mons Royale (just on the podcast a few weeks ago!) are looking for a Global Director of DTC, based in Wanaka, NZ.
👟 Veloci is hiring a Social Media Content Lead in Austin, TX.
🇨🇦 LowerLeft Designs is looking for a Director of Operations (based in Squamish, BC).
Article Of The Week
Show Notes
Here To Help
The most common refrain we hear from friends working at brands is “we need to find content creators, but we are strapped on time”. This is the exact problem that Popfly has solved. If you’re working at a brand that needs this kind of help, you need to check this out (and tell them we sent you), it’ll be worth it. And…if you’re an athlete or creator, you should definitely get on this platform - there are brands, ready to support you and looking for your talent. We’re using it outside of the podcast and having a lot of success with it - and this is exactly why we wanted to partner with Popfly in the first place. Highly recommended!
BPC - Brand, Product, Content
BPC is our closing segment where we share Brands we’ve discovered, Products we’re using and Content that we love.
👉 Gear Envie: This brand was the buzz of Outdoor Retailer, tons of people were walking around the show with these leggings. Have a look!
🍫 Built Puff Bars: Lizzie recommended these bars during our conversation about exploring protein options (and we can now confirm that they are delicious).
🥛 David Milkshakes: David bars have been a mainstay in Aaron’s travel kit, but these new milkshakes are out of control. The vanilla flavor is top tier. If you’re looking for an insane amount of protein and want to try something new, check these out.
Thank You
Next week is episode 180, which feels crazy! We’re bringing it back to our origins with a BroPod. Dylan is back from a wild season of travel, and we finally get a chance to reflect on the year to date. Stay tuned!