Starting Line
This week we had a bonus episode - a crossover with our good friend (and absolute legend!) Rebecca Rusch. The episode was featured on her podcast, What’s The Rusch, but it was such a great conversation, we shared it to the Second Nature channel, too.
Today’s episode was one that we’ve been looking forward to for a long time, we finally had a chance to sit down with Taylor Hoekstra from Popfly. The entire crew at Popfly has been incredible to work with, and they were the first brand to jump in and officially support Second Nature. We recorded this one in person at Outdoor Retailer, with support from the Wild Reach program, which led to a bunch more episodes…stay tuned!
What Farmers Taught Him About Building A Company
Taylor Hoekstra spent years selling products through an unlikely channel — farmer YouTubers — years before anyone called it the "creator economy." That experience taught him something most people in the outdoor industry hadn't figured out yet, and it planted the seed for Popfly.
Before writing a line of code, Taylor spent two years and roughly 500 conversations validating the idea, testing a simple question: would people actually pay for this? In this conversation, recorded live at Outdoor Retailer, Taylor walks through the classic cold-start problem every founder building a two-sided marketplace has to solve — get supply first, use supply to pull in demand, then reinvest in supply relentlessly. He also gets honest about the early years trying to convince outdoor brands that working with creators was worth their marketing budget, long before it was an easy sell.
Second Nature Is Supported By Halo
Halo is a hospitality platform built by trail runners specifically for sports and event travel. They work with brands, event organizers and professional leagues to simplify one of the most operationally painful parts of any event: lodging. If you’re a brand thinking about experiential marketing, managing travel for your team or professional athletes, or a league handling lodging for your athletes and fans, Halo’s platform gives your brand a custom hotel booking platform and locks in better rates so you’re not managing hotel logistics from scratch. They’re already working with names like Western States, Aravaipa, Rabbit and New Balance.
And if you’re just heading to a race or event yourself this year, it’s worth checking out, too. Same platform with great rates, community, perks from band partners and less hassle. If any of this sounds like you, reach out to their team and tell them you heard about Halo on Second Nature.
Job Of The Week
👉 Vibram is hiring for two jobs: Product Developer (Footwear) and West Coast Sales Manager, both based in Portland, Oregon.
Show Notes
Here To Help
This week’s episode was a deep dive into the backstory of Popfly, the first brand to officially support Second Nature. While you might have learned the founding story and gotten some insight into the business, we know that every brand and business has its own specific needs. Use the link below to get a customized demo, and the crew at Popfly will get you all dialed in.
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.
🙌 Outdoor Retailer: This year’s event in Minneapolis was all about discovery. We met so many new brands and saw the energy of the region come to life in a major way.
⌚️ Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro: Taylor’s new watch - and first wearable!
⚓️ Shackelton's Voyage: One of the most incredible (and true) stories - Endurance is the story of a mission to the South Pole where everything goes wrong, and everyone survives.
✈️ 57 Hours: Aaron’s newest find at Outdoor Retailer, this travel company works with guides all around the world to unlock unique outdoor experiences. Sign us up!
Thank You
Stay tuned for next week’s episode, we’re checking in with someone who had a breakout business experience in Chamonix.
Thank you to everyone who completed our listener survey, too - your feedback was incredibly helpful!