Xscape Pod

While backpacking the John Muir trail in Yosemite in 2016 the idea struck me- why isn't there a company that can drop ship everything I need for a camping/backpacking trip for a fair price, on short notice. Use what I need, when I need it and send it back. Upon my return to Portland I began to research and found that no such company existed at any scale. After conducting some surveys and market research it was clear that there was a business need for an online, on-demand camping gear rental service. This article does a good job explaining the genesis of the business and the value proposition. [REDACTED]

It’s with a heavy heart that I’ve decided to sell. There is often never just one reason a founder decides to part with their business. For me, it’s about life priorities. When I started the business I was in my early 30s, had only one small child and was renting a small 2 bedroom house in Portland. Life was easy. Now, we have two young kids, a new large scale fixer-upper home project, and a wife’s increasing career opportunities. It’s my season to take a break from the start-up scene to focus on other aspects of my life. I’ll miss Xscape Pod dearly, and had big plans for the business but needed to do what was best for my family. Now that the pandemic is coming under control the opportunities for this business are looking bright, but I’ve moved on to other pursuits so looking to find a good home for this business.

I ran the business with one partner, each of us spending about 15-20 hours a week on the business during the busy season (May - September) and this includes gear packing operations, customer service, marketing, and general business admin functions. The other months of the year required significantly less time. Really, the amount of time one may spend on this business is proportionate to how fast they would like the business to grow. That being said, this was never my full time job, so never took more than 20 hours a week. If a person could dedicate themselves to this business full time the potential upside is huge.

Me and the leadership team have a detailed growth plan that would be provided to the new owner. This playbook shares our strategy for growing the business over the next five years including scaling up core rental business, curated adventures (we have full turn-key PNW itineraries ready to go), branded equipment, a food line, and so on.

A passion for the outdoors is pretty important to running this business. Customers trust Xscape Pod as an outfitter because of the deep knowledge me and the leadership team have in camping, backpacking and experience in outdoor sports in general. A passion for the outdoors is to this business as a passion for cars is to the owner of an auto repair shop. Beyond that, an interested in entrepreneurship or other experience in business functions like finance, marketing and operations would be a plus as those skills will serve you well ingrowing a business.