Moosejaw Outdoor Accelerator SheFly from Vermont and started by former Middlebury College students, has officially won a seat in Moosejaw’s Outdoor Acceleration program, thanks to popular vote. SheFly Apparel is a layerable line of outdoor pants for when women have to "go" outdoors. The diverse trio of female founders lent their real-life experiences as recreationalists to build a brand that focuses on gender, racial and size inclusivity.
Moosejaw Outdoor Accelerator said in a statement that, "We've been blown away by the response to this year's Moosejaw Outdoor Accelerator. We received over a hundred applications from amazing startups. Once we chose ten finalists, almost 10,000 customers and outdoor enthusiasts voted to choose their favorite startups to participate in the Accelerator. A heart-felt thank you for all who applied and participated in voting!"
Here are this year’s winners:
PACT Outdoors – Crested Butte, CO
About:PACT Outdoors designs innovative bathroom kits for your outdoor adventures. With the increase in outdoor participation comes the increase in human waste being improperly disposed of and left on trails. The PACT Outdoors kit helps you dig, clean, and restore to help you get back to your adventure. Each kit includes mycelium powder, a root system for fungi that breaks down human waste, giving you the tools to leave no trace.
About the Founders: Jake and Noah recognize that environmental degradation impacts marginalized and underrepresented groups more than privileged and dominant ones. This intersectional environmentalism advocates for both the protection of people and the planet, recognizing that both are inextricably linked.
Pathloom – San Ramon, CA
About: Pathloom is an all-in-one solution for making outdoor discovery and trip planning easy. Pathloom aims to make a profound impact in getting more people outdoors who would otherwise not be able or encouraged to do so. They’ve developed an all-in-one app to make planning for camping, hiking and other outdoor recreation trips as easy as booking a traditional vacation.
About the Founders: Ankit is committed to getting more people outdoors from all communities: both well-represented and underrepresented. The founder and his team members are BIPOC and represent an underrepresented group in outdoor recreation itself and the outdoor recreation industry.
SheFly Apparel - Vermont
About: SheFly Apparel is a layerable line of outdoor pants for women that allow them to comfortably, safely, and easily relieve themselves in the outdoors without exposing skin to the elements or other people. These flexible and convertible pants feature a patented front-to-back zipper for simple access when you’ve gotta go.
About the Founders: A diverse female trio, Charlotte, Bianca, and Georgia Grace, who have spent time on boulders and in the boardroom founded SheFly Apparel and lend their real-life experience as recreationalists, adventurers, leaders, scientists, activists, innovators, and storytellers to building a brand that focuses on gender, racial, and size inclusivity.
Spruce – Pittsburgh, PA
About:Spruce makes beautifully designed dog gear, focused on innovative features and clever details for modern dog people. Spruce has launched products on crowdfunding platforms, allowing real dog people to provide feedback and support products they believe in. Spruce takes environmental responsibility very seriously, using durable recycled materials to create their products, like leashes from recycled climbing ropes..
About the Founders: Spruce is a woman-owned business. Leah Wiegmann is responsible for the brand’s look and feel, and runs social media for Spruce. Spruce’s founders helped build the baby products company 4moms, and have now brought their baby product development skills to the dog world.
At Moosejaw we know two things: there are never enough cool, new outdoor products, and there’s not enough diversity in the outdoor industry. So, we got together with some of our friends and created the Moosejaw Outdoor Accelerator. This new program will help a diverse group of entrepreneurs create solutions for enjoying the outdoors with more comfort, safety, sustainability and inclusion.
The Moosejaw Outdoor Accelerator will provide four chosen outdoor start-ups with in a comprehensive program to turbocharge their growth:
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An 8-week intensive business mentoring program guided by ICELab based on its established curriculum, including 5 weeks on location at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, CO and a week in Boulder, CO including sessions with Moosejaw experts on strategy, marketing, ecommerce and retail. Lodging is included for 6 on-site weeks.
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Connections with potential investors and a large outdoor recreation network.
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Product launch on Moosejaw.com and in Moosejaw stores with a complete marketing and social media package.
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Free membership in Camber Outdoors with access to resources that help build inclusivity into their business from the ground up.
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Free legal consultation from the law firm of Holland & Hart LLP on everything from company formation and investment agreements to intellectual property.
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A feature article on GearJunkie, the authority on outdoor and adventure news, gear, and culture.
Here's How It All Works
Dec 14 to Jan 18 *(Extended): Startups Apply
We are looking for early stage companies that have a product or service that addresses a compelling need in the outdoor industry. The product or service needs to be well defined but can be pre-revenue. We are especially interested in diverse candidates and/or products or services that will improve outdoor inclusivity. Accepting Applications starting December 14th
Feb 2: Finalists Announced
The Accelerator Judging Panel reviews all of the applications and chooses 10 finalists.
Feb 2: Consumer Voting
Moosejaw customers vote on their favorite start-ups.
Mar 9: Winners Announced
The Accelerator Judging Panel announces the four start-ups to participate in the 2021 Moosejaw Outdoor Accelerator. At least two of the winners will have founders from underrepresented groups within the outdoor industry.
May 3rd - Jun 24th: The Accelerator
Winning start-ups complete the 8-week program. The first two weeks are virtual, followed by a week in Boulder, CO and 5 weeks in Gunnison.
Source: Moosejaw Outdoor Acceleration 3.9.2021 https://www.moosejaw.com/