Outdoor execs: Lure center of industry back to Boulder

BOULDER — An outdoor industry that once found its center of gravity in Boulder now seems to be shifting to Utah — as evidenced by last week’s announcement that the nonprofit SnowSports Industries America trade group had picked Park City over Boulder for its new headquarters — and executives of local outdoor recreation-related companies gathered Tuesday to discuss ways of luring it back.

Slackline Industries chief executive Ricardo Bottome, for one, said the shift to Utah doesn’t make sense. The center of the outdoor industry “doesn’t belong in a state that doesn’t value diversity,” he said at a CEO Roundtable sponsored by BizWest. “Salt Lake City has 1.7 million people, and it’s dead. Boulder has 100,000, and it’s fun.”

Demetri Coupounas, co-founder of My Trail Co., also praised Denver International Airport, noting that “there’s not a better airport than DIA for the outdoor industry. “We can get anywhere in three and a half hours,” he said, “not that I want to go anywhere. A lot more people love Colorado.”

Luis Benitez, director of Colorado’s new Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, offered one answer. “Why Utah? For one thing, the mayor of Ogden keeps calling and offering cheap land and tax breaks.

“I don’t think we capitalize on the things we have well enough,” he said. “Where’s the sense of voice we’re trying to build? Boulder’s in competition with Park City, but why couldn’t it be less about Boulder and more about the county? We’ve got a lot more to sell.”

Others cited high housing costs in Boulder.

“I wasn’t very scientific about moving my business here. I wanted to be here,” said Kimo Seymour, president of Louisville-based Life Time Fitness. “But, wow, were we in for a sticker shock with the residential real estate prices. We lost a lot of people. We relocated 30 here, but a lot of people declined because of the cost of living.”

Steven Sashen, CEO of Xero Shoes, noted that the effect of Colorado’s new marijuana industry has been to raise the cost of both real estate and talent, and Judy Amabile, CEO of Product Architects Inc., added that the pot business has gobbled up much of the area’s warehouse space.

“Let’s say we got more warehouse space,” countered Benitez. “Would that make a difference because of housing costs?”

“There’s no magic thing to solve that problem,’ said Shelley Dunbar, marketing director for Sea to Summit. “It’s a question of supply and demand, and if there are not some changes, it’s not going to get any better.”

She suggested encouraging Boulder to consider infill — “I’m not really afraid of it if we put it in the right places” — and zoning changes to allow residential and retail development in areas now designated for industrial use only. “Why don’t we change the definition of what ‘industrial’ is to add retail — cafes, restaurants, dry cleaners, nail salons — make it livable?

“There’s things we could be influencing politically. We need to decide, do we fundamentally and philosophically want to increase the number of people who live and work here?”

For most, moving east into less expensive Weld County didn’t seem like a viable option.

“For us, it wouldn’t be feasible,” said Gareth Richards, owner of Louisville-based Outdoor Prolink. “We won’t go farther out.”

“Boulder as a brand is unbelievably valuable,” Coupounas agreed. “It’s where you want people to come and experience your brand. That doesn’t mean your headquarters has to be here.”

Companies can do more to market their own brands as well, and attendees noted that it’s a learning process.

“You have to create an online presence, and make your brand clearly understood,” said Nicole DeBoom, who founded Skirt Sports in 2005 but is holding a grand opening Thursday for her first retail location at 2795 Pearl St., near Boulder Running Co.

“We were doing really well with wholesale,” Sashen added. “But we didn’t understand the mind of a retail buyer, and we didn’t have the diversity of product to support that. Now we do.”

Selling their wares on Amazon didn’t garner rave reviews.

“The biggest problem with Amazon is China,” said Jonathan Fox, president of Eco Vessel. “Amazon doesn’t really support brands well. Anybody can go to China and copy anything you have in two seconds.”

Amabile agreed. “Unless you have a big and diverse product line, it’s hard to get attention.”

Seth Haber, founder and CEO of Trek Light Gear, said he’s been inspired by Bo Burlingham’s book “Small Giants: Companies that Choose to Be Great Instead of Big.”

“You have to decide what are your goals as a business owner,” Haber said. “I’ve focused on selling direct to consumers from a kiosk on the Pearl Street Mall. I like seeing a smile on a customer’s face more than I like to deal with another business owner who doesn’t like me. Growth for growth’s sake doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Most agreed, however, that sharing resources and advice always helps.

“There’s a need for community in the outdoor industry,” said Jeff Curran, founder of elevenpine, a startup that is marketing cycling shorts that can transition from a tighter fit while riding to a looser casual look. He cited a bicycling, business and beer meetup group that has expanded from 20 or 30 members to nearly 500.

All agreed with Fox’s conclusion that “I want the Colorado thing to matter more than it does.”

Roundtable participants

Judy Amabile, CEO of Product Architects Inc.; Luis Benitez, director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office; Ricardo Bottome, founder of Slackline Industries and CEO of Canaima Outdoors; Demetri Coupounas, co-founder of My Trail Co.; Jeff Curran, founder of elevenpine; Nicole DeBoom, founder and CEO of Skirt Sports Inc.; Shelley Dunbar, marketing director of Sea to Summit; Jonathan Fox, president of Eco Vessel; Seth Haber, founder and CEO of Trek Light Gear; Gareth Richards, owner of Outdoor Prolink; Steve Sashen, CEO of Xero Shoes; and Kimo Seymour, president of Life Time Fitness. Moderator: Christopher Wood, BizWest Media LLC. Sponsors: Jon Banashek, Heidi Potter and Peter Schaub of Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti; and Jeremy Wilson of EKS&H.

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