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FS: Basically a Whole Company


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  • #1222958
    Ian Schumann
    BPL Member

    @freeradical

    Locale: Central TX

    Hey guys, this should be a unique post. I have some brief backstory, please just bear with me, if you would.

    I started Adapt All-Terrain Gear back in August, mainly as a big bold experiment for myself. The primary questions:
    1) Can I make money with this new trekking pole I (had) designed?
    2) Can a college student like myself, with little experience, handle this kind of challenge?
    3) Can I grow this into something that becomes a full-time sustainable job?
    4) Do I want to?
    I must say it’s been a pretty interesting run. The long and the short of it is that the answers to 1), 2), and 3) are, in my eyes, pretty definitely “yes”. The problem is 4). I learned a lot of lessons about myself in the past several months and one of them is that I’m happier in a different line of work.

    So the punchline is that I’m looking to pass on Adapt to somebody else, an existing designer/entrepreneur, a MYOG enthusiast who’s been looking to take the next step–don’t care. What makes me adamant about continuing this project in someone else’s hands? I feel I have developed a product (the Bison trekking pole) that is, though far from perfect, ultimately VERY promising. I’ve managed to piece together a trekking pole that is verifiably (see the BPL review) competitive with the bigger names, and I can do it for really, really cheap.

    I feel that this is a little nugget that should not be wasted, because simply the economy and robustness of my design could really serve the BP community and possibly make backpacking accessible to a much wider range of people. So, like I said, currently the design is not perfect, and I’m disinterested in perfecting it. The challenges are far from insurmountable, I simply need to find someone with the will to do it.

    Is anyone taking to this?

    Alright then, the bottom line is this. I’m leaving for a big multi-month summer adventure on May 14th, and if it’s at all feasible, I want to pass off my company before then. Here’s what I’m offering:
    1) All of my existing inventory (sufficient to build a couple dozen pairs of Bisons, a little messy)
    2) All the information one could want regarding how these things are built, where I get the materials, how they perform in the field, technical specs–the whole bit
    3) All of my ideas on how to customize and expand this project, develop better customization and even other products
    4) Friendly communication and advice after the transition, if any is solicited.

    I haven’t done a rigorous tally of my inventory yet so I don’t know what I want for all this, nor am I sure exactly what kind of compensation I want for the designs, notes, ideas, information, etc. But, long story short, I’m thinking a few hundred bucks, maybe $300-$500, for this whole company. I want to emphasize that I’d much rather pass this off to someone and just move on than nitpick about making some cash. If you have a particular price point in mind then I’ll be happy to talk that out with you, I’ll be very flexible.

    I can’t keep this thing going but it’s my sincere wish that someone else can, for their own benefit and really for the benefit of this whole community.

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