(Photo courtesy of Bend Outdoor Worx)
Bend Outdoor Worx (BOW), Central Oregon’s outdoor industry accelerator, announce the selected companies that will make up the next cohort beginning this September – Bosky Optics, Fat Chance Bicycles and Zealios.
This next cohort will be the fourth group of companies to receive mentorship from BOW’s industry founders since its inception. Using a process of discovery meetings, analyzation and curriculum building, BOW determines the company needs and provide guidance from the founders and extended mentor group. The Accelerator supports these companies by aligning them with additional resources needed to succeed, including legal assistance, financial planning, marketing, logistics, sales, marketing, and product development.
Cohort # 4 includes:
Bosky Optics (Portland Oregon), an unconventional (performance) eyewear company using natural & sustainable materials. Founder Matthew Minor, a graduate of the OSU Accelerator program, began Bosky in 2015. Bosky’s initial successes include being featured in Vogue & Esquire, attracting strong athlete endorsements and significant early sales performance. For more information visit Boskyoptics.com
Fat Chance Bicycles (Ashland, Oregon), an iconic high-end mountain bike brand of the 80’s & 90’s founded by Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee, Chris Chance. Fat Chance built a legendary reputation and cult following through innovative high quality product fused with a sense of fun and personality. The brand was re-launched in 2015 with a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and ecommerce site. Early revenue was over six-figures for the re-launch. For more information visit fatchance.bike
Zealios (Bend, Oregon), performance personal care products for endurance athletes, founded by University of Washington classmates, Austin Britts and Kevin Fuller, both armed with a BA in Economics with a focus on International trade and a decade in wholesale chemical trade decided to make the best sunscreen on the planet. Zealios introduced their flagship product, Sun Barrier SPF 45, in 2012. Following soaring ecommerce sales and great success on Amazon, they are now developing wholesale distribution starting with Sports Basement and Mike’s Bikes in the Bay Area and experienced growth last season of over 250%, while attracting athlete endorsements such as Jesse Thomas and Heather Jackson (both of Bend). For more information visit Teamzealios.com
BOW co-founder Eric Meade says, “This new team of emerging businesses is exactly what BOW is designed to do – help companies in the outdoor sector scale and reach their goals faster and better through mentoring and guidance. I couldn’t be more proud of BOW and the high caliber clients were seeing come into our cohorts.”
For more information about Bend Outdoor Worx visit www.bendoutdoorworx.com
After assessing common needs from outdoor industry businesses, Bend Outdoor Worx (BOW) was initially conceived in 2013 by Gary Bracelin, a long-time Bend resident and outdoor industry expert. BOW was officially launched in April 2014, when additional industry experts Eric Meade, Justin Rae, and Will Blount joined Bracelin. The founders represent various skill sets and a multitude of experience with successful organizations. In August of 2015, outdoor professional Miki Keller joined the group. BOW also has a deep pool of extended mentors that lend their expertise periodically, as well as White- Summers Law, and Price Fronk & Co, LLP. For additional information on BOW, contact Gary Bracelin, gbracelin@gmail.com.
BOW’s Manifesto
We’re dreamers, radicals, achievers, believers and vanguards with a shared belief and a common goal. We’re an independent organization with independent spirit – and we love the outdoors. We embrace the unpredictable nature and the grit it takes to navigate the hurdles and obstacles in our industry. In fact, we enjoy it. We’re fearless, but we value vulnerability. We encourage risk, but we support solid strategy. We’re not even remotely interested in the status quo. We’re interested in lending our expertise, our stories and our respect for the crazy-but-we-love-it volatility of the outdoor industry to help our companies adapt, adjust and achieve. WE’RE HERE TO LEAD OUTDOOR INDUSTRY ENTREPRENEURS
