The Bulletin., March 13, 2022, Page 28, Image 28

C8 The BulleTin • Sunday, March 13, 2022
“We grew our company and
self-funded it, which made
for slower growth at times,
but it was comfortable for
us. If you’re jonesing to build
and scale really quickly you
also need to learn how to
manage the growth.”
Worx
Continued from C1
Small business is the back-
bone of Oregon’s economy
with more than 377,000 regis-
tered in 2019, employing 55%
of the population, according to
the most recent data from the
U.S. Small Business adminis-
tration.
In Oregon, there were 3,800
startups, or new businesses,
creating at least 11,000 new
jobs in 2017, the most current
year data are available.
Bend Outdoor Worx sup-
ports startups understand why
they’re in business, as well as
the importance of sales and
marketing, finance, supply
chain, pricing and profit mar-
gins. Training and consulta-
tions occur depending on the
needs of the startup, Bracelin
said.
“Every one is like a puzzle.
Some have 50 pieces, others
have hundreds,” Bracelin said.
“We help them identify what
the missing pieces are and
strengthen what they have.”
— Meg Chun, serves as a Bend
Outdoor Worx adviser to outdoor
startups
Esplori’s vision
With the help of the team of
volunteers at Bend Outdoor
Worx, Esplori founders Bates
and Clark hope to learn how
to scale their business at a rate
that will produce results.
“We’ve never accomplished
this before,” Clark said. “We
are opening up geographically
and lowering our price point to
make the product more acces-
sible to people.”
In transitioning from doing
the installation themselves, Es-
plori’s founders need to find
manufacturers and packaging
that will allow them to ship
parts quickly. In addition, they
need to learn how to market
and sell their products on a
bigger scale.
“The sheer horsepower
available to us at BOW in the
mentor group is hefty based
upon what our needs are,”
Clark said. “And that they are
local and in Bend is amazing.”
The concept for their busi-
ness was sparked by a chat in
a Bend park while their kids
were playing. They wanted an
RV kind of vehicle that was
easy to maneuver, stock and
dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Colin Clark, left, and Brian Bates, co-founders of Esplori, place a wall panel in a Sprinter van at their shop in Bend.
maintain, but without the has-
sle of a traditional RV.
Customized vans usually use
carpeted wood, which adds to
the weight and takes up space.
Esplori uses lightweight alu-
minum component parts that
create walls and platforms for
sleeping. Bates and Clark built
their first van in the rain and
elements in the front of Clark’s
Bend home on spec.
It took about 10 months be-
fore their first two customers
arrived.
“We wanted a van to take
our family out camping, spur
of the moment, and thought
we could do it ourselves,” Bates
said. “With a van, you can park
it in the driveway and just grab
your clothes and toys and go.
“We feel there’s a lot of peo-
ple who want to do that and
this lowers the bar.”
Experience helps
With three decades of ex-
perience under her belt, Bend
resident Meg Chun has a deep
well to draw from. As the for-
Solve these puzzles on C4
SOLUTION TO
TODAY’S SUDOKU
SOLUTION TO TODAY’S
JUMBLE
NYT CROSSWORD SOLUTION
LAT CROSSWORD SOLUTION
mer co-owner of Kialoa pad-
dles, Chun serves as a Bend
Outdoor Worx adviser to
outdoor startups, particularly
those trying to scale up a busi-
ness.
“It gets tougher at this stage,”
Chun said. “You need a lot of
support and to surround your-
self with great people to the
best of your ability and bud-
get.”
Funding issues can limit
how a business tries to grow,
she said.
“We grew our company and
self-funded it, which made for
slower growth at times, but it
was comfortable for us,” Chun
said. “If you’re jonesing to
build and scale really quickly
you also need to learn how to
manage the growth.”
That’s where Bend Outdoor
Worx comes in, Bracelin said.
By supporting new outdoor
businesses, startups can learn
from the experience offered by
established entities and experi-
enced CEOs, Bracelin said.
The accelerator took two
years off in 2020 and 2021
because of the pandemic,
Bracelin said. During that time
it worked to revamp its format
to include an in-person and
virtual platform.
Bend has a wealth of help
from Opportunity Knocks,
a community resource that
brings together small business
owners and managers to assist
startups in solving business
problems, to Economic Devel-
opment for Central Oregon,
the Central Oregon Commu-
nity College Small Business
Development Center and the
Bend Chamber of Commerce.
“I learned some much from
these groups,” Chun said. “It
was never scary to ask for help.
I often wonder if one of the
reasons is that foundationally
so many people in Central Or-
egon share a value that is so
important to them — the out-
door lifestyle.”
Starting a business is deeply
personal, which is where the
mentorship comes in. Scaling a
business involves precision and
skill, that’s where the mentor-
ship comes in.
e
Reporter: 541-633-2117,
sroig@bendbulletin.com