Scaling a Cottage Outdoor Brand with Chris Schabow, CEO of Enlightened Equipment

Chris Schabow didn't plan to run a manufacturing company — he was a nonprofit fundraiser with a sewing machine from Goodwill and a side hustle making backpacking gear. A chance conversation revealed that Enlightened Equipment, the brand he'd been reverse-engineering for years, was operating out of a hole-in-the-wall shop in his own town. What followed was a cold letter, a ghosted coffee meeting, and a leap of faith that cost him his salary, his benefits, and almost his financial stability. Nine years later, he's CEO. This is the story of how you build your way to the top — one baffle at a time.

Highlights from the episode

How a nonprofit fundraiser with a $18 Goodwill sewing machine stumbled into a career at the brand he'd been reverse-engineering from the internet
From leaf blowers in the attic to commercial stuffing machines: how Enlightened Equipment rebuilt its production floor around technology instead of headcount
Why going overseas was the only math that worked — and how the brand navigated the ultralight community's backlash
The "stuff on demand" shell model that saved the company during COVID and became the foundation of how they operate today
What it actually looks like to lead a team you once punched a clock alongside — and why starting at the bottom made Chris a better CEO than any outside hire could have been

Links
Enlightened Equipment
Prairie Dog Shovels
E Clean (down restoration service)
Garage Grown Gear
Ripstop by the Roll
Thru-Hiker
Backpacking Light

For more about the KORE Outdoors Podcast, visit https://koreoutdoors.org/podcast/

The KORE Outdoors Podcast is supported by the Province of British Columbia.

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