169: Adam Donahue from Dometic talks about Vehicle Supported Adventure
Adam Donahue Business Director over at Dometic and I had a great conversation about Dometic's business and how Overlanding or Vehicle Supported Adventure is growing and providing unique retail opportunities for Outdoor retailers.
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First Exposure to the Outdoors
I grew up sailing and was fortunate enough to get a job working in the marketing department of a small roof rack and truck rack company called Track Rack. That company was acquired by Thule, which led me into a path of the core outdoors. I quickly found my way into cycling, surfing and mountain biking. I really dove sort of head first into the outdoor industry in a more significant way. There wasn't a sport that I wouldn't try at least once and I sort of became obsessed and filled my garage up with gear.
Things we talked about
Other Outdoor Activities
Surfing and Cycling
Advice, tips
The key in the Outdoor Industry is it is an incredibly friendly community. I think being a little bit bold and reaching out to people and asking for connections and advice to me is really the easiest, quickest and most resourceful way of establishing some of that tribal connection. It's a little insular too in that people shift from one company straight the other. If you're in the Tent category, there's a dozen Tent companies that you can go to.
People also tend to spend their careers in the outdoor industry. One, I think they're passionate about it, but two, there's just lots of opportunities for growth. So I would say for people that are interested in it, certainly taking advantage of internship opportunities. Internships is something that we're actually working on at the Dometic, developing something that allows college students to get more involved in our business and provide opportunities for awareness.
I would also say going on linkedin and finding people who are in this industry and saying, Hey, what can I do? Are there opportunities that I can help with? And obviously there's that sort of tech rep path where you get into an entry level and sort of work your way in. But for those that don't have those immediate connections, I would say everyone that I know in the outdoor industry will be willing to at least spend 10 minutes offering you some advice and just don't be afraid to reach out.
Favorite Books
Scrum- The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland
Fingall by
Favorite Piece of Gear under $100
Surf Pad
Connect with Adam
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