The Outdoor Wholesaler

Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Industry: Outdoor Retail Industry

Founding Student Name(s): Dylan Seale (Founder & CEO)

Brief Description of Solution: We instantly connect outdoor brands with a network of retailers via our marketplace.

Funding Dollars: $5,900

What led you to launch this venture? I’ve always been drawn to the welcoming atmosphere of my local ski and bike shops. Growing up with a small business owner as a parent, I understood the pivotal role these establishments play within the community. There’s a certain magic in stepping into a shop and engaging with knowledgeable owners and staff who always made sure I left with gear that was not only financially accessible but also perfectly suited for my adventures. However, as my passion for skiing and biking grew, I noticed a gap: these local shops didn’t always carry the up-and-coming brands my friends and I wanted to represent on the mountain. This realization sparked an idea: What if indie outdoor brands could instantly reach a network of local shops?

With this idea in mind, I took to the phone, calling experts in the outdoor industry to learn everything I could. I dialed ski shops, brand owners, sales reps, marketing leads, and buyers to dive deeper into why quality independent brands lacked representation in local shops. Here’s what I learned:

• For indie brands, building a retail network is time-consuming and capital-intensive but crucial for growth. This challenge is amplified by rising trade show costs, declining attendance, and a significant exodus of sales representatives from the industry.
• For local shops, independent brands can’t always offer the payment terms shops need for cash flow purposes. They also can’t just place large bulk orders before having the confidence that the products will sell in their shop.
• Both local shops and independent brands set themselves apart from the corporate giants through extensive community engagement.

With this information, I explored solutions and landed on The Outdoor Wholesaler. I built an online marketplace where outdoor brands can be discovered by local shops. Today, The Outdoor Wholesaler provides a one-stop solution for forging new partnerships in outdoor retail while equipping businesses with the crucial tools they need to excel in the wholesale landscape.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? We have grown to have 13 brands and 9 shops actively using our platform. Brands include names such as Paradise Skis, Shaggys Skis, Elevated Surf Craft, Deviation Works, Board Budder, and more. Additionally, we’ve been accepted to the eLab accelerator program at Cornell to sharpen our focus on solving the key challenges faced by the outdoor industry.

How has your business-related major helped you further this startup venture? My business major has been instrumental in advancing my startup by providing me with a solid foundation in understanding how to identify and solve real market problems. It taught me the value of customer research, particularly the importance of listening to potential customers and uncovering their challenges before jumping to solutions.

Which business class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? The class that was most valuable in building my startup was called Entrepreneurship Marketing and Strategy taught by Professors Nick Nickitas and Brad Treat. Here, I learned that the foundation of any successful business lies in solving real problems. This crucial lesson was emphasized in the course, where the two underscored the importance of conducting live interviews with potential customers as opposed to simply using surveys or market research. The focus was on uncovering customer pain points, without presenting a solution upfront. Now that I am a Senior, I have been enjoying being a course assistant for the class.

What business professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Professor Dan Hooker made a significant contribution to the overall direction of the Outdoor Wholesaler. He taught my Supply Chain class, and we would often spend time after class discussing problems retailers and suppliers within the wholesale landscape might face. It turned out that much of what we discussed ended up coming up in my conversations with the actual outdoor businesses. Ideas included integrating retailers’ POS system data with the marketplace to provide brands with data-driven insights like sell-through rates. We also discussed solving cashflow challenges such as getting brands paid up-front while retailers can get paid later. Moreover, we chatted about implementing small fees on purchases to ultimately insure brands against retailer payment default. These are just a few of the many ideas we discussed that ended up being brought up by the business people I interviewed in the outdoor industry.

What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? My Dad, Mike Seale, has been a major inspiration behind my entrepreneurial journey. He started in business at a young age, working with his mentor on Lake George, and has since launched ventures whenever an opportunity arose. His diverse portfolio includes jet ski rentals, Christmas tree farms, carwash installations, hotels, fireworks retail tents, real estate ventures, and more. As a kid, I didn’t always enjoy tagging along on his business outings, but I now realize how much I absorbed from those experiences. I’m excited to apply the invaluable lessons I learned from him to my current venture.

Among all the lessons I learned, one really stands out, and it’s how important it is to personally connect with customers as a business owner. For example, for my entire life whenever we’d leave his hotel, he always made it a point to sit down and have a conversation with the guests. These conversations are why, despite the craziness of the hospitality industry, so many repeat customers come back every single year. At The Outdoor Wholesaler, I try to implement this lesson by personally calling every customer who signs up for the platform. As we grow, personal communication with the customer will always be held as a core value of the business.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? In the long term, my vision for The Outdoor Wholesaler is to create a platform that streamlines the sales process in the outdoor retail space so effectively that founders can dedicate their time and energy entirely to crafting high-quality gear.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? I cannot say enough good things about the startup ecosystem at Cornell. The scene here is by far the biggest contributor to giving me the skills to build my startup. Among the many opportunities available to me, Blackstone Launchpad has been incredibly helpful in this journey, especially Nancy Altman, the co-managing director there. She has been a great mentor to discuss my startup’s overall direction and help me prepare for business pitch competitions. My entrepreneurship fraternity, Epsilon Nu Tau, has been another incredible network to be a part of as it connects me with entrepreneurs across years and majors at Cornell. Finally, Student Agencies, an independent student-run corporation in Ithaca, has been a key contributor to preparing me for startup life. At the organization, I had the privilege of serving as CTO for two years, where I implemented impactful technology solutions for a company generating millions in revenue and employing hundreds of people. Student Agencies is truly a unique experience that prepares students for the business world like nothing else I know available. All in all, I am grateful for the opportunities I have had within the startup scene at Cornell, and I only see it growing in the next few years.

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