Carbondale entrepreneur Kyle Siegel cut short a trip visiting suppliers in Vietnam and rushed back to Denver this week for a chance to win $100,000 in a competition for startup companies patterned after “Shark Tank,” the TV show for budding entrepreneurs making investment pitches.
It’s a good thing he did. Siegel, the founder — and until recently, the only employee — of a startup called Raide that makes gear and apparel for skiers and runners, won the top prize Thursday in a competition for outdoor industry companies held in conjunction with the Outside Festival, which unfolds this weekend in Civic Center Park. Siegel was one of five finalists out of 200 submissions who gave five-minute presentations before a panel of five judges at the Denver Public Library.
Because of a four-hour flight delay, Siegel landed in Denver at 2 a.m. Thursday. The competition, called Outside Ignite and organized by the Boulder outdoors media company Outside Interactive Inc., began at 10 a.m. In addition to the judges, the room was full of potential investors.
“It was the largest group that I’ve ever pitched, so I was nervous,” said Siegel, 33. “But once I got on stage, I was fine. I just needed to rip the band-aid off and get it done.”
Outside Inc., which is based in Boulder, created the Outside Festival last year to promote Colorado’s outdoors industry. It attracted 18,000 people to Civic Center Park, and organizers say they expect 25,000 this weekend. The company added the Ignite competition this year to support start-up companies.
“I love the idea of a pitch competition being associated with the Outside Festival, especially being hosted in Denver,” said Ariana Ferwerda of Denver, an Ignite judge. “There is such a blossoming outdoor and start-up scene here. Giving those founders the ability to get in front of a lot of people, share their ideas and ultimately seek investment is such a cool opportunity for them.”
Ferwerda knows the pressures of starting a company. She founded Halfdays, a women’s outdoor apparel brand.
“It was really difficult, especially in the early days, to get in front of investors,” Ferwerda said during a break in Ignite presentations. “I’ve been in their shoes and I understand how hard that is.”
Siegel founded Raide, which means steep in French, in October of 2023. It makes packs, accessories and apparel for skiing and trail running. Siegel previously worked for The North Face and SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket-making company. He was a mechanical engineer there from 2013-15.
“SpaceX was amazing, one of the best work experiences ever,” Siegel said. “I was working on making sure nothing in the rocket broke from vibrations. A super-high paced, high-pressure environment.”
He moved to Carbondale two years ago and began his entrepreneurial pursuit. Winning the Ignite competition was worth $100,000 in cash, media, and legal services.
“I think the concept is really exciting,” Siegel said. “I think there needs to be more room for outdoor companies to get the word out for the industry to support them. That’s what puts innovation in the market. It’s cool to combine that with a competition and awesome networking opportunities.”
The Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, which is a division of the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, partners with Outside Inc. and Visit Denver to put on the Outside Festival. It’s designed to celebrate and promote the state’s $17-billion outdoor recreation industry.
Outside Inc. chief executive Robin Thurston, a former competitive cyclist, compares the pressures of entrepreneurship to “chewing glass and getting punched in the stomach all day.” His entrepreneurial career began in 2009 with a digital mobile fitness tracking startup that offered maps via iPhone apps. Today, Outside Inc. reaches 80 million users through 25 media, digital, and technology platforms.
“To celebrate these entrepreneurs is such a big deal,” Thurston said. “As an entrepreneur, it’s really hard to get venues to be in front of investors, to be in front of potential consumers and get that visibility, as well as perfecting your pitch – how you think about your business and what you want to do with it. This is year one (of Ignite), but I feel like there is the opportunity for this to get bigger and better, and really grow how to discover the next generation of businesses that are going to have a big impact on the outdoor industry.”
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