Small businesses in the outdoor industry are heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing and many entrepreneurs are unfamiliar with key financing tools, according to data published in a report by Founded Outdoors and REI Co-op Path Ahead Ventures.
The groups surveyed more than 80 outdoor business owners and founders with under $10 million in annual revenue about 2024’s challenges and wins for the report, published in full on Monday. In addition to financing and the supply chain, the report delves into topics such as marketing, teams, trade shows, and sales.
“Understanding and supporting the needs of small outdoor businesses is critical. However, many outdoor business owners operate without access to the information, capital, or networks that are readily available to larger brands,” said Keenan Corrigan, senior program manager, Path Ahead Ventures. “This report helps fill the knowledge gap by providing small business owners with data they can use to benchmark their progress, validate their challenges, and make more informed decisions.”
Some of the key takeaways from the 2025 Outdoor Small Business Benchmarking Study include:
- 70% of respondents make some of their goods in China, which has been subjected to high tariffs, and 59% reported some U.S.-based manufacturing.
- The most frequently cited business challenges in 2024 were marketing and consumer sales, followed by financing or fundraising. Hardgoods and softgoods companies cited production and manufacturing as the most pressing issue.
- Social media and word of mouth were the most common top marketing channels, and underline the potential for cross-promotion, bundled offerings, and joint events. Consumer shows and events were more popular among companies earning less than $100,000.
- More than 35% of founders and business owners aren’t very familiar with financing tools such as merchant cash advances, inventory financing, purchase order financing, accounts receivable financing, and supplier financing.
- Financing was still more challenging for women founders. Women-only teams reported the lowest rates of equity fundraising at 15%, compared to 50% of all-men teams. Women-only teams raised the smallest median amounts at $26,000, which was half of the overall median.
- Among businesses with non-founder/owner employees, 81% of teams with a woman founder or owner had at least one woman employee. That’s compared to 60% of businesses without any women founders or owners. Sixty-five percent of teams with a founder or owner of color had at least one employee of color, compared to 38% of businesses without any founders or owners of color.
“When small businesses are thriving, the entire outdoor industry becomes stronger,” said Katie Doherty, who leads partnerships at Founded Outdoors. “Our emerging founders and business owners are the drivers of innovation, the entry points to new communities, and an essential component of a more resilient, inclusive, and dynamic outdoor industry.”
