OEN Member NewsPortland-based camping, outdoors lover-aimed startup, Outdoor Project, snags $2M (Portland Business Journal)

The Outdoor Project, which is building an online resource and community for campers, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts, has secured $2 million led by the Oregon Angel Fund.

Bend’s Cascade Angels also participated in the round along with other individual angel investors.

Outdoor Project, which has a founding team of six people, will use the funding to add five more key hires.

The startup has a team of roughly 200 contributors who add content to the platform. The site provides photos, maps and various guides that people can use to plan outdoor activities and explore new areas. The funding will also be used to bring on more contributors and help the site expand to include content from the entire U.S. and locations in Canada.

“Closing this funding round is tremendous validation for the quality work our contributors and team put into building the world’s greatest adventure guidebook,” said co-founder and CEO Tyson Gillard in a written statement.

Outdoor Project, an alum of the Portland Incubator Experiment, has been building in Portland for several years. The site lists more than 4,000 adventures that include camping on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, staying in a ski hut near Lake Tahoe and rock climbing in the Colorado desert.

The company generates revenue through advertising, sponsored content and other collaborations. The site attracts 2.2 million unique monthly visitors and has 314,000 members.

Source: www.bizjournals.com