OEN NewsFinding Joy and Freedom Outdoors with an Innovative App and Resources
Fifteen years ago, Lestarya Molloy was a complete outdoors newbie. “I did not grow up camping and hiking,” she said. Yet, over time Molloy decided to indulge her curiosity and give it a shot. She was cautiously optimistic and invited friends to join her.
Molloy not only had a great experience on the trip, but she also ignited a brand-new passion.
While growing a career in user experience research and product management in the tech industry, Molloy made outdoor exploration part of her lifestyle. “I was working hard every day innovating technology for the newest generation of cars worth billions of dollars, and hiking and camping is what kept me showing up fully energized to do my best work,” she said.
On one camping excursion, she noticed a family attempting to search online for instructions for lighting a campfire and unable to get cell service. “I was able to help them get their fire going, but the experience showed me that there are no resources to help folks while camping in the moments they need it the most,” she said.
As a woman of color, Molloy knew she was not the only person who had hesitations about camping. “I knew camping and outdoor recreation is often something you only learn if you did it growing up or have someone to show you the ropes,” she said. “Coming from the tech industry, I knew there was a more scalable way to help others get the knowledge and confidence needed to make that leap.”
Molloy saw nothing available on the market like what she envisioned. She started gradually with a website, and then built an app that became Fridie Outdoors. The app contains resources that shorten the camping learning curve and is available online and offline so users can feel joy, confidence and freedom on their explorations.
In 2023, Fridie Outdoors’ minimum viable product (MVP) was launched. The company was also awarded funding via OEN’s Angel Oregon Technology – Emerge Initiative. The impact Fridie Outdoors had influenced Molloy to continue building.
“We’ve had people reach out saying they went on their first-camping trip and some who’ve rekindled their love of camping by using our app,” she said. “We are appreciative to our partners like REI who selected us for their inaugural Path Ahead Ventures – Embark, piloted us in our local REI Hillsboro store and now expanded to over 10 stores across Oregon/Washington. Adidas also selected us as one of 7 businesses for the Adidas Community Lab to make sports, health and wellness more equitable.”
Molloy said launching an outdoor education company in Oregon specifically was a major benefit, thanks to both the support for startups and the incredible outdoor recreation opportunities in the state. Only one percent of outdoor companies are founded by people of color, 3% of the tech industry are Black women, and less than 1% of VC funding goes to Black founders, and Molloy said the representation is deeply important to her.
“My background and experience have helped bring to market innovations that millions of people use every day now, and so I know representation makes a difference,” she said. “I’m always appreciative to people who reach out and share either Fridie Outdoors has inspired them to get camping and outdoors, or how seeing me continue growing inspires them.”
As Fridie Outdoors continues to grow, Molloy hopes that more people get to experience the benefits camping and hiking can bring. “I am so proud to be creating something that is helping people find joy, confidence, and freedom in the outdoors, and I know that when that happens, it has ripple impacts in people’s lives beyond camping,” she said.
Produced by A.wordsmith for OEN
