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Meet Ben Nelson of Huck Adventures in Boulder

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Nelson.

Ben, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in a small rural neighborhood in Missouri. My two brothers and I spent most of our childhoods outside–climbing trees, running through the woods, or making boats to drift down our creek.

As I got older, I got into rock climbing, paddling, snowboarding and mountain biking. Really, anything to get me outdoors. I traveled a lot, both around the United States and to other countries, and I was always looking for people to connect with to get outside. But it was often a challenge to find someone with the same sport interests and the same skill level, especially with rock climbing, where I needed partners I could trust.

And I discovered that I wasn’t alone in my frustration. I met others who faced the same challenges, and for some people, they had some pretty horrible experiences where they were injured by inexperienced partners they had just met. I ran into others who had a desire to get outside, but didn’t know where to start, lacked the skills, or didn’t know anyone in the sport.

Early last year, I started researching the idea of an app to help connect outdoor enthusiasts. After all the conversations I’ve had with outdoor enthusiasts around the world, I started to organize the wireframes of the app–how it would work and what features it would launch with.

I chose Colorado as the home for the company and as the prime market to test and launch the app. So, I packed up my apartment in Kansas City and moved her into a tiny 100-square-foot room in my brother’s basement as I scraped together enough funds to make Huck Adventures a reality.

Huck now has a team of almost a dozen people that are just as passionate about the outdoors as I am. We are getting ready for our launch and I’m excited for what’s to come.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If it was a smooth road, everyone would do it. Everything takes time and patience. One of our biggest challenges has been finding the right developers with the right experience for this app. We had to push back our launch because of it, but we now have an incredible powerhouse coding team. The amount of work they’ve accomplished over the last month is astounding, and they are constantly unveiling new features in preparation for our Version 1.0 launch.

The company also has been bootstrapped since the beginning, so that means we have to be careful about how we spend our time and our money. We have a lot of ideas and things we’d like to implement now but have to be patient until the funding is there.

But as bumpy as this journey has been, every step of it has led us to where we are now and we wouldn’t have grown as a company without overcoming those obstacles. There is a huge need for an app like this and people are so excited for it to come out. If I ever get discouraged, the outdoor community gives me the motivation to keep going.

Please tell us about Huck Adventures – what should we know?
Huck Adventures is an outdoor recreation app that will not only help outdoor enthusiasts connect but also allow them to get outside and enjoy the outdoors more often.

Through the app, users will be matched and be able to search for other users with the same sports interests, skill levels, and location, and be able to schedule and chat directly through the app. Other features of the app will allow users to attend organized events, learn on the education hub, and post gear reviews.

This really makes us stand out because there’s no other app that helps connect outdoor enthusiasts, and allows them to find people based on skill level and availability.

Huck’s mission is to not only to grow outdoor participation as a whole but also grow the non-profits that keep the outdoors beautiful and support more people getting outside. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of–because we really want to give back to the outdoor community. So, we’ve created a profit-sharing program for non-profit organizations, plus the app will match users with the non-profit partner it thinks the users will like, and they can choose to attend events, volunteer, or donate. We’re partnering with some amazing nonprofits, including Paradox Sports, Big City Mountaineers, Clean Trails, Leave No Trace, Adaptive Adventures, and SheJumps.

We’re currently building out the app and in the testing phase with plans to officially launch to the public this summer. We’re going to launch in Colorado and then expand out to the rest of the U.S. and eventually be worldwide. People can sign up to be a beta tester or be notified when it officially launches at www.huckadventures.com.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Success can mean so many things and is so often tied to money. From a business standpoint, I could say we’d be successful when the company is profitable. But we’re about building community and solving a problem that so many outdoor enthusiasts face. So, when we start hearing stories of how this app has changed people’s lives, that’s really when I’ll feel we’re a success. The best part for me so far in the app-building phase is when I’m out of the community, and people tell me they’ve needed this app forever. That tells me I’m on the right track.

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Image Credit:
Photos by Nic Daughtry Photography, @nicdaughtry

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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