GoWild
Year founded: 2017
Number of employees: 14
Founders: Brad Luttrell, CEO, Zack Grimes, president, Donovan Sears, chief product designer, and Chris Gleim, chief development officer
Amount of capital raised: About $6 million
Notable investors: Lunsford Capital, Jack Danehy, Stadia Ventures, Venture First, Strike Ventures, Render Capital, Kentucky Science & Technology Corp., Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, Tri State Angel Investor Group and Appalachian Investors Alliance, Alleghenies Angel Fund
Explain what your company does: GoWild is a free social community helping outdoor enthusiasts improve their skills, discover gear and earn rewards.
What are some major milestones in the company’s history?
- Founders went full time in 2018.
- In spring 2019, GoWild was chosen for Stadia Ventures sports accelerator program, considered the best sports accelerator in the world. The highly competitive program chooses only 5 companies from hundreds of applicants from around the world.
- Company pivoted away from B2B in 2020 during the pandemic and into e-commerce. Since pivoting, GoWild has achieved record growth, including consistent 36% MOM growth through Q3 of 2021, and four straight months of record monthly sales.
What is your company working on right now?
GoWild is focused on growing our platform’s functionality and product offering so we can scale and serve more members. This ultimately helps us teach more people about the wonder of outdoor pursuits.
What’s on the horizon for your company in 2022?
GoWild is preparing for a banner year. Post funding round, we are primed to truly get the word about this platform we’ve been quietly building here in Louisville for the last few years.
Why grow your company from Kentucky?
This is home. Kentucky is all too often at the bottom of every stat, and we are ready to help punch back against the stigmas and stereotypes. Our founders are all from Appalachia, or rural areas of Kentucky and Indiana. We are proud to be here, and we’re dedicated to building a world class e-commerce company here so we can show just how good Kentucky can be. We firmly believe this area is going to be the Silicon Valley of e-commerce in 20 years. Or, if you know us, you know we’ve dubbed it "Silicon Holler."
