This story is part of a series spotlighting the contributions of Black Portlanders to the regional economy. The Business Journal is profiling one Black-owned business a day through February. You can read the coverage here.
While on a camping trip in 2021, Lestarya Molloy was at a campsite near a family that was struggling to start a fire. She helped them find kindling around their campsite and gave tips for starting the fire. This moment got Molloy thinking there is often limited or no cell phone service while camping, but there could be a way to make camping advice available in the moments people need it. With a love of the outdoors and coming from the tech industry, she started building Fridie Outdoors to help others enjoy nature experiences.
Closer Look
Company name: Fridie Outdoors
Founded: 2022
What it does: App to make camping accessible by making the skills available offline
Address: www.fridieoutdoors.com
What’s the biggest challenge your business faced in 2022 and how did you address it?
In the past year, the biggest challenge has been being a first-time founder and building a company from scratch. I didn’t have deep pockets to fund this venture. I knew nobody in the outdoor industry. But what I did have are years of tech industry experience as a product manager and user experience researcher and a heck of a lot of grit. Much of that experience and perseverance has translated into our team’s approach to building out the Fridie Outdoors app.
What was your biggest success of 2022?
We turned our idea for offline accessible camping know-how into a reality, and launched an early release of the Fridie Outdoors app. All the videos and written camping tips are accessible offline. The app covers skills like campsite setup, cooking outdoors without the convenience of home, building a campfire for warmth and sharing stories, secrets to the perfect s’more and more.
We are also so honored to have been chosen as one of 27 founders selected for REI Co-Op’s inaugural Embark accelerator, a program created by REI Co-Op Path Ahead in collaboration with Founded Outdoors. Through this program, we gained outdoor industry knowledge, met leaders and fellow founders in the outdoor industry, and were awarded a grant. This helped accelerate from idea to launch more quickly.
What are you most excited about?
Fridie Outdoors is leading an approach that has never been done before to empower people to get camping. More folks deserve to feel that joy, confidence, and freedom that come with camping and the great outdoors. We’re also proud that diversity is part of our DNA. As a woman of color, I saw nobody who looked like me in the outdoors industry. Having diversity in outdoor leaders has been central to ensure there is representation. It tells BIPOC campers that we’re out here, and folks feel seen.
