Alyssa Ravasio - Supply, Demand, and the Outdoors - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 31]

My guest today is Alyssa Ravasio, co-founder and CEO of Hipcamp, a platform to discover and book your next camping trip. I was excited for this conversation as it combines two of my favorite passions – the outdoors and internet marketplaces. In our discussion, we cover how Alyssa bootstrapped demand in the early days of Hipcamp, the importance of creating not just great experiences but magical ones, and the evolution of Hipcamp’s business model. After listening to this episode, I’m sure the first thing you’ll want to do is get outside in nature. Please enjoy my conversation with Alyssa Ravasio.

 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

[00:02:57] - [First question] - The original insight that led to founding Hipcamp

[00:06:15] - What she studied in college and primary lessons learned there

[00:08:18] - Specific features of studying the internet that influenced her trajectory

[00:10:14] - Deciding what to attack first when developing Hipcamp’s infrastructure

[00:14:12] - Dimensions and market size of the outdoor industry

[00:15:48] - Organizing fragmented data into a useable schema and data set

[00:18:24] - What customers cared about most in the early days of Hipcamp

[00:20:00] - Managing focus and liquidity of the initial marketplace

[00:22:58] - Helping landowners manage the logistics of their property placements

[00:25:16] - Liability insurance in the outdoor industry

[00:27:35] - The biggest challenge faced in developing an outdoor marketplace

[00:30:03] - Amplifying and accelerating naturally grooved distribution

[00:32:32] - Identifying the top correlates of making magic happen

[00:34:55] - An ideal future for Hipcamp five years from now

[00:38:28] - What bad supply looks like and creating quality standards 

[00:42:08] - Their business model and revenue stream

[00:44:45] - Deciding on their take rate and the debate around booking fees

[00:46:14] - Lessons learned along the way as a leader

[00:47:42] - Unit economics from the host’s perspective

[00:52:33] - The most interesting businesses built on top of Hipcamp

[00:53:35] - Why is Hipcamp’s mission so important to her

[00:57:11] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her