Lloyd Vogel, CEO of Garage Grown Gear and keynote speaker at the upcoming KORE Summit, returns to the podcast for a timely conversation about leading a growing business, why ultralight backpacking has become backpacking, and the future of independent outdoor retail.
Episode Highlights:
- The personal evolution from doing everything to leading everything — how Lloyd shifted from solopreneur to CEO.
- Garage Grown Gear’s framework for saying “no” to good ideas to make room for great ones.
- Why ultralight backpacking isn’t a niche anymore—it’s becoming the new norm in outdoor retail.
- The importance of staying deeply connected to your brand’s purpose and resisting horizontal sprawl.
- How independent retailers can win by creating spaces of discovery, not sameness.
See Lloyd speak live by registering for the KORE Outdoors Summit happening October 2-3, 2025 in Kimberley, BC: https://koreoutdoors.org/summit