{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KORE Outdoors Podcast","title":"25 Years of Packrafting with Thor Tingey of Alpacka Raft: From Innovation to Industry Leadership","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/585ee466\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4431,"description":"Thor Tingey, CEO of Alpacka Raft, discusses what it takes to establish a new category in the outdoor industry and to build an independent, family-owned company. Twenty-five years after pioneering modern packrafting, Thor shares hard-won wisdom about balancing innovation with customer feedback, navigating explosive COVID-era growth, and why maintaining in-house production is critical to his long-term strategy. Thor explains how thoughtful, sustained growth and deep customer relationships define market leadership in the outdoor industry.Episode HighlightsDomestic manufacturing philosophy: Why in-house USA production preserves critical manufacturing knowledge that offshore production erodes.Establishing a new sport: The unique challenges and responsibilities of pioneering packrafting as a recreational activity and building a market category from scratch over 25 years.Customer-driven success metrics: Defining business achievement through authentic superfan stories rather than revenue numbers—when customers evangelize your brand unprompted, you've wonInnovation vs. feedback balance: Weighing when to push design boundaries versus listening to what experienced customers actually need in the fieldMarket leadership responsibility: Grappling with the ethical dimensions of being the category creator—from social media restraint to thoughtful product positioningLinks:KORE OutdoorsAlpacka RaftsSheri - a documentary about Thor's mom who was Alpacka's original founder & CEOAbundance - book Thor mentionsFor more about the KORE Outdoors Podcast, visit https://koreoutdoors.org/podcast/The KORE Outdoors Podcast is supported by the Province of British Columbia.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/qlVqE0xMySoCN4mnwA1jvuYxPRuI6vUunHCwOqAb4Zw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzUxNzA2LzE3MTE5/OTU2NDMtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}