Jensen Cipriano Brehm is the co-founder of Ombraz Sunglasses — the armless, cord-based eyewear brand that started with a broken pair on a camel safari in India and turned into one of the more distinctive product stories in the outdoor industry. In this conversation, Jensen walks through the founding journey, how Ombraz found their first customers in the ultralight backpacking and bikepacking worlds, their approach to building in-house content and media, raising a small round of funding while retaining equity, and how he and co-founder Nikolai run the whole operation remotely.
Topics
- Origin story: broken sunglasses on a camel safari in India, four years of wearing a MacGyver'd pair, then building the company
- Finding initial traction in ultralight backpacking and then exploding into bikepacking
- Keeping all content creation in-house — why agencies produce soulless, interchangeable outdoor content
- Raising a Series A in 2020 — retaining equity while gaining runway for inventory and hiring
- Delegating early: 3PL, customer service, and letting go of ego
- Ombraz's 9 core brand pillars as a decision-making filter
- Co-founder dynamics with Nikolai — complementary skill sets, business coaching, and the Positive Intelligence framework
- Running the business fully remote via Slack and monday.com
- Defining success as low stress, staying creative, and having fun
Links
The KORE Outdoors Podcast is supported by the Province of British Columbia.
What is KORE Outdoors Podcast?
Dive into insightful conversations with entrepreneurs and leaders shaping the outdoor industry.
Each episode explores practical strategies and inspiring stories to help you navigate your career in the outdoor industry.
Your host, Christian Rawles, brings 15 years of experience as the former owner of Ambler Mountain Works and his current role as KORE Business Advisor.
This podcast is a production of KORE - the Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise. KORE is a non-profit organization based in the Kootenay region of interior British Columbia. KORE’s mission is to support the growing network of gear and apparel makers, designers and entrepreneurs within the Kootenays.