From Finance to Steering 1000s of Monthly Fishing Expeditions

Looking Backward

Captain Experiences is a platform for booking outdoor sports guides, starting with hunting and fishing. They have partnered with 1500 guides and have become the largest platform in the U.S. for booking fishing trips. They have about 200,000 monthly site visitors and are steadily growing.

Jonathan, the founder, didn't have early entrepreneurial experience but had a background in bartending and finance. The customer service skills from bartending and the modeling and Excel skills from finance have influenced his approach to running Captain Experiences. They prioritize customer satisfaction and have implemented processes to ensure accurate trip listings and address any issues that arise.

Captain Experiences started by focusing on solving the cold start problem by first building the supply side of the marketplace. They reached out to fishing guides and offered to take care of all the heavy lifting for them, including managing their calendars and creating their profiles and trip listings. This approach allowed them to onboard guides and build liquidity in Galveston, Texas. They then expanded geographically, focusing on markets where they needed more guides and where there was potential for growth.

They used SEO and events to fill the gaps in the early days and later implemented programmatic SEO to scale their growth. They also leveraged word-of-mouth referrals from existing guides to attract new guides to the platform. Captain Experiences plans to expand into other outdoor sports and geographies, with the goal of becoming a global business.

Takeaways

• Captain Experiences is the largest platform in the U.S. for booking fishing trips
• They prioritize customer satisfaction and have implemented processes to address any issues that arise
• Jonathan's background in bartending and finance has influenced his approach to running the business
• They earn a commission on every executed trip Captain Experiences focused on solving the cold start problem by first building the supply side of the marketplace.
• They onboarded fishing guides by offering to take care of all the heavy lifting for them.
• They used SEO and events to fill the gaps in the early days and later implemented programmatic SEO to scale their growth.
• Word-of-mouth referrals from existing guides played a significant role in attracting new guides to the platform.
• Captain Experiences plans to expand into other outdoor sports and geographies, with the goal of becoming a global business.