Today we’d like to introduce you to Cam Brensinger.
Cam, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started NEMO Equipment, Inc. in 2002 as a senior at RISD. My intention was to bring high-level design and engineering to the outdoor industry. Three days after graduation, I opened NEMO’s headquarters in an old mill building in Nashua, NH. A quick drive from both New Hampshire’s White Mountains and the great design and business resources available from connections at RISD and MIT, Nashua was the perfect location to establish the company headquarters. Much of the first year was spent learning to sew and pattern and developing our AirSupported Technology®. Tents were chosen as NEMO’s first product line because I saw the opportunity to bring significant new innovation to the market and I knew that successfully revolutionizing tents would give NEMO the credibility to move into new product lines in the future.
In 2004, we launched tents at the Summer Outdoor Retailer Show and quickly began winning awards for design and innovation. NEMO was the overall winner of the international ISPO Brand New Award in 2005 and named by TIME and Popular Science as one of the 100 best inventions of the year. Since then, NEMO has won over 50 major awards for its innovative products. During this same time, I and our small design team began taking on specialized consulting work to stimulate creativity and expand our expertise. One of the first projects was developing spacesuit technology and habitat architecture for NASA (essentially extreme mountaineering clothing and shelters). We started selling our tents in the Spring of 2005. Over the years, we’ve expanded beyond tents to sleeping pads, sleeping bags, camp accessories and furniture. We’ve worked with the US military’s elite Special Operations Forces as well as top athletes and brand ambassadors in specialized outdoor sports like adventure racing, backpacking, bike packing, and back country hunting.
In 2011, we moved the company to Dover, NH to be closer to the ocean and mountains that are so integral to our ethos. The office houses 22 employees, including a full in-house design and engineering team, a wood shop, 3D printer and pattern cutter for making custom pieces, and custom-made testing equipment including a rain chamber, heat, and pressure testing equipment.
In 2017, we continue to push our limits, expanding into furniture, and we won the prestigious International OutDoor Industry Award for our Helio™ LX Pressure Shower. (Brensinger was also named one of the outdoor industry’s Best & Brightest – 26 people setting the outdoor industry on fire by Outdoor Retailer Daily.)
Has it been a smooth road?
There have been lots of obstacles and challenges. But most of them have been exactly the sort that comes with the territory and that you expect when you sign up for an adventure like starting a business. The only ones that have really gotten to me emotionally have been, back in the early years, when cash flow got really tight and upholding promises to our partners looked impossible. One of the biggest reasons I started my own company was to create a culture and operate with a level of integrity that I could feel good about being part of every day. I love making things…not dealing with drama or otherwise spoiling creativity with a lot of negative emotions.
Nothing kills your potential faster than stress and depression. I wanted to create an environment where a talented team of people could safely engage with each other, with mutual respect and camaraderie and accomplish ambitious goals together. A lot of what rock climbing felt like with my best friends. No problem that you face together with a close team feels too big. But there were periods of our startup days when money got very tight and the notion of not being able to pay a bill or pay payroll was deeply stressful—like failing someone that trusts you. But fortunately, we never missed a payroll through all those years and we ultimately honored all our promises. These days, there are always challenges, but most of them pretty surmountable and none of them that really rattle me. We have a solid foundation for the business, an incredible team of people and a set of values and a way of tackling problems that we never waver from. That makes any challenge doable.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the NEMO Equipment, Inc. story. Tell us more about the business.
NEMO is founded on a commitment to adventure, to the fearless pursuit of uncharted paths, in everything from the equipment we build to the way we run our business. We put great effort into choosing the best materials and providing users with the highest level of workmanship. Our tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads and camp accessories have years of real-world and laboratory testing behind them while focusing on innovation and technology. From our AirSupported Technology® to Spoon™ Shape sleeping bags and beyond, we make gear to withstand the rigors of what Adventure Anywhere means to you.
(NEMO is a product-driven company that is quickly becoming an iconic outdoor brand. Cam is often sought out by the media for his thoughts on trends, product design and the future of the industry. Unlike many in the industry, NEMO takes full responsibility for every creative detail of its brand and products. All product design, engineering, development, studio photography, graphic design, etc. are done in-house. NEMO is constantly evolving, improving its products and process.)
In cooperation with Natick Army Labs and MIT, we have some of the most sophisticated testing and research into fabrics and materials in the industry. Using only the highest quality fabrics and components, much of which is developed specially for NEMO.
NEMO has many ‘firsts’ in the industry:
AirSupported Technology® (low-pressure, lightweight and packable air beams) for tent support
Spoon™ Shape sleeping bags (the first new shape in decades for sleeping bags)
Thermo Gills™ for temperature regulation in sleeping bags
The first lightweight, packable, portable shower that offers steady water pressure with no hanging required. (Helio™ Pressure Shower)
At NEMO, ideas for new products begin with having real experiences in the adventure. We:
– Never bring anything to market that isn’t significantly better than what is already available.
– Own and obsess over every detail.
– Have pride in everything we do.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
There’s been a lot of consolidation in our industry. Larger companies buying up smaller ones, and a general amount of sameness. The innovation seems to be coming primarily from the younger, smaller brands. Take a look at the crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. Consumers are willing to front the funds to help new brands get off the ground, it’s a different time then when brands like NEMO started. We needed to scrape every penny, hit up friends and family, and then approach angel investors, etc. I think the way we do business, how we approach new product design, and how we talk to consumers is dramatically changing.
We’re also seeing the focus more on time outdoors with friends and loved ones. It’s not so much about going to extremes, but more accessible activities, and comfort. We’ve seen a lot of growth in our product lines that cater to this, like our Wagontop series of 4, 6, and 8-person tents that are easy to set up and offer standing height, as well as our 2 person sleep systems that integrate bed sheets, insulated mattress tops and fit with an inflatable queen size mattress.
Contact Info:
- Address: 383 Central Ave., Suite 275
Dover, NH 03820 - Website: www.nemoequipment.com
- Phone: 800-997-9301
- Email: journey@nemoequipment.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nemoequipment/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nemoequipment/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NEMOEquipment
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2075560/
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
