5 up-and-coming outdoor & adventure startups you have to know about
6 MINUTES
March 28, 2023

As you might already know, we’re the biggest fans of startups and their products. With this first article, we’re launching our new topic about tech companies worth everybody’s attention.
The first five startups we want to introduce to you are the game changers in the outdoor & adventure industries — please, welcome.
#1. onX
Company’s website: onxmaps.com
Founder: Eric Siegfried
COO & CFO: Josh Spitzer
Lead Investor: Summit Partners
Total funding amount: $195.1 M

Founded in 2009, onX is a Montana-based mobile apps company that provides maps for hunting, hiking & off-roading.
The company provides the most accurate GPS mapping tech for outdoor enthusiasts, featuring offline land ownership maps. World-class GPS and mapping technologies present customized information to users tailored to their off-pavement activities and locations.
onX is also known as a startup that raised a striking funding of $20.3 million in a Series A, one of the most significant investments among startups based in Montana. The latest funding was raised in 2022 from a Series B round from Summit Partners and Madison ValleyPartners.
“In many ways, the onX story represents the quintessential entrepreneurial journey. Eric founded onX to address a major gap in the outdoor recreation market and bootstrapped the business to an impressive scale,” said Greg Goldfarb, Managing Director at Summit Partners and onX board member.
What we like the most about it:
onX was founded in 2009, and nowadays, it continues building a winning product and growing a team.
In 2020, it acquired Adventure Projects, a platform connecting people, data, and outdoor passions.
“Our mission is to awaken the adventurer in everyone,” said onX VP of Product Management, Chris Hamilton. “Our goal is to help everyone have the best outdoor experience possible by arming them with technology to discover and explore new places, safely and confidently.”
Earlier that year, onX also acquired Outdoor Project, another community-driven adventure content hub supported by thousands of recreationists.
#2. Hipcamp
Company’s website: hipcamp.com
Founder & CEO: Alyssa Ravasio
Director of Product Engineering: Keerti Joshi
Lead Investors: Slow Ventures (same investors as Twitter), Bond, Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark, August Capital, Oreilly AlphaTech Ventures, Dave Morin
Total funding amount: $97.5 M

Hipcamp, a San Francisco-based startup, is the most comprehensive resource for unique outdoor stays. Discover and book tent camping, RV parks, cabins, treehouses, and glamping.
Founded to help people get outside, connect with nature, and find the right spots for them back in 2013, it has since grown into the most comprehensive resource for discovering and booking unique outdoor stays, including tent camping, RV parks, cabins, treehouses, and glamping.
In 2021, Hipcamp closed its last funding round from a Series C round with $57 million and continued its rapid growth. The company has demonstrated an ability to scale quickly, expanding its offerings to include campsites, cabins, treehouses, and other unique lodging options.
Hipcamp became the world’s largest provider of outdoor stays and has raised a 460 percent increase in bookings since 2019.
What we like the most about it:
We find it an exciting idea and ambitious business strategy — to bring its Airbnb-style model of campsite booking to the UK.
To achieve it, in 2020, Hipcamp started its European expansion with an acquisition of Australia’s Youcamp, which brought its total listings to 420,000 campsites in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
In two years, Hipcamp acquired Cool Camping, a UK online travel agency, and got access to its 25,000 camping pitches and glamping structures.
#3. FATMAP
Company’s website: fatmap.com
Founder: Misha Gopaul, David Cowell
CTO: Erol Kutay
Head of Operations: Marcel Duee
Total funding amount: $26.9 M
Acquired by Strava on Jan 23, 2023

Fatmap is a 3D mapping platform that provides detailed maps and information about outdoor destinations — the best skiing, hiking, and mountain biking routes moderated by qualified professionals.
Fatmap was founded by mountain enthusiasts David Cowell and Misha Gopaul in 2013, and it has acquired 1.6 million registered users today. The critical thing that makes this product so unique is the maps of extraordinarily high quality made, thanks to the imagery from Digital Globe’s WV3 satellite.
On Jan 23, 2023, Fatmap was acquired by Strava, one of the most popular fitness apps used by millions of people to track their workouts and connect with other athletes.
That’s how Michael Gopaul commented on the acquisition: “We started Fatmap with a mission to make outdoor experiences more accessible. Where other map platforms have been designed for navigating streets and cities, we wanted to build a map designed specifically to help people explore. Joining forces with Strava opens up new exciting possibilities and will accelerate our progress to enable millions more people to explore the world’s wild places, safely and sustainably.”
What we like the most about it:
Though the terms of the deal are not disclosed, Fatmap made an actual startup exit! This acquisition has the potential to benefit both companies and their users.
We suppose, in the near time, we will find out all the details and the exit strategy of Fatmap.
#4. Journee
Company’s website: journeetrips.com
Co-Founder: Ed Tribe
Technical Co-Founder: James Gillard
Co-Founder & Chief Trip Planner: Megha Chaturvedi
Lead Investors: Fuel Ventures, Velocity Capital Advisors
Total funding amount: £2.1 M

Journee is a platform intended to provide an experimental traveling experience. They create tailored mystery trips based on the user’s travel taste and plans — the artificial intelligence secretly matches a destination and its preferences.
Traveltech startup Journee was founded in 2019 by three friends and former Depop colleagues, Ed Tribe, Megha Chaturvedi, and James Gillard. Since then, the company has raised a total of £2.1M in funding over 4 rounds, with the last Seed round of £1.8M in Feb 2022.
Journee has already recorded more than 1.5k bookings to over 52 mystery destinations and has a 4.9 rating on Trustpilot.
Maria Raga, one of Journee’s angel investors and a CEO of Depop (acquired by Etsy), said: “We were lucky to get to know Ed, Megha and James while they were at Depop and were impressed with their entrepreneurial spirit. They have a vision to make the world a better place by expanding people’s capacity to explore new cultures and have incredible travel experiences. I am excited to be supporting the Journee team’s ambitions in changing how people travel.”
What we like the most about it:
Journee’s idea is outstanding — they invite you to embrace the unknown. People don’t know their destination until the very last moment they arrive at the airport.
Traveling is fantastic, unquestionably, but planning it sucks. Journee takes care of all the traveling hassle (booking, accommodation, experience, etc.) and shortens your planning time from days to minutes.
Isn’t it the perfect non-planing for a real adventurer?
#5. GlobeSisters
Company’s website: globesisters.com
Founder: Pauline André

GlobeSisters is a startup that organizes solo trips for women — a hospitality exchange platform tailored for women with a solid commitment to safety and security.
Founded in 2021 by a Berkeley graduate, Paulina André, the startup was launched via Berkeley SkyDeck. Besides that, Berkeley’s StEP program for student entrepreneurs helped launch this social startup and find mentors and potential partners.
This year, the GlobeSisters mobile app was launched to empower women to travel alone, explore new destinations, and make new connections. Today the company’s community has over 1000 members who have completed over 200 trips.
Almog Goldstein, Co-Founder, CEO of Beaches. App: “GlobeSisters team is building an incredible platform that aims to transform the way women can travel safely around the world. The founders, Pierre and Pauline, are super dedicated, focused, and motivated, which gives them a great advantage on the journey to fulfill their vision. I have the pleasure to see their progress each week as part of the Berkeley SkyDeck mentorship program, and I highly recommend them!”
What we like the most about it:
GlobeSisters is a freshman, or better say, FRESHWOMAN, in the industry with a bright concept and high noble aim — make solo trips for women safe.
We know very little about its funding and investment plans, but it makes watching this startup even more enjoyable.
The company is actively hiring now and has 9 open positions, which may indicate dynamic development and, hopefully, big plans.