How Cotopaxi Began: Davis Smith Shares His Early Founder Story
Hosted by Sarah Shaw, founder of Sarah Shaw Consulting. This show highlights strategies and stories that support product-based founders through wholesale strategy, boutique outreach, media pitching, and celebrity gifting.
Davis shares the early mission behind Cotopaxi. His story helps founders clarify their own brand focus. Read this guide if you want to shape a clear brand story.
Davis Smith of Cotopaxi (named after the volcano near Quito in Ecuador) is an avid outdoorsman, entrepreneur and innovator…..and a totally cool guy. Davis spent most of his childhood in Central and South America in the shadows of Cotopaxi. Join us in our journey about the creation of Cotopaxi and how he used a llama to get the word out about the brand when they were first launching. Cotopaxi’s mission, besides bringing you cool products, is to work with non-profits in underdeveloped countries around the world helping those living in severe poverty with education, livelihood and health.
How a volcano inspired a brand
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More about Davis Smith
Davis Smith is the CEO and Founder of Cotopaxi which is his 3rd business to date. Davis co-founded Cotopaxi with the goal of building an outdoor gear company that could make meaningful strides toward helping others. After spending much of his childhood and early adulthood living in Central and South America, Davis realized he could build a company with a supply chain that drastically improves people’s lives while raising awareness about staggering global inequalities. Davis teamed up with business school classmate Stephan Jacob and together they founded Cotopaxi in 2014. Cotopaxi creates innovative outdoor products and experiences that help alleviate poverty, move people to do good, and inspire adventure.
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the website looks great. I am so proud of it now it looks so professional. I was thinking about giving up because I felt so buried and had no direction. I am happy I hired you to help me.
2 Comments. Leave new
A visionary guy that operates out of the box…we need more of “him”. The more business folks that employ, support and show kindness the sooner the shift will be made in everyone’s consciousness to do the same. Thanks Davis
Thanks Jill – he does rock.