2024-10-28
54 分钟In 1989, after years of scaling some of the most challenging peaks in the world, Peter Metcalf took on a daunting new risk: resuscitating a bankrupt climbing-equipment company, and putting himself into deep debt to do so. From the defunct assets of Chouinard Equipment, Peter launched Black Diamond Equipment, and capitalized on the growing popularity of sport climbing to grow it into one of the most recognizable outdoor brands in the world. By the way, Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Chouinard Equipment, went on to build his next company, Patagonia, into an iconic outdoor apparel brand. It’s a great HIBT story, and you can listen to it HERE. This episode was produced by Josh Lash, with music by Ramtin Arablouei Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Alex Cheng. You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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There's no question it was risky.
I had my life savings in it.
I had personally guaranteed the loan even though I only own 10% of the business and it was my job and career.
So had it gone down, I would have lost everything.
And one of one of the largest outside investors said to me when he heard that, he looked at me and said, I'm sorry to hear that, but that's very reassuring.
That means to me that you're going to do everything in your power not to let this company go down.
And I looked him straight in the eye and said, yes, I am.
Welcome to How I Built this, a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.
I'm Guy Raz, and on the show today, how Peter Metcalf took a bankrupt business and built it into Black diamond, one of the world's best known brands for climbing, hiking and skiing.
Way back in the first year of the show, we ran an interview with Yvonne Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, A classic episode well worth your time, and we'll put a link to it in the show notes.
Anyway, before Patagonia became Patagonia, Ivan ran a tiny little business called Chouinard Equipment that basically sold metal tools for mountain climbers.
As you can probably imagine, the market for mountain climbers alone was pretty small and niche, and by 1989, Chouinard equipment basically went bankrupt.
But it didn't exactly die.
The employees who were left behind decided to raise the money to buy it.