22 min
Pineapple Redwood Forum Interview: Erik Workman, Goal Zero Outpost Trade Interviews
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- Business
Erik is a third Generation entrepreneur, so he's been involved in business building his entire life. Even as a kid he would be helping out as a family on something that needed done. After high school, he joined the Marine Corps as a way to get a way and get out into the world myself for a bit. College wasn't for him. After 4 years, he finished his commitment as a Sargent and decided to give college a go. While in college, he started interning aggressively at his father's company (ProvoCraft) where he decided he was learning a lot more that route and to be honest, the only reason he was even enrolled at that point was for the girls and rugby.
After a couple years, his father sold ProvoCraft and they started into creating Goal Zero as well as our Non Profit - Tifie Humanitarian. Erik worked in goal running majority of products in the PD department.
During his time with Goal Zero, he created hundreds of products that not only created a new industry for consumers, but was able to spend a lot of time implementing the overall goal of it bringing power to people around the world that were less fortunate to have access to power or that were devastated by natural disasters or worse. This allowed him to travel the world and see it from a pretty uniques lens. He worked on a project in the Congo, Haiti, Philippines, Hurricane Sandy victims, as well as the Navajo nation to name a few.
After he was fortunate to sell Goal Zero, he moved onto the next company, Barebones, where he worked as VP of Product Development. This company was not only another new challenge, but it was also a new piece to the puzzle for our humanitarian work of adding in the next pieces of food and shelter. This brought him into more projects around the world from Fiji to the growing refugee crisis in Syria.
Currently, he is a Barebones consultant as they slowed down the PD section and are building up other areas of the business. However, his need to create products has not dwindled. Because of that, Barebones has created a new company we call NoBox, which is exactly what it sounds like. They wanted a place that doesn't get us thinking outside the box, but where there is no box in the first place. This project while primarily focused on outdoor products (because thats just what they do), IT is a place for them to bring products to a broader audience that may not fit in a more brand centric type company. They wanted to take their decades of experience and find ways to get better quality products for a much better prices to the world. The company's road map is defined by not just what we dream up but has a big focus in finding people that have great ideas as well and give them a way to get it out there.
While running several departments of that company, he's also running a venture called Stretched Politics. It really started out as a joke with a few beers and a Stretch Armstrong, but it's really becoming a message about laughter, community, and less idolization.
Erik resides in SLC with my wife and 3 boys. He loves gardening and motorcycles.
Erik is a third Generation entrepreneur, so he's been involved in business building his entire life. Even as a kid he would be helping out as a family on something that needed done. After high school, he joined the Marine Corps as a way to get a way and get out into the world myself for a bit. College wasn't for him. After 4 years, he finished his commitment as a Sargent and decided to give college a go. While in college, he started interning aggressively at his father's company (ProvoCraft) where he decided he was learning a lot more that route and to be honest, the only reason he was even enrolled at that point was for the girls and rugby.
After a couple years, his father sold ProvoCraft and they started into creating Goal Zero as well as our Non Profit - Tifie Humanitarian. Erik worked in goal running majority of products in the PD department.
During his time with Goal Zero, he created hundreds of products that not only created a new industry for consumers, but was able to spend a lot of time implementing the overall goal of it bringing power to people around the world that were less fortunate to have access to power or that were devastated by natural disasters or worse. This allowed him to travel the world and see it from a pretty uniques lens. He worked on a project in the Congo, Haiti, Philippines, Hurricane Sandy victims, as well as the Navajo nation to name a few.
After he was fortunate to sell Goal Zero, he moved onto the next company, Barebones, where he worked as VP of Product Development. This company was not only another new challenge, but it was also a new piece to the puzzle for our humanitarian work of adding in the next pieces of food and shelter. This brought him into more projects around the world from Fiji to the growing refugee crisis in Syria.
Currently, he is a Barebones consultant as they slowed down the PD section and are building up other areas of the business. However, his need to create products has not dwindled. Because of that, Barebones has created a new company we call NoBox, which is exactly what it sounds like. They wanted a place that doesn't get us thinking outside the box, but where there is no box in the first place. This project while primarily focused on outdoor products (because thats just what they do), IT is a place for them to bring products to a broader audience that may not fit in a more brand centric type company. They wanted to take their decades of experience and find ways to get better quality products for a much better prices to the world. The company's road map is defined by not just what we dream up but has a big focus in finding people that have great ideas as well and give them a way to get it out there.
While running several departments of that company, he's also running a venture called Stretched Politics. It really started out as a joke with a few beers and a Stretch Armstrong, but it's really becoming a message about laughter, community, and less idolization.
Erik resides in SLC with my wife and 3 boys. He loves gardening and motorcycles.
22 min