Built to Sell Radio

Ep 405 Betting It All to Build a $100 Million Outdoor Luxury Empire with Sarah Dusek

Sep 1, 2023

Sarah Dusek, founder of Under Canvass, shares her journey of building a $100 million outdoor luxury empire. She discusses the challenges of fundraising, the risks involved in mezzanine debt, and the importance of finding the right partners. Dusek reflects on lessons learned, including the significance of presenting clear financial numbers and the emotional aspect of stepping down as CEO. She also highlights the impact of a norovirus on their business and the challenges faced by women founders in raising capital.

01:11:16

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Episode guests

Sarah Dusek

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Scaling a business often requires selling a majority stake to provide financial security and bring in additional resources for expansion.

It is crucial to align with investors who treat you with respect and share your vision and values.

The process of raising capital is an ongoing cycle, where rapid growth leads to the need for further funding.

Deep dives

The Origin Story of Under Canvas

Under Canvas was founded by Sarah Dusick, who, along with her husband, was looking for a way to make a living after their previous business collapsed. They stumbled upon the idea of creating a glamping experience in the wilderness, inspired by the safari model in Africa. However, they soon realized that persuading people to come to the middle of nowhere was challenging. They pivoted multiple times, eventually settling on the concept of setting up large-scale tented hotels outside national parks. Guests could check in and stay in these luxurious tents, offering a unique and memorable experience.

Introduction

3min

Pivoting Towards Success

17min

Valuation and Fundraising

16min

Raising Money through Debt: Mezzanine Debt and Collateral

15min

Final Transaction and Mezzanine Debt

2min

Lessons Learned and Reflections

15min

Overcoming Challenges and Supporting Women in Business

2min

Expressing gratitude, encouraging support, and acknowledging the community and resources

2min

Sarah Dusek and her husband started Under Canvass, which offered large-scale tented hotels (think “glamping”) outside national parks around the U.S.

The business got off to a successful start, and within five years, Dusek had four locations, which were collectively generating $3 million in EBITDA. Rather than sit still, Dusek decided she wanted to grow much larger and raised $16 million of capital made up of a combination of equity and mezzanine debt at a rate of 13%, which Dusek personally guaranteed.

The stress of having her entire net worth tied to her business eventually caught up to Dusek, and she decided to sell a majority stake of her business to a private equity group (KSL Capital). Dusek rolled 25% of her equity and stayed on as CEO. By the time she stepped down from her leadership role, Under Canvass was worth more than $100 million.

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Built to Sell Radio

Ep 405 Betting It All to Build a $100 Million Outdoor Luxury Empire with Sarah Dusek

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Origin Story of Under Canvas

The Financing Journey and Growth Challenges

The Decision to Sell and Scaling Challenges

Finding the Right Investors

Raising Capital and Building the Business

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts