DNVB List: Thanks for chatting today, Fred, how you doing?
Tortuga: Doing well, thanks for having me!
DNVB List: You bet! Before we jump in to Tortuga, tell us a bit more about yourself. What were you doing prior to founding the company?
Tortuga: Before Tortuga, I was working at Google and Jeremy, my co-founder, was in film school at USC.
DNVB List: Interesting combination. What were you working on at Google?
Tortuga: I was on the AdWords team as an Account Strategist. That role would be called Media Planner at an agency. My job was to help my clients decide which of Google’s advertising products to use and then to build and manage their campaigns.
DNVB List: That has to be beneficial now running your own online business.
Tortuga: Oh, immensely, for sure! I worked on everything from the text ads you see alongside your Google search results to pre-roll ads on YouTube, and everything in between.
DNVB List: Was there a certain type of company you worked with?
Tortuga: Pretty wide variety actually. Everything from online dating to Rosetta Stone.
DNVB List: So, when and how did the idea come about for Tortuga then?
Tortuga: Jeremy and I had the idea on a backpacking trip through Eastern Europe back in 2009. Jeremy’s bag broke on the first day of the trip. I had a typical “backpacker’s bag”, which turned out to be better suited for hiking than for traveling. We talked about the problems with our luggage and what our ideal travel backpack would be on long train rides during the trip. When we got back, we started working on the product pretty much right away. Two years of trial and error later, and we launched our first backpack.
DNVB List: There’s plenty of companies that make backpacks. What’s unique about Tortuga?
Tortuga: Our backpacks are specifically designed for travel. Everything we make is carry-on size and opens from the front, not the top, which makes for easy packing and organization.
DNVB List: And I understand there’s some uniqueness to the company itself and how it’s run. Tell us about that.
Tortuga: Yeah, we’re one of the few, maybe the only, v-commerce companies designing and manufacturing products while working remotely.
DNVB List: Was that a conscious decision you made?
Tortuga: No, we became a distributed by accident. I wrote a Medium post about it actually. When we started working on the business, Jeremy and I had known each other forever and had the same vision for the company, so working remotely wasn’t a problem.
DNVB List: That makes sense. What about the early hires?
Tortuga: Our first hires were contractors and part-timers, so working remotely was the expectation. Once we started hiring full-time teammates, we had already learned how to work well remotely, and more importantly, were used to not going to an office. Neither of us wanted to work in a traditional office, even if it was ours, so we just kept building the team remotely.
DNVB List: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Tortuga: Pretty much. We were still tiny when we started hiring, so we thought working from home would also give us an advantage in hiring.
DNVB List: Would you do it the same if you were starting over again?
Tortuga: Definitely. Remote work is a challenge, particularly for creating physical products, but being remote is an important part of our company and brand.
DNVB List: Was the company bootstrapped initially?
Tortuga: Yes, 100%. We used personal savings and a few small loans. When we first launched, I’d never even heard of Kickstarter.
DNVB List: Tell me a bit more about the brand. How did you, and how do you now, think about building the brand. Not necessarily the business from a numbers standpoint, but the brand.
Tortuga: We focus on transparency and finding customers who share our values. We love bags and gear, and our real work is in helping people to live on their own terms.
DNVB List: Glad you mentioned that phrase! You’ve got Packsmith which is your blog, but also onyourterms.com. What’s the difference? Who are they geared to?
Tortuga: Packsmith started as a generic travel blog. As we wrote more, we learned what worked. Our niche became “what to bring and how to pack it.” On the blog you’ll find packing lists for every destination and gear guides for many types of trips. We write about the stuff other blogs ignore. We write for our fellow travel nerds. More recently, we’ve started to experiment with new categories including travel hacking and digital nomadism.
DNVB List: “Digital nomadism”, now that’s something you didn’t hear 10 years ago! If what you just described is the blog, what is On Your Terms all about?
Tortuga: Like most of our marketing, On Your Terms was an experiment. We loved the Medium platform and wanted to contribute. On Your Terms became the place where we write about traveling, living, and working on your terms.
DNVB List: Sounds like just living life on your own terms.
Tortuga: The On Your Terms Manifesto lays out what we believe. We hope that the publication will attract readers who are interested in our mission. The site has evolved and is currently where our team writes about these perspectives at Tortuga. Much like Basecamp or Buffer, we aim to be transparent as a means of rallying our people, who believe what we believe, whether they become readers, customers, or even teammates.
DNVB List: It sounds like “on your own terms” is a value you live by. Have you gone so far as to create a corporate set of values?
Tortuga: Yes, we have four: 1) Work on your own terms, 2) Scratch our own itch, 3) Prioritize the customer, and 4) Build and improve systems.
DNVB List: Those are great. I saw you guys offer a study abroad scholarship. That obviously fits as a travel company, but was there another reason for deciding to do that?
Tortuga: The scholarship came out of our desire to help more people travel. Jeremy did a short study abroad program in college, but I was rejected when I applied to a similar one.
DNVB List: I’m sure that was a huge bummer then, but kind of ironic now that you run a travel company.
Tortuga: Very true. Even if you’re approved though, studying abroad can be expensive!
DNVB List: I can attest to that. I didn’t study abroad but had an internship in London the summer after graduating from college. It was insanely expensive, especially with the exchange rate at that time, but looking back was totally worth the credit card debt I racked up.
Tortuga: Exactly. We know the value of travel and want to help more young people experience the world as early as possible, and that’s one way we try to give back.
DNVB List: I think everyone agrees if more people travel and experience other cultures, the world would be a more peaceful place.
Tortuga: Couldn’t agree more!
DNVB List: How does someone qualify for the scholarship?
Tortuga: Aside from a few basic eligibility requirements listed on the page, students have to submit a 500-word essay in response to the questions, “What do you hope to learn by experiencing another culture? How do you expect to apply these lessons when you return home?”
DNVB List: Very cool. Life-changing, I’m sure, for most of the recipients.
Tortuga: We hope that’s the case.
DNVB List: Well, thank you so much for chatting today. Not only do you guys have some cool products but you’re doing it in a unique way and making the world a little bit better of a place at the same time. Well done!
Tortuga: Thanks!
DNVB List: You bet, take care!
Tortuga: See you later!
