I caught up with Sarah Smith from The Dyrt recently and on this episode we talk about how she and her husband got the inspiration to create The Dyrt, their tremendous growth and some of the interesting gamification techniques they use to engage consumers.
Show Notes
First Exposure to the Outdoors
I grew up in northern Minnesota and if I say that enough, you’ll hear the accent come out. But I grew up with fishing. My dad hunted and we did lots of camping as a kid. My dad was actually a teacher, so in the summer is we would spend time driving around lake superior smelting. They’re little tiny fish that almost look like minnows and I just have vague memories of it. I think we did this at night and we’d be standing on a little stream and the smelt would go up river and you’d hold out a little net and catch the smelt. Then we’d go cook them up, just fry them up. And I remember thinking, Oh, I want to go to Disney World or do something more exciting than this. And now looking back at it, you know, it was pretty special way to grow up.
Things we talked about
Episode Sponsor
Advice
I would say people ask me often, what was the hardest part of doing The Dyrt, especially someone was not necessarily your typical tech startup entrepreneur right? I think my advice is just to do something. tThat was the hardest part to go from nothing to actually taking some action to start doing something, was really hard. But if you believe that you can make a difference and you have an idea, that’s good. And it’s a problem that needs to be solved, just follow that.
Entrepreneurs, we come in all shapes and sizes and different sorts and there’s no one size fits all. So, you know, I don’t look like any other tech startup founder in Portland for sure. So just go with your gut and give it a try.
Other Outdoor Activities
Hiking
Snowshoeing
Yoga
Favorite Books/Podcasts
Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux
A Short history of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Favorite Piece of Gear under $100
Connect with Sarah
