Building Apidura
Apidura is a brand you may not be familiar with if you haven’t ventured into the world of bikpacking, touring or adventure racing, but they’re pioneers in rackless bike bags category, and support the community of ultra cyclists and bike packers. They’re a brand at the heart of this rapidly growing community and are enabling a whole new wave of this type of cycling.
Tori Fahey is the founder of Apidura and never set out to create a business out of her homemade packs and bags. She did it to satisfy her own needs with how she loved balance her hectic life by doing long rides, tours and adventures.
What I find inspiring about what Tori has done with Apidura is not necessarily the business she’s created (although that is pretty remarkable in its own right), but the foundation she’s build the company on, and the values she holds and follows through with. She’s been outspoken about consumerism and the culture of seasonal discounting. She is concious about the footprint the business leaves on the environment. She focuses her resources on making their products better, rather than new colorways or seasonal changes. She made a deliberate choice at the start not to be a growth led business, but to be a product led. That’s one thing to say when you have a hobby business, but something completely different when you have employees, a supply chain, and a customer base who depend on you.