OMG! What in the world is #gearforgood and how has it been in the top 3 world-wide trends on twitter the entire weekend? -Even with the hip hop duo OutKast reuniting after 10 years on the same day?
#gearforgood is the slogan of Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear start-up that went live on Friday April 11th, 2014. Imagine Bear Grylls and Mother Teressa start a company, they include the Tom's Shoes guy and you get Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear company that donates at least 10% of profits to partnering non-profits.
The small startup team wanted the whole world to know they were launching. They did so by creating a 24-hour "Amazing Race-esc" competition where teams of 2-4 adventurers get points for completing challenges while wearing the Cotopaxi backpack given to them at registration. Challenges range from hang gliding while wearing the backpack (20 points) to eating a hotdog with hot sauce, in a hot tub while wearing hot pants(10 points).
Why would anyone be willing to do such quirky things for "points"? Well, Besides the fact that many of the participants are overly-sober Mormons in search of a natural high (Cotopaxi headquarters just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah) the three teams with the most points by 6 pm on Saturday win trips to Macchu Picu, Thailand, or Kilimanjaro. "Fetch me my hot pants!"
All tasks must be documented via social media with hashtags #gearforgood #questival and #yourteamsname, hence the world-wide trend on twitter and If instagram and vine had similar trending topics set up, no doubt #questival would be blowing them up as well.
The Cotopaxi team is no stranger to successful e-commerce launches. CEO Davis Smith has raised over $40 million in venture capital with former startups Pooltables.com and Baby.br, Brazil's leading e-commerce company focusing on baby care. Smith is now focusing on Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear company with a social mission, that has successfully dominated social media this weekend. For more information go to the cotopaxi website
