Camber Outdoors Announces Pitchfest 2017 Sponsors and Partners

REI, Perkins Coie, Backcountry, and Brandlive Support Women Entrepreneurs Through Pitchfest 2017 Sponsorship

Boulder, COLO.–June 28, 2017

Camber Outdoors, the active-outdoor industries organization that works to elevate and accelerate women’s leadership and participation in the outdoors, is thrilled to announce the sponsors and partners for Pitchfest 2017, which will take place on July 25th, at Petzl headquarters near Salt Lake City.

Camber Outdoors Pitchfest drives innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship among women with a passion for the outdoors. This year’s seven finalists will pitch their business plans to some of the industry’s most influential CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders and receive mentorship and coaching leading up to the event.

Now in its third year, Pitchfest will be funded in part by The REI Foundation’s Mary Anderson Legacy Grant, as it has since its beginning. This year’s event will also be co-sponsored by Perkins Coie and Backcountry, and through a partnership with Brandlive, Pitchfest 2017 will be live streamed for wider exposure.

“The REI Foundation’s generous support of Camber Outdoors and Pitchfest, specifically, has enabled us to elevate 19 women-owned companies over the past two years and accelerate their development and growth,” said Deanne Buck, executive director of Camber Outdoors. “With this year’s additional co-sponsors and partners, Perkins Coie, Backcountry, and Brandlive, we’ll be able to support seven more women entrepreneurs and make an even bigger impact.”

“Pitchfest continues to bring the outdoor industry’s most innovative ideas by women entrepreneurs to the forefront,” said Laura Swapp, REI’s director of public affairs and next generation marketing. “REI is a proud, longtime supporter of Camber Outdoors, and we’re excited to see this year’s breakthrough ideas from another group of passionate women leaders.”

“Advancing diversity in the startup community is a firmwide effort, which is why we created the LeadBetter program and are doing our part to help level the playing field by supporting Camber Outdoors’ mission and Pitchfest event,” said Buddy Arnheim, co-chair of the Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Practice at Perkins Coie. “We also are passionate about outdoor recreation, personally and professionally, so we’re enjoying the synergies we share with Camber Outdoors.”

“We have worked closely with Camber Outdoors for several years to establish our Backcountry Women’s Leadership Coalition, and Camber has been an amazing thought partner and support network for us, said Diana Seung, EVP of merchandising at Backcountry. “It was a natural decision to extend our impact to the outdoor community by co-sponsoring Pitchfest. It is an inspiring event that provides talented women an opportunity to break into the outdoor industry and brings together industry leaders to support their products and initiatives. We are honored to participate.”

“Live video is the most authentic and scalable way for brands to connect with their audiences, and share the stories that matter,” said Brandlive CEO Fritz Brumder. “We’re proud to partner with Camber Outdoors for Pitchfest 2017 and look forward to seeing how live video can increase exposure for these women entrepreneurs and their brands.”

Learn more or register for the event or live stream at: camberoutdoors.org/pitchfest/

About Camber Outdoors

Camber Outdoors envisions a future of Everyone’s Outdoors. With a community of more than 170 corporate partners and 13,000 individuals, we’re elevating and accelerating women’s leadership and participation in the outdoors through innovative and thought-leading programs and initiatives including the CEO Pledge, Pitchfest, a cross-industry/company Mentoring Program, and Camber Exchange events nationwide.

To learn more about Camber Outdoors please visit:

Website: camberoutdoors.org

Facebook: Facebook.com/Camberoutdoors.fanpage/

Twitter: @camberoutdoors

About REI

REI is a specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle. The nation’s largest consumer co-op, REI is a growing community of more than 16 million members who expect and love the best quality gear, inspiring expert classes and trips, and outstanding customer service. REI has 147 stores in 36 states. If you can’t visit a store, you can shop at REI.com, REI.com/REI-Garage or the free REI shopping app. REI isn’t just about gear. You can take the trip of a lifetime with REI Adventures, a global leader in active adventure travel that runs 170 custom-designed itineraries on every continent. REI’s Outdoor School is run by professionally trained, expert-instructors who teach beginner- to advanced-level courses about a wide range of activities. To build on the infrastructure that makes life outside possible, REI invests millions annually in hundreds of local and national nonprofits that create access to–and steward–the outdoor places that inspire us.

About Perkins Coie

Founded in 1912, Perkins Coie LLP has more than 1,000 lawyers in 19 offices across the United States and Asia. Our Outdoor Retail team represents iconic outdoor retailers and consumer product companies—large and small—from around the country. Because of our extensive work with clients in the retail space, Perkins Coie has consistently been ranked in the top tier nationally by Chambers USA.

About Backcountry

Backcountry.com is the premier online specialty retailer of outdoor gear for snow sports, hiking and camping, paddling, biking, climbing, fly fishing, and more. We also carry a wide selection of premium apparel, both technical and casual. The quality and breadth of our products, the knowledge and empowered service of our Gearheads, the lightning-fast speed of our fulfillment, and the shared gear knowledge of our community enable our customers to get outside and pursue their passions. The Backcountry.com family of companies includes CompetitiveCyclist.com, MotoSport.com, Bergfreunde.de, and SteepandCheap.com.

About Brandlive

Brandlive provides an omni-channel live video platform for brands and retailers who use it for training, marketing and eCommerce events. The end-to-end live video platform enables brands to connect their best product experts and influencers directly to global digital audiences, who can then interact with those experts. Customers such as GoPro, Levi Strauss & Co., The North Face, REI, eBay, Walmart and Cabela’s use Brandlive to launch products, increase eCommerce sales, create innovative live marketing programs and conduct more cost-effective internal events and training. Brandlive is headquartered in Portland, OR and found at http://www.yourbrandlive.com.