TechNexus portfolio company, The Dyrt, closed an oversubscribed $11 Million Series B round led by Realization Capital. TechNexus Venture Collaborative participated in previous funding rounds as well as the most recent Series B.
Enthusiastic camper Sarah Smith founded the company in 2013 after becoming frustrated with the lack of campground information online. The Dyrt is made for casual campers, weekend warriors, extreme outdoor enthusiasts, and everyone in-between. The Dyrt’s community has grown significantly since its inception and now hosts over 4 million photos, camping tips, and camper reviews of 44,000+ campgrounds nationwide. Now, look up “camping” online on Google’s Play or Apple’s App Store, and you won’t need to scroll far to see The Dyrt listed as the top recommendation.
“Our mission has always been to make it easier for anyone anywhere in the US to go camping,” says Sarah Smith. “The camping industry is growing at a rapid pace, with over 4 million Americans who went camping for the first time this year,” adds Kevin Long, CEO of The Dyrt.
Between 2014 and 2019, there was a 72% increase in people who reported going camping 3+ times a year. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic had a direct impact on continued acceleration, fueling more demand from people looking for new ways to get outdoors. A core strength of The Dyrt is its unique ability to create a thriving community that brings people with a shared passion for outdoors, adventure, and exploration together in a meaningful way and adds value to their experience.
“The Dyrt’s approach underscores what we believe about community in activities-based investments: go super deep on a single, passionate vertical — whether that is camping (The Dyrt); Catch Co. (sports fishing); Tonal (strength training); Studio (running); and tailor the product to be extremely useful to that core group,” said Andrew Wolohan, Senior Director at TechNexus. Our team is eager to continue playing a role in The Dyrt’s growth journey and look forward to supporting the team as they scale.
The Dyrt plans to use the new capital to continue growing its team. “…New job postings across technology, marketing, and customer support allow us to really scale up toward the realization of our vision. This $11 million Series B funding marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter,” said Sarah Smith.
The Dyrt has a strong commitment to diversity, surpassing tech industry norms with 50% of its employees identifying as women. “We’ve been a company with a 50-percent female workforce from the very beginning, when it was just my husband and I,” says Smith. “To be eight years into this journey, now with over 40 employees, and still have that 1:1 ratio is something to celebrate. Maintaining a diverse work environment is a key goal of the company as they continue to scale. Open positions, all of which are fully remote, can be found on the company’s job board here. Additionally, get paid to camp with The Dyrt.
More can be read about The Dyrt’s fundraise on PR Newswire and GeekWire.
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TechNexus Venture Collaborative, helping leading corporations and ambitious entrepreneurs work together to create new business models, new revenue streams, new products, and new markets. We’ve made over 150 investments in promising, purpose-built startups with several in the outdoor recreation industry. Check out the complete portfolio or subscribe to our newsletter for more news and insights.