Breaking the corporate mold
Donning a tie and jacket, you walk into your city office at 9 a.m. with the usual briefcase and large black coffee in hand.
Your secretary tells you that your meeting is up on the roof, not in the conference room. So you take the elevator up dozens of floors, passing hundreds of cubicles along the way. As you step off the elevator, you are immediately handed a fishing pole and are pushed into a helicopter that transports you to a remote creek.
This is what a day in the office should be like for corporate types, according to the owner of Eldorado Springs-based LoonBrothers Outrageous Adventures.
LoonBrothers gives custom-guided, fly-fishing trips for business travelers and corporate executives to entertain clients, prospects and friends, as well as trips for individual fishermen. Trips range from one-day local outings to 10-day treks across the country.
"Fly fishing is a great way to get away from the usual hustle and bustle of daily work life," said owner Kinley Jackson. "Businesses can use our company to take employers or clients to a unique experience that is remote and pretty and they will remember for a lifetime."
Jackson said LoonBrothers, established in 2003, is the only national company that completely arranges the trips, supplies the equipment and schedules experienced local guides.
"About two years ago, I put 30,000 miles on my car while traveling across the country, researching and interviewing to find the absolute best guides in every city," he said. "So now, people can use our research to effortlessly get an awesome trip."
Jackson said the company, which has sites in every major city across the country, is a different way to hold corporate clinics or introduce clients to the area beyond the traditional ballgame or steak dinner.
"Business clients will soon forget talks over dinner, but they will never forget learning a new skill," he said.
LoonBrothers began offering trips all over the country this year with the option of a helicopter. The company has since worked with hundreds of companies, such as Merrill Lynch, Transamerica and Smith Barney, Jackson said.
Joel Benk, a dentist with Atlanta Dental Center, uses LoonBrothers for his own personal trips when he travels on business around the country. Last year, he caught a 28-pound trout.
"These guys are awesome," he said. "All I do is arrive and they have everything set up for me in beautiful locations."
Steve Sullivan, vice president of Franklin-Templeton Investments in Arizona, used the company at a regional meeting and said he was impressed by the guides' casual and fun personalities.
"With LoonBrothers, you can get a bunch of city slickers out of their suit and tie and into shorts and a T-shirt in nature," he said. "It is a great way to develop friendships, and at the end of the day, that's what business is all about."
Bill Stetka, a local proprietor in the financial industry, said LoonBrothers changed his business.
"Not only do I have wonderful memories, but it has created a way to have better relationships with clients and share with them my passion," he said. "People really appreciate getting them out into nature and LoonBrothers gives me confidence that the trip will be well-planned and I will get the best-of-the-best guides."
The idea for the company came when Jackson realized six years ago that he possessed 17 different state fishing licenses in his vest and wanted an easier way to research good fishing locations. So he quit his 10-year job as a stockbroker in Chicago, and started doing research with a buddy, co-founder Eric Bopp.
The name, LoonBrothers, came from what people used to call Jackson and Bopp because of their many "crazy weekend adventures," Jackson said.
Jackson said the profit in the company's first full national year was less than $100,000, but the outlook appears promising, with profits increasing every month -- especially for the one-day trips.
"Hopefully people will just get crazy and want to jump right into the canyons," he said.
LoonBrothers now has added hiking and camping trips as a choice in 20 cities, and Jackson hopes to soon add rock climbing, kayaking, rafting and horseback riding, as well as international adventures.
