Richard Campbell said it started with an ‘a-ha’ moment.
“Do I want to be managing a consulting company or do I want to create stuff?” Campbell told LiveWire Calgary.
Campbell is the founder and CEO of 10 Adventures. They help travellers plan their trips to live a more adventurous life. It launched in 2016.
They won the 2021 People’s Choice Award at the 12th annual Start Up Calgary launch party late last year.
Campbell said he was in the weeds hiking one day and was thinking that at that time people were still using guidebooks to help them on their travels.
He did look online at some of the hikes in the area and many provided no information, they talked about who they were walking with, the weather, etc. What they didn’t have was info on where to park, whether it was a scramble or hike and other helpful tools.
In 2015, Campbell started posting this information for the different hikes he went on from Jasper to Montana.
“It just kind of took off,” he said.
Before long, he had people contacting him with information on their hikes. It built up to more than 60 trips across the US, Canada and Europe.
That’s when it dawned on Campbell.
“I just think there’s something here. I’m not the only one that has this issue of low-quality information,” he said.
Turning it into 10 Adventures
Campbell said once people started asking him to be their guide when they came into the area, he realized there was a bigger opportunity.
“I’ve always been a big believer (that) if you’re going to go travel somewhere, support the local companies that are living there, keep the money in the community,” he said.
They built a system that would help outsiders connect with local tour operators and find information on exclusive hikes.
“Where we are now is it’s kind of this comprehensive tool for people who like the outdoors to get an insider’s perspective wherever they want to travel to,” Campbell said.
Now, they have partners in 80 countries; they have free route guides in 15 countries. They’re getting quality information into the hands of travellers. And it’s constantly expanding.
They’re helping people make personal connections and find those special places all over the world.
“Our real goal is how do we get people to explore the world,” Campbell said.
“It helps with your physical health, it helps with your mental health. It helps people see into other cultures and helps us become more compassionate and caring and break down a lot of these differences we have.”
