Podcast appearances and mentions of alyssa ravasio

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I'm joined by Alyssa Ravasio, CEO and Founder of Hipcamp. Hipcamp is the platform that has revolutionized camping, with a mission to “get more people outside.” By making it easier for people to find camping on public lands—and then expanding to include private lands—Hipcamp significantly increased the supply of camping spots, making the outdoors more accessible to all.In our conversation, Alyssa shares how her childhood fostered a deep love of nature, and how missed opportunities ultimately led her to become a founder. We dive into Hipcamp's mission and discuss how staying true to it has been key to the company's success. We talk about the following: • How a rejection led Alyssa to create her own major, Digital Democracy• The early experiences that shaped Alyssa's respect for nature• The problem Alyssa set out to solve when she started California Camping (now Hipcamp)• Why Alyssa took a coding bootcamp and the early days of bootstrapping Hipcamp• How Hipcamp expanded the supply of camping by opening up private lands• Hipcamp's many value-enforcing practices, including tying performance reviews to values• The power of direct feedback, and why Hipcamp seeks diverse perspectives • The practice of treating the business as an ecosystem • And much more!—Brought to you by:• Vanta – Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust—continuously. ⁠Save $1,000 today⁠.• Wilson Sonsini – Wilson Sonsini is the innovation economy's law firm. Learn more.—Where to find Alyssa Ravasio:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-ravasio-23114717/• X: https://x.com/alyraz—Where to find Eric:• Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericries.carrd.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ —In This Episode We Cover:(00:00) Intro(02:28) Alyssa's entrepreneurship journey(03:40) Alyssa's outdoorsy upbringing that fueled her desire to democratize outdoor access(06:30) How film school rejection led Alyssa to design her own major at UCLA(10:20) Alyssa's philosophy of using technology for good(13:40) Learnings from Alyssa's first two startups(16:05) How Alyssa prioritizes Hipcamp's mission with her employees(19:20) Hipcamp's hiring process (20:24) How California Camping became Hipcamp(21:47) The initial idea behind California Camping(24:52) How Alyssa dealt with naysayers in the early days of building Hipcamp(28:00) How solving a customer's problem on Twitter drew Alyssa's first investor(31:22) The early days of bootstrapping Hipcamp(36:40) The power of a shared vision (38:07) Overcoming scarcity in outdoor spaces by adding private lands(42:15) Why the business model of Hipcamp is a win-win for all (47:10) Systems and cultural practices that keep Hipcamp aligned with its mission and values(54:15) A case for bringing teams together in nature (56:50) The current state of Hipcamp(59:42) How Hipcamp might scale impact with a fund in the future (1:03:15) The practice of treating the business like an ecosystem (1:10:14) Why a positive-impact business is also good business (1:12:41) Alyssa's thoughts on AI, and how Hipcamp plans on utilizing it(1:17:03) Lightning round—You can find the transcript and references at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠—Production and marketing by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://penname.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.

Before we started, I asked Alyssa Ravasio, why she didn’t model her company on other marketplaces. “Why don’t you encourage more people to buy land near national parks and turn them into campgrounds that they list on Hipcamp? It’s a good way for entrepreneurs to make money and for Hipcamp to grow your inventory.” She didn’t seem happy with my suggestion. Alyssa is trying to preserve nature and get more people into it, not “capitalize” on nature. Still, her business is growing. This is the story of why and how she did it. Alyssa Ravasio is the founder of Hipcamp, the comprehensive resource for discovering and reserving unique tent camping, RV parks, cabins, treehouses, and glamping. Sponsored byGusto – See how easy payroll and benefits can be. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

With 5 million acres of land and about a hundred thousand places to camp, Hip Camp is a surprising way to find some incredible RV destinations from very affordable spots to incredibly scenic destinations. We speak with Alyssa Ravasio to learn more about what kind of camping you can find with Hip Camp. We also venture to a historic colony in Iowa, try out a nifty new gadget and talk about bunkhouse travel trailers. You can find this week's podcast at our home on the web or wherever you enjoy getting podcasts: https://www.stresslesscamping.com/podcast/0221 The StressLess Camping podcast is a weekly RV podcast with information, tips and tricks to help every RVer and camper enjoy some StressLess Camping.

Alyssa Ravasio is the founder and CEO of Hipcamp, a global online platform that brings the sharing economy to one of the planet's most plentiful resources—land. Built on the belief that getting outside should be simple, Hipcamp partners with private landowners across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom to create new spaces for recreation, increasing access to the outdoors while providing sustainable revenue to protect nature. To date, Hipcamp has unlocked access to more than 4 million acres of private land and helped people enjoy more than 7 million nights under the stars.Alyssa has received industry recognition for her achievement. She has served on the Outdoor Industry Association's Recreation Advisory Council and in 2022 she was recognized by Outside Business Journal as one of the 20 most influential people in the outdoor industry.Alyssa earned her bachelor's degree in Digital Democracy and Complexity Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. She lives in the wilds of Marin County with her husband and young son, and one of her deepest passions is shaping how the internet impacts our humanity and our planet.Alyssa has graciously provided a discount code for Adventure Sports Podcast listeners! Use ADVENTURESPORTS10 for 10% off first booking with Hipcamp!@Hipcamphttps://www.hipcamp.com/en-USOur Sponsors:* Check out Green Chef and use my code asp250 for a great deal: https://www.greenchef.com/asp250* Check out Oris Watches: https://www.oris.ch* Check out Roark and use my code ASP15 for a great deal: https://roark.com/* Check out Shopify and use my code asp for a great deal: https://www.shopify.com/aspSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/adventure-sports-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In the May 31 episode of MC Fireside Chats presented by Modern Campground, host Brian Searl engaged a panel of camping industry experts, including Hipcamp CEO Alyssa Ravasio, National Parks Service National Campground Program Manager, David Miyako , Lahave River Campground Owner Jamie Lee Arseneau and Blackstrap Glamping Owner Joshua Turner. Brian introduced the session by discussing the universal aspect of "glamping" and how it varies based on individual experiences and expectations. He also emphasized the historical experiences of soldiers and the potential influence on their perception of living conditions. He ends by discussing the rise of RVing, suggesting that the industry could benefit from marketing strategies emphasizing the ease and diversity of camping experiences.Alyssa Ravasio, explained the company's mission to increase access to beautiful private lands for camping. She introduces their new iPhone app and collaboration with national and state parks. Alyssa shares her personal camping experiences and advocates for diverse and affordable camping options. She emphasized the lack of a universal definition for "glamping," leading to different expectations among campers. Alyssa also shared the benefits of spending time outdoors, backed by scientific research, and outlined Hipcamp's aim to simplify the process of finding campsites by partnering with property management systems. She then delves into the unique offerings of Hipcamp and its integration with various property management systems, stressing the significance of glamping spaces and their evolution over the years. Lastly, Alyssa advocates for the inclusivity of all forms of outdoor accommodation in camping.David Miyako, acknowledged the varying quality of national park campgrounds across the U.S and his role in addressing these issues. He revealed plans to improve the recreational.gov platform for campers and indicated that the National Park Service is open to adding glamping units within parks, though the focus currently lies on basic infrastructure improvements. David highlighted the "Park Rx" initiative, encouraging people to use parks for mental and physical healing, and the challenges faced in maintaining facilities due to funding issues.Jamie Lee talked about her transition to campground ownership amidst the Covid pandemic. Jamie also shared about the potential of working with platforms like Hipcamp, which could bring new traffic to her site. She also shared her observations on the positive impact of camping on mental health and her interest in unique accommodation ideas like converted school buses, shipping containers, and the tiny home movement. She concluded by stressing the importance of easy camping solutions for those new to camping or those with limited preparation time.Lastly, Joshua Turner mentioned the leasing of a location in a Provincial Park to offer a separate glamping experience within park amenities. Joshua revealed his plans for a new glamping resort with geodesic domes ready for visitors by mid-July, along with unique shelter ideas for the future.Overall, the episode offered insightful perspectives on the ever-evolving camping and outdoor recreation industry. The discussion spans across an array of topics, from the definition and popularity of glamping, the challenges and rewards of running a campground, the significance of investing in public lands, the impact of outdoor activities on mental health, to the rise of RVing and strategies to cater to this trend.The conversations underscored the industry's efforts to provide a range of camping experiences, to adapt to changing camper preferences and to ensure accessibility and sustainability of outdoor recreation for all. By addressing...

Alyssa Ravasio is the founder and CEO of the online campsite booking platform, Hipcamp. Many people think of technology and the outdoors as complete opposites, but for Alyssa, the two have always gone together. With Hipcamp Alyssa's found a way to connect folks with campsites on public and private land. This creates more camping spots and makes it easier to find a place to hunker down under the stars.Connect with Alyssa: Instagram Resources: Book a campsite on Hipcamp 5 Cool Hipcamp Camp Sites for KidsREI + Hipcamp partnership Episode partners: Pre-order Shelby Stanger's new book, Will to Wild Listen to Finding Mastery podcastCheck out REI's trade-in program 

In this episode, Zach talks to Hipcamp founder and CEO Alyssa Ravasio about the rise of private campgrounds in Oregon and across the West. Private sites are becoming an increasingly popular option as Oregon's public campgrounds have fewer spaces available and are often sold out during summer. Ravasio talks about how her company recruits farmers and ranchers to open their land to camping in areas near Bend, Mount Hood and the Oregon Coast where demand for campsites is high but supply is low. She explains the differences between a HipCamp and traditional campsite and talks about how it helps create value in rural communities without the land being developed.

My guest today is Alyssa Ravasio, co-founder and CEO of Hipcamp, a platform to discover and book your next camping trip. I was excited for this conversation as it combines two of my favorite passions – the outdoors and internet marketplaces. In our discussion, we cover how Alyssa bootstrapped demand in the early days of Hipcamp, the importance of creating not just great experiences but magical ones, and the evolution of Hipcamp’s business model. After listening to this episode, I’m sure the first thing you’ll want to do is get outside in nature. Please enjoy my conversation with Alyssa Ravasio.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta has built software that makes it easier to get and maintain your SOC 2 report at a fraction of the typical cost. Founder’s Field Guide listeners can redeem a $1k off coupon at vanta.com/patrick.   ----- This episode is brought to you by DigitalOcean. DigitalOcean provides founders and creators with the platform they need to get their website and apps off the ground, all with low-bandwidth pricing to save them money over other cloud providers.   If you are looking for the best place to build web apps or API backends on robust infrastructure, DigitalOcean is the place for you. They provide a fully managed solution that handles your infrastructure, operating systems, databases, and other dependencies on their new App Platform product. App Platform makes it easy to build, deploy, and scale apps. Get started for free at do.co/founders. ----- Founder's Field Guide is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Founder's Field Guide, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes [00:02:57] - [First question] - The original insight that led to founding Hipcamp [00:06:15] - What she studied in college and primary lessons learned there [00:08:18] - Specific features of studying the internet that influenced her trajectory [00:10:14] - Deciding what to attack first when developing Hipcamp’s infrastructure [00:14:12] - Dimensions and market size of the outdoor industry [00:15:48] - Organizing fragmented data into a useable schema and data set [00:18:24] - What customers cared about most in the early days of Hipcamp [00:20:00] - Managing focus and liquidity of the initial marketplace [00:22:58] - Helping landowners manage the logistics of their property placements [00:25:16] - Liability insurance in the outdoor industry [00:27:35] - The biggest challenge faced in developing an outdoor marketplace [00:30:03] - Amplifying and accelerating naturally grooved distribution [00:32:32] - Identifying the top correlates of making magic happen [00:34:55] - An ideal future for Hipcamp five years from now [00:38:28] - What bad supply looks like and creating quality standards  [00:42:08] - Their business model and revenue stream [00:44:45] - Deciding on their take rate and the debate around booking fees [00:46:14] - Lessons learned along the way as a leader [00:47:42] - Unit economics from the host’s perspective [00:52:33] - The most interesting businesses built on top of Hipcamp [00:53:35] - Why is Hipcamp’s mission so important to her [00:57:11] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her

Alyssa had booked the perfect camping trip, but when she arrived, she realized the campsite was the ideal surfing spot—if only she’d known to bring her board. She decided to leverage the power of technology to make getting outdoors more accessible. In 2013, she founded Hipcamp, which has grown into the most comprehensive resource for unique outdoor stays. Since launching, Hipcamp has raised nearly $100M in venture capital and partnered with private landowners to unlock new outdoor experiences. Alyssa shares why “nights outside” is Hipcamp’s north star metric, why she’s been organizing people to create change since 2nd grade, and how she creates space to listen to her intuition.

An excerpt from the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders podcast from the Stanford eCorner, featuring founder and CEO of Hipcamp, Alyssa Ravasio. More details at https://ecorner.stanford.edu/

Alyssa Ravasio is the founder and CEO of Hipcamp, a platform for booking outdoor stays, from national parks to blueberry farms. Hipcamp partners with private landowners to unlock more ways for people to get outside, while also preserving land and ecosystems. In this conversation with Stanford lecturer Emily Ma, Ravasio discusses the early days of Hipcamp, analyzes several major pivots, and unpacks the values that drive the company.

Alyssa Ravasio is the founder and CEO of Hipcamp, a platform for booking outdoor stays, from national parks to blueberry farms. Hipcamp partners with private landowners to unlock more ways for people to get outside, while also preserving land and ecosystems. In this conversation with Stanford lecturer Emily Ma, Ravasio discusses the early days of Hipcamp, analyzes several major pivots, and unpacks the values that drive the company.

An excerpt from the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders podcast from the Stanford eCorner, featuring founder and CEO of Hipcamp, Alyssa Ravasio. More details at https://ecorner.stanford.edu/

A new season of the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders series starts on January 27! We’ll kick off with Hipcamp founder and CEO Alyssa Ravasio, then hear from innovators like MasterClass co-founder and CEO David Rogier, Zoox CEO Aicha Evans, and Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt. Subscribe to the ETL podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every Wednesday!

Alyssa provides an account of her time at UCLA which included developing her own major (Digital Democracy), studying abroad in Spain, and listening to lots of Jay-Z. After being fired the second time from the same job and dumped on the same day, Alyssa introspects on gratitude and happiness. Listeners will learn about her early challenges building HipCamp and HipCamp’s role at the intersection of private and public land, urban and rural areas, & liberals and conservatives in the US. Pranav mentions a recent and traumatic encounter with a backyard opossum.

Alyssa Ravasio is the Founder & CEO @ Hipcamp, the startup that allows you to book unique camping experiences on over 300,000 campsites, cabins, RV parks, public parks and more. To date, Alyssa has raised over $41M in funding from some of the best in the business including Benchmark, a16z, Brad Feld, Dave Morin, Sam Shank @ Hotel Tonight and more. Prior to founding Hipcamp, Alyssa enjoyed numerous diverse roles including being Director of Sales & Marketing @ Revel Systems to working on International Information and Communication Policy in the US State Department. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Alyssa made her way from the US State Department to founding the game-changer of camping experiences in the form of Hipcamp? 2.) How did Alyssa solve the classic chicken and egg problem for marketplaces in the early days with Hipcamp? How important does Alyssa believe it is for marketplaces to have truly differentiated supply? How does Alyssa think about what it takes to prevent leakage in marketplaces today? How can marketplace founders be strategic in building moats around their business? What works? What does not work when building marketplace defensibility? 3.) How does Alyssa manage the psychology of being CEO? What does Alyssa find to be the most challenging element of the role? What have been Alyssa's biggest lessons from her last 12 months in the role? How has she seen her style of leadership change and develop over time? How does Alyssa deal with the shit hit the fan moments? 4.) How did Alyssa find the fundraising process for Hipcamp? Why did Alyssa wait 5 years before raising the Series A? What changed in the business that made Alyssa realise then was the right time to raise big? How did the Series B with a16z and Andrew Chen catalyse so fast? Why did Alyssa select the investors she did? What investors did Alyssa not select or not select her that she would also loved to have worked with? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Alyssa’s Fave Book: The Overstory: Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018, Uncanny Valley: A Memoir As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Alyssa on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC. Carta simplifies how startups and investors manage equity, track cap tables, and get valuations. Go to carta.com/20vc to get 10% off. More than 800,000 employees and shareholders use Carta to manage hundreds of billions of dollars in equity and Carta now offers Fund Administration so you can see real-time data in the Carta platform and work with Carta’s team of experienced fund accountants. Go to carta.com/20vc to get 10% off.

Fall in love with the problem, not the solution. This week we're joined by Alyssa Ravasio, founder of Hipcamp! Alyssa talks how she started her businesses, the things she's learned through entrepreneurship, putting values before products, and our word of the month, synthesis.  Follow Hipcamp: @hipcamp hipcamp.com Photography Program Jane Kim Art   Follow us on Instagram: @wheeliecreative View past episodes, transcripts, and more info about the show: wheeliecreative.com/podcast Don't forget to subscribe and if you haven't already, please leave us a review to let us know what you think about the show!

Hipcamp uses technology to get people away from technology. The San Francisco-based startup provides a “people-powered platform” that unlocks access to private land for camping, glamping or just a beautiful spot to park your RV, as described by Alyssa Ravasio, founder and chief executive officer. Amid explosive growth in emerging markets, including Florida and Texas, the company has attracted a $25 million Series B investment at a valuation of $127 million.

The post E959: Hipcamp CEO & Founder Alyssa Ravasio announces new $25m raise from Andreessen Horowitz to scale her camping, glamping & outdoor recreation platform, shares insights on developing talent, staying on mission, the importance of brand, & evolving as an entrepreneur from being the solution to building it appeared first on This Week In Startups.

The post E959: Hipcamp CEO & Founder Alyssa Ravasio announces new $25m raise from Andreessen Horowitz to scale her camping, glamping & outdoor recreation platform, shares insights on developing talent, staying on mission, the importance of brand, & evolving as an entrepreneur from being the solution to building it appeared first on This Week In Startups.

In this episode of The Darkroom Podcast we spoke to the CEO of Hipcamp Alyssa Ravasio. Having founded the company in 2013, Alyssa and her team set out to make camping easier and more accessible. With over 40 employees, Alyssa has grown Hipcamp to over 300,000 camping spots, vineyards, parks and more. We get to hear about Alyssa's experience as a female founder and how she leads her team with emotional openness and transparency. On a mission to get more people outside, Hipcamp believes that connecting people with nature makes better, happier humans.  We get to hear from Alyssa how creating Hipcamp has been a pressure cooker for human development, pushing herself and team to face their own flaws and insecurities. Self-care is a core value at Hipcamp and their incredible work has pushed thousands of people to get outside and do the same. Join the movement and get outside with Hipcamp!

Frustrated with the online camping registration process, Alyssa Ravasio taught herself to code at 26, then launched HipCamp to streamline the process. She quickly realized the camping system had another problem: not enough sites, and state and national parks were losing more all the time. She came up with a solution that is revolutionizing American camping.  Learn more about The North Face She Moves Mountains initiative: https://www.thenorthface.com/featured/she-moves-mountains.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I couldn’t imagine a more perfect conversation to jumpstart your path to uncivilizing in the New Year than this one with Alyssa Ravasio, the wunderkind camping enthusiast and conservationist who founded Hipcamp. Alyssa created the online platform in 2013, just three years out of UCLA, and in that short time has not only transformed the antiquated camping researching/booking system of yore; she has inspired millions of Millenials and Gen Zers to put down their phones and head outdoors. (It is no coincidence that more than 1 million new households have started camping each year since 2014, the year after Hipcamp was founded.) If you’ve yet to utilize the site, picture Airbnb-meets-camping: In addition to being the most comprehensive guide to public camping across the United States, Hipcamp has opened up the experience of camping on private land, called "land sharing." This revolutionary concept-turned-movement allows private landowners to earn income from renting their land for camping; campers get to pitch their tent (or glamp) on a farm, ranch, vineyard, pristine land preserve, and more. Alyssa has always been guided by her deep love of the natural world, but I was fascinated to learn about her perspective as a "digital philosopher." Whereas outdoorsy types are often wary of our time's proliferation of digital technologies (ahem), Alyssa sees the internet as a powerful force for nature -- an obsession that began with the creation of her own Digital Democracy major at UCLA. We cover a lot of ground here, from the story of Hipcamp's founding to its ultimate mission as perhaps the most scalable model for land conservation on the planet. Not to disappoint, there are plenty of amazing camping tips in here, too! Whether you're a first-time camper, a seasoned outdoorsperson, want to learn what it's like to be a Hipcamp host, or like me, have made a New Year's resolution to get out and camp more this year, you'll want to check out this episode!

Alyssa joins for a modest conversation about technology is changing how we relate to nature, the environment, climate change, extinction, and more.

What's top of mind for women in the outdoor industry right now? We go to the inaugural "Women's Outdoor Summit for Empowerment" in the Presidio Trust of San Francisco with that question in the back of our mind. We find out that "empowerment" is more dynamic than the story we often tell ourselves. Featuring Teresa Baker, Alyssa Ravasio, Kelly Martin, Cicely Muldoon, Jarre Hamilton, Erin Thiem, Kate Mullen, Ava Holliday, Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin, Stephanie Barron, and Andrea Thomas. Learn more on the episode page via She-Explores.com Sponsored by Oru Kayak Links mentioned in this episode: Women's Outdoor Summit for Empowerment High Country News Coverage Sylvia Ann Hewlett Sponsorship Article She Explores Facebook Group She-Explores.com Music by Lee Rosevere and Josh Woodward

The O'Reilly Radar Podcast: Alyssa Ravasio on founding a company, mining government data, and the future of the sharing economy.In this week's episode, I sit down with Alyssa Ravasio, founder and CEO of Hipcamp. We chat about navigating the challenges of founding a company, mining government data, and the role the sharing economy will play in the future.Here are some highlights: Mining government data Some states don't have any database we can query, and in that case, we actually have a team of researchers who are reading the websites and creating our own data sets. That's actually how we do almost all of our work. There are some cases where—Oregon has a really cool API for their state parks with photos, and they were really helpful. The static data is readily available and publicly accessible. One of the biggest challenges, though, has been accessing the real-time data, specifically about availability—is the campground booked next weekend or are there two spots left? This is public data. It happens to sit in the servers of a private company that has contracts with the government. Our biggest challenge this year has been trying to gain access to that data. Hipcamp's Land Share program Land sharing is this idea that there's a lot of land out there that people own. Sometimes they're struggling to find ways to pay for the mortgage or their property tax, and there's a really good revenue stream out there just from campers who want to get outside. It's kind of a new way to get outside because you're not going to a developed campground where there's a ranger and 40 sites, and everyone is in a circle. It's really a more open and free experience, where you're often getting a gate code to a 600-acre ranch and getting to go camp by yourself on the side of a river. Making Marshall McLuhan's Global Village a reality Before the Internet, it would have been really hard to know that there's someone down the road with a car, with a house, with a surfboard, with a beautiful piece of land that they'd be happy to let me rent or borrow for the night. With the Internet, we're so empowered to find these people and to connect in this really new way. I think that's going to result in a society that's much better organized, much more efficient, hopefully a lot less buying, and waste, and consumerism, and just a lot more of a community feel. I like to think of Marshall McLuhan's Global Village and imagine that this sharing economy is really a big step in making that real. Building your company's team Team building is like creating a family, so you're choosing people you want to spend a lot of time with and that cultural fit is essential. I think one big thing I've learned this year is you really want to hire for super powers. When you're small, it's tempting to try to hire someone who seems like they can do a lot of things, and it's good to have versatile people, but as you get a little bigger, like five, 10, 15 people, you can start to hire someone who definitely has weaknesses but they have this super power that none of us have, and now other people can help cover their weaknesses. As long as we're aware of what those are, it's a lot better to have those strengths, those super powers. Finding your co-founder In terms of co-founders, for me, the hardest part was before having a co-founder. As soon as I had a co-founder, now we're crazy together, but also you don't want to choose the wrong person just because you want to have someone in the trenches with you. I think the best thing you can do—in my case, what I did was build Hipcamp. I built the website all on my own, and I was totally embarrassed of how it looked but it was OK, so I emailed it to 50 people and I just took that first step of saying 'here's what I'm kind of thinking we should build.' By presenting it to my small group of friends, they were able to share it, and then my co-founder came through a friend of a friend who had the same idea. I think if you want to find a co-founder, you should just start building your company and put that out there, and trust they'll find you.

The O'Reilly Radar Podcast: Alyssa Ravasio on founding a company, mining government data, and the future of the sharing economy.In this week's episode, I sit down with Alyssa Ravasio, founder and CEO of Hipcamp. We chat about navigating the challenges of founding a company, mining government data, and the role the sharing economy will play in the future.Here are some highlights: Mining government data Some states don't have any database we can query, and in that case, we actually have a team of researchers who are reading the websites and creating our own data sets. That's actually how we do almost all of our work. There are some cases where—Oregon has a really cool API for their state parks with photos, and they were really helpful. The static data is readily available and publicly accessible. One of the biggest challenges, though, has been accessing the real-time data, specifically about availability—is the campground booked next weekend or are there two spots left? This is public data. It happens to sit in the servers of a private company that has contracts with the government. Our biggest challenge this year has been trying to gain access to that data. Hipcamp's Land Share program Land sharing is this idea that there's a lot of land out there that people own. Sometimes they're struggling to find ways to pay for the mortgage or their property tax, and there's a really good revenue stream out there just from campers who want to get outside. It's kind of a new way to get outside because you're not going to a developed campground where there's a ranger and 40 sites, and everyone is in a circle. It's really a more open and free experience, where you're often getting a gate code to a 600-acre ranch and getting to go camp by yourself on the side of a river. Making Marshall McLuhan's Global Village a reality Before the Internet, it would have been really hard to know that there's someone down the road with a car, with a house, with a surfboard, with a beautiful piece of land that they'd be happy to let me rent or borrow for the night. With the Internet, we're so empowered to find these people and to connect in this really new way. I think that's going to result in a society that's much better organized, much more efficient, hopefully a lot less buying, and waste, and consumerism, and just a lot more of a community feel. I like to think of Marshall McLuhan's Global Village and imagine that this sharing economy is really a big step in making that real. Building your company's team Team building is like creating a family, so you're choosing people you want to spend a lot of time with and that cultural fit is essential. I think one big thing I've learned this year is you really want to hire for super powers. When you're small, it's tempting to try to hire someone who seems like they can do a lot of things, and it's good to have versatile people, but as you get a little bigger, like five, 10, 15 people, you can start to hire someone who definitely has weaknesses but they have this super power that none of us have, and now other people can help cover their weaknesses. As long as we're aware of what those are, it's a lot better to have those strengths, those super powers. Finding your co-founder In terms of co-founders, for me, the hardest part was before having a co-founder. As soon as I had a co-founder, now we're crazy together, but also you don't want to choose the wrong person just because you want to have someone in the trenches with you. I think the best thing you can do—in my case, what I did was build Hipcamp. I built the website all on my own, and I was totally embarrassed of how it looked but it was OK, so I emailed it to 50 people and I just took that first step of saying 'here's what I'm kind of thinking we should build.' By presenting it to my small group of friends, they were able to share it, and then my co-founder came through a friend of a friend who had the same idea. I think if you want to find a co-founder, you should just start building your company and put that out there, and trust they'll find you.

Alyssa is the founder and CEO of Hipcamp, a company that helps people discover and book amazing places to camp. Their mission is get more people outside. She has a degree from UCLA in Digital Democracy and her deepest passion is helping shape how the internet impacts our humanity and our planet.