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Isaac Strang
Reconnecting the city with the wild
Isaac Strang is the founder and owner of Wilderness Union, an outdoor adventure company based in Toronto.56 He created this community to help city dwellers reconnect with nature and explore the wilderness.5
Strang's mission with Wilderness Union is to make outdoor adventures more accessible to people living in urban areas.2 The company organizes unique outdoor experiences, provides transportation, gear, and guides, catering to individuals of all experience levels.6
Before founding Wilderness Union, Strang had a career on Bay Street.2 His passion for wilderness exploration led him to leave his job and dedicate his time to building this outdoor community.2
In addition to his work with Wilderness Union, Strang has been involved in other areas:
- He was elected as Vice President of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association (GHTA) in 2024.1
- Strang has spoken at the Canadian Fintech Summit as a keynote speaker.3
- He has appeared on CBC's "Here and Now" program to discuss Wilderness Union.4
Strang's LinkedIn profile describes him as "Reconnecting the city with the wild," which aligns with his company's mission to help urban dwellers "escape the city and feel more alive".5
Highlights
6 months ago I walked away from what, for many years, had seemed my dream job. Making the most difficult professional decision I’ve ever faced, I left an incredible team and a level of security that had once seemed impossible to step back into entrepreneurship.
During the early days of the pandemic, getting out of the city and into nature was still allowed and at that time, a salvation. Every week during that period I planned a new trip in Ontario’s wilderness and, before long, friends began to join me. I’d organize the adventure and bring together great company. Together, we would reset over the weekend, finding respite from the city and reorient ourselves with what really mattered. Those trips became hugely important to us. I started to wonder whether they might be for others too and whether there could be a business there.
Those questions nagged to the point where I decided I needed time out to pull on the threads. I had a half-joke concept of Adventure as a Service that I wanted to explore. Could you develop healthy subscription economics around this kind of offline business? Would others be as keen to get out of the city and would they pay to do so each weekend? Are others looking for the same kind of community?
I’ve spent the subsequent 6 months validating these hypotheses, building a new kind of outdoor community. One that’s carefully curated with members you want to spend your time with. A community with whom you do something truly memorable every week. The hassle of organizing transport and gear taken care of, so you can just show up. A group that’s subscription based so you pay a flat monthly fee and get to come out as often as you’d like. The result is Wilderness Union and there’s now enough traction to make that other significant step, announcing it on LinkedIn.
As a business, it’s becoming everything I looked for, working in Innovation and VC. Evangelical customers, dependable recurring revenue, super low CAC and what’s shaping up to be pretty astonishing customer LTV.
From a customer’s perspective, once they join Wilderness Union, they’re hooked. Our members come out multiple times a month, often discovering the wild beyond Toronto for the first time and finding their own community through the group.
Personally, it’s turned out to be an incredible privilege - sharing what made me fall in love with Canada with our amazing members. I’m so proud of our extraordinary diversity, made up both of newcomers and more settled Canadians. Executives, artists, scientists, developers with an equal gender representation that’s traditionally been so rare in outdoor recreation and a sense of adventure and curiosity that binds everyone together.
We’re growing quickly this year and I hope you’ll think of joining us. You can apply for membership at www.wildernessunion.com or follow along with our progress at https://lnkd.in/gJ7NJ35N and if this has piqued your professional curiosity, let’s chat!
Honoured to be returning to the incredible Canadian Fintech Summit this year as a keynote speaker. Tickets are 30% off until the end of January so snap them up quickly! #FintechSummitTO
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