How an Outdoor-Clothing Company Is Building Up Manufacturing in Mountain Towns One entrepreneur is bringing the 'microbrew' model to manufacturing.
By Grant Davis •
This story appears in the October 2015 issue of Start Up.
Voormi CEO Dan English, a Microsoft veteran, has set out to remake the outdoor-apparel industry. His company, which he founded in 2010, has patented a water-resistant yet breathable fabric that's being used in outerwear, attracting attention from mountaineers, cyclists and other outdoor-sports enthusiasts.
Voormi's headquarters are in Pagosa Springs, Colo., a town with a population of fewer than 2,000 amid nearly 1.9 million acres of national forest. It was a strategic choice, as English wants to build up a web of manufacturers scattered throughout the small mountain towns of the Rockies—places where many people want to live, but jobs are scarce.
