Building an Outdoor Lifestyle Brand with Stephen Sullivan of Stio®

We sat down with Stephen Sullivan, Founder and CEO of Stio^®, to share his journey from building outdoor apparel brands to shaping one of today’s most authentic lifestyle companies. Stephen reflects on entrepreneurship, maintaining brand identity through growth, and the pursuit of true wealth beyond financial success.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:00 Introduction.

• 01:34 Stio® expands through e-commerce, retail, and wholesale.

• 03:23 The brand launched in 2012 with a catalog, website, and store.

• 05:58 Even without certainty, experience brings confidence.

• 09:09 Protecting brand identity becomes harder as the company scales.

• 11:02 A move from the Midwest to Colorado sparked an outdoor passion.

• 13:56 Life in Jackson, ski town jobs, and launching a first business.

• 15:02 True wealth means balance.

• 16:48 True wealth is to be found outdoors.

“Cataloging is a bit of a dark art. It’s hard to get it right, and it can be very costly, but it’s incredibly effective.”

- Stephen Sullivan

Resources Mentioned:

• Stio^® website

• “Good to Great” by Jim Collins

Connect with Stephen Sullivan, Founder and CEO of Stio^®

Stephen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-sullivan-25695010/ 

Stio^® LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stio-/ 

Connect with Nathan Mersereau:

Phone: 248-645-1520 
Email: nathan.mersereau@planningalt.com
Twitter: @NathanMersereau
LinkedIn: Nathan Mersereau
Address: 255 S Old Woodward, Suite 310
Birmingham, MI 48009