#interview
The Mannheim roof tent company Naturbummler started out as a classic moonlight startup. 14 employees now work for the bootstrapped company. The team is aiming for eight-figure sales this year.
At Nature stroller from Mannheim, founded in 2021 by Christian Sulzer and Lukas Rehse, is all about roof tents. “Chris and I started as a two-man army and, in addition to our main jobs, we worked on nature hikers at night and on weekends,” says founder Rehse, looking back.
14 employees now work for the bootstrapped company. The team is aiming for eight-figure sales this year.
In an interview with deutsche-startups.de, the nature stroller talks in detail about the state of affairs in his startup.
How would you like your grandmother to be a nature lover? explain?
I sell roof tents, which you can imagine as an oversized roof box into which a mattress fits, on the Internet. And now also through retail. Our customers like to buy from us because they really appreciate our designs, the well-thought-out features and the fair price-performance ratio.
Was this your concept from the beginning?
Producing and selling roof tents has been our business model from the beginning. Of course, after five years we have significantly refined and expanded marketing and sales. We also now offer a real camping world, not just roof tents.
How did nature stroller developed since its founding?
Chris and I started 2021 as a two-man army and, in addition to our main jobs, worked on nature hikers at night and on weekends. We now have 14 FTEs and are planning eight-figure sales in 2026. At the beginning of our founding, we only had one roof tent model on the market. We now offer six roof tent models and can cover all individual customer needs. No matter whether singles or families.
What was the highlight for you recently?
Last year we held a community event at a campsite for the first time with over 100 customers. Seeing the products arrive and how many adventures we have already had in our roof tents made me really happy. In addition, personal exchange is really worth its weight in gold. We also recently launched a cooperation with the Stuttgart aid organization “STELP”, which makes us very proud.
Please take a look back: What really went wrong in the last few years?
We have a seasonal business, which makes cash flow and inventory planning a little more difficult. It has happened that due to overly optimistic inventory planning, we left the year with far too much goods and no longer really knew how to pay outstanding supplier invoices. We then had to access our private depots. Fortunately, we have learned from these mistakes.
And where have you done everything right so far?
I think you can just tell that we really care about our products, community and customers and we really love being nature lovers. This passion is evident everywhere. No matter whether product, marketing or at events. We have the greatest job in the world and look forward to Monday every Sunday.
What general tip would you give other founders?
To be successful you don’t have to be special. You just have to do what most people can’t do: stick with it every day, be persistent and work your ass off.
Where does it say nature stroller? in a year?
In one year we have hopefully grown by 40%, expanded our product portfolio with great products and promoted internationalization in an EU country outside the DACH region.
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