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MICHAEL NICHOLSON
ALAN RICE
Co-Founder
ALAN RICE
Co-Founder
Growing up in North Carolina, Alan went on his first backpacking trip with his dad when he was 6 years old in Grayson Highlands State Park. Despite the miserable weather, he was hooked. Much of his childhood and teenage years were spent hiking, backpacking, kayaking, rafting and fishing in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains before exploring the backcountry of the Sierra Nevada, San Juan and Rocky Mountains. Alan eventually went on to be an Eagle Scout and Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow.
More recently, Alan traded the backpack for a set of wheels and is now an avid off-road cyclist and aspiring bikepacker.
Prior to co-founding The Outsiders Group, Alan had a 10-year career in finance and private equity. While he learned a ton, he also learned that Wall Street wasn’t his jam – but he is excited to apply those skillsets in a more sustainable way supporting an industry he has always loved.
Alan graduated summa cum laude from Hampden-Sydney College and now resides with his wife in Denver, CO where they spend most weekends biking, hiking, camping, fly fishing, XC skiing or snowshoeing all over Colorado.
MICHAEL NICHOLSON
Co-Founder
Born and raised in Virginia, Michael grew up immersed in the outdoors – backpacking through the Blue Ridge, chasing brook trout, and biking country roads and wooded trails. That love for wild places has taken him from the Appalachians to the Rockies where he now calls home.
Today, Michael devotes most of his free time to the same pursuits – but on a bigger scale in the mountains of Colorado. Whether it's long bike rides, backcountry splitboarding, or early morning casts on a river, the outdoors continue to be a central part of his life.
Before co-founding The Outsiders Group, Michael spent a decade in enterprise software sales, working with both Fortune 500 companies and early-stage startups. These experiences shaped his operating style and honed his go-to-market instincts, but the pull toward entrepreneurship – and the outdoor industry – proved too strong to ignore.
Michael graduated cum laude from Hampden-Sydney College and now lives in Denver, CO with his wife. They spend their free time biking, fly fishing, snowboarding and backpacking.