Travel Agency Business Plan

Executive Summary

Adventure Excursions Unlimited (AEU) was formed to provide hard-adventure sport and travel packages—helicopter-skiing, white-water rafting, and mountain biking—paired with upscale accommodations, chef-prepared meals, and top-tier local guides for high-net-worth clients. AEU's founders are Jordan Stephan (MBA/JD), Jillyn Certo (MBA), and Loren Harlo (MBA), each an accomplished athlete in the activity they lead.

An opportunity exists for two reasons:

1. Adventure tourism is one of travel's fastest-growing segments. The global adventure tourism market is projected at roughly $534 billion in 2026, expanding at an 18%+ compound annual growth rate—well ahead of travel overall. Within luxury travel specifically, safari and adventure experiences already account for a third of spend, the largest single segment.
2. Few providers combine genuine hard-adventure activity with a luxury service model. Most hard-adventure operators serve budget-conscious enthusiasts at an average trip price near $2,000; most operators serving wealthy travelers stick to low-risk, sightseeing-oriented "soft" adventure.

Hard-adventure activities involve real physical demands and carry meaningfully more risk than soft adventure. Soft adventure may involve some exertion, but at low risk and with no athletic prerequisite.

AEU's target customers are high-income (minimum $150,000 individual income), health-conscious professionals drawn to serious hard-adventure sports—attorneys, physicians, founders, and senior executives concentrated in major U.S. metros. Our clients skew slightly male (51%) to female (49%) and are more likely to be married than the general adventure-travel population.

A niche market continues to emerge alongside the mainstream one: it will be difficult to compete head-on with established operators at first, but AEU's target segment is underserved and our positioning is clearly differentiated. This segment carries more disposable income and less price sensitivity than the broader adventure-travel market.

AEU prices at the top of the market. We deliver a luxury service with genuine prestige value, priced out of reach for most adventure travelers and in line with comparable luxury operators. Because we serve a smaller, less price-sensitive audience, our volume is limited but our gross margins are high.

Adventure Excursions Unlimited's mission is to give clients the highest-quality outdoor adventure available at any price. We exist to attract and retain customers; when we hold to that, everything else follows.

Adventure Excursions Unlimited's objectives for the first three years of operation:

• Build a service-first company whose top priority is exceeding customer expectations.
• Capture 25% market share of the high-end hard-adventure travel niche.
• Build a sustainable, profitable business.
• Achieve a 35% customer return rate within the first three years.

Opportunity

Problem Worth Solving

Wealthy adventure travelers who want hard-adventure experiences—helicopter skiing, white-water rafting, and mountain biking—face a gap in the market. Virtually all companies that provide hard adventure activities appeal to lower-income clients, while companies serving wealthier clientele generally offer soft adventure packages with sightseeing and low-risk alternatives.

Hard-adventure activities involve difficult physical requirements and carry a higher level of risk than soft activities. Upscale travelers who want genuine hard-adventure trips with luxury accommodations, gourmet food, and top-tier service providers have few options. AEU was formed specifically to serve this underserved niche.

Our Solution

AEU will position itself as a niche service provider within the hard-adventure market. It will offer high-quality travel packages for extreme sporting trips. To begin AEU will offer six trips: helicopter-skiing trips to Canada, India, and New Zealand, white-water rafting trips to New Zealand and Costa Rica, and a mountain biking trip along the Great Divide from Montana to New Mexico.

The target market will be made up of young professionals who work and play hard. These people can afford to play expensively, and are willing to buy time in the form of our services. AEU will serve the hard-adventure niche market as a top quality, full-service provider. AEU defines quality by the unique aspects of the services offered. Those aspects include booking group or custom trips, assistance with passports, providing top-of-the-line equipment and supplies, and a superior service offering with access to better terrain, luxury accommodations, entertainment, celebrity exposure, and gourmet food.

The tours to be offered are as follows:

• Mountain Biking: This event will take place on the Great Divide trail from Montana to New Mexico and is designed for the serious biker that appreciates a few of life’s comforts along the trail. Showers and gourmet meals will be provided, along with entertainment. All excursions will maintain a staff to client ratio of 1:2.

A comprehensive map system has been created by Adventure Cycling and is currently available for purchase. The map clearly indicates the route, places to camp, stores for food and laundromats. Leadership training for the guides will be developed in-house using some outside material. There are many similar organizations that will be good sources of information.

The products needed for this trip are for the most part already manufactured. One item that needs to be designed and built is a privacy compartment for the solar shower. This will be designed by Jordan and manufactured in-house. A cookbook collection of simple recipes, including some personal favorites, will also be assembled. Professional cooks will be provided, and flown in if necessary.

• Heli-skiing: Helicopter skiing has become a popular alternative to resort skiing. It offers uncrowded access to the best terrain. For those who like to get off the beaten path heli-skiing is for them. AEU has planned annual and custom trips to three destinations. Everything will be taken care of for the customer. Transportation, lodging, transfers and skiing is included in the package. Although our trips are planned at peak ski seasons, mother nature cannot be predicted. In the event that the weather is too treacherous to ski the trip will be postponed. An in–house travel consultant will accompany each group and take care of all check-in and transfer issues.

AEU will not send clients to places we ourselves would not go. All service providers will be top-notch professionals with accomplished backgrounds. They will be medically trained, and evaluated for knowledge and ability to ensure safety and high-quality service. If they fail, at any time, to meet our rigid standards of quality, they will not be used. If quality falls, another provider will replace them. These activities take place outside of the United States and therefore we will hire local guides to accompany our professional guides and service providers.

• White-water Sports: New Zealand and Costa Rica were chosen for these ten day long hard-adventure excursions. There can be a maximum of ten people per group. Annual trips will be planned to each location, but for large enough private groups, custom trips can be planed. As with the heli-skiing trips, local guides will be used in addition to our own. The abroad trips will be a cooperative effort in-house, as well as local guides in the host countries. The choice to seek outside consulting for the trips abroad is due to each countries different legal and regulatory climate. The potential subcontractors and guides are individuals currently in the industry in their respective countries.

Market Overview

Travel remains a resilient growth industry, and adventure travel is growing several times faster than the category overall. The global adventure tourism market is valued at roughly $464 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach approximately $534 billion in 2026, on its way toward $1.7+ trillion by 2033—an 18%+ compound annual growth rate. Within the broader luxury travel market (valued at roughly $1.59 trillion in 2025, growing at an 8.5% CAGR), safari and adventure experiences already represent about a third of spend, the single largest luxury travel segment.

Several forces are driving this growth:

• A sustained shift in high-income consumer spending from material goods toward experiences, particularly among professionals in their prime earning years.
• Elite travelers increasingly seeking unexplored destinations and physically demanding, story-worthy experiences rather than conventional resort vacations.
• Wellness- and performance-minded travelers folding hard-adventure activity into their broader health routines rather than treating it as a once-a-decade splurge.

Some quick facts:

• The 30–50 age segment leads global adventure tourism demand, representing an estimated 45.6% of the market in 2026—closely matching AEU's target demographic of high-earning professionals in their prime career years.
• Hard-adventure activities—white-water rafting, backcountry skiing, and mountain biking among them—continue to draw a meaningfully smaller, higher-spending population than mainstream "soft" adventure travel (camping, guided hiking, resort-based excursions), which is exactly the gap AEU is built to serve.
• Heli-skiing, multi-day white-water expeditions, and supported long-distance biking routes each carry average package prices well above mainstream adventure travel, consistent with AEU's premium positioning.
• Biking-focused adventure travel continues to skew toward younger, affluent travelers, with a meaningful share of participants from households earning $150,000 or more annually.

This combination—a large and fast-growing category, a client base disproportionately concentrated in AEU's target income bracket, and a persistent gap between budget hard-adventure operators and luxury soft-adventure operators—is the opportunity AEU is built to capture.

Competition and Buying Patterns

Competitors in this market fall into two primary types. The first is the single-activity adventure provider—an operator specializing in one hard-adventure sport, such as white-water rafting. They typically serve clients spending under $2,000 per trip (mean purchase price around $900). Their strength is deep, sport-specific expertise; their weakness is an undifferentiated product in a competitive market, and neither the resources nor the interest in serving a customer who wants luxury accommodations and premium service layered on top.

The second type offers higher-priced, more luxurious packages that are, in practice, "soft" adventure—sightseeing and low-risk activity rather than genuine hard-adventure sport. These operators' advantages include established brand reputations, deep industry relationships, and management teams with decades of experience; several have operated for twenty-plus years and have well-established local service-provider relationships.

• Pricing competitively will be harder in AEU's first year or two, before the brand has an established reputation.
• Many of AEU's activities are seasonal; recurring revenue depends on successful trips across multiple regions and hemispheres. Ski trips wind down in North America each spring, for example, requiring AEU to shift ski operations to Southern Hemisphere destinations such as Las Leñas, Argentina.
• Weather is inherently unpredictable. Poor conditions—inadequate snowfall, unsafe river levels—can threaten the viability of a given departure and require rebooking or refunding clients.

Abercrombie & Kent is a well-established international luxury travel operator focused mainly on "soft" adventure—safaris, river tours, trekking, and sightseeing. Their premium line includes packages in the $5,000–$9,000+ range, some of which incorporate white-water activity or hiking, though most remain touring-oriented rather than genuine hard-adventure.

Luxury resort stays, expedition cruises, and curated "bucket list" experiences (private safaris, submarine tours, space tourism at the high end) compete for the same discretionary travel budget, as do lower-cost self-planned trips and mainstream hunting/fishing outfitters. Many high-end experiential offerings now compete directly for the same client's annual "big trip" spend.

Purchase decisions are shaped by disposable income, family considerations, and the broader economy. AEU's target clients research and book primarily online—through our website, social content, and search—supplemented by relationships with luxury travel advisors and word-of-mouth referral within tight professional and social circles. Reviews and past-guest testimonials play an outsized role in converting a high-consideration purchase like this.

Service Business Analysis

AEU will track performance against both competitors and overall market growth on an ongoing basis, using a combination of industry reporting, direct competitor monitoring, and our own customer data. While our primary target market is defined, we expect adjacent segments—corporate incentive travel, small private-group bookings, and eco-conscious hard-adventure travelers—to present expansion opportunities as the business matures.

Our marketing strategy centers on long-term customer relationships rather than one-time bookings. Every guest interaction—inquiry, booking, trip, and post-trip follow-up—feeds a central CRM that captures trip history, preferences, and demographic and psychographic profile data. That system lets us personalize outreach, anticipate repeat-booking windows, and identify which channels and messages actually drive high-value bookings, rather than guessing.

As positioning and differentiation are validated against real bookings and competitor response, we will revisit segmentation and messaging accordingly. There is effectively no ceiling on the number and variety of trips AEU can offer—new destinations and activities can be added on every continent as demand and guide relationships allow. Our goal is to establish AEU as a recognized international operator of top-tier hard-adventure travel, expanding deliberately rather than diluting the luxury positioning that differentiates us.

Target Market Segment Strategy

AEU will position and promote itself as a differentiated provider of luxury hard-adventure travel, priced accordingly within this specific niche.

AEU is targeting this segment for several reasons:

1. It remains underserved—few operators combine genuine hard-adventure activity with luxury service.
2. This segment consistently spends more per trip than the broader adventure-travel population.
3. This segment is willing to pay a premium for a genuinely top-shelf adventure experience, and its brand and referral behavior compounds over time through word of mouth within tight-knit professional and social circles.

Our communication channels reflect how this audience actually researches and books travel today: a strong direct website and booking experience, targeted digital advertising and search, partnerships with luxury travel advisors, curated content and trip storytelling across social channels (particularly Instagram and YouTube, where adventure travel converts well visually), and personal selling for high-value custom and group bookings. Print and direct mail play a limited, targeted role—primarily for existing clients and high-value prospect lists—rather than serving as a primary acquisition channel. Email remains a core retention tool, used to keep past guests engaged between trips and to surface new departures at the right moment in their planning cycle.

Market Segmentation

AEU's target customers are high-income (minimum $150,000 for a single earner), health-conscious individuals interested in serious hard-adventure sports such as heli-skiing, white-water rafting, and mountain biking. Purchasers are concentrated in major metros within these states:

Customer Location (within the United States):

1. California
2. Florida
3. New York
4. Texas
5. Illinois
6. Nevada
7. Hawaii
8. New Jersey
9. Pennsylvania
10. Georgia

Hard-adventure travelers skew male, so AEU's core target is professionals aged 30–50—the segment that leads adventure tourism demand overall—though a substantial and growing share of hard-adventure travelers are women (roughly 49% of the category). Men continue to outspend women on average within adventure travel, though that gap has narrowed over the past decade.

Customers are reached primarily through digital channels—our own site, targeted search and social advertising, and content/storytelling on Instagram and YouTube—supplemented by luxury travel advisor partnerships and personal selling for larger bookings. Purchase decisions are shaped by disposable income, family considerations, and the broader economy in a given year.

AEU targets two specific groups:

1. High-income, health-conscious professionals (attorneys, physicians, founders, senior executives) with substantial earned income.
2. Younger, high-net-worth individuals with significant inherited or family wealth and a strong outdoor/athletic identity.

The common thread across both groups is disposable income and a genuine love of adventure. The first group is considerably larger; the second is a smaller but high-value segment with fewer scheduling constraints and strong appetite for custom and multi-trip bookings.

Competitors

AEU faces two primary competitor types in the hard-adventure travel market:

Single-activity adventure providers specialize in one hard-adventure sport such as white-water rafting. They typically serve clients purchasing trips for less than $2,000 (mean purchase price around $900). Their strength is sport-specific expertise; their weakness is an undifferentiated product and inability to serve customers demanding luxury accommodations and premium service.

Luxury soft-adventure providers such as Abercrombie & Kent offer higher-priced packages focused on sightseeing and low-risk activities. Their Connoisseur line starts at $4,000–7,000 and includes some white-water and hiking, but most packages are touring-oriented. Advantages include established reputations, decades of industry experience, and strategic relationships with local providers.

Substitute products include theme parks, cruises, self-planned trips, hunting/fishing adventures, and exclusive experiences such as submarine tours. Customers may also choose not to vacation at all.

AEU differentiates by combining hard-adventure sports with luxury service—a niche neither competitor type fully serves today.

Execution

Market Plan Overview

Adventure Excursions Unlimited is going after the upper end of the hard-adventure market. Hard-adventure tour operators exist, but none today cater specifically to the high-end spectrum—AEU sees a clear, defensible opening in a category growing well above 18% annually.

AEU's core marketing and sales objective is to establish, across every channel we use—our website, social content, search, advertising, and travel-advisor relationships—that AEU delivers a materially higher level of service than any other hard-adventure operator. If we consistently make the case that our trips are genuinely different and superior, our research indicates steady demand will follow.

Once a client has completed a trip with AEU, retention becomes the priority: superior service and attentive follow-up are what turn a single booking into a repeat client and, ultimately, a referral source. Long-term relationships, not one-off sales, are the foundation of steady growth.

The High-Octane Executive

Marcus Sterling

Marcus is a high-ranking private equity partner who uses intense physical challenges to disconnect from his high-stress career. He is an experienced skier and cyclist who finds most 'luxury' tours too sedentary, yet he refuses to compromise on comfort, food, or equipment quality after a grueling day on the mountain.

Age

48

Location

Lake Oswego, OR

Family Status

Married, 2 adult children

Education

MBA from Stanford University

Profession

Managing Partner at a Private Equity Firm

Opportunities

• Develop multi-day, all-inclusive heli-skiing expeditions in the Wallowas or BC with unlimited vertical and private chalet accommodations.
• Provide top-of-the-line, current-season technical gear rentals and professional tuning as part of the package to eliminate travel logistics.
• Partner with award-winning chefs to provide field-side gourmet meals that rival five-star restaurants.

Pain Points

• Frustrated by 'luxury' tours that only offer sightseeing and low-risk walking tours
• Dislikes the lack of privacy and subpar amenities in traditional hard-adventure base camps
• Limited time off makes him impatient with poor logistics or amateurish guides

Needs

• Genuine physical risk and challenge led by world-class professional guides
• High-end recovery amenities like private hot tubs, massage therapy, and fine wine lists
• Seamless door-to-door logistics including private charter connections

“I want to feel the adrenaline of a 40-degree descent, but I want to come home to a 1996 Bordeaux and a five-course meal.”

The Story-Driven Patriarch

Robert Vance

Robert is a retired founder who wants to create 'legendary' family memories with his adult children. He seeks high-stakes activities like Class IV rafting to keep his family engaged and excited, but he requires the safety and white-glove service that his net worth has accustomed him to.

Age

58

Location

Portland, OR

Family Status

Married, 3 adult children (ages 22-28)

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Economics

Profession

Retired Software Founder & Angel Investor

Opportunities

• Offer fully customizable, private multi-day rafting trips on the Rogue River with 'safari-style' luxury camping setups.
• Create 'the ultimate Oregon week' combining heli-skiing, rafting, and biking into one seamless, high-end itinerary.
• Include a professional photographer/videographer on trips to capture high-quality 'story-worthy' content for the family.

Pain Points

• Hard-adventure trips are often too 'gritty' for his spouse or less-hardy family members
• Difficulty finding operators who can handle complex group logistics for a private party
• Worried about safety standards when dealing with lower-budget adventure companies

Needs

• Absolute privacy and exclusivity for his family group
• Highest possible safety ratings and most experienced lead guides in the industry
• Luxury 'glamping' setups that include real beds, linens, and en-suite portable facilities

“I want my kids to talk about this trip for the next twenty years. It needs to be difficult, and it needs to be flawless.”

The Peak Performance Optimizer

Sarah Jenkins

Sarah is a remote tech leader who views hard adventure as an essential part of her health and longevity routine. She treats mountain biking and white-water rafting as 'performance intensives' and is willing to pay a premium for expert coaching and data-driven experiences that push her limits.

Age

36

Location

Bend, OR

Family Status

Single

Education

Master of Science in Data Analytics

Profession

VP of Engineering at a Silicon Valley Fintech (Remote)

Opportunities

• Offer mountain bike tours focused on technical skills instruction led by former professional athletes in locations like Oakridge.
• Incorporate cold plunges, sauna therapy, and nutrition-focused meal plans into multi-day rafting or biking expeditions.
• Utilize GPS mapping and performance tracking to provide guests with data summaries of their adventure 'stats' post-trip.

Pain Points

• Struggles to find female-friendly high-performance groups that aren't 'beginner-focused'
• Tired of low-quality 'camp food' that doesn't align with her strict nutritional goals
• Hard-adventure operators often have outdated booking systems and poor digital communication

Needs

• Peer groups of similar physical ability and professional status
• High-speed connectivity at base camps to handle occasional urgent work calls
• Access to the most advanced carbon-fiber mountain bikes and safety technology

“Adventure is my therapy. I’m not looking for a vacation; I’m looking for a breakthrough in what my body can do.”

Milestones

Adventure Excursions Unlimited will have several milestones early on:

1. Business plan completion. This will serve as a roadmap for the organization. While AEU does not need a business plan to raise capital, it will be an indispensable tool for the ongoing performance and improvement of the company.
2. Set up the office. This will be the main/only office located in Eugene, OR.
3. Develop the training program. This program will be used to train the leaders of our trips.
4. Completion of first trip.
5. Completion of twentieth trip.

Sales Strategy

Our sales strategy is to build long-term customer relationships through superior service, starting with a tightly defined primary segment: individuals who have purchased, or are likely to purchase, a hard-adventure vacation priced above $3,500. Later phases may add corporate incentive travel, eco-conscious hard-adventure trips, and lower-priced offerings for a broader hard-adventure audience—without diluting AEU's core luxury positioning.

Target customers are identified through a mix of third-party adventure-travel research, our own CRM data on past guests and inquiries, and lookalike targeting built from existing client profiles.

Customer acquisition runs primarily through digital channels: our website and online booking flow, paid search and social advertising, and content/storytelling on Instagram and YouTube where adventure travel converts especially well. Luxury travel advisors and personal selling remain essential for large custom and group bookings, and we maintain relationships with advisors who serve our exact client profile. Service is introduced regionally at launch, expanding nationally within the first year and internationally as guide relationships and demand support it.

Our trips are seasonal, so recurring revenue depends on strong bookings across a range of activities and destinations throughout the year. We maintain off-season engagement through a regular content newsletter and social presence—trip recaps, guide spotlights, upcoming departures, and client stories—to keep AEU top of mind between bookings.

Most sales occur directly with the client. Bookings made through travel advisors are discounted approximately 15% to reflect the advisor's referral value. Transactions result from inbound interest generated by our marketing efforts, plus proactive outreach and personal selling for high-value prospects.

Competitive Edge

Our competitive edge is giving affluent travelers access to genuine hard-adventure sport without the budget constraints that shape most operators' trips. Most hard-adventure travelers spend under $2,500 per trip, and the majority of operators are built to serve that price-sensitive customer. AEU uses many of the same caliber of guides and service providers but builds a materially more exclusive trip around them.

Accommodations are primarily small luxury hotels and boutique lodges. Meals are chef-prepared, restaurant-quality. The adventure activity itself exceeds average quality because our smaller, well-resourced groups get better terrain, better river sections, and guides who aren't managing large or mismatched groups.

AEU's target clients routinely spend $6,000 or more per week on a single heli-skiing trip, and many make hard-adventure travel an annual ritual rather than a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. By combining genuine hard-adventure sport with luxury service, AEU occupies a niche that neither budget adventure operators nor soft-adventure luxury operators fully serve today.

Sales Plan

Direct costs of sales follow trip activity:

Most sales occur at the retail level. Travel agency sales are discounted approximately 15%. Transactions result from customer contact through direct mail, magazine advertising, web communication, and personal selling.

Locations and Facilities

Adventure Excursions Unlimited is headquartered in Eugene, Oregon. The Eugene office serves as AEU's main—and initially only—operating location for administration, sales, trip planning, and customer service.

While the office is in Eugene, AEU leads hard-adventure trips throughout the United States and internationally. Trip destinations include helicopter-skiing locations in Canada, India, and New Zealand; white-water rafting in New Zealand and Costa Rica; and the Great Divide mountain biking route from Montana to New Mexico.

AEU expects the first several months to focus on trip planning and training trip leaders before trips reach full operation by the end of year one.

Technology

AEU runs a lean, cloud-first technology stack out of the Eugene office, built to support sales, trip coordination, and long-term customer relationships without a large in-house IT footprint:

• Booking and CRM: A cloud-based CRM and booking platform tracks every guest's inquiry, trip history, preferences, and demographic/psychographic profile, and powers personalized outreach as clients approach their next likely booking window.
• Marketing and content: A modern website with integrated online booking and payment, paid search and social advertising, and an editorial content calendar for Instagram and YouTube trip storytelling—AEU's highest-converting channels for adventure travel.
• AI-assisted operations: AI tools support day-to-day work across the business—drafting and personalizing client communications, assisting with itinerary planning and logistics documents, and summarizing guest feedback and reviews to flag service issues quickly.
• Field communication: Satellite communicators and GPS trackers for trip leaders on remote heli-skiing, white-water, and mountain-biking routes, ensuring reliable check-ins and emergency communication well outside cellular coverage.
• Office systems: Cloud-based file storage and collaboration tools, business phone and video-conferencing systems, and standard workstations for the Eugene team—no on-premises servers required.

Because our clients are highly digitally engaged, the website, social channels, and CRM-driven email are AEU's primary channels for both acquisition and retention, with in-person selling and travel-advisor relationships reserved for high-value custom and group bookings.

Equipment and Tools

Start-up equipment supports both office operations and field trip delivery:

Office equipment ($400 expensed at start-up):

• Workstations, business-grade internet, cloud phone and video-conferencing setup, and a networked printer/scanner

Mountain biking trip equipment (included in $13,000 long-term assets):

• Fleet of 15 bicycles
• Self-contained kitchen, shower, and toilet system
• Bicycle tools and maintenance supplies
• Satellite communicators and GPS trackers for trip leaders
• Custom-designed privacy compartment for the solar shower (designed in-house by Jordan Stephan)

White-water adventure equipment:

• Inflatable rafts and related gear
• Self-contained kitchen setup
• Portable shower and toilet facilities
• Dry bags, safety equipment, and satellite communicators for remote-stretch check-ins

Marketing materials: Photography/video assets and limited printed collateral for travel-advisor partners, developed during start-up ($100).

Milestones

Key Metrics for Success

AEU tracks these financial metrics to measure success against plan objectives:

Additional operational metrics:

• Sales growth: 60% year one to two, 17% year two to three
• Founder and staff compensation: base pay grows with profitability rather than staying flat—founders move from $39,000 to $75,400 as the business scales, and the Operations & Guest Services Coordinator role grows from part-time to full-time support
• Cash position: cash on hand climbs every year, from roughly $114,000 at the end of Year 1 to over $280,000 by the end of Year 3, funded by the founders' initial $60,000 investment plus operating cash flow

AEU also monitors trip completion rate, staff-to-client ratio (target 1:2), and customer satisfaction as leading indicators of repeat business.

Company

Ownership and Structure

Adventure Excursions Unlimited is organized as a privately held Oregon corporation with three equal founding shareholders.

Legal structure: Oregon C-corporation, privately held with no public offering planned.

Ownership: Jordan Stephan, Jillyn Certo, and Loren Harlo each hold an equal one-third share of AEU stock. All three founders serve in active management roles while also leading their respective hard-adventure activity lines.

Governance: Major decisions require consensus among the three founders. Each founder contributes $20,000 in start-up capital for a total planned investment of $60,000. AEU carries no long-term debt at launch.

Headquarters: Eugene, Oregon — the single office location for administration, sales, trip planning, and customer service. Field operations span the United States and international destinations.

Start-up Summary

Adventure Excursions Unlimited's start-up costs include all the equipment needed for an office, as well as the equipment needed for the mountain bike trips and white-water adventures. Other costs will be marketing fees, website development, insurance and a deposit for the office lease.

The office equipment will consist of four computer systems, DSL router, printer, CD-RW, CPU to be used as an internal server, phones, copier, fax machine and installation of DSL and two phone lines.

The equipment needed for the mountain bike trip will be a fleet of 15 bicycles, a self contained kitchen, shower and toilet system, and bicycle tools.

The equipment for the white-water adventures will include inflatable rafts (and other requisite related equipment), self contained kitchen set up, portable shower and toilet facilities, and lots of dry bags.

The marketing costs are for the brochures and advertisements. AEU will also incur costs in the development of our website. Lastly, insurance will be a large start-up expense.

Company Ownership

Adventure Excursions Unlimited (AEU) will be structured as a privately held Oregon Corporation. This corporate designation offers several advantages, including limited liability protection for its shareholders and a clear legal framework for governance and operational activities within the state of Oregon.

The ownership of Adventure Excursions Unlimited will be equally distributed among its three founding partners:

• Jordan Stephan: Possessing a deep background in outdoor recreation management and logistics, Jordan Stephan brings extensive operational expertise vital for coordinating complex excursions and ensuring participant safety.
• Jillyn Certo: With a strong focus on marketing and customer relationship management, Jillyn Certo will drive brand awareness, develop compelling adventure packages, and cultivate a loyal customer base.
• Loren Harlo: Loren Harlo's expertise in financial planning and business development will be crucial for strategic growth, resource allocation, and ensuring the long-term fiscal health and sustainability of AEU.

Each founder will hold an equal number of shares of AEU stock, reflecting a shared commitment to the company's vision and an equitable distribution of control and future profitability. This balanced ownership structure is designed to foster collaborative decision-making and leverage the diverse strengths of the founding team to drive the company's success.

Management Team

The three founders of AEU are Jordan Stephan, Jillyn Certo, and Loren Harlo. Each holds a management role, leads one hard-adventure activity line, and owns a key functional area of the business.

Jordan Stephan, VP, Corporate Counsel, Business Development, and Mountain Biking Activity Supervisor: Jordan earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Washington and Jefferson College, where he served two years as president of the cycling club and team. He completed a joint MBA/JD program at Willamette University, where he served as secretary of the Environmental Law Society and chaired the Willamette University Public Interest Law Project, supervising a staff of twenty-five and raising over $14,000 for the organization. Jordan managed a bicycle shop for two years and later worked in business development and organizational development at a technology startup before co-founding AEU. He leads all logistics for the mountain bike trips.

Jordan's expertise comes from years of long-distance cycle touring, including a cross-country ride and extended tours through Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Vermont, plus significant backcountry hiking and snowshoeing experience. He has consulted on long-distance bicycle tours in the U.S. and abroad, and draws on several years of outdoor-gear design experience to lead in-house equipment development for the mountain biking trips, including the custom solar shower enclosure.

An active endurance athlete, Jordan competes in cycling road races, endurance mountain bike races, and trail races up to the half-marathon distance, with a particular love for duathlon (run/bike/run) events. AEU is, in many ways, a direct extension of his outdoor and athletic interests.

Jillyn Certo, VP, Human Resources and Corporate Training, and Ski-Trip Coordinator: Jillyn holds two Bachelor of Science degrees—in corporate and industrial fitness, and in occupational safety—along with an MBA. She spent six years in occupational safety before moving into a human resources role at a major athletic-apparel company, where she built training and safety programs at scale. An avid scuba diver and downhill skier, Jillyn has also competed in track and field and equestrian events, and brings a wide range of both business and leisure travel experience to AEU. She leads the training and certification of AEU's trip leaders.

Loren Harlo, Marketing Manager and White-Water Adventure Coordinator: Loren holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, graduating magna cum laude, and an MBA with a marketing emphasis. He worked as a marketing manager at a consumer cooperative before co-founding AEU. A lifelong athlete—football, basketball, track and field, and competitive martial arts through college—Loren is an avid outdoorsman with a deep interest in water sports, skiing, hiking, hunting, fishing, and kayaking. He gained hands-on management and self-employment experience as an independent contractor and previously managed a small restaurant, which shaped his long-standing goal of owning his own business.

While the founders intend to stay actively involved in day-to-day operations, AEU will bring on additional management as the business scales, and is open to guidance from experienced operators connected to its capital partners.

Advisors

Though the three founding members are committed to taking an active and direct role in Adventure Excursions Unlimited's (AEU) daily operations, strategic direction, and growth initiatives, the company maintains a proactive stance toward leveraging external expertise. We recognize the invaluable insights that experienced managers and strategic partners, particularly those associated with venture capital providers, can bring to our nascent organization.

At launch, a formal advisory board has not yet been established. This approach allows us the flexibility to identify and recruit the most synergistic and impactful advisors as our strategic needs evolve. However, AEU is firmly committed to cultivating strong relationships with industry mentors who possess deep domain expertise. Specifically, we will actively seek guidance from professionals with proven track records in:

• Adventure Travel Operations: Expertise in managing complex logistics, ensuring safety protocols, developing unique itineraries, and understanding the nuances of remote and challenging environments.
• Luxury Hospitality Management: Insights into delivering unparalleled customer experiences, maintaining high service standards, managing premium accommodations, and understanding the expectations of discerning clientele.
• International Tour Operations and Compliance: Knowledge of global travel regulations, cross-border logistics, risk management in diverse regions, and navigating the complexities of international partnerships and legal frameworks.

As AEU scales and expands its market reach and service offerings, these mentors will play a critical role in guiding our strategic decisions, mitigating operational risks, optimizing our growth trajectory, and helping us maintain a competitive edge in the luxury adventure travel market. Their counsel will be instrumental in navigating market challenges and capitalizing on emerging opportunities.

Financial Plan

Revenue

Expenses & Costs

Profitability

Use of Funds

AEU requires $60,000 in start-up funding, allocated as follows:

• Insurance: $500
• Office lease deposit and first month: $450
• Website development: $500
• Brochures and marketing: $100
• Research and development: $400
• Office equipment: $400
• Stationery: $50

Trip equipment includes 15 mountain bikes, rafts, self-contained kitchen/shower systems, and bicycle tools for field operations.

Sources of Funds

AEU is funded entirely through founder equity with no long-term debt:

There are no loans, lines of credit, or outside investors at launch. AEU carries $0 in long-term liabilities and $0 interest expense throughout the forecast period.

Retained earnings accumulate as trips become profitable, building cash reserves for equipment replacement and trip expansion.

Projected Statements

Key Assumptions

The following general assumptions underpin AEU's financial forecast:

• AEU carries no debt — interest expense is $0 despite benchmark rates of 10%
• Income taxes are paid quarterly at 25.42% on corporate profits
• No sales tax applies to AEU's travel package revenue
• Employer payroll taxes/burden are applied to on-staff employees ($28,080 / $46,800 / $55,640); trip personnel are contracted
• Founder and key-staff compensation grows with profitability rather than staying flat across the forecast — founders move from $39,000 to $75,400 per year as the business scales, and the Operations & Guest Services Coordinator role grows from part-time to full-time
• Depreciation on the $16,900 trip equipment asset (bike fleet, rafts, camp systems) is straight-line over its 5-year (60-month) useful life, or about $3,380/year
• Average variable cost runs roughly 10-11% of revenue; fixed costs (payroll, burden, and operating expenses) run approximately $45,200/month in Year 1, rising as staffing scales with trip volume
• Direct costs of sales: $68,000 / $120,000 / $142,044