WE NEED YOUR HELP

Over the years we’ve heard from so many people how much they LOVE 3ROC. They love the shop, the concept and most of all the events we do to bring the outdoor community together. On occasion, we’ve had a number of folks ask how they can help, get involved, or join the team. Until now, we didn’t really need any major assistance financially. But, the time has come to grow 3ROC, and to help us get over a few hurdles, we need your help.

WHAT CAN I DO 

You are already committed to shopping locally and love having a local independent outdoor shop. You browse the used gear section monthly to find awesome deals and every 3 months you pop in to purchase new running shoes. Anytime you’re heading out to hit the trail you swing by to grab camp meals and a few energy bars. You already spend a few hundred dollars, maybe more at 3ROC every year. If you have questions about climbing or need a recommendation for a new backpacking trail, you know you can just pop in and chat to the staff at 3ROC for half an hour and you’ll be all set. You come to many of the 3ROC events and bring friends. You love that we have monthly campfires, movie nights, and singer songwriter showcases. You want to ensure that these community events are here to stay. Every time you purchase from us you are investing in 3ROC, and every time you attend an event you are investing in 3ROC. What we are looking for now is a few folks who want to make a bit of a larger investment and help us to secure our long term future as the Pittsburgh Hub for the Outdoor Community.

3ROC GOOD GEAR INVESTOR

We are looking for 100 investors to pre purchase $1000 in gear funds. $100k will help us grow 3ROC as outlined below through a new 3ROC by the RIVER riverside paddlesports and events hub to include sales, demos, and rentals as well as an epic outdoor event space. We will be able fund purchases needed to expand into more guided outings and events through a 3ROC Adventure Club program, and to fully enable a new 3ROC Online E-commerce platform that is synced to our in store inventory.

 

HOW IT WORKS

- Purchase a $1000 in gear funds/store credit 

- Funds are not useable until May 1, 2022 or 90 days after investing whichever comes later

- Funds are available anytime up to $200 per month limit

- You can purchase gift cards for other people and any items we have in stock, including new & used gear. 

- You are NOT purchasing any stock or becoming a shareholder in any way

 

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

-Get Insider Pro Deal Pricing 4x/Year = 30% OFF coupons good anytime only 4x/year. Some exclusions may apply (not good on consignment or paddlesports)

-Exclusive VIP nights 

-1 FREE Daily Gear Rental 1/Month  = up to $50 per day value = $600/year savings

-6 FREE 3ROC Events/Year = $60-$150/year value (typical value $10-$25/event)

-First Access to 3ROC Adventure Club Outings & 10% off list price

-A Sweet T-Shirt Size of Your Choice that says “3ROC Good Gear Investor” printed locally by CWP 

 

READ ALL THE DETAILS

HOW WE WILL USE THE FUNDS

3ROC by the RIVER

We have recently been approached to expand our rental fleet and events to a nearby riverside location. We are so pumped about this opportunity. We are excited to have a riverside location to not only rent kayaks and SUPs, but also have a spot where customers can demo all the best paddlesports gear. We look forward to having a full summer schedule of events throughout the week and weekends that will include both land and water activities. We envision the space being open from May to October with slackline and yoga classes outside, hammock and fishing rentals, an expansive area to just gather around fire pits with friends, outdoor movie nights, and so much more! 

3ROC Adventure Club

We have also been working to grow our events and outings. We had hopes of offering bi-weekly 3ROC Adventure Club outings back in 2020 but then COVID threw all that out the window. Our goal is to get back to planning these trips and put together a full calendar of both local and national outings that will get you outside and exploring and learning new activities. We envision regularly scheduled small group outings to local state parks, national parks, wilderness areas, and more. 

Envision meeting at 3ROC at 7am and being handed a coffee and breakfast sandwich, loading into the van with 10 other people excited about getting outside. After a brief drive you get to a remote trailhead to go explore, climb mountains, see beautiful vistas, jump into a hidden swimming hole, or ride epic trails. Following an exciting day of adventuring join your fellow explorers for dinner and drinks at a brewery restaurant where you get to share your highs and lows of the day’s challenges. Return to 3ROC in the evening having explored your own backyard, discovering new skills, and making new friends. These events will require purchasing a passenger van, small trailer, and expanding our fleet of rental equipment to include harnesses, climbing shoes, packs, and more. We will also need to hire additional staff and invest in their training.  We will also continue to offer instore FREE or low cost events like our Tuesday Night Trail Run Club.

3ROC Online

We have always planned on being both a brick and mortar and online shop. We invested from the beginning in the infrastructure to enable a smooth transition to e-commerce but technology is never as simple as you hope. We have done all our homework and have all the pieces in place to enable a much more robust e-commerce platform that will sync our in store inventory and online sales directly with our POS to enable a more seamless online and instore shopping experience. We need several thousand dollar investments to get the e-commerce site finalized in the next few weeks and then hope to hire a dedicated staff member to manage the online orders.

 

SECURE INVESTMENT

This is the safest kind of investment we can come up with. You’re definitely not going to make any money with this, but because it can never go down in value, you know exactly what your payout will be. But most of all, you’ll be able to say that you played an important role in expanding your local outdoor shop, and helped them make a huge growth step.

 

WILL THIS REALLY HELP?  Definitely! If we can find 100 willing and able GOOD GEAR INVESTORS out there to “invest” $1,000 each, we’ll have 100k to work with, and that means a whole lot less we need to come up with from a bank and the added overhead that comes with a loan.

 

MORE THAN JUST “STORE CREDIT”: To show you how much we appreciate your help, when you invest, you immediately become a part of our GOOD GEAR INVESTOR GROUP, which comes with all kinds of perks:

•  $1,000 worth of  “GEAR MONEY” in the form of gift cards / store credit for anything we sell, any place we sell it…like we already talked about.

• 12 coupons good for 1 daily rental of your choosing; kayak, paddleboard, cross country skis, camping combo - each one worth $50 in rental credit.

• 4 30% of coupons per year so you’ll get discounts like the pros!

• Your very own “3ROC Good Gear Insider Investor” t-shirt so you can prove it!

• And of course bragging rights to anyone who will listen that you’ve invested in the growth of your local outdoor shop.

 

SOUNDS GOOD?  YOU’RE INTERESTED?

GREAT!  Now please read through all of our FAQs.  We want to be 100% certain you know how this will work before you sign on.

 

FAQS FOR THE 3ROC GOOD GEAR INVESTOR PROGRAM (OIP) :

Q: Why should I donate money to 3ROC?

A: Actually, it's not a donation. It's more like a 3yr loan, a CSA share, or even a simple Gift Certificate that you can spend any time you like... on outdoor gear.

Q: How much will I make on this investment?

A: Nothing. And we can guarantee that.  This 3ROC “Good Gear Investment Program" pays off like a change machine with a slight time delay. If you're looking for strong Investment Vehicle for your life savings, with a solid Return on Investment, this probably isn't for you.

Q: Can I split one of these, like I split a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription?

A: Yes - and that's a great comparison.  The only catch is that you'll have to figure out among yourselves how to divvy up the t-shirt and some of the other benefits listed here. You can pull together the funds with friends and then split the store credit up as gift cards. Give them to whoever you want or keep them all to yourself.

Q: Are these vouchers only good for new gear or apparel?

A: Nope, you can spend them on anything we sell: hats, t-shirts, used gear, new gear, tents, packs, rentals, anything in store. At the moment you won’t be able to redeem through our online store, sorry. Its just too complicated to pull off at this time.  

Q: When can I use my funds?

A: You can use the funds after May 1, 2022 or 90 days after your contribution whichever comes later. If we are still taking investors to meet the 100 limit after Feb 1, 2022 then their start date to use their funds would be 90 days after payment is received. You can use your funds anytime after that date but are limited to $200 per month. This limit is designed so that there isn’t a rush on the bank or we won’t have to “pay out” the entire loan or a large portion at once and will be a true investment for us.

Q: Is there a limit to how many of these you are offering?

A: Initially, yes. Only 100 since we don’t want to ask for more than what we really need and we do plan to use a bank if we need to. But banks have rules and fees and are stuffy and boring. We’d rather work with our friends and community.

Q: This looks and sounds like what East End Brewing did a few years ago? Did you steal this from them?

A: Good memory, yes we did! Good friends and good ideas. Scott Smith from EEB gave us his blessing to use his brilliant idea to use community to build and grow a business.

Q: Where do I sign up?

A: Right here.  Just keep scrolling down… you’ve made it this far!

 

HOW TO BECOME A 3ROC GOOD GEAR INVESTOR:

1. FAVORITE METHOD:  MAIL US A CHECK (OR DELIVER BY HAND)

With no transaction costs or credit card fees, we get the most out of your investment if you do it this way.  Make checks payable to “3 Rivers Outdoor Co.”, and you MUST include the following inside the envelope with your check:

• Name (Just one name please. If you’re doing a “group buy”, pick someone from the group that you can trust with your GEAR MONEY) 

• T-shirt size

• Phone Number

• Mailing Address (So we can send you your investor packet)

• Email Address (This is very important as the credit will be linked to this email when setup)

And then send it to: 

3ROC: Good Gear Investment Program

1130 S. Braddock Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15218

OF COURSE, IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, JUST STOP ON BY!

 

2. SECOND FAVORITE METHOD: SECURE ONLINE PAYMENT 

While we’d like to skip the credit card fees and payment processing charges, we understand the need to make this easy.  So if mailing a check is a pain, this works fine. Because we also realize that an Investment from you with fees is a whole lot better than No Investment at all… even if it costs about $30.

SO, WHEN WILL I GET MY STUFF?

Between printing the T-shirts and generating all of the gift cards and creating all of the fabulous Investor perks, it will take us a little while to get all of this together. So, first off you’ll get an email acknowledging that your investment has been received and deposited. Then, in late winter, early spring, the 3ROC Good Gear Investor Packet will arrive in your mailbox with the rest of the goodies, and you’ll be ready to roll.

For each $1,000 in 3ROC GOOD GEAR INVESTOR GEAR MONEY you purchase, you will get:

• ONE $1000 3ROC Gift Cards good for any instore purchases (limited to $200/month).

• FOUR 30% OFF COUPONS per year for 3 Years or as long as you have a balance

• SIX COUPONS good for FREE 3ROC Event a $10-$25 value each

• TWELVE 1 FREE DAILY RENTAL coupons a $50 value good for a days rental of a kayak, SUP, skis, tent, crashpad a $600 value. For 3 years or as long as you have a balance

• ONE “Good Gear Investor” T-shirt, in a size of your choosing

• A KAJILLION thanks for your support in helping us make this next big step

 

Seriously, thank you for considering this investment in 3 Rivers Outdoor Company. In addition to some nice perks, know that you’ll be helping to support Pittsburgh’s only independent outdoor shop in a REAL and TANGIBLE way. And again, thank you for your support of all that we do - past, present, and future. Without you, none of this would be possible. Pittsburgh is a great place to get outside!

Christine Iksic

Founder of 3 Rivers Outdoor Company