COON VALLEY, WI (BRAIN)–Cycling apparel maker Mt. Borah, which designs and manufactures both active outdoor cycling apparel and high quality custom race gear, was named to Inc. magazine's 5000 list, now widely considered one of the national benchmarks for innovation and companies to watch.
“We’re thrilled with the honor,” said Chris Jackson, chief executive officer of Mt. Borah. “We look around and instinctively know that we’ve come a long way in the 10 years since I started the company. But when you receive this kind of recognition, it’s a real vote of confidence and a validation that we’ve been on the right track.”
After working for a number of years in cycling apparel product sales, Jackson started Mt. Borah in 1996 with a single design for a pair of baggy, casual mountain bike shorts, which he showed to industry contacts. The business grew rapidly from 300 sales of the one item in the company’s first year to thousands of apparel items across mountain biking, pro cycling and skiing product lines.
Today the company employs more than 20 people in the design, manufacture and hand finishing of all products.
“Inc. looked at a lot of criteria including financial growth and business performance,” Jackson said. “But the real measure of success to us has been how we’ve been able to build a national brand and business in a competitive industry from the part of the country that we love most. We made a commitment to Coon Valley almost from day one and it hasn’t let us down.”
