Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Destiny Finn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Destiny, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Finn and Burk was created from the adventures I had out in the Alaskan Wilderness. As I like to joke “apparently too many days spent out in the wilderness leads to big dreams and a clothing store launch.” Because it’s true. When I first came to Alaska I was immediately captivated by its wild spirit and untamed nature. Everything about The Great Land fascinated me. Then when I’d fly down to the lower forty eight and share my stories of the adventures I had in Alaska, people would be equally as excited to hear about them as I was to share them. That’s where the ideas started blooming, creating gear from the adventures I had had out in the Alaskan Wilderness to share that spirit of adventure in every single item with travelers, nomads and everyone in between.
I wouldn’t say it was logic that made me know this idea would work, it was more an impulse dream, a gut feeling of “If this spirit captivates me, how many others will be captivated by it as well?” And that’s where the idea for what we now call our trading company: Finn and Burk bloomed from. All the designs you see have stories behind them, they have real life stories and campfire tales from my time spent in Alaska, a place I now which call home, that inspire them. It’s one thing to slap the word “Alaska” unto something and try and sell that to a tourist, but it’s way more meaningful to design something that’s truly inspired by Alaska and that has the intention of preserving the great land; which is why ten percent of each purchase goes back into wilderness preservation, because we don’t want to just make clothing and gear inspired by Alaska, we also want to preserve the land in which our company calls home.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
When it comes to Finn and Burk it’s work that at times scares me shitless but it’s work I find fun even when it doesn’t feel ‘fun.’ It’s a fulfilling, sets my soul ablaze kinda work I love sinking my teeth into. It’s the kinda work I gotta fight for courage with cause it’s the creation from my inner dreams. It’s raw authentic art. And it’s ‘hard’. Some days it genuinely sucks trying to ‘figure’ things out; especially when my emotions are running low and my blood is running thin. I’m not the smartest person alive, and I definitely don’t have all the answers, and some days I allow fear to momentarily have my attention. But then I remember the truth of who I am and I know I do have the resilience and courage needed to succeed. I got into this simply as someone who had a dream. All great things once simply started because of someone believing in their dreams and having the courage to build from those dreams. I didn’t know how to build a website or what companies to order product from or how to do business taxes, but I did know I could learn how. So that’s what I did, I googled, watched youtube videos, and networked with others who were already in the industry I wanted to be in.
I founded Finn and Burk because nothing makes me feel more alive then when I’m being my most authentic self and wanting to share the adventures that impacted me with others and preserve the wilderness that I love so much and I’ll be dammed if I limit out of my own fears what the Creator can do through me. To create something worthwhile it’s gonna take a lot of faith, faith in yourself and faith in the things unseen and you’re gonna have to trust yourself and that it’s all gonna work out in your favor.
As I said earlier, I’m not the smartest person alive, and I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I do have the resilience and courage needed to succeed. I also have my why. That’s something you gotta remember is what’s your why? Why are you wanting to start a business, why are you wanting to create that thing? Finn and Burk isn’t just about sharing alaskan adventures, it isn’t just about creating new products for the many tourists that come to visit for the summers, it’s also about preserving our natural environment and raising awareness about sled dogs and preserving them. It was my adventures mushing that originally inspired the idea for a company but it’s our love for the Alaskan Husky that gives us our drive to succeed because we want to support and protect their heritage. Sled dogs are a way of life for a lot of Alaskans, they’re a noble working breed and we want to educate others about them, help fund them and their lifestyle. So when you create a mission like that your why gives you courage to carry on even when you don’t ’feel like it’.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
For me a lesson I had to unlearn was the belief that ‘I can’t do it because____’ Finn and Burk has been my biggest lesson for self trust because I didn’t grow up in the business world. I didn’t have a ton of capital to found my company. I was just a twenty something year old kid trying to figure it out. All I had was my dream for wanting to share adventures, preserve the wilderness and protect the sled dogs to fuel my fire. I remember talking to my best friend and co founder saying “I don’t know how to build a website” and them telling me “but you can learn” and they were right. You’re gonna have to unlearn a lot of self limiting beliefs when you do something you’ve never done before and if you want to succeed. You have to learn to become self aware anytime you say “I can’t”, because that’s putting a limit on yourself and not trusting yourself to figure it out.
You have to learn to be resourceful and figure out how, you might not know how to build a website but there’s a ton of youtube videos that can teach you how, and then you learn. You might not have a ton of capital to buy products but there’s print on demand companies you can start off with and there’s grants you can apply for. You have to realize there’s never a lack for anything. When you unlearn a scarcity mindset and implement a mindset of abundance, everything changes for you.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My co-founder: Burk and I met at summer camp way back in the day as kids. Our love for the great outdoors is what our friendship was built on and over the years it’s what continues to inspire us to create. I’m definitely the visionary out of the two of us but Burk, now Burk is a genius when it comes to the analytical side of things. He helps me build a solid foundation and I help him raise the ceiling of that building to great heights and together we have a healthy balance of logic and creativity. There’s no one else I trust more then to find the errors in my work and give me blunt honest feedback and find the most optimal route for our company to grow than Burk, and in return he trusts my creative vision and ideas for a future most can’t yet see; and together that’s where you get our company’s name: Finn and Burk. Two people who love the outdoors and want to simply share that spirit of adventure with everyone they meet.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Finnandburk.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finnandburk/profilecard/?igsh=MWUweTVsMXJ5anhraw==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@finnandburk?si=2jxep0EPphcFX4Fc
