We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gianluca Boncompagni. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gianluca below.

Gianluca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

The biggest risk we ever took was starting the business, which then opened the door to a lot of other risks. As a company, we didn’t have much funds at the beginning and that’s scary. It also means you need to be careful and on top of every single detail, since the smallest error can derail your investment and effort.

However, the biggest risk we took was attending to our first Overland Expo in Arizona. It meant flying to Arizona from Costa Rica (where our brand is from), shipping our products there and preparing for an Expo which we had never attended. We weren’t sure how to properly prepare, what to expect, etc. Plus, it also meant a huge investment for us. It was a big gamble.

Luckily, my business partner and I were committed to getting sales and dealers. The first thing we enjoyed about it all was that as a state, Arizona was beautiful. We managed to drive and camp in a few different places and it was beautiful. That got our spirits and confidence up, and at the Expo it was easier to let loose and get the ball rolling.

The entire overlanding community, whether it was other vendors, exhibitors, organizers or attendees were friendly, open minded and really helpful. We met people from all over the country, showed our products and told our story. Plus, we got great inspiration and ideas from other people that were really ahead at the time.

After the Expo, we saw considerable growth in sales as well as brand recognition. It paid off and we had a great time!

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?

Our brand name is Guana Equipment. We are an overlanding and off-road equipment brand. We mostly make roof top tents, awnings and a few other overlanding accessories such as portable car fridges. Essentially, our products are made to make your camping and outdoors experience a much better one.

Our goal is to craft products that are more comfortable and user friendly than the competition. We focus on the highest quality materials and craftsmanship, but most importantly on those subtle details that do make a difference in comfort. For example, some of our roof top tents, the Wanaka line to be precise, have one of the biggest, if not the biggest annex in the market. Why? Well, we don’t just see the Wanaka as a roof top tent, we see it as a whole camping setup. Meaning, you set up the tent and the annex, and now you have space for your whole family so sleep comfortably, but also have enough coverage for shelter from the elements, for better privacy and simply optimizing the whole tent unit to enjoy your time in the wild without giving up on basic comfort.

The problem we try solving for customers is camping uncomfortably. We are not talking about glamping or not connecting with nature. No, we understand camping and overlanding means getting out of your daily comfort zone, but it doesn’t have to be a pain. So we like to make it slightly easier and more comfortable for you and your family, so you have time and space to enjoy what truly matters: nature.

What we’re the most proud of is being a small Costa Rican brand, founded by two best friends, which has been able to expand to the United States, Canada, Mexico and even Australia. We’ve had customers from all over the world, Europe, Asia, Africa, buy our tents and truly enjoy them. We always say that our products are tested worldwide, and have endured all weathers and all world conditions and still excelled. That’s a matter of pride!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The biggest two factors have been good quality and good customer service. By quality I mean caring. Often times businesses aren’t always paying as close attention as they should at the products or services they offer or make. Such as no quality control, or rushing things to the point is not good enough. Or perhaps not testing them properly.

If you test your products thoroughly, you will know flaws they can have and correct them quickly.

As to customer service, always go above and beyond. That doesn’t mean that if a customer is being unreasonable you have to give into them, but it does mean to be passionate about your company, transmit that passion, solve problems, answer questions and show your willingness to help. Then, if an issue comes up, make it right!

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We sell directly on our site and we have dealers who sell directly through their site. We don’t sell on Amazon, Wallmart or any other big ecommerce sites.

Why don’t we sell on Amazon? our products require a good customer service and explaining to customers what they are buying. Amazon or other big ecomm sites don’t offer that.

Then, shipping a roof top tent can be expensive and complex, so programs from bigger websites such as Amazon can end up getting very expensive for smaller brands as ours. We try and stay away from headaches we feel we aren’t ready to tackle yet. First, let us focus on making good products, keeping high standards on manufacturing and logistics, and making our customers happy. Then we can think bigger.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.guanaequipment.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guanaequipment/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GuanaEquipment/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChpXDj2h3ynkvgUZzAkvyTw

Image Credits
Gianluca Boncompagni Karsten Koberg Guana Equipment