From Garage Startup to Industry GIANT | Marsupial Gear’s Story

ElkShape

Dan Staton

Fitness, Sports, Wilderness, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 618 Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today Dan is podcasting live from Marsupial Gear HQ in Phoenix with founder Jim Graham. What started just before Covid as a small operation in Jim’s garage — sewing bino chest packs and selling them out of the back of his car — has evolved into one of the most recognizable made-in-America hunting brands in the industry. Jim shares the behind-the-scenes story of the sacrifices, risks, and relentless work ethic it took to build the company from the ground up. Fast forward to today and Marsupial now operates out of its own warehouse, is expanding for continued growth, and employs more than 35 full-time sowers proudly manufacturing products right here in the USA. This episode dives into entrepreneurship, hunting culture, customer service, product development, and why Jim has always refused to cut corners when it comes to quality and standing behind the gear carrying the Marsupial name. After listening, you’ll have a much deeper understanding of where the company came from, what it took to get there, and where they’re headed next. 💢 Discount Codes 💢 INITIAL ASCENT - 5% OFF CODE: ELKSHAPE PODIUMARCHER.COM 10% OFF CODE: ELKSHAPE https://www.podiumarcher.com/collections/all-products-1 BORN PRIMITIVE OUTDOOR - 10% Off Code: ELKSHAPE - https://glnk.io/p9vpq/21r PEAX EQUIP - 10% Off Code: ELKSHAPE - https://www.peaxequipment.com/ CANVAS CUTTER - 10% Off Code: ELKSHAPE - https://canvascutter.com/ WILDERNESS ATHLETE | 20% Off Code: ELKSHAPE - https://wildernessathlete.com/ SHEEPFEET | 10% Off Code: ELKSHAPE - https://bit.ly/SheepFeet onXhunt ELITE Membership | 20% Off Code: ELKSHAPE - https://bit.ly/ONXHUNT OLLIN | 10% Off Code: ELKSHAPE - https://ollin.co/collections/snapshot DARK ENERGY | 10% Off CODE: ELKSHAPE - https://bit.ly/3P5x3BY BLACK RIFLE COFFEE | 20% OFF CODE: ELKSHAPE20 - https://blackriflecoffeecompany.pxf.io/9LnW0E FOUNDATION OURDOORS | 20% OFF CODE: ELKSHAPE - https://www.foundation-outdoors.com/?sca_ref=10392320.yNY8hl6qQLCpq TRICER GEAR | 10% OFF CODE: ELKSHAPE ============================= 📱 Subscribe and Listen to the The ElkShape Podcast HERE: ============================= Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elkshape/id1315352438 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3EplB7OPWM5HcsT2c0HzEv ============================= This Video was Filmed Using: ============================= AMAZON STORE 👉 https://www.amazon.com/shop/elkshape?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_X57159T6BSR8HN6Z3T3W A CAM - SONY A1 BODY ➡️ https://amzn.to/3wLZLBW B CAM - SONY A7 IV W/KIT LENS ➡️ https://amzn.to/3InUGST SONY LONG LENS 70-200MM ➡️ https://amzn.to/433SXLW WIRELESS DJI MIC 2 ➡️ https://amzn.to/3uYPku5 STUDIO LENS 24-70MM ➡️ https://amzn.to/3PbhZD8 DJI DRONE ➡️ https://amzn.to/3TqrAZo DJI ACTION 4 ➡️ https://amzn.to/49FDPXA HEADPHONES ➡️ https://amzn.to/4bwRa6c ============================= We are selling hard work! Behind The Scenes: https://www.instagram.com/elkshape/ https://www.instagram.com/elkshapetraining https://elkshape.com/ #elkshape Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Planning a fishing trip shouldn't feel like a full-time job.
0:03.1	With phishingbooker.com, you can find and book the perfect fishing trip within minutes.
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0:12.6	Booking is fast, easy, and secure, with access to verified customer reviews, loyalty rewards, and around the clock customer support.
0:21.7	Everything you need to book with confidence is in one place.
0:25.0	So head to phishingbooker.com and start planning your next fishing adventure today.
0:29.9	Jim Graham, we are here in Arizona at headquarters.
0:34.4	It's interesting because when we had you on the podcast i don't even know what year it was
0:38.5	could it this is year nine of my pod so okay i was definitely at the old shop definitely at the old shop
0:45.3	definitely over the internet yeah this is all bootstrapped this is all like you probably didn't
0:52.9	wake up the day that you've sold your first vinyl harness
0:55.7	out of the back of your car in a parking lot to a random dude from the internet you probably
0:59.9	didn't realize that you were going to be an entrepreneur i don't think that was your plan no no i mean
1:04.3	i'm entrepreneur i use that term loosely but yeah no it is far exceeded my expectations
1:09.4	and we people ask me like oh did you everything to be this big it's like no
1:12.9	i mean there was a while we were up to like yeah i thought i could do this like i thought i could do this and now we're way past that
1:17.4	yeah so i mean you're gonna expand because i don't see any room for anything here yeah we're break right before i met with you today
1:23.6	our uh our development guy we're building the warehouse in the back. Perfect.
1:27.8	So we're building another 10,000 square feet.
1:29.5	Yeah.
1:30.1	So we're busting at the seams, as you can see, which is awesome.
1:34.7	Hmm.
	...

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