BCBUSINESS.CA APRIL 2019 BCBUSINESS 35 BCBUSINESS.CA APRIL 2019 BCBUSINESS 35
Lezé's e-commerce store, sales grew
by 300 percent, to US$30,000 in
monthly revenue. The company, which
has five part-time employees, has sold
more than 6,000 pairs of pants. –F.S.
M A X W E L L W E B S T E R
Co-owner and director of
business development
HASTINGS OVERLAND
AGE: 27
LIFE STORY: Maxwell Webster
got the idea for Hastings Overland
when he took a break from work in
2016 to spend six months touring
Russia, Asia and the Middle East.
"I kept finding myself gravitating
toward overland travel–renting
vans or rickshaws or motorcycles,"
says the Nanaimo native, who
started his first business, a dog-
walking service, when he was six
and co-founded a clothing company
at 18. "I realized this was an under-
served market in B.C."
Before launching what he calls
an adventure business first and
a rental company second in early
2017 with two vehicles, Webster
earned a BComm with a major in
entrepreneurship from UVic's Peter
B. Gustavson School of Business.
Realizing through his time in the
co-op program that he knew
little about running a company, he
decided to learn by working for
other entrepreneurs, including two
years as project coordinator and
development analyst with Victoria's
Jawl Properties.
Vancouver-based Hastings
Overland provides off-road-capable
Jeep Wranglers with rooftop tents,
tailgate kitchens and camping
gear. Webster and co-owner Cory
Koesdibyo also organize custom
experiences for clients, starting with
a survey to gauge their adventure
profile. "With our bookings, we
usually will create them an outdoor
trip plan," says Webster, who
stresses environmental responsibil-
ity in those plans and in manuals
supplied with the vehicles.
BOTTOM LINE : For its third
season, Hastings Overland has
10 Jeeps and is adding at least one
staff member to its team of three,
which includes the two owners. The
company, many of whose customers
are from Australia, South Africa,
the U.S. and Western Europe, was
recently accepted into Destination
Canada's Canadian Signature Experi-
ences program. –N.R.
