Tom Wahlin, founder of Pack Hacker
In 2017, Tom Wahlin transformed his personal travel experiences into Pack Hacker, a website dedicated to helping globetrotters find the perfect gear. He had quit his job at Apple to travel the world, beginning with testing different travel products and writing about them. His detailed reviews became popular, showing there was a need for this kind of information.
This article tracks how Pack Hacker grew from a small blog to a big business. It talks about how the company made money, mostly through affiliate marketing and later with a paid membership program. The story also covers the tough times Pack Hacker faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel stopped and their traffic dropped sharply. Let’s get right in!
How it all started
In 2015, Tom Wahlin held a coveted position as a design manager at Apple in New York City. Despite the job's prestige and benefits, Wahlin found himself experiencing burnout. In a bold move, he decided to leave his job and embark on a world tour, seeking inspiration and his next career path.
As Wahlin prepared for his travels, he adopted a meticulous approach to selecting his gear. He purchased multiple versions of various travel products, including backpacks, packing cubes, and toiletry bags. After thorough testing, he chose his preferred items, sold the rest, and set off on his adventure.
During his travels, Wahlin wrote an article on Medium titled "Everything You Need to Travel the World in One Backpack" The unexpected popularity of this post revealed a gap in the market for detailed, experience-based travel gear advice.
Launching Pack Hacker
Recognizing the potential, Wahlin founded Pack Hacker in January 2017. His vision was to create the definitive online resource for travel gear information. Wahlin's background in design and development proved invaluable as he built the website, focusing on creating a user-friendly and visually appealing platform.
Initially, Wahlin devoted considerable time to perfecting the site's design. He told Memberful, "Before I launched the site, I tried to make the design/development perfect. My friends would email me saying this was a pixel off, or this was the wrong color." However, he quickly realized that while design was important for establishing credibility, content was the key driver of success.
Wahlin poured his energy into creating comprehensive packing lists, travel guides, and gear reviews. His dedication led to long workdays, often stretching to 12 hours, including weekends. "It was easy because I was so excited about it," Wahlin shared with Memberful. "It felt natural; I felt inspired."
Expanding content and reach
As Pack Hacker grew, so did its content offerings. The site expanded to cover a wide range of travel-related topics, from sustainable packing list to in-depth reviews of travel sling bags and water bottles. Pack Hacker's YouTube presence also grew, with two channels: Pack Hacker Main Channel and Pack Hacker Reviews. These channels covered diverse topics, including packing cube guides and reviews of Merino wool travel clothing.
Revenue streams and business model
Pack Hacker's primary revenue source was affiliate marketing. When readers clicked on product links and made purchases, the company earned commissions. The site also generated income through brand partnerships and sponsored content, including videos and articles.
In June 2020, Pack Hacker introduced a premium membership program called Pack Hacker Pro. For an annual fee of $60, members gained access to exclusive content, ad-free browsing, a deals vault, and entry to the Pro Community. This diversification of revenue streams would prove crucial in the face of upcoming challenges.
Overcoming pandemic-related obstacles
The COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant threat to Pack Hacker's business model. In March 2020, the site experienced a dramatic 60% drop in traffic, clicks, and conversions within just two weeks. This sudden decline forced Wahlin to reduce his team's hours to manage costs.
However, Wahlin and his team demonstrated remarkable adaptability. They quickly pivoted their content strategy to address the new reality of limited travel. The site began covering topics such as remote work strategies, staycations, and work-from-home gear. These changes allowed Pack Hacker to remain relevant and valuable to its audience during a time of restricted travel.
Wahlin shared with Memberful,
"We pivoted enough of our content over the next year that we were able to repair the damage and even out revenue about a year later."
The newly launched Pack Hacker Pro membership, which attracted about 100 initial sign-ups, also played a significant role in helping the company weather this challenging period.
Continued growth and success
Despite the setbacks caused by the pandemic, Pack Hacker continued to expand. By the time of its sale in 2023, the company had grown to a team of five employees based in Detroit and six contractors. Most impressively, Pack Hacker achieved seven-figure annual revenue while remaining entirely bootstrapped, without any external funding.
The acquisition process
While the idea of selling Pack Hacker had crossed Wahlin's mind, he wasn't actively pursuing it. However, when AllGear Digital, a network of media sites focused on outdoors and active lifestyles, approached him about a potential acquisition, the strategic fit seemed compelling.
To navigate the complex process of selling his business, Wahlin enlisted the help of Bill Tucker, a family friend with extensive experience in company sales. He also utilized resources from They Got Acquired, a platform that provides information and guidance on business sales.
The acquisition process proved more challenging than Wahlin had anticipated. He told Memberful,
"I've read on TGA that it's a lot of effort for founders to sell. I had the day-to-day very well delegated so I wasn't as concerned, but wow, I was wrong. There's a lot of work to do during acquisition."
One particularly time-consuming task involved cataloging the hundreds of software packages and plugins used in Pack Hacker's development stack, which required an entire weekend of work. The due diligence phase was equally demanding, with the Quality of Earnings team scrutinizing transactions from up to three years prior.
The timeline for closing the deal also presented challenges. With the parties aiming to finalize the acquisition just before Thanksgiving, a typically busy period for media companies, the process faced several delays. At times, Wahlin nearly lost hope that the deal would come to fruition.
Pack Hacker joins AllGear Digital
In December 2023, Pack Hacker officially became part of AllGear Digital. While the exact sale price wasn't disclosed, the deal included an earnout component, meaning Wahlin would continue to work with AllGear Digital as Pack Hacker's general manager for a specified period.
Tom Wahlin announced the acquisition on LinkedIn, stating, "I'm excited to share that Pack Hacker has been acquired by AllGear Digital! This marks a new chapter for our team and our mission to help people travel smarter."
Eric Phung, AllGear Digital's Chief Executive Officer, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition: "We're thrilled to welcome Pack Hacker to AllGear Digital. Pack Hacker is a trusted authority for millions of readers looking to find the right travel gear. With Pack Hacker, we continue to execute on our strategy of acquiring category-leading brands that provide passionate audiences with the information they need to get the most out of their adventures."
Wahlin's LinkedIn announcement
Tom Wahlin officially announced the acquisition on LinkedIn, providing a public confirmation of the deal. His post read:
"I'm excited to share that Pack Hacker has been acquired by AllGear Digital! This marks a new chapter for our team and our mission to help people travel smarter."
This announcement not only informed Pack Hacker's professional network about the acquisition but also signaled the company's commitment to continuing its mission under new ownership.
Industry impact and expert reaction: Glen Allsopp's tweet
The acquisition caught the attention of industry experts, including Glen Allsopp, a respected figure in digital marketing. Allsopp shared his thoughts on the deal in a detailed Twitter thread, providing valuable insights into Pack Hacker's position in the market and the implications of the acquisition.
Allsopp's tweet read:
"One of my favourite independent product review sites, Pack Hacker, has been acquired by AllGear Digital. Pack Hacker reaches millions of people researching travel gear and if Semrush estimates are accurate, has one of the more stable organic traffic charts in the space."
Allsopp went on to comment on Pack Hacker's design and business model:
"The site's design is clean and modern, with a bold colour scheme and a quirky way of blending their logo and navbar. They also have a Pro membership option, which at $60/yr gets you ad-free access, exclusive reviews, a private community and a way to support the site."
He also provided context on AllGear Digital's market position:
"AllGear Digital's network of sites has generated over $100m in affiliate sales, and they claim to reach more than 60 million readers (assuming that's annually rather than multiple years combined)."
Allsopp's analysis highlights the strategic fit between Pack Hacker and AllGear Digital, as well as Pack Hacker's strong position in the travel gear review space. His comments provide valuable third-party validation of Pack Hacker's success and the potential synergies with AllGear Digital's existing portfolio.
AllGear Digital's growing media empire
The acquisition of Pack Hacker fits strategically into AllGear Digital's expanding portfolio of outdoor and active lifestyle media properties. According to Allsopp, "AllGear Digital's network of sites has generated over $100m in affiliate sales, and they claim to reach more than 60 million readers (assuming that's annually rather than multiple years combined)."
Other notable sites in the AllGear Digital network include:
- GearJunkie (outdoor gear)
- Switchback Travel (outdoor/winter gear)
- The Intertia (surfing)
- BikeRumor (cycling/mountain bikes)
- iRunFar (running)
This diverse portfolio allows AllGear Digital to provide comprehensive coverage across various outdoor and active lifestyle niches, solidifying its position as a leader in the digital content space.
Future prospects and industry implications
As Pack Hacker enters this new phase under AllGear Digital's ownership, Wahlin sees the earnout period as an opportunity for a smooth transition. He told Memberful, "I'm thankful for the period of the earnout because I think it'll provide a nice transition into the next thing I want to do — whether it's to contribute my more specialized skill sets of design, brand building, and operations optimization to AllGear Digital, finding a job elsewhere, or starting something new."
Wahlin will continue to serve as General Manager and Editor-in-Chief of packhacker.com, with the existing editorial team remaining in place. This continuity ensures that Pack Hacker will maintain its trusted voice and high-quality content that readers have come to expect.
The acquisition of Pack Hacker by AllGear Digital highlights several important trends in the digital content industry:
1. The value of niche expertise: Pack Hacker's success demonstrates the potential for highly focused, expert-driven content in attracting a loyal audience and generating significant revenue.
2. The importance of diversification: Pack Hacker's ability to weather the pandemic through content pivots and the introduction of a membership program underscores the need for flexibility in business models.
3. Consolidation in digital media: AllGear Digital's strategy of acquiring category-leading brands points to a broader trend of consolidation in the digital content space, as larger companies seek to build comprehensive portfolios of niche sites.
4. The potential for bootstrapped businesses: Pack Hacker's journey from a personal blog to a seven-figure acquisition without external funding serves as an inspiring example for entrepreneurs operating with limited resources.
Conclusion
Pack Hacker's journey showcases the potential of niche content in the digital age. Throughout this article, we've traced the company's growth from Tom Wahlin's initial idea, born out of his own travel experiences, to a seven-figure business that caught the attention of a major digital media company.
We've examined several key aspects of Pack Hacker's success:
1. The importance of identifying and filling a gap in the market
2. The value of high-quality, expert-driven content in building a loyal audience
3. The need for adaptability, as demonstrated by Pack Hacker's response to the COVID-19 pandemic
4. The potential of diversified revenue streams, including affiliate marketing and membership programs
The acquisition by AllGear Digital represents not just a success story for Pack Hacker, but also reflects broader trends in the digital media industry. We've seen how larger companies are acquiring successful niche sites to build comprehensive portfolios covering various lifestyle categories.
Pack Hacker's story raises interesting questions about the future of digital content creation and the balance between independent voices and larger media networks. As the online industry continues to evolve, the lessons from Pack Hacker's success and acquisition will likely remain relevant for content creators, entrepreneurs, and industry observers alike.
