This month I spoke with Kyle Hanson, the founder of Timber Age, a mission-driven startup in southwestern Colorado, which is revolutionizing the way we think about building materials and community impact. Timber Age focuses on manufacturing high-performance, offsite-manufactured homes using locally sourced cross-laminated timber (CLT). In this conversation, Mr. Hanson speaks to the importance of community in entrepreneurship, his focus on sustainability, and the innovative timber technology that is allowing Timber Age to make waves in the construction industry.
The Interview
Griffin Connolly: Let’s jump right in. I have the opportunity to intern with you this summer, which I’m really excited about. I know what Timber Age does, but for those who don’t, could you give us an overview of the company and explain why cross-laminated timber is so important to you?
Kyle Hanson: For sure. Timber Age is a manufacturer of durable, high-performance, offsite-manufactured homes. We use a panelized modular approach, creating walls, roofs, and other building components in a series of panels that are fully insulated, ready to be finished inside, and ready for exterior cladding. We use locally harvested lumber, which means we source logs from watershed-conscious fire mitigation efforts. Our typical sourcing area is within a 100-mile radius of our factory.
Griffin Connolly: It’s great to hear about your commitment to local resources and sustainability. I want to talk about community, because community building is something I’m working on with the storytelling aspect of my blog. What role does community play in your work and your approach to entrepreneurship?
Kyle Hanson: Absolutely, I think it’s a great question. At Timber Age, we have a saying: “No truly important problem gets solved by a single person.” Most significant challenges are multifaceted. They require a diverse group of people with different experiences and expertise to work on systemic problem solving together. Community fosters that collaborative environment.
Moreover, a business like ours wouldn’t exist without focusing on problems that have a broader impact. I started my career as a teacher, and one of the things I noticed in rural mountain towns like Durango is the high turnover rate among teachers. Without consistent role models like teachers, it’s hard to establish a stable, sustainable community. Housing stability plays a core role in this. By addressing the housing issue with Timber Age, we aim to create consistency in our communities, which, in turn, helps establish a strong culture.
Griffin Connolly: Your focus on community and consistency really resonates with me. So, stepping back in time a little bit, tell me more about your journey to the inception of Timber Age. How did you get to that place and what were your motivations?
Kyle Hanson: I moved to the Durango, Colorado area in 2012. One of the first questions people asked was whether I was renting or buying. It seemed very strange at first, but it made me realize that people gauge your commitment to a community based on your housing situation. This was the first clue that housing stability had a significant impact on community engagement. It was a unique perspective that stuck with me.
I worked in a wood processing facility in Mancos, Colorado for four years. This gave me insights into forestry and the Forest Service’s struggles. The lack of a market for certain types of trees, like Ponderosa pine, was contributing to overcrowded forests and increased fire risks. I saw an opportunity to use this underutilized resource for something valuable while addressing the need for steady, fulfilling jobs in manufacturing in the local area.
After leaving the processing facility, I worked as a consultant, traveling a lot and spending too much time away from my family. I worked for the state government in Arizona for 2 ½ years. Although I was spending time with some great people, they weren’t the people I was in community with – they weren’t the people in the town where I lived. I realized I wanted to do something that had a lasting impact and was closer to home.
Timber Age became the intersection of my desire to work locally on forest health, housing needs, fulfilling job creation and ultimately, community development.
The idea of using locally harvested Ponderosa pine to make homes, especially using cross-laminated timber, was the perfect fit. Cross laminated timber allows us to use boards that would never traditionally make it into walls and structural components of houses. Through laminating, we make an engineered product that is truly innovative and helpful in the way we put together houses.
Griffin Connolly: It seems like sustainability has been a significant focus for you from the start, and I love the idea of truly creating a new product, using cross laminated Ponderosa pine. But I imagine this comes with some reasonably intense funding needs at the launch phase. What were some of the initial struggles in raising capital for Timber Age, and how did you overcome them?
Kyle Hanson: Initially, I thought we’d need at least $15 million to start a CLT plant. I quickly realized that wasn’t feasible in southwestern Colorado, especially for a product that few people had heard of. As we researched more, we realized we could start smaller and run experiments to prove our concept. This allowed us to reduce our initial capital needs. We focused on scaling down and creating a lean startup environment.
The typical use for CLT in the US is for mid to high-rise buildings as a replacement for steel and concrete, but we were focusing on the residential housing market. So, one of the things we realized is that we didn’t need to make it nearly as big. In Eric Ries’ book, ‘The Lean Startup,’ he talks about the concept of the minimum viable product, which resonated with me. We focused on small experiments to test our hypotheses and find the most efficient path to solve the problem in front of us. The other thing we realized was, if can figure out the smallest, easiest model for profitability, we can always scale bigger. What we really tried to do was start as small as possible and figure out where the bottle necks were and spend money to specifically solve those bottlenecks.
We also took advantage of supplementing our capital with grants. The Wood Innovation Grant from the Forest Service, which gave us $250,000 to explore the concept. This initial funding allowed us to get off the ground and build a team of advisors who could guide us. Going back to your original premise of the importance of community, if there’s a group of people who have been wrestling with an idea, that’s more impactful when you’re seeking funding than just one person. Bringing in smart people to collaborate on things as early as possible allows you to move forward much more confidently, because your idea and your approach have been validated. A community forming around an idea is one of the fastest ways to ensure you get from zero to one.
Griffin Connolly: It’s interesting to hear about the different approaches to raising capital and the importance of community in your journey. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in those early stages?
Kyle Hanson: There are only a couple of things I would change. First, we initially organized as an S-Corp, thinking we could bootstrap everything. However, as we grew and needed to raise funds, we realized a C-Corp structure would have been more beneficial. It allows for more flexibility in terms of raising capital and taking advantage of certain taxation strategies.
Second, I worked for free for the first couple of years, relying on savings. Instead, I should have issued myself shares or worked on a stock-for-service basis. It would have been a smarter approach and given me more equity in the long run.
But overall, the journey is what it is. You learn as you go, and sometimes the struggles and sacrifices are just part of the process. I would love to have had my family more involved or for them to have made less sacrifices along the way but I’m not sure there’s a way to change that.
Griffin Connolly: What has been the most fulfilling part of your entrepreneurial journey with Timber Age?
Kyle Hanson: By far, it’s the people. When you have team members who believe in the mission and join you on the journey, it transforms everything. The shared experiences, both the highs and the lows, make the process so much more rewarding. There’s something special about building something in community with others and seeing it grow.
Griffin Connolly: That resonates with me for sure. Tell me about the trends have you observed in the industry since you started, and how has the focus on sustainability changed?
Kyle Hanson: The awareness of cross-laminated timber and mass timber has grown significantly. When we started in 2018, few people had heard of it, but now it’s much more recognized in the design and engineering world. This shift has made it easier to explain our technology and gain traction.
The focus on sustainability has also increased, with more attention on forest health and climate change. Forest fires and the need to address overcrowded forests have given communities a greater willingness to consider sustainable practices. This changing landscape has helped Timber Age receive more support and funding for our innovative approach.
Overall, the industry is evolving to embrace sustainability and innovative approaches to building. Consequently, our ideas are getting a lot more attention and resonating with people who are willing to invite us to Washington D.C. to showcase what we do or give us high level grant money. It’s an exciting time to be in this space.
Griffin Connolly: Given your background in teaching, operations, and manufacturing, do you think these experiences were essential for your entrepreneurial success?
Kyle Hanson: They were essential for me, but every entrepreneur has a unique path and skill set. We’re all gifted differently. I don’t think it’s about specific experiences, but I do think it’s about specific attitudes. Being open-handed, willing to collaborate, and having a strong work ethic are crucial. But certainly, my experiences in lean operations and operational excellence have been beneficial in building a sustainable business model.
Griffin Connolly: Finally, I run a Student Launch Club at school. If you could leave us with one piece of advice as aspiring entrepreneurs, what would it be?
Kyle Hanson: Work in rough draft. Don’t wait until everything is perfect before sharing your ideas. The sooner you involve others and gather feedback, the faster you’ll refine your concepts and build momentum. Don’t be afraid to iterate and make mistakes; it’s all part of the learning process. Collaboration is key, and the more you engage with others, the more fulfilling the journey becomes.
Griffin Connolly: That’s a great perspective. Thank you for your time Mr. Hanson, this has been fantastic. I look forward to interning with you this summer.
Kyle Hanson: Sounds great. Thanks for the interview, Griffin. I appreciate your initiative and willingness to share your findings and look forward to working with you this summer. Good luck with your blog and your Student Launch Club.
Read my follow-up interview with Glenn Harley about the New Zealand passive housing industry here.