Sheri Tingey, founder of Alpacka Raft, set out to build a better backcountry boat more than two decades ago, and her innovations in growing and revolutionizing the packrafting category of paddlesports is now being recognized by mainstream media.
This year, Tingey joins Inc.’s 2025 Female Founders 500 list, recognized for her impact on the outdoor industry. The list honors a group of 500 women whose innovations and ideas are leading their industries forward, hailed as resilient entrepreneurs who expressed grit and drive to collectively attract $9 billion in 2024 revenue and $10.6 billion in funding.
Tingey’s path to founding Alpacka Raft was anything but traditional. After years of building a career in outdoor apparel, she was forced to step away from her business due to a debilitating illness. For years, she struggled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, slowly rebuilding her strength. Then, in 2000, son Thor returned from a trip in Alaska with a failing packraft and asked, “Can you make me a better boat?” That question rekindled her passion for design and led her to develop a lightweight, durable, high-performance packraft—a product that didn’t exist at the time. What began as a passion project quickly gained traction, and soon, Alpacka Raft was redefining human-powered access to remote waterways.
This documentary film highlights Tingey’s incredible story, tracing her history in the outdoor space and showing us all that it’s never too late to follow your passion.
Each year, Inc. editors review thousands of applications highlighting female founders who are challenging the status quo and tackling some of the world’s biggest problems, and cull applicants through three rounds of judging. Criteria include quantifiable metrics such as revenue, sales, growth, funding, and audience size. Inc. also looks for qualitative metrics, including social media momentum and stories of impact. The founders cross all industries and bring their unique stories of success from each stage of the entrepreneurial journey, from startup to going public, being acquired, or spending decades at the helm of an organization.
“The outdoors should be for everyone,” says Tingey. “But for too long, many people—including women—felt like they had to prove they belonged. That’s shifting, and I’m honored to be included on this list alongside so many amazing women who are driving change in their fields. It’s exciting to see more women shaping the future of business, design, and exploration. When I started Alpacka Raft, there were few women leading outdoor brands, and while we’ve made progress, there’s still work to do to ensure more women have opportunities to innovate, build, and lead in this space. I hope my story helps inspire the next generation to push boundaries, take risks, and create something that truly matters to them.”
More than 20 years later, Alpacka Raft remains a leader in modern packrafting, with its boats used worldwide by explorers, conservationists, and athletes navigating some of the most remote landscapes on Earth. Each packraft is still handmade in the company’s Mancos, Colorado factory, ensuring the same craftsmanship, innovation, and attention to detail that started it all, with 79-year-old Sheri Tingey leading the design of every boat.
“Female founders know what struggle is, but they’re also experts of improvisation, adaptability, and creativity. The women featured on this year’s list exemplify these qualities. Through times of uncertainty, their unwavering dedication and steadfast leadership are not only inspiring but vital to driving progress,” said Inc. executive editor Diana Ransom. Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine’s Female Founders issue, on newsstands March 18, 2025. To see the complete list of honorees, visit https://www.inc.com/female-founders.
Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community, published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company.
Alpacka Raft is committed to building a diverse community of boaters and is proud to provide high-quality, living-wage manufacturing jobs in a rural, mountain-town economy; and Alpacka Raft packrafts have been used and trusted on expeditions by some of the world’s most well-known adventurers.