A Bain alum’s journey from consulting to starting an outdoor adventure business
A Bain alum’s journey from consulting to starting an outdoor adventure business
A former consultant shares how the skills she built at Bain became the foundation for a life of adventure and entrepreneurship
Sunny Stroeer, a former Bain strategy consultant, spent her early career on fast-paced case teams, developing the leadership and problem-solving skills that define Bain work. In this Q&A, she reflects on stepping away from consulting, building an unconventional career in the outdoors, and how her Bain foundation continues to shape her work today.
Today, I don’t see my life as a pivot away from business, but an expansion of it. Bain gave me a foundation, and the mountains gave me a calling.
Sunny Stroeer
Bain alumna
What was your early experience like as a Bain consultant?
In my twenties, I was an ambitious Bain strategy consultant with a Harvard MBA and a calendar carved into fifteen-minute blocks. The work was fast, demanding, and intellectually exhilarating. Bain sharpened me during that time, teaching me how to lead teams, think clearly under pressure, be strategic, and manage risk. But gradually, I realized I was applying those skills on the wrong terrain.
On weekends, I escaped to the mountains and the backcountry. I ran long miles, climbed until my forearms gave out, and slept under the stars. I realized I was more alive on a snow-covered ridge than in a boardroom.
What prompted you to consider your next steps?
Unsure of my next step, I left Bain intending to take a short sabbatical to connect with the outdoors, something that always grounded me. That sabbatical became my new life. I traded my apartment to live in a van for a couple years, traveling across western America, and slowly began building a career as an endurance athlete, photographer, storyteller, and business owner.
Sunny rappells down the rock face of Pigeon Spire in the Bugaboos, British Columbia.
Sunny skiis along the Yukon River, about six hundred miles into the one-thousand-mile journey to Nome.
How did your Bain skill set carry into this chapter?
In 2020, my husband Paul and I became co-owners of Dreamland Safari Tours, southern Utah’s leading guide service for hiking and climbing, now serving more than 6,000 guests annually. It’s a perfect intersection of my Bain skill set and my passion for the outdoors: strategy, operations, leadership, and people skills applied in a backcountry setting.
Along the way, I’ve pursued ambitious mountain objectives, earning 20+ speed records worldwide and becoming the first woman to complete the thousand-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational on skis, all while documenting these journeys through photography featured in National Geographic, Forbes, and Trail Runner.
How do you think about your work now?
Through the years, I’ve become deeply passionate about empowering women in outdoor adventure, where gender equity still lags behind. Through my work as Executive Director of the Summit Scholarship Foundation and the GEA Alliance, I’ve helped direct nearly $300,000 toward women and girls pursuing mountaineering and climbing goals. My aim is to expand access, visibility, and belief, helping more women take on challenging goals with confidence.
Today, I don’t see my life as a pivot away from business, but an expansion of it. The environments changed, the metrics changed, but the core work stays the same. Bain gave me a foundation, and the mountains gave me a calling.
Ready to explore where a Bain foundation can take you?
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