Ice and water

A common piece of advice for anyone looking to start a business is to first identify and then fill a need. Brian Kraft - owner of the Alaska Sportsman's Lodge on the Kvichak River and the Bristol Bay Lodge located on Lake Aleknagik - began his entrepreneurial journey by filling a need for raft rentals.

"I wanted to take the guys on a float trip on the Kenai in Cooper Landing, and there were no raft rental companies," says Kraft. "I thought that was odd, no raft rental companies here in Alaska? So I bought a couple rafts and ended up growing quickly. That evolved to people asking if I could guide them or friends who are coming up. I thought, 'Okay, how hard can that be?'"

Kraft launched his raft rental business during the summer of '92, mere months after earning his bachelor's degree in marketing from UAA. After two successful years, while he was gearing up for a third season, Kraft read an article in the Anchorage Daily News about a seized lodge on the Kvichak River whose owner was experiencing trouble with the law. Sensing an opportunity, Kraft made a pitch to the U.S. attorney's office looking after the asset: let him operate the leaderless lodge for two summers with the possibility of Kraft purchasing it outright after that.

Two years went by, and after his trial run came to an end, Kraft wasn't given the opportunity to purchase the lodge as promised. Not to be deterred, Kraft considered it the "best thing to happen." After partnering with one of his fishing clients, Kraft moved down the river from his training lodge to build the brand new Alaska Sportsman's Lodge.

After opening that first lodge in 1997, Kraft and company acquired new lodges in Kodiak in 2002, King Salmon in 2008 and the aforementioned Bristol Bay Lodge in 2012 - however, he's since sold his stake in the Kodiak and King Salmon properties.

Today, the lodges serve as a hub where people gather from near and far for weekend getaways to long wilderness excursions. According to Kraft, about one-third of his clients consist of local Alaskans, many of whom stem from his former hockey connections made while playing for the Alaska Aces, Gold Kings in Fairbanks, and perhaps most importantly to Kraft, the Seawolves. In fact, the opportunity to play hockey at UAA is what brought Kraft to Anchorage from the suburbs of Chicago.

"It was a magical time that changed the trajectory of my life. Without the opportunity to play hockey and go to school at UAA, I know I would not be doing what I'm doing today," says Kraft.

For nearly as long as he's operated his lodges, Kraft has been a tireless advocate for protecting the area from the controversial Pebble Mine. Like any entrepreneur, he first saw the value it can bring in terms of jobs. But as someone who's made a second home in Bristol Bay, Kraft became keenly aware of the impact such a project poses on the area. 

"When I first heard about Pebble, my first reaction was, 'Oh great, jobs!'" says Kraft. "I really wanted to get to yes because of the industrial development and opportunities, but the more I dug into it - pardon the pun - I started to find out that it's a very tough industry to have in a very aqueous location that's dependent on the intact habitat and ecosystem in order to survive. So I started the Bristol Bay Alliance to educate people. The organization wasn't pro or anti, it was about educating the people of Bristol Bay about mining. However, it soon became abundantly clear that this type of habitat disruption and consumption is not good for the region."

Even with his advocacy work, two thriving businesses, plus a family of similarly-minded and successful entrepreneurs, Kraft makes a point to stay connected to such an integral part of his life by contributing to his alma mater and to Seawolf hockey, especially this year as 2019 marks the UAA sport's landmark 40th anniversary and the game's impending return to campus. 

"I care deeply about the program so I try to be as connected as I possibly can be," says Kraft. "We did play a couple games at the Seawolf Sports Complex, although it wasn't called that back then. As a player it was electric to be there where things were hopping. I'm excited to see what happens and I'll be there to support it."

Written by Matt Jardin, UAA Office of University Advancement