Meet Joe Bissonnette | Engineer & Founder of Sky View Tents

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe Bissonnette and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I’ve always been attracted to danger. I love trad climbing, mountain biking, solo international travel, and exposed scrambles. When I’m living dangerously, I’m keenly aware that my days are numbered and there’s something magical about embracing that. It makes you live to the fullest. This hunger for danger has also really impacted my career and opened up a lot of doors. I’ve worked around live nuclear reactors; I’ve spent years working in Antarctica, I’ve worked on cell towers, and I’ve worked in a wood pellet plant that was highly combustible. All of these stages of my career are heavy hitters on the resume, and I got them because I was willing to take risks. These jobs, combined with my hobbies, have taught me to look fear in the eye, assess, and if it’s an acceptable risk to proceed, despite fear. This lifestyle played a huge roll in giving me the confidence to start a business. It is scary to risk my entire life savings, but I’m used to risking my life, so what’s money compared to that? I’m aware of the risk, I accept it, it won’t stop me.

What should our readers know about your business?
About Sky View Tents
Founded in 2024 in Buena Vista, Colorado, Sky View Tents creates durable, locally fabricated stargazing tents designed for astrophotographers and campers. Our USA-made crystal-clear mesh brings the night sky to your fingertips, and our patent-pending internal rainfly ensures protection without midnight scrambles in the rain. We proudly support the fight against light pollution by donating a portion of our profits to Dark Sky Colorado.

What Sets Us Apart
Our innovation lies in three key areas: our internal rainfly, ultra-clear mesh, and local fabrication.

The Journey
We got to where we are today by taking advantage of my 5-9 after my 9-5. I had to significantly taper down hobby time and make the most out of each evening to get this whole thing planned. Then I had to sell a lot of mountain front land that I had purchased years ago that had since exploded in value. That’s how we’re funding this endeavor, every cent is invested.

Was it easy?
Was it easy planning this? Is it easy now? No. It was hard to stop pursing my hobbies (temporarily) to instead work every night. It was hard to spend all my free money on prototyping and patenting before the land sold. And it’s not easy for me now to work consistent 90-hour weeks. How do I do it? I have a vision in my mind of having a successful brand that people love. That people want to show off to their friends, not only because the product is niche and cool but also because it’s made here in Colorado. I visualize us profit sharing with happy employees and being able to give big end of year bonuses. I visualize us making an impact in the nonprofits we support. These thoughts keep me giving 100% every day, with a smile. Nothing worthwhile comes easy.

Lessons Learned
Early on, we over-ordered pre-cut materials to save costs but later found ways to streamline fabrication. While we’re working through existing stock, future production will be far more efficient without compromising quality.

What do I want the world to know about our brand?
We’re committed to providing great local jobs, enhancing the camping experience, and promoting the protection of our night skies through our products and partnerships.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If this is specific to Denver, if they are new to Colorado and it was summertime I’d take them to RNMP and maybe do an easy yet beautiful hike to the Loch Lake. We’d checkout Estes also then find a beautiful off grid camp site to spend the night. The next day we would return to Denver, get cleaned up, we’d then go grab lunch somewhere in Lodo near union station. We’d then do some day drinking and play some rooftop bar games, maybe catch a rockies game. If it was a weekend we’d do some pre gaming at 1UP on Blake Street, hit a couple more bars then eventually end up at Howl at the Moon for some 2am debauchery.

Meow Wolf would be a nighttime must mid-week when it’s a little less crowded.

Golden is a must, I’d take them downtown for pizza then to the top of Lookout Mountain Road and explore around there and watch the sunset.

This is all if it was a non-adventurous friend and we were staying close to the city. Most of my friends that visit are climbers though, so we mostly climb 🙂

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
When I was 16 I got a job as a drafter / fabricator at a small engineering firm called Radiation Protection Systems (RPS). I worked nights there during high school, and full-time during summers. I was really impressed with the lifestyle the engineers had. When college time rolled around, they offered me a scholarship which is really the only reason I went. I ended up working there part time while getting my degree, and then for two years after. I joined RPS with a little CAD knowledge and left when I moved to Colorado, with a ton of design and hands on experience, a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and a lot of ambition. My mentors at RPS are the reason I went to college, the reason I can visualize and design, the reason I know how to fabricate and work with my hands. They laid the foundation for where I am today. Thank you.

My more immediate shout out is to my fiancé Zari. I worked consistent nights on developing our products and business plan for a year and a half before we opened. She made that possible by taking care of everything else in our lives that wasn’t my previous career or Sky View Tents. Sky View Tents also is about 90% of what I ever want to discuss and that has to be pretty annoying. So, thank you for putting up with me, for making me feel loved and supported throughout this process, and for taking the brunt of our domestic responsibilities for the time being. I’ll make it worthwhile beautiful.

Lastly, I’d be nowhere without my parents. My parents taught me through their actions that working hard is a daily practice.

Website: https://www.skyviewtents.com

Instagram: @skyviewtents

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skyviewtents

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyviewtents

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxkkYqB79iQaiEZ-FJbtuZA

Other: Tiktok @skyviewtents

Image Credits
Nighttime tent images by Justin Green.
Forest daylight image of tent from inside by Emma Manzer.
Shop photos taken by me.