Competition

I had myself to worry about as well as my two best friends.

I'd traveled the world with these guys and we'd made a pact that together we'd make it in this industry. So when it came time to choose between where to go next we'd narrowed it down to two options.

Option 1 was an offer from one of the most gifted designers in the industry, who was already responsible for creating a handful of the most respected and legit brands at the time. His offer was to create a new brand, based entirely around us. We’d have total control of the brand and product direction with his design and factory connections at our disposal. This was an absolute dream offer but it lacked one thing, wages. He’d said that he was really busy with his existing project and we’d have to build things up slowly before we could draw a wage from the new venture.

Option 2 was an offer from one of the most successful businessmen in the industry, he owned the largest specialty retailer with multiple physical stores, an incredibly successful online store and a distribution company too. On the side of his existing businesses he’d started a brand, but it wasn't huge, yet.. The idea was that I would take a job working in his stores and use my skills and network to build up the brand. Id be responsible for the product direction and team management among some other things. Less control than option 1 but it came with with a pretty big kicker - wages for me and the boys. The money was good too, really good.

This was our chance, after all the shit we’d been through and all the work we’d done for free, to finally get paid!!

Incase it isn't obvious.. we took option 2.

We got straight to work, it was like a dream come true. The money was coming in, the plane tickets were expensed to the company, and we were designing products that would push the industry forward, products we’d be proud to put our names on.

But before we knew it, the honeymoon phase had come to an end. A lot of work was expected and progress was slower than they’d hoped. All of the sudden the money I was getting didn’t seem to stretch as far. They wanted more from me, for less. And I wanted to do less, and make more. Awkward conversations ensued, the budget was cut by almost half and despite my efforts to stay positive the writing was on the wall, things were only going to get worse.

All I wanted to do was create the greatest scooter company on earth, and for the last 4 years every second of my life had been in service of that goal. But it was happening again, here I was knowing that soon I'd be walking away from everything I poured my life into with nothing to show for it. Being the second time going through this and recognising the patterns, i decided this time id take matters into my own hands. I realised that the only way i could ever dedicate my life to a scooter company without the fear of one day walking away with nothing, is if i owned that company.

I needed a Lifeboat.