Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept—A Zip-Line for Surfers

The opportunity

My Venture Concept organically presented itself to me. I am an avid surfer, and find myself in the water as much as possible. Surfing in an amazing sport, but it is also quite physically demanding. The physical demand is where and why my idea blossomed. It all began when the first hurricane swell of the year arrived on shore. It was a perfect day for surfing, but I noticed so many surfers sitting on the beach watching the waves just roll in without a surfer on the wave. I quickly figured out why not too many surfers were out in the water enjoying the ten foot swells that Mother Nature had created. My first attempt to conquer the seemingly impossible paddle out was a non-stop paddle out for twenty seven minutes before I was sent crashing back to the shore only to try again later. With my second attempt of paddling for forty seven minutes non-stop I finally made it out past the breakers, but I was so tired I didn’t even feel like surfing. I was surrounded by many potential customers. The problem was so simply evident that I couldn’t believe someone hadn’t already thought of a solution, so I did. Before I answer some of your questions of why there is a need for my product I want you to look at this picture from Jacksonville Beach. It has been said that a picture says a thousand words.

 

So obviously my target market would be surfers. You would not expect a snow skier to climb a mountain just to be able to ski down it, so why should a surfer use all of his energy paddling out just to catch and ride a wave? The estimated American surf population is 2.4 million, so there is quite a large customer base waiting to be tapped. The median age of surfers is 34 so the paddle out is just going to be harder as they continue to age making my product even more attractive to prolong their love for catching the big one. The only other option to satisfy their need to get past the breakers is to use a jet ski to tow them into the waves. However, this practice is very much frowned upon as the ski could be dangerous to other surfers or swimmers in the water.

 

 

Innovation

I believe my product would be considered as radically innovative. I have never heard or seen anything like this before in or outside of this industry. Simply stated, my service would allow a surfer to grab hold of a zip-line handle that is attached to a fixed structure like a pier or a buoy and be pulled across the water and thorough the breakers dropping you into the line-up. A person could surf all day long by not using any energy to get out past the breakers. The revenue side of this idea is generated by charging a daily fee to use the zip-line. The fee would be determined by the location of each zip-line. The harder the paddle out the less sensitive the customer would be to the fee. It’s a tradeoff for enjoying 10 waves for that session or riding 50 waves in a session. I would also offer weekly, monthly or annual passes. There really would be no switching cost for the customer other than the daily fees because there is no current alternative.

Venture Concept

Here in lies the beauty of a radical innovation. It’s unique and a one of a kind. There are no other competitors currently in the market place. The possible weakness of a competitor is I will be an established brand and business before they even attempt to crack into the market.  However, the key to the success of this business is location, location, location. It has to be on the water at the beach and at a surf break.

Secret Sauce

My secret sauce or unfair advantage for me would be timing. Being in the right place at the right time with the right solution to a problem is everything. The reason the timing is so important it gives me time to get established and execute exclusive area contracts with all the major locations that I want to position my products and services in. Exclusive contracts will keep the competition at bay for an extended period of time.

Next Venture

I would like to use the same zip-line as a thrill ride for swimmers with boogie boards propelling them across the water at high rates of speed. This could be utilized on the days when the water is flat and my services would not be needed by surfers. This would also lend itself to a huge rental program for those who do not want to carry a long board all the way to the beach and back every day. You can rent surfboards, boogie board or even stand-up paddle boards. By offering such an array of rental products it will help expand your customer base to those who would like to surf but can’t afford to purchase a $600.00 board.

What’s Next?

I would like to think this concept would be very successful tried and true within the next five years. It is not very often a brand new concept is imagined and then actually put into action. Being a surfer myself I can appreciate the possibilities and benefits that a service like this could offer to me. I have received very encouraging feedback from the surfing industry including several pro surfers who really loved the idea. Entrepreneurship is a funny thing. It is very common for a successful entrepreneur to fail on several ideas before he hits on one that really works. The lessons learned from failed attempts are invaluable. This concept has gotten so much traction thorough the interview process it just might be something I follow through with and give it a shot. I have started up, owned, operated and sold a business before and it’s almost impossible to get entrepreneurship out of your blood. With all that being said, you may possibly be seeing me standing under a pier at a beautiful resort and surf break collecting daily fees from surfers using my zip-line.