Hydro Flask: Travis Rosbach. How a thirsty surfer changed the water bottle industry

This is the improbable story of how Hydro Flask was built—from scavenging metal parts in China, to selling bottles at outdoor markets, to getting into Whole Foods by sheer timing and luck, to a last-minute investor who walked in on the day Travis planned to shut the company down.

Hydro Flask would go on to become one of the most recognizable and popular bottles in the country.

This is the story behind it.

What You’ll Learn

How paying attention to trends can lead to new business ideas
How a novice learns the ropes by obsessively comparing existing products
How the lessons from past ventures can fuel future success
Why perseverance and timing can be just as important as know-how

Timestamps:

05:46 – Building a fence, and a first business: “I had no clue.”
09:33 – A one-way trip to Hawaii : The surprising detour that leads Travis to his biggest invention
15:13 – How Travis gets inspired—then obsessed—after trying to buy a water bottle
22:08 – Searching for a manufacturer: a here-goes-nothing trip to China
31:58 – The first prototype: two colors, sharp edges
35:43 – Bootstrapping Hydro Flask: moving in with mom, storing bottles in grandpa’s garage
37:14 – Farmer’s markets, ice tests and the first buyers
52:27 – The crisis that almost kills the company
56:30 – An eleventh-hour visitor: “I might want to invest”
58:34 – Leaving the company he built: why Travis walked away
1:06:07 – Small Business Spotlight