Say YES with Hala SUPs

@suppaul

We graduated from Middlebury College, Vermont in 2007. We both had wild ideas. My classmate, Peter Hall, headed to the Colorado Rockies. I headed to the Mexican jungle.

Years later, while on a rafting trip on the Colorado, I noticed stand up paddle boards drifting by with names like “Hala Atcha” and “Hala Peño.” I wondered…had Peter brought his dream to life?

Shortly after that, an e-mail popped up from Peter in my inbox saying, ”I’m coming to the Mexico!!” Peter and his wife showed up in the jungle huge grin and bunch of inflatable SUPs perched on their rental car, eager to ride the waves.

I’m grateful to have stayed in touch with Peter and hear this story of how he created Hala Gear in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Interview with Peter Hall:

Describe your perfect day as a wild entrepreneur.

My perfect day is would be testing out newly designed gear.  I love the “emotional physics” involved in finding shapes that perform.  I am heading to Mexico tomorrow, actually, to test out some new surf designs with our engineer and our operations manager.

What was your inspiration to create Hala Gear?

I loved playing in the river and I wanted to make gear for whitewater SUP.  I wanted equipment that would make the sport accessible and enjoyable.

Photo Credit; Paul Clark @SUPPAUL

I wanted equipment that didn’t exist, tried to design it,  and then came up with the idea for a business.

Did you make any personal sacrifices to get your businesses started? Any funny examples of living on a shoestring budget?

In terms of sacrifices, I have sacrificed time with friends and family the most.  And sleep.

We have never had quite enough money to grow as quickly as we could grow.

What is the best piece of advice you'd give to someone looking to start their own wild business?

Set your customers up for success.  Make it easy to understand what you do.

Never pay with equity when you can pay cash.

Make your product really good and easy to understand why/how it is good OR make it really cheap but good enough.  Do not play in the middle!

Say yes to things and figure out how to make it work.

What do you wish you’d known prior to getting started?

Haha, I didn’t know anything before I got started.  Research and asking smart people targeted questions is how it has always moved forward.  I’m not sure I would have gotten into this if I had known how much I didn’t know.

Making expensive products for a seasonal demand cycle is hard.

What’s your favorite part about being a wild entrepreneur?

I get to create gear that makes people’s lives more enjoyable (myself included).

Where can we follow you? 

https://halagear.com/

@halagear