Last of its breed

“It looks like the last kayak you had.”

“It’s different.”

“How?”

“Different rudder system, better paddle clearance, faster, tippier…”

“You spent more money for tippier?”

“No, that’s a byproduct of the other things.”

“So, the other things are worth that much?”

“Almost.”

“Almost. What’s the rest?”

Like many enthusiasts, when I’ve been involved in some sports or hobbies, I’ve had to impulse to start a business and produce the ultimate piece of equipment. However, I recognize the potential pitfalls.

In the heat of the quest, you can lose sight of good business sense. The Holy Grail becomes all that matters. My philosophy has been to go into business to build something you can be proud of and/or make money, and leave the rest to the dreamers.

Designs at the extremes have small niche markets. If there are few people who are capable of using the product or are inclined to pay the premium, it’s hard to sustain a business.

Everyone has their own models and some have made that leap. Most crash and burn well short of the goal. Some claw their way to the pinnacle and grind out that perfect device, only to quickly tumble down the other side. And, a few make it work. Unfortunately, they often cash out with a big company or investment bankers and the product regresses to a commodity.

So, the trick becomes timing. You wait and watch to discern when the product has peaked so you can grab one up before everything starts to roll downhill. It’s not always obvious. When things start getting tough on the business side, corners are cut. If you wait too long, you get a watered down version. If you time it right, you get the last and best of the breed.

You don’t have all the information and could misjudge the cycle. But, in this case, it seemed pretty clear.

I bought a used kayak from a guy who had raced it hard. The price was right. I wasn’t willing to plop down big bucks on a design that could prove too much to handle.

It worked out well. The boat was a generation or two old and I got the fever for the latest edition. The makers are world class racers and took their best shot with this one. Like a thoroughbred, it’s fast and a bit temperamental. It could wait, though.

Or, could it? My older boat was made in South Africa and the quality was so-so. They had since moved production to China and the construction was markedly better. But they got crosswise with the manufacturer and it got ugly fast.

The maker held their tooling hostage and started selling the boats under their own label in markets outside of the U.S. Patents? Contracts? Good luck with that.

I’ve done business over there and it’s not a softball league. The kayak boys might work something out, but they weren’t going to come out of that one whole. In which case, they would probably either have to cut corners or tank.

“So, what’s the rest? Why shell out those kind of bucks for a few differences?”

“Because it could be the last of its breed.”