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Starting a ski company, ideas/thoughts

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hz421
Posts: 80 - Karma: 114

thinking about  trying to start a ski company out of the PNW,  so i want some thoughts or ideas you would want to see in freeski company and ski design etc

May 7 2012 12:09AM
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Sam.Carson
Posts: 2884 - Karma: 33
you're going to need a lot of money. If you do then just build a durable ski if you can figure out how and thats how you can get started. Keep it basic the first few tries then get more technical.
May 7 2012 12:12AM
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LIL-WAT
Posts: 1510 - Karma: 146
Skis can be long and short, fat and thin.



Hope this helps.
May 7 2012 12:12AM
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Toaster-Tony
Posts: 3531 - Karma: 5,850
If you know what you're doing with the construction aspect of it, my best advice is to start small and make some prototypes for you and friends and sell them for a reasonable price. Hopefully they catch on with others through advertisement and word of mouth. It's one of those things where you just keep your fingers crossed.
May 7 2012 12:17AM
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Rafiki
Posts: 3858 - Karma: 2,251
inb4 ON3P
May 7 2012 12:21AM
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specialSAWce
Posts: 428 - Karma: 1,670
make a stiff spring ski thats 161,171,181,191x118-95-115 sos thats yous cans gos alls overs the mountains withs its and then put me on your team
May 7 2012 12:22AM
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POW-WOW
Posts: 1464 - Karma: 46
Well I've always had this crazy idea of making a ski that is 90 underfoot and 200 in the tips and tails and it would be shaped like an oar. It would also have a cutout in the tail with a plastic thingy to increase drag in the tail, and lastly, have a wooden veneer topsheet.
May 7 2012 12:28AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
-How old are you?
-What kind of education/experience do you have?
-What kind of financial backing do you have?
May 7 2012 12:30AM
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specialSAWce
Posts: 428 - Karma: 1,670
i see it
May 7 2012 12:31AM
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hz421
Posts: 80 - Karma: 114
im 17 and i have been making skis in my garage/ wood shop class
May 7 2012 12:32AM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
Click for larger image
May 7 2012 12:33AM
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stickski
Posts: 1938 - Karma: 1,529
funny guy over here
May 7 2012 12:33AM
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deleted5
Posts: 14507 - Karma: 13,507
well this is going to go well i wish you luck on your goals in life.
May 7 2012 12:33AM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
Thoughts: This is a very saturated market, with a great deal of brand loyalty already in place. Ski companies spend countless millions each year building brand recognition, marketing, and more. To effectively enter the market will require a unique innovation, which is, quite frankly, difficult to imagine.

Ideas: Quit.
May 7 2012 12:34AM
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7-3instacall
Posts: 999 - Karma: 1,005
coreupt declared bankruptcy
i thought it was common knowledge the ski industry was broke as fuck


you're bette roff putting speed in soda and calling it energy drink
May 7 2012 12:34AM
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Flacko
Posts: 1495 - Karma: 788
dont forget latteral reverse camber, but ya you have a nice and origional idea right there
May 7 2012 12:35AM
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spliff.Life
Posts: 7847 - Karma: 1,549
sponsor tom wallisch
May 7 2012 12:36AM
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Dr.Gnar
Posts: 896 - Karma: 197
Just design skis of arbitrary dimensions and describe them as "a surprisingly good all-mountain ski!" or "amazingly versatile!" "will float the pow but also rip laps in the park!" because that what most brands keep fucking doing.
May 7 2012 12:46AM
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hz421
Posts: 80 - Karma: 114
alright well besides the ski industry being poor as fuck       what are some ideas on ski design?
May 7 2012 12:46AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Perfect your art and go to college.
May 7 2012 12:47AM
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hz421
Posts: 80 - Karma: 114

yo thats my backround with ski building not my education

May 7 2012 12:48AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Are you in college?
May 7 2012 12:49AM
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hz421
Posts: 80 - Karma: 114
no not yet im still in highschool
May 7 2012 12:51AM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
OP it is alot of work, and it will take lots of time and money especially to start up a company. I've just started working on my own ski press with an adjustable mold and it's going to a long road, but a rewarding one at that. Check out this thread for some info on ski design/building and a place to ask questions: https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/651776/ A few members that have really helped me out and answered alot of questions are: hot.pocket, KyleA, and Ginko. Just ask them nicely and they will help you out. You can drop me a PM to discuss stuff things as well, I'd be glad to help. Here are a few usefull links. Great for materials, heard good things about them: http://www.store.skilab.com/index.php?main_page=index A site and a forum with a huge amount of information and knowledge that I suggest you join: http://www.skibuilders.com/howto/skicon/skidesign.shtml Epoxy that I plan on using, well priced, pretty sure it's derived from natural sources: http://www.entropyresins.com/products/super-sap-clr Good luck man! Hopefully this helped.
May 7 2012 12:52AM
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hz421
Posts: 80 - Karma: 114
alright thx man
May 7 2012 12:53AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Yeah, I knew that, that's why I said go to college.  I don't know how you came up with your last response.

If you can't understand my suggestions, then maybe diving in to an overly competitive segment of the market during a financial crisis isn't the right path for you.

Keep making skis, make the best skis you can.  Get a good education, and then you can actually start a ski company. 

Just being real here.
May 7 2012 12:54AM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
Mobile completely screwed up my post.... Even though I typed that on the full site version..... Sorry.
May 7 2012 12:56AM
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jamers
Posts: 1311 - Karma: 164
step 1: make prototype
step 2: test prototype
step 3: ?????????
step 4: Profit
May 7 2012 1:06AM
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hz421
Posts: 80 - Karma: 114
yah my goal is to get any education and have a back up plan
May 7 2012 1:07AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
That's what I'm talking about.  Good luck to you my man.
May 7 2012 1:13AM
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hot.pocket
Posts: 4223 - Karma: 10,595
Hahahahah. Anyways...

Pics of said skis from garage/ woodshop class?

Also, there's a lot more that goes into starting a company than simply building skis and selling them.
May 7 2012 3:02AM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Sounds like a plan.
May 7 2012 6:22AM
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maximiliaan
Posts: 7711 - Karma: 2,857
we should start a company
May 7 2012 6:52AM
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Strobe
Posts: 279 - Karma: 8
Deliver and perfect your product before marketing/selling. Having something to back yourself with will make a huge difference
May 7 2012 7:19AM
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llambert
Posts: 1005 - Karma: 81
make edges that can be put on and taken off soo you can ski park, but if you wanna ski the mountain, you can put them back on for not hitting rails
May 7 2012 7:23AM
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
iv always loved the idea of a ski that has racing ski specs, just proportionally is jsut bigger. So in theory it would still turn amazing just have way more float...idk
May 7 2012 7:26AM
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timmi
Posts: 12874 - Karma: 3,460
Dude theres no money in skis. Snowblades are the new cash cow.
May 7 2012 7:26AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Wtf... you don't know anything.

Monoskis and directional snowboards are far more lucrative.
May 7 2012 9:22AM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627

you should call it ON3P. 

Shit would be sick! 

May 7 2012 9:24AM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Dont listen to the haters. Do it. I have no advice for you because I dont know how to start a company.

GLHF.
May 7 2012 10:48AM
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Bmo.
Posts: 4907 - Karma: 2,667
ill be building my own skis this summer, cant wait!
May 7 2012 11:06AM
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Caucasian_Asian
Posts: 2447 - Karma: 1,665
This is an AMAZING idea!  I can't believe nobody has ever thought about that before!
May 7 2012 11:45AM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
#YOLO
May 7 2012 12:00PM
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