Posts Tagged: "Glen Duff"

Patented Wake Board Made in America by Inventor Company

Licensing is relatively easy and potentially less risk financially and less time consuming, but licensing also has its negatives. So I went to Surf Expo with my wife to help us decide what to do… At the tradeshow, we found that the President of the Water Sports Industry Association loved our product, but he warned us that if we were to license this product into the existing market that what we would find was two-fold: one, they wouldn’t do it with the same heart, they wouldn’t have the same passion as the inventors and the team that created it and, two, they wouldn’t potentially invest the right amount of money into it and in some cases they may actually bury the product concept and prevent it from coming into the market, because they may see our product as competition to their market. It could have a potentially negative impact on say kneeboards. I was warned to stay away from licensing, in this particular case, and if we really wanted to see it grow, to go full-time into it. So I asked my two friends if they really wanted to take this on and I would be their mentor as they go through the process of beginning a company. So that took the stress off of me. I gave them equity in the new venture, which owned a full utility patent. They showed what they were made of and created a very successful business with a simple concept, “to help lots of people enjoy their time on the water!”

A Conversation with Zup Wake Board Innovator Glen Duff

The Zup™ is perhaps the most cool and innovative wake board you have ever seen. There are a number of other patent applications pending, trademark applications pending and ongoing research and development for future products. The Zup™ is special because literally anyone can ride the board and participate in the fun. I knew that Glen was onto something when he showed me a video of an early prototype in use years ago. There was a giant fellow — 6’8″ and easily 290 pounds — who managed to get up on the board with ease. I thought to myself, “that shouldn’t happen!” Being a big guy myself I understand how difficult, if not nearly impossible, it is to get up on a traditional wake board. In that same video I also saw an elderly grandmother get up on the board. Neither size nor upper body strength mattered. It was then I knew Glen had something special.