WYVE: 2023 & A 3D EXPANSION
Three years of age, it is hundreds of boards made and sold, a dozen riders under the WYVE flag and thousands of research and development hours. Three years of age, it is new goals, a new showroom, and the opportunity for us to review what has been done since the end of 2019 and what lays ahead of us.
2019 - The founding year
WYVE was born from an assessment: the construction of surfboards has hardly known any evolution since the 1960s. The core of the product is still a foam blank whose mechanical properties are not under control, offering little guarantee of resistance and durability to surfers. Léo and Sylvain both paid the price after breaking their brand new boards during the same session. Ever since, we have been obsessed with a single question: how can we make a surfboard performant, sustainable and respectful of the environment ?
During their last year of college, the two engineers from Brittany and Southern France introduced themselves to 3D printing. They discovered its potential for industrialized performance thanks to the high level of precision with which it creates products. With their first prototype, they went on a three-month trip in California to discover the very heart of the surf industry. When they came back, they knew one thing for sure: surfers were asking for a solution. That solution became a French-based company, WYVE, founded in November 2019.
2020 - A V1 and 20 first customers
In 2020, armed with a prototype twice as heavy as a traditional board, the adventure truly began. By buying a 3D kit printing machine first, and by transforming a garage into a composite room later on. This first year dedicated to prototyping exceeded our objectives with the delivery of our first 20 customers and the birth of a small community made of 5000 followers on Instagram.
2021 - Growing from 20 to 100 boards
In 2021, things really became serious with a first online website able to determine everyone's ideal surf shape based on the answers to a fifteen-question questionnaire. Thanks to this algorithm developed internally, we achieved our objective to go from 10 to 100 boards sold over the year in less than 3 months. At the same time, knowledge gains in production led to a V2 version of the product, both lighter and more solid than the precedent. This new milestone marked step towards an industrial proof of concept with a production machine capable of delivering 10 boards per month. Even with a high printing failure rate, progress was undoubtable, and we registered our first industrial process patent.
2022 - Diving into performance
But this standard wasn’t enough. We wanted to produce even better boards. In 2022, we dedicated the entire year and all our energy to seeking performance. This will that drives us and shapes the company's purpose found an echo in investors with whom we manage to raise more than one million euros. This new financial support allowed us to allocate ressources in a 6-month period especially dedicated to Research and Development. This mission was a double one. On the first hand, we desired to develop a product able to compete with the best boards on the market (in terms of weight, shape, finishing, mechanics). On the other hand, we aimed at having a production system relying both on profitable manual work time and local manufacturing. All these efforts paid off and convinced very good surfers to join our team of riders. Many surf shops in France and overseas chose to distribute our products and several hundred new customers decided to order a board as well.
2023 - Towards the growth of a mini-factory
Today, surfers choose our boards because they compete with the best traditional boards and offer an upward distinction. Because beyond its performance, a WYVE board has 3x the mechanical strength of a traditional board, an unimitable aesthetic, and an environmental impact reduced by 40% compared to a foam board construction. But the WYVE adventure is just beginning. In 2023, we opened our second and new workshop. This new showroom adds a physical presence to our digital one and aims to anchor WYVE territorially as a complete player in the board manufacturer landscape. With more than 10 full time employees, the year 2023 will see a consequent increase in production in order to produce and deliver more boards, more quickly, and among a range of ever more performing models. To this end, numerous investments are underway in the direction of a new website and new printing machines.
These few words couldn't possibly sum up all the enthusiasm and passion that has federated our community for the past 3 years. If you want to order a board or follow the WYVE adventure, don't hesitate to subscribe or write to us on our Instagram @wyvesurf. The best is yet to come!
