74 MAY 2017
TIME LINE
1996Cox startsHaydenshapes at the
age of 15
2003Opens first factory andmovesinsohecan
work seven days a week2008
GFC hits, brand andtechnology face
near bankruptcy2011
Business modelredesign. Signs global
distribution deal formajor overseas launch2007
Invents and patentsFiberFlex technology
(since renamedFutureFlex)BROADEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE
When Cox started making surfboards, he
struggled to keep track of his orders and
deposits. “I was going broke before I’d even
become a proper business,” he says.
Insteadofhiringanaccountant,Coxlearned
howtodoithimself.“IfeltIhadtodothatto
takecontrolofwhatIwasdoing.Understanding
how you do something in business allows you
to take charge and deliver your input in a
valuable way.”
Ever since, Cox has taught himself the skills
to understand his business from every angle.
He photographed and designed his first print
ad. He represented himself in court over an
early legal wrangle. He coded his first website.
That’s not to say Cox doesn’t delegate these
responsibilities today. Almost 350 people now
work for Haydenshapes around the world. But
immersing himself in multiple areas of the
business has deepened Cox’s understanding
of the bigger picture. “You don’t have to be the
bestateverypartofyourbusiness–infactyou
don’twanttobe,”hesays.“But you sureashell
can learn from your staff.”
BREAK THE BARRIERS
Onceuponatimenoonebelievedyoucould
run a mile in under four minutes. Cracking that
time was seen as a human impossibility. Then,
in 1954, British athlete Roger Bannister ran
3minutes59.4seconds.Twomonthslater,
Australian John Landy ran 3 minutes 57.9
seconds. Sixteen other runnerscompleted the
feat in the next three years. “Once the mental
barrier was gone, it kept being done again and
again,” Cox says.
Cox loves this story as it informs his
approach to solving problems. “You’ve got to
remove the mental barrier of ‘you can’t do
that’,” he says. “In my world it was: ‘you can’t
build a surfboard that’s better than one made
from polyester resin with a wooden stringer’.”
Ignoring these barriers tends to mean
getting way out of your comfort zone. Having
started so young, Cox regularly had to learn on
the fly, whether he was fighting stolen
trademark battles in foreign countries or
negotiating his distribution deals. Along the
way he developed a strategy to copewith the
pressure. Whenever you’re intimidated by a
new challenge, Cox suggests you “proceed as
if success is inevitable”.
“Running your own business there are so
many times when you don’t know how to do
something but have to pretend that you’ve
nailed it a million times before,” Cox says. “You
just have to hold it together enough to staycomposed and then be prepared to challenge
yourself and learn quickly. Suddenly you’ll find
yourself on the other side and think, ‘Well, that
turned out alright - let’s do it again’.”DREAM BIGGER
Acoupleofyearsafteropeninghisfirst
surfboard factory, Cox realised the limitations
of his business. He had about 750 customers
around the world. “That’s a very small number,”
he admits. “It wasn’t going to achieve my
high school dream of becoming a global
surfboard company.”
Inspiration struck from an unlikely source.
While buying a hi-fi unit, Cox noticed that every
sound system in the store came equipped with
Dolby Digital. He set his sights on building an
equally comprehensive technology for surfing.