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How I Built This with Guy Raz

Hydro Flask: Travis Rosbach. How a thirsty surfer changed the water bottle industry

with Travis Rosbach

Published November 24, 2025
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About This Episode

Travis Rosbach explains how dissatisfaction with existing reusable bottles led him to create Hydro Flask, a double-wall vacuum-insulated stainless steel water bottle. He describes his path through earlier businesses in fencing and sign-making, the technical and logistical challenges of developing manufacturing in China, and the scrappy early days selling bottles at markets and into retailers. The episode follows the company's rapid growth, financing crises, the arrival of an outside investor, and Travis's eventual decision to leave Hydro Flask.

Topics Covered

Hydro Flask Entrepreneurship Product development Manufacturing in China Vacuum insulated bottles Retail distribution Bootstrapping Small business financing Co-founder relationships Outdoor retail

Disclaimer: We provide independent summaries of podcasts and are not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by any podcast or creator. All podcast names and content are the property of their respective owners. The views and opinions expressed within the podcasts belong solely to the original hosts and guests and do not reflect the views or positions of Summapod.

Quick Takeaways

  • A simple frustration with existing water bottles led Travis Rosbach to design a vacuum-insulated stainless steel bottle that did not yet exist on the market.
  • Travis had no formal engineering background, so he reverse-engineered existing bottles with calipers and worked directly with Chinese factories to modify equipment and create new molds.
  • Hydro Flask was bootstrapped at first, funded by selling personal possessions, living with family, and using small bank lines of credit and a second mortgage from his grandparents.
  • Early traction came from demonstrating ice retention at local markets and securing a single Whole Foods store, which became social proof to open other retailers.
  • Manufacturing missteps, including a 40,000-unit defective run, nearly sank the company and forced Travis to negotiate replacement inventory and extended payment terms.
  • Sales reps and trade shows like Outdoor Retailer were critical to expanding Hydro Flask's footprint into specialty outdoor and sporting goods stores.
  • Design patents on the bottle's shape provided only temporary protection before competitors introduced their own vacuum bottles using different designs and techniques.
  • A near-shutdown due to lack of cash was averted when an unexpected visitor offered to invest, leading to a million-dollar capital infusion.
  • As outside investors gained control and a more corporate playbook was introduced, Travis chose to exit rather than continue in a role that no longer fit him.
  • Travis now advises other companies on manufacturing and is considering launching another bottle company with new printing and embellishment techniques.

Podcast Notes

Cold open: Near shutdown and surprise investor visit

Running out of money and preparing to close the business

Travis recalls a time when Hydro Flask ran out of money with about 10 employees on staff[2:26]
• He wrote a letter to employees explaining he would have to close down the business
Planned meeting to announce closure interrupted by a visitor[2:50]
• On Friday morning he called everyone into the office to tell them the company was closing when the front desk reported that a man was there to see him
• Travis initially told the visitor he was not hiring and was not interested
• The visitor said he might want to invest, changing the course of events

Introduction to the show and Hydro Flask story overview

Host introduces How I Built This and frames the episode

Guy Raz introduces How I Built This as a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built[3:22]
He introduces guest Travis Rosbach and summarizes Hydro Flask[3:32]
• Hydro Flask is described as one of the most popular metal bottle brands in the country

Origin moment: searching for the perfect water bottle

In 2007 Travis went into a sporting goods store simply looking for a reusable water bottle to keep cold water cold at the beach[3:40]
Failure to find what he wanted led him to investigate the market[4:07]
• He realized that the specific product he wanted did not exist, prompting him to consider making it himself despite having no design engineering or materials background

Overview of building a product and company from scratch

Guy frames the conversation as a deep dive into the mechanics of building something physical[4:41]
• He highlights the painstaking research, reverse engineering, and a risky trip to China to find the right manufacturer
He notes the improvising and jerry-rigging involved in creating the first prototype and early operations[4:56]
Guy summarizes Hydro Flask's trajectory from farmers markets in Portland to national popularity[5:09]

Travis's background and first ventures in Oregon and Hawaii

Early life and adventurous jobs

Travis grew up in Salem, Oregon in the 1980s and 1990s[5:15]
After high school he joined his dad in the Virgin Islands and became a dive instructor and later a private pilot[5:19]
Despite cool jobs, he felt restless and wanted to start his own business[5:31]
He eventually moved back to the Pacific Northwest and settled in Bend, Oregon[5:33]

Starting Bend Fencing with no experience

Fence-building inspiration from a contractor in his backyard[5:56]
• Travis saw a man building a fence at his rental house using metal pipes and clear cedar and realized there was a business opportunity
• He asked why the contractor did not build fences for entire subdivisions; the contractor preferred one house at a time and said Travis could pursue the larger jobs himself
Creation of Bend Fencing with girlfriend Cindy[6:43]
• Travis went back inside and told his girlfriend Cindy he wanted to start a fence company, which became Bend Fencing
Hiring expertise off Craigslist and early setbacks[6:56]
• Travis had no knowledge of fencing tools and hired an experienced worker from the leading local fence company via Craigslist
• The new hire agreed to be the lead, they bought a truck and tools, but the day before the first project he was arrested
• Travis went to a homeless shelter, found two men who said they knew fencing, and learned to build fences on-site with them

Bend Fencing's differentiation and workload

Offering higher-end materials than competitors[8:02]
• Many competitors still used wood and claimed pressurized wood lasted forever, but Travis knew it rotted and broke
• Bend Fencing used stainless steel pipes encased in wood and clear cedar with no knots, creating high-end looking fences for upscale subdivisions
Branding advantage and learning the trade[9:04]
• The company name Bend Fencing made customers assume they were long-established, which helped credibility
• High turnover forced Travis to learn to build fences himself, including drilling into rock and working through ice
Burnout and decision to leave the fence business[9:27]
• The work schedule was seven days a week, around 14 hours a day, leaving Travis exhausted and burnt out
• He called Cindy saying he felt he might harm himself or someone else if he stayed, and said he needed to go somewhere warm, either Mexico or Hawaii
• Cindy told him to come home and get his bag, and he flew to Oahu for a nine-day vacation
• Upon landing and feeling the aloha as the plane door opened, he decided he now lived there and told Cindy she could keep or sell the fence company
• They listed Bend Fencing on Craigslist and sold it a couple of weeks later

Starting a sign-making business in Oahu

Observing sign shops and competition[11:25]
• Travis noticed many signs advertising sign services around Oahu, but relatively few true brick-and-mortar sign shops
• Many people owned simple vinyl plotters and called themselves sign companies, mostly producing basic blue and black vinyl on white banners
Decision to differentiate with higher-end printing[12:15]
• Travis believed he and Cindy could do signs differently or better by embellishing substrates to make them beautiful
Learning what equipment to buy at a sign convention[13:04]
• They attended a sign show in Orlando and met Frank from a company called Feller's
• Travis told Frank he wanted to start a sign company and asked what he needed; Feller's staff told them what to buy and shipped it to Oahu
• They installed a 64-inch printer capable of printing full-color photographic banners, not just cutting vinyl
Operations and modest success of the sign shop[14:31]
• They leased a large space near the Blaisdell Center in downtown Honolulu
• The business produced screen printing, embroidery, hats, tablecloths, table throws, and large outdoor signs, plus branding and marketing services
• The company was breaking even and slightly ahead, bringing in a couple hundred thousand dollars a year

Origin of the Hydro Flask idea

Frustration with plastic and the BPA scare

Deciding to avoid single-use plastic bottles[15:19]
• While running errands one day, Travis was thirsty and wanted a non-single-use bottle because he was tired of plastic washing up on beaches
• He planned to buy a Nalgene for about $20 at a sporting goods store, expecting a simple purchase
Empty shelf and explanation about BPA[15:48]
• Store staff showed him an almost empty water bottle wall; the owner had pulled bottles off the shelf because of concerns about BPA raised by her doctor father
• Travis asked who would refill the shelf and was told nobody else made water bottles, which triggered his idea to step into that gap

Testing existing metal bottles: SIGG and Kleen Kanteen

Trying SIGG aluminum bottles[17:25]
• An employee at his sign company recommended SIGG, so he bought one at Patagonia for about $20
• He liked the gritty powder coating and climber-friendly design but found flaws: ice cubes would not fit, it could not go in the freezer, and it dented badly when dropped
• He noticed a gold liner inside, some of which flaked off, convincing him he needed to make his own bottle
Experimenting with a Kleen Kanteen stainless bottle[18:59]
• His brother Jeff, working at REI in Bend, recommended Kleen Kanteen and sent him a bottle
• The wide mouth allowed ice cubes, but he found the lip ergonomically wrong for him and said it dribbled down his shirt
• On the beach, water stayed cold on the way but became too hot to drink after sitting in the sand while he surfed
• On hikes, water became too cold at mountaintops, illustrating poor temperature retention for his needs

Thermos inspiration and product concept

Recalling old-school vacuum coffee thermos[20:02]
• Travis's grandfather had a heavy old coffee thermos, which used vacuum insulation to keep contents hot
Understanding and applying vacuum insulation[20:38]
• Vacuum insulation uses a space with air removed between inner and outer walls, preventing temperature transfer because no air molecules can move heat or cold
• He wondered why this thermos technology could not be applied to a normal-sized water bottle made of stainless steel with a wide mouth for ice
Basic requirements for his ideal bottle[21:41]
• He wanted metal on the inside instead of plastic, a double-wall vacuum-insulated stainless steel body, and a mouth wide enough for ice cubes

Developing manufacturing in China and first Hydro Flask samples

Decision to manufacture in China and initial search

Overwhelmed by sign shop issues while compelled to pursue bottles[22:04]
• The sign shop printer frequently broke, requiring hours to fix, while Travis felt increasingly compelled to work on bottles
Finding a contact for Chinese factories and traveling to Shanghai[22:34]
• A client who attended the Canton Fair helped his customers find factories, reinforcing Travis's belief he needed a factory, probably in China
• He used Google to find a factory that claimed to make insulated bottles, sold a surfboard and moped, and flew to Shanghai in May 2007
Discovering the first factory only made plastic bottles[23:55]
• At the Shanghai factory he saw only plastic bottles; after a tour and tea ceremony, they told him they did not make stainless or insulated bottles
• Factory staff insisted nobody made the kind of double-wall vacuum-insulated bottles he wanted
Chance connection to Michael in Hangzhou[25:03]
• As Travis was leaving, a man suggested his cousin in Hangzhou might help and wrote directions to the train station and to Hangzhou
• Arriving in Hangzhou not knowing anyone, he heard someone call his name; it was Natalie, who took him to meet her husband Michael, the cousin
• Michael spoke limited English but agreed to help Travis search for a suitable factory

Visiting multiple factories and finding a small vacuum line

Initial rejection from metal bottle factories[25:48]
• Michael took Travis to a metal water bottle factory, where the owner dismissed the idea of vacuum-insulated bottles as impossible and said nobody did it
• They spent three days going from factory to factory and were repeatedly told no one did double-wall vacuum-insulated bottles
Finding a factory with a small vacuum unit[26:33]
• On the second-to-last day they found a factory with a vacuum machine about the size of a motorcycle, used to make small Japanese vacuum-insulated milk bottles for children
• Travis proposed making larger versions as water bottles; the factory owner laughed but eventually agreed to try

Modifying equipment and designing the first Hydro Flask

Building modifications for larger bottles[32:26]
• The factory's vacuum machine was not big enough, so Travis and Michael spent two weeks visiting factories to buy screws, metal plates, and parts to build new components
• They had to modify the inside of the vacuum chamber to hold larger bottle molds and also get new molds made for the bottles themselves
• The factory would only rent them time on the machine and refused to invest effort, believing the idea was bad and that nobody wanted vacuum-insulated water bottles
Returning home and waiting for samples[33:27]
• Travis returned to Oahu; about six months later the factory called to say samples were ready and asked what name and logo to print
Choosing the Hydro Flask name[33:50]
• They had no name, so Travis put out an all-hands call to friends and family; his brother suggested Hydro Flask
• Travis disliked the word Flask but had to choose something to print on the bottles, so they went with Hydro Flask
First insulated samples and user testing on Waikiki[34:03]
• They received two samples in November 2007, a red and a blue bottle in 18- and 21-ounce sizes
• Travis had used calipers to measure many existing bottles (soft drink bottles, beer bottles, milk jugs) to find an ergonomic mouth size that fit ice cubes and lips comfortably
• He later realized his drawing essentially resembled a scuba tank
• The first samples had a sharp lip that he did not like but others did; they were vacuum-insulated and functioned as intended
• On Waikiki Beach, he filled bottles with ice and handed them to surfers coming out of the water, who said it was something they would buy

Financing the first production run and moving back to Bend

Minimum order quantity and lack of funds[36:58]
• The factory's minimum order quantity was 3,000 units, costing about $17,000, but Travis did not initially know to ask about MOQs
• He negotiated the order down to 1,500 bottles but still did not have the money
• Travis and Cindy sold nearly everything they owned, including clothes and furniture, to finance the order
Relocating to Bend and living with family[38:29]
• In March 2008 they moved from Oahu back to Bend to be closer to airports and trade shows and because Hawaii was expensive
• They moved in with his mother; his brother and sister had also moved back in, and his sister had a baby, making for a full house

Launching Hydro Flask: markets, early retail, and growth

First shipment, storage, and Portland Saturday Market sales

Receiving and storing the first 2,500 bottles[39:07]
• The initial shipment of approximately 2,500 bottles arrived in March 2008, packed 12 per box
• His grandparents allowed him to use one bay of their two-car garage in Salem for storage until summer
Selling at Portland Saturday Market and Drake Park events[40:43]
• Travis and Cindy set up a booth at Portland Saturday Market with a Hydro Flask table throw, pop-up banner, branded shirts, hats, and stickers
• They demonstrated insulation by putting ice in bottles on Friday night, labeling them with the time, and showing that ice remained on Sunday in 100-degree heat
• Bottles were priced at $19.99 for 18 ounces and $24.99 for 21 ounces, which was considered expensive for a bottle in 2008
• They sold about 20 to 50 bottles per day over the weekend and then sold at Munch and Music events in Bend's Drake Park on Thursdays
Target customers and warranty offer[42:25]
• Oregon's environmentally conscious population helped early adoption of reusable, non-plastic bottles
• They offered a lifetime warranty, promising to replace bottles if anything happened, which reassured hesitant buyers
• Cost per bottle was about $5.25-$5.50, leaving roughly $15-$17 gross margin per unit to fuel reorders

Local press and first sales rep catalyst

Front-page business article leads to rep connection[44:11]
• A reporter from the Bend Bulletin business section asked to do a story, and Hydro Flask landed on the front page of the business paper
• The following Thursday at Munch and Music, a sales rep named Brent approached and asked to represent Hydro Flask
Sample allocation and early sell-through[44:41]
• Travis hesitated to give Brent the 48 bottles he requested, compromising on 24 because inventory was under 1,000 units
• Brent sold into 22 of 24 targeted retail doors, mainly sporting goods stores in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington

Whole Foods entry and using it as social proof

Landing the first Whole Foods store[46:27]
• After moving bottles from Salem to Bend when his grandpa reclaimed the garage, Travis visited the new Bend Whole Foods hoping to sell bottles
• The water buyer initially did not understand selling empty bottles without water and sent him to another staffer, Evan
• Evan was on the floor removing SIGG bottles containing BPA when Travis arrived and offered BPA-free metal Hydro Flasks as replacements
• Evan ordered a case of each of their roughly six colors for the Bend Whole Foods location
Leveraging Whole Foods to open more accounts[48:04]
• Travis used the Whole Foods placement as a credential when approaching other local retailers, effectively saying that if Whole Foods carried Hydro Flask, they should too

Trade shows, reps, and patent strategy

Outdoor Retailer show and bamboo booth[48:42]
• Brent advised them to attend the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, a key venue for outdoor product launches
• They could not afford a standard booth, so they paid for entry and built a bamboo hut structure for their banners; they were the only water bottle company present
• Buyers sought out whoever was selling water bottles at the show, and sales reps from various regions approached them to represent Hydro Flask
Design patents and temporary protection[49:43]
• Travis explains they obtained design patents for the shapes and sizes of bottles but could not get utility patents on vacuum insulation, which already existed
• They prominently printed patent pending or patented on packaging, which initially discouraged competitors who assumed Hydro Flask owned the vacuum market
• This de facto protection lasted about six to eight months until competitors realized they were only design patents and began designing around them
Emergence of competitors using different techniques[51:37]
• Kleen Kanteen introduced vacuum-insulated bottles using a different, cheaper vacuum technique that looked worse and performed less well, which gave Hydro Flask more runway

Financing growth through debt and family support

Using bank lines and family assets[51:37]
• A banker friend helped them secure lines of credit and credit cards from different banks to finance inventory
• His grandparents took out a second mortgage on their house, and Travis and Cindy borrowed and sold everything they could to keep buying more bottles

Scaling challenges, defective inventory, and investor involvement

Defective 40,000-bottle run and renegotiation

Discovering rust and lack of insulation[54:24]
• In 2009 Travis spent November in China preparing a shipment of 40,000 bottles, but when they arrived back home he found they had rusted and were not insulated
Returning to China and securing replacement inventory[53:54]
• He returned to the factory in December 2009, investigated the machinery, identified the problem, and negotiated another 40,000 bottles to replace the defective ones
• He also negotiated 120-day payment terms after the new bottles arrived
Unexpected demand for payment and bank loan[55:04]
• In February the factory called demanding payment for the second 40,000 bottles, about $250,000, contrary to what Travis believed was a net-120 agreement
• Travis called people who had offered to help; a local banker who was a Hydro Flask fan agreed to lend the $250,000 to pay for the second 40,000 bottles

Co-founder departure and trust issues

Cindy leaving amid stress and on-off relationship context[55:38]
• When the rust issues became overwhelming, Cindy left and returned to Hawaii
• Travis notes their relationship had been on and off for some time, and the stress pushed her to go
Travis acknowledges difficulty judging character[56:43]
• Guy observes that Travis has spoken elsewhere of feeling betrayed by Cindy and others and asks if he struggles with judging character
• Travis says he is not good at HR, tends to trust people at face value, and is still surprised when people are dishonest or have ulterior motives

Relationship with early rep Brent and transition to larger firm

Brent's contributions and disagreement over REI[58:24]
• Travis credits Brent with being awesome, bringing in other sales reps, and helping them get started
• Tension arose when Brent insisted they could not get into REI within a year and refused to try, while Travis believed they could
• Travis eventually let Brent go and replaced him with a larger sales rep firm, while acknowledging Brent's instrumental early role

Near-shutdown, investor arrival, and recap of cold open

Running out of money after the second 40,000-bottle order[59:37]
• After Cindy left and he hired new employees, the second 40,000 bottles arrived and they ran out of money with about 10 employees on payroll
Letter to shut down and investor Jim Collis appears[1:00:49]
• Travis wrote a letter to employees explaining he would close the business and planned to read it on Friday morning
• At the planned meeting time, the receptionist said a man wanted to see him; Travis initially dismissed him, but the man said he might want to invest
• Travis canceled the shutdown meeting and told the visitor they needed money for 80,000 bottles, suggesting a million dollars; the visitor, investor Jim Collis, eventually agreed after due diligence
• Collis's investment allowed Travis to buy more bottles, and Collis began helping with internal operations and finances, including hiring a CFO

Ownership changes, Travis's exit, and later plans

Growth to multimillion-dollar sales and decision to leave

Scale achieved by 2011[1:03:02]
• By around 2011 Hydro Flask was doing roughly $12 million in sales and had become an international company with distribution in Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific
Tired of travel and corporate direction[1:03:34]
• Travis was tired of living on the road, staying in hotels, and spending long periods in factories
• When the investor bought out Cindy's stake, his ownership rose to 51 percent and Travis's dropped to 49 percent
• The majority investor introduced a corporate playbook outlining how the company would operate; Travis reviewed it and decided he did not want to follow that path
• Feeling he had achieved his goals and not wanting to pursue a corporate route, he negotiated his way out and exited the company in 2012
Emotional separation from Hydro Flask after exit[1:04:56]
• Travis recalls waking up feeling a heavy weight lifted and realized he was no longer the Hydro Flask guy
• He says the company later changed quality, prices, and manufacturing techniques, and he distanced himself further after some of their ad campaigns

Current work and possible new bottle venture

Advising other companies on manufacturing[1:06:14]
• Travis now advises companies that want to build products in factories in the United States or China
Considering a new bottle company with improved embellishment[1:06:35]
• He is also looking to start another bottle company, acknowledging the space is competitive but feeling drawn to improve on current offerings
• He says he has found a way to print on the entire bottle; he notes that laser engraving, which Hydro Flask started using in 2009, is now dated and believes it is time for a new approach

Reflection on legacy and role of luck versus hard work

Guy's framing of Hydro Flask as part of Travis's life story[1:06:20]
• Guy notes that regardless of later issues, Travis can look at Hydro Flask bottles worldwide and know he invented the brand, and that this will be a major part of his life story
Travis's assessment of luck and effort[1:06:02]
• Travis attributes much of the outcome to hard work, while saying luck played a role in that the world was ready for reusable water bottles when he launched
• He says he will always take good luck when he can get it, but often had to search hard for that luck

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Solving your own persistent problem can reveal real market gaps, especially when you validate the solution directly with potential users before scaling.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What recurring frustration in your daily life might signal an unmet need that others share?
  • • How could you quickly prototype or demonstrate a solution to real people, the way Travis tested bottles with surfers on Waikiki Beach?
  • • What is one small experiment you can run this month to see if others care about a problem as much as you do?
2

You do not need formal credentials to build a product, but you must be willing to do painstaking, unglamorous research and to collaborate closely with technical partners.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where have you been holding back because you feel underqualified, even though you could learn what you need through focused effort?
  • • How might you break a complex project into specific questions and measurements, like Travis did with calipers and bottle dimensions?
  • • Who could be your equivalent of Michael and the factory engineers-partners who have skills you lack and can help you execute your vision?
3

Bootstrapping growth with personal assets and debt can preserve control but leaves a business financially fragile and highly exposed to manufacturing or market shocks.

Reflection Questions:

  • • In your current projects, are you relying too heavily on personal sacrifices or short-term credit to keep things going?
  • • How would an unexpected setback-like a defective production run-impact your ability to meet obligations under your current financing approach?
  • • What alternative funding or risk-sharing options could you line up now to avoid being one crisis away from shutting down?
4

The people you choose as partners-co-founders, reps, investors-shape the trajectory of your business as much as the product itself, and misalignment can force hard exits.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Which current collaborators or partners are fully aligned with your goals and which relationships feel out of sync?
  • • How could you more rigorously vet future partners so you are not surprised by hidden motives or differing expectations?
  • • What specific criteria will you use from now on before giving someone significant influence over your company or project?
5

Knowing when your season in a venture is over and being willing to step away can be healthier than forcing yourself into a role or culture that does not fit you.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in your work do you feel a growing mismatch between what energizes you and what your role now requires?
  • • How might your life and well-being improve if you treated exiting as completing a chapter rather than as failure?
  • • What signs would tell you it is time to negotiate your way out, as Travis did, instead of continuing on autopilot?

Episode Summary - Notes by Rowan

Hydro Flask: Travis Rosbach. How a thirsty surfer changed the water bottle industry
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