本集简介
双语字幕
仅展示文本字幕，不包含中文音频；想边听边看，请使用 Bayt 播客 App。
我们没钱了。
We ran out of money.
那时候我们大概有十名员工。
We had about 10 employees at that point.
于是我写了一封信，内容大概是：亲爱的员工们，很抱歉，我不得不关闭这家公司。
And so I write this letter that says, you know, dear employees, I'm sorry, but I'm I'm gonna have to close down the business.
周五早上，我把所有人都叫到办公室，告诉他们公司要关门了。
And Friday morning, I call everybody into the office to tell them that we're closing down.
这时电话响了，前台的女士说，有位先生想见您。
And the phone rings and the lady at the front desk says, There's this guy here who wants to see you.
他对我说：特拉维斯，我是专门来找你的。
And he says, Travis, I'm here to talk to you.
我回答：不好意思，我现在不招人，也没这个兴趣。
And I said, I'm sorry, I'm not hiring and I'm not even interested.
谢谢。
Thank you.
他说：‘嗯，我可能想投资。’
And he says, well, I might wanna invest.
欢迎收听《我是如何打造这一切的》，一档讲述创新者、创业者、理想主义者，以及他们所开创的事业背后故事的节目。
Welcome to how I built this, a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.
我是盖伊·拉兹，今天这期节目，讲的是特拉维斯·罗斯巴赫如何因为执着于寻找一款完美的水瓶，最终发明了如今风靡全美的Hydro Flask水瓶。
I'm Guy Raz, and on the show today, how an obsession with finding the perfect water bottle led Travis Rosbach to invent a new one, Hydro Flask, which became one of the most popular metal bottles in the country.
大约在2007年，特拉维斯·罗斯巴赫走进一家运动用品店，想找一样很简单的东西——一个能带到海滩上、保持水冰凉的可重复使用的水瓶。
Around 2007, Travis Rosbach walked into a sporting goods store looking for something pretty simple, a water bottle, a reusable container that he could take to the beach to keep cold water cold.
而这次购物——或者该说，这次没能完成的购物——彻底改变了他的人生。
And that purchase, or should I say attempted purchase, changed his life.
因为在那家店里，特拉维斯根本找不到他想要的那种水瓶。
Because in that store, Travis could not find the bottle he was looking for.
于是他开始深入研究。
So he started looking deeper.
当他发现市场上根本没有他想要的产品时，就决定自己动手来造一个。
And when he realized the product he wanted wasn't on the market, he decided to make it himself.
别人告诉他这根本不可能，太贵了，或者他根本没有这方面的背景。
People told him it couldn't be done or that it would be too expensive or that he didn't have the right background.
说实话，他确实没有。
And to be fair, he didn't.
特拉维斯不是设计师，也不是工程师。
Travis wasn't a design engineer.
他也不是材料专家，但他有个想法，而且坚信这种产品就应该存在。
He wasn't a materials expert, but he had an idea and a stubborn belief that it should exist.
所以，这就是特拉维斯如何让那些怀疑者打脸的故事，但这也是一个关于为此付出多少时间和精力的故事。
And so this is the story of how Travis basically proved the skeptics wrong, but it's also a story about how much time and effort it took to do that.
因为这场对话会深入到打造一件产品的细节——那些耗时的调研和逆向工程，冒险去中国寻找合适的制造商，还有为做出第一个原型所做的一系列临时拼凑和改造。
Because this conversation really gets into the mechanics of building something, the painstaking hours of research and reverse engineering, the risky trip to China to find just the right manufacturer, the improvising and jerry rigging that went into making a first prototype.
特拉维斯最终创立的公司就是Hydro Flask。
The company Travis eventually built became Hydro Flask.
短短几年内，他和当时的女友从在波特兰的农贸市场卖水瓶，发展到让Hydro Flask成为全美最受欢迎的水瓶品牌之一。
And in just a few years, he and his then girlfriend would go from selling bottles at farmer's markets in Portland to seeing Hydro Flask become one of the most popular water bottle brands in the country.
特拉维斯·罗斯巴赫在上世纪八九十年代于俄勒冈州的塞勒姆长大。
Travis Rosbach grew up in the nineteen eighties and nineties in Salem, Oregon.
高中毕业后，他跟着父亲去了维尔京群岛，在那里拿到了潜水教练认证，后来又考取了私人飞行员执照。
After high school, he joined his dad in the Virgin Islands where he got certified to become a dive instructor and later a private pilot.
尽管这些工作听起来很酷，但特拉维斯总觉得坐不住。
And as cool as those jobs were, Travis was restless.
他想自己创业，最终搬回了太平洋西北地区，定居在俄勒冈州的本德。
He wanted to start his own business, and eventually, he moved back to the Pacific Northwest and settled in Bend, Oregon.
那时候我有个女朋友，我们租了一套房子。
I had a girlfriend at that time, and we rented a place.
刚搬进去的第一晚，我们正窝在沙发上看电影，喝着一瓶葡萄酒，突然有个男人走进了后院。
And one of the first nights we were there, we were sitting watching a movie and drinking a bottle of wine and a guy walked into the backyard.
我立刻跳起来冲到后院，发现他正在帮房东砌围栏。
And so I jumped up and ran out back and he was building a fence at the rental house.
我当时就想，这倒是个主意。
And I thought, Well, that's an idea.
我以前根本没想过会有人专门做围栏。
I'd never even thought about people building fences before.
这事儿你是怎么做的？
How do you do this?
他给我演示了，用的是金属管和干净的雪松木。
And he showed me he's using metal pipes and clear cedar.
木头一点结疤都没有。
There's no knots.
大概2005年左右，本德开始迅速发展起来。
And Bend was really starting to grow about 2005 or so.
那时候，围栏和房子到处都在建。
And so the fences and the houses were going in everywhere.
我就问他，你是在做整个小区的项目吗？
And I asked him, I said, well, are you doing the subdivisions?
他说，不，我就喜欢一栋一栋地慢慢做。
And he said, no, I just like to do one house at a time.
我说，那你为啥不接小区的活呢？
I said, well, why don't you do the subdivisions?
那样一次就能做两百户啊。
Because that's, you know, 200 houses in one go.
他说，不，我不干。
And he said, no.
我对这个没兴趣。
I I'm not interested.
我就问他，那我这么做你介意吗？
And I said, well, do you mind if I do that?
他说，你爱咋办就咋办，我无所谓。
And he said, I don't care what you do.
我说，那我可就要这么干了。
I said, oh, I'm gonna do that.
于是我回到家，跟女朋友说，我想开一家围栏公司。
So I went back in the house, and I told my girlfriend, I said, I wanna start a fence company.
于是我们创办了本德围栏公司。
So we started Bend Fencing.
明白了。
Alright.
这一点很重要，因为她后面还会出现。
This is important because because she will factor in later.
你女朋友叫辛迪，因为你们之后会在一起很长一段时间，还一起创办其他生意。
Your girlfriend's name is Cindy because she will you could will be together for a while and and start other businesses.
不过咱们先说说围栏生意吧。
But let's talk about the fence business.
那你当时懂怎么建围栏吗？
How did what did you know about, like, did you know how to build a fence?
完全不懂。
Not at all.
一点概念都没有。
I had no clue.
我根本分不清邮筒钻和撬棍有什么区别。
I I didn't know a postal digger from a pry bar.
于是我上Craigslist找了个在城里头号围栏公司——迈克围栏中心干活的人，他正好想辞职。
So I got on Craigslist and found a guy who worked at the number one fence company in town, Mike's Fence Center, and he was ready to leave there.
我就说，来吧，跟我干。
And I said, well, come on.
来帮我，我让你当头儿。
Come work with me, and I'll I'll make you the the head guy.
他答应了。
And he said, okay.
于是我们去买了辆卡车，还按供应商说的，把所有需要的工具都配齐了。
And so we went out and bought a truck and bought all the tools that the supply company told us that we would need.
可就在第一个项目开始的前一天，他被抓了。
And the day before our first project, he got arrested.
我们本来约好要去太阳河那边，安装第一道围栏的。
And so, we were supposed to show up in Sun River and put in the first fence.
结果我去了一家收容所，找到了两个说会做围栏的家伙，然后直接去现场边干边学怎么建围栏。
And instead, I ended up going to the homeless shelter and found a couple guys that said they knew how to do fences and went down and learned how to build a fence on on-site.
明白了。
Alright.
那你这就开始做围栏生意了。
So you start this fence business.
你是怎么跟那些老牌围栏公司竞争的？
And and and who you know, how how are you, like, competing against established fence companies?
我猜你报价肯定更低吧。
I have to assume you were you were charging less.
很多围栏公司还在用木头。
Well, a lot of the fence companies were still using wood.
他们总说，防腐木能用一辈子，永远都不坏。
And they would say, oh, pressurized wood lasts forever and it's gonna be here forever.
其实根本不是这么回事。
Well, no, actually not.
木头会腐烂，还会断裂。
It rots and it breaks.
所以我们用不锈钢管，外面再包上木框。
So we were using stainless steel pipes and then building wooden boxes around it.
我们还用无结的云杉木，看起来特别漂亮。
And then we're also doing clear cedar, which had no knots and it just looks beautiful.
做出来的围栏很有高档感。
It's a very high end looking fence.
于是我们就往那些高端住宅区里接活。
And so we were going in to a lot of the high end subdivisions.
你当时一点经验都没有，我猜你还在班德吧？
And how would you given that you had no experience, and and I have to imagine, you're in Bend.
对吧？
Right?
那边早就有几家老牌围栏公司，跟开发商合作紧密，信誉也很好。
That there are established fence companies who are working with developers, are trusted.
你这么一个在圈子里毫无人脉的人，是怎么让开发商信任你，愿意雇你的？
Like, how does a guy like you who has no contacts or connections in that world, like, gain the trust of developers to hire you?
我们管这叫Bend Fencing，这个名字还真帮了大忙。
Well, we called it bend fencing, which actually went quite a ways.
很多客户都以为我们干这行已经很多年了。
A a lot of our customers just thought we had been around forever.
那不本来就应该这样吗？
And why would we not be?
我们公司叫Bend Fencing，雇了不少能人，他们教了我很多，而且这行人员流动特别大。
We have the name bend fencing and hired a lot of good people who taught me a lot, and it's a high turnover rate.
所以我得赶紧学会自己建围栏，打岩石孔，对付结冰的地，诸如此类的事。
And so I had to learn pretty quick how to build a fence myself and drill holes in the rock and get through the ice and stuff.
明白了。
So alright.
所以你是这么经营这家公司的。
So you run this business.
我觉得你差不多干了将近两年。
I think you would would end up running it for almost two years.
是这样吗？
Is that right?
对。
Yes.
据我了解，你做这个已经累得不行了。
And from what I understand, you you're getting burned out doing this.
这活儿真是没日没夜地熬。
You're it's just a grind.
一周七天，每天十四小时，连喘口气的时间都没有。
It's, like, seven days a week, you know, fourteen hour days, no breaks.
这么说合适吗？
Is that a fair description?
确实就是这样。
It exactly was.
是的
Yeah.
我周日试着休息了几个小时，但通常根本行不通。
I tried to take off a couple hours on Sunday, but typically that wouldn't work.
我确实试了。
And I did.
我彻底垮了。
I got burnt out.
我给办公室打了电话，跟她说：‘再这样下去，我要么把自己搞死，要么害死别人。’
And I called the office and I told her, I said, Look, I'm going to kill myself or kill somebody else.
我必须离开这儿。
I have to get out of here.
当时天气很冷，我浑身疼。
And it was cold and I was in pain.
我当时说，要么去墨西哥，要么去夏威夷，我得赶紧去个暖和的地方。
And I said, Either Mexico or Hawaii, but I need to go somewhere warm and I need to go quick.
她回电话说，行。
And she called back and said, alright.
等等，你说的‘她’，是指辛迪，你的伴侣，对吧？
Come And when you say she, you're talking about Cindy, your partner.
是的。
Yeah.
她说，行。
And she says, alright.
回家把行李收拾一下。
Come home and grab your bag.
我就直接飞去了欧胡岛。
And I took off to Oahu.
我记得刚落地欧胡岛，舱门一开，就能感受到那份温暖的气息。
And I remember landing in Oahu, And as soon as the door opened, I could just feel the aloha.
我给她打电话说，公司你留着也好，卖了也罢，反正我以后就住这儿了。
And I called her and I said, you can keep the company or you can sell it, but either way, I live here now.
她问我，你现在在哪？
And she said, where are you?
你在酒吧吗？
Are you at the bar?
你喝醉了？
Are you drunk?
我说，没有。
I said, no.
我还在飞机上。
I'm still on the airplane.
我还没下飞机呢，但我已经决定住这儿了。
I haven't even got off yet, but I live here.
我在欧胡岛度假待了九天，然后回本德时说，我不干了。
And I spent about nine days on vacation in Oahu and went back to Bend and said, I'm done.
我彻底退出了。
I'm I'm completely out of this.
后来我们把车挂到了Craigslist上，几周后就卖掉了。
And we put it on Craigslist and sold a couple weeks later.
对。
Yeah.
我是说，我完全理解那种刚落地夏威夷时，心里想着‘我再也不离开这儿了’的冲动。我去过那里，真的特别棒，我以前也有过同样的感觉。
I mean, I understand that impulse of landing in Hawaii and just thinking, I'm not ever leaving that place because I have been there, and it's absolutely incredible, and I felt that before, by the way.
但你把做围栏的公司给扔下了。
But you left behind your fence company.
对吧？
Right?
所以你得另找点事情做。
So now you had to figure out something else to do.
我想你决定在欧胡岛开了一家做招牌的公司？
And I guess I guess you decided to start, like, a sign making company in Oahu?
没错。
I did.
是的。
Yeah.
当时欧胡岛上有很多招牌店，数量不少。
So I there was sign shops in in Oahu, and there was a lot of them.
每隔几个街区，就能看到街角有家招牌公司、横幅店之类的，竞争特别激烈。
Every couple blocks, you'd see a sign on the corner that said sign company or banners or something like that, and there was a huge amount of competition for it.
但我还是想试试看。
But I wanted to I wanted to try that.
我特别喜欢在材料上做装饰，让它变得与众不同、漂亮动人。
I had a fascination with embellishing a substrate and making it different and beautiful.
所以我心想，干脆买台刻字机，自己开家招牌公司吧。
So I thought, well, let's just buy a plotter and start a sign company.
刻字机其实就是一种大型打印机，对吧？
A plotter is basically like a large printer?
它有点像装了电脑控制的刀片，专门用来切割乙烯基材料。
It's it's a, like, a razor blade that's computerized, and so it cuts vinyl.
好的。
Okay.
对。
Yeah.
行。
Alright.
那我来总结一下我理解的情况。
So here's what what what I understand.
你提到你在夏威夷看到很多招牌店，到处都是那种店。
You said that you you noticed a lot of sign shops in in Hawaii, like, you know, all over the place.
基本上每条街角都有招牌店。
Like, every street corner had a sign shop.
对吧？
Right?
既然竞争已经那么激烈了，你为什么还要进入这个行业呢？
And so why would you get into that business if it was already super competitive?
其实我看到的都是替别人做广告的招牌。
Well, technically, what I would see were signs advertising for signs.
所以真正实体的招牌店其实很少。
And so there were very few actual brick and mortar sign shops.
很多人家里有刻字机，就做些横幅，自称是招牌公司。
It was that a lot of people owned a plotter, and so they would make banners and call themselves the sign company.
我明白了。
I see.
好的。
Okay.
我想，如果你们最好的本事就是剪蓝色和黑色的贴膜，贴在白色底布上，那我们肯定能想出更不一样的做法，或者做得更好。
And I thought, well, if the best you can do is cut blue and black vinyl and put it on a white banner, I bet we could figure out a way to do it different and or better than what you're doing.
你是在欧胡岛。
And you're in in Oahu.
那时候你和辛迪住在那里。
You're living there with Cindy at this point.
是的。
Yes.
对。
Yes.
当你提议买台刻字机来做招牌时，她是什么反应？
What was her reaction when you said, why don't we buy a plotter and make signs?
她立马就同意了。
She was down.
她觉得这主意确实挺疯狂的，但不妨试试看。
She's she thought that, yeah, that's a wild idea, but why not?
果然，奥兰多有个招牌展，时间就在几周后。
And sure enough, there's a sign show in Orlando, and it's like it was in a couple weeks.
于是我们买了飞往佛罗里达的机票。
And so we bought tickets to fly to Florida.
在那个大型展会上，我看到一个叫Fellers的展台。
And at this big convention, I saw this one booth called Fellers.
那里有个叫弗兰克的人，是老板。
And there was one guy, Frank, who's the owner.
我就过去跟他说：弗兰克，我想开一家做标牌的公司。
And so I went up and said, Hey, Frank, I want to start a sign company.
他问：那你需要些什么？
He goes, Well, what do you need?
我说：我也不太清楚。
I said, I don't know.
你能告诉我吗？
Could you tell me?
他觉得我疯了，但还是告诉了我该买什么，还把设备发到了欧胡岛，人也来了，把打印机装好了。
And he thought I was crazy, but they told us what we needed and what we should buy and shipped it out to Oahu and the guy showed up and installed the printer.
那是一台64英寸的打印机。
And it was a 64 inch printer.
这样我们就能直接印制横幅了，而不是只在上面贴乙烯基。
So we could print banners as opposed to just putting vinyl on top of them.
我们能制作全彩照片级别的横幅。
We could do full color photographic image banners.
你们在欧胡岛哪儿找的店面？
And where did you get a shop in Oahu?
我们自己租的。
We did.
对。
Yeah.
我们租下了能找到的最大的店面，就在市中心，紧挨着布莱斯德尔中心和大体育馆。
We just got the biggest lease that we could find and afford, which was right downtown, right by the Blaisdell Center, right by the Big Coliseum.
我们当时做丝网印刷、刺绣，还有帽子、桌布和桌旗。
And we did screen printing and embroidery and hats and table cloths and table throws.
后来我们开始做大型户外广告，还做了不少企业形象设计和市场推广。
We ended up doing big outdoor signs, and we did a lot of, like, business development, branding, marketing.
明白了。
Alright.
听起来这生意挺不错的，但我有点不明白，它后来怎么了？
So this sounds like a pretty good business, but I'm trying to understand what happened to it.
我是说，为什么我现在没在跟一个开了好几家招牌店的人聊天呢？
Why I mean, why am I not talking to a guy who ended up, you know, starting a chain of sign stores?
你明明已经把生意做起来了啊。
Like, I mean, you've got a business going.
你们赚钱吗？
Was were you making money?
赚了。
Yes.
当时勉强保本，还稍微有点盈余。
We were breaking even and and and slightly pulling ahead.
每年大概能进账十几二十万美元吧。
So we were bringing in a couple 100,000 a year, I'd say.
是的。
Yes.
好吧。
Alright.
所以你现在做着这份工作，还挺喜欢的。
So you're so you're doing that job, and you like it.
但到底怎么回事呢？
But what's going on?
有一天我出去办事，口渴了。
Well, one day, I was out, and I was running errands, and I was thirsty.
我受够了看到塑料垃圾冲上沙滩。
I'm tired of seeing the plastic wash up on the beaches.
我想找一个不是一次性的水瓶来喝水。
I wanna get a non single use bottle to drink water.
于是我想到，干脆买个Nalgene的瓶子，重复使用就行。
And so I thought, well, I'll just get a Nalgene, and then I can reuse it.
我就去了运动用品店，觉得这事儿挺简单的。
So I go into the sporting goods store thinking that's pretty simple.
花了二十美元，买了个瓶子，然后我就回去上班了，明天又是新的一天。
$20, I got a bottle and I'm back to work and tomorrow's another day.
店里有几位员工在前面，我就问他们：‘水瓶放在哪儿？’
And there was some employees upfront and I said, Hey, where are the water bottles?
对。
Right.
那人带我走到后面，给我看一面墙，上面空空如也。
And the guy takes me back and he shows me this wall that was completely empty.
墙上只剩下了两个瓶子。
There were only two bottles left on it.
我就问：‘这怎么回事？’
And I said, what happened here?
他说：‘老板是法国人，她刚从法国回来，她爸爸是医生，说有一种叫BPA的东西。’
And he said, well, the owner's French, and she just got back from France, and her dad is a doctor, and he says there's this stuff called BPA.
我们根本不知道那是什么。
And we don't know what it is.
可能也没什么大不了的。
It's probably not going to be anything.
但为了以防万一，她决定把所有这些水瓶都从货架上撤下来。
But as a precautionary measure, she decided that she wanted us to take all these bottles off the shelf.
明白了。
Okay.
不过Nalgine的瓶子，我觉得至少现在是不含BPA的。
But the Nalgines, I don't think, at least today, they're BPA free.
现在是了。
Now they are.
对。
Yes.
原来如此。
I see.
好的。
Okay.
我现在明白了。
I I now I see.
Nalgene公司在2008年就停止使用BPA了。
Nalgene stopped using BPA in 2008.
所以那时候，他们的产品里确实可能含有BPA。
So at that time, it's possible that they did have BPA.
我记得很清楚，因为我的第一个孩子是2009年出生的，那时候BPA这事闹得特别厉害。
And I remember this because my my first child was born in 2009, and the BPA thing was was hardcore.
大家都不约而同地觉得，绝对不能有。
Nobody you know, everything was like, no.
必须是不含BPA的。
BPA free.
给宝宝用的东西，一定要不含BPA。
BPA free and and a baby.
我当时就吓了一跳。
And I was like, oh my god.
我真得在这方面多加小心。
I shouldn't should be really careful about this.
好吧。
So okay.
对。
Yep.
我就问了，那谁来补这个货架呢？
And I said, well, who's going to refill this shelf?
他说，没人了。
And he said, nobody.
现在没人再做水瓶了。
There's nobody else doing water bottles.
我一下子恍然大悟，话就脱口而出了。
And it hit me right in the back of my head, and it came right out my mouth.
我说：我来。
And I said, I will.
我来负责这个。
I will do that.
于是我决定接手卖瓶装水的事。
And decided I was doing water bottles.
等一下。
Hang on.
等一下。
Hang on.
好的。
Okay.
所以当时在店里，你突然冒出这个想法，可能是个新生意点子，但与此同时，你还在经营招牌生意，对吧？
So right there in the store, you get struck with this idea, a new idea for business maybe, but but meantime, you were still running a sign business.
对吧？
Right?
没错。
Right.
是的。
Yeah.
于是我回到招牌公司，问了其中一个员工。
So I get back to the sign company, and I asked one of the employees.
我问她：你对水瓶了解多少？
I said, what do you know about water bottles?
她说：得找一家叫SIG的公司。
And she said, oh, it's SIG.
你得去找这家叫SIG的公司。
You gotta go with this company called SIG.
我当时以为，哦，他们是用铝做的。
I thought, oh, they were aluminum.
对。
Yes.
铝制的。
Aluminum.
我记得那种水瓶。
I remember those bottles.
对。
Yeah.
是的。
Yeah.
我当时就想，这太好了。
And I was like, oh, this is great.
我不用再做水瓶了。
I don't have to do bottles.
我就可以专心做招牌了。
I can just stick with signs.
这简直完美。
This is fantastic.
于是我去了巴塔哥尼亚，买了一个，价格不便宜。
And so I went to Patagonia and I bought one, and it was expensive.
那瓶子要二十美元左右，你知道的。
It was like $20, you know, for a water bottle.
那可是一笔不少的钱。
That was a lot of money.
是的。
Yeah.
不过这瓶子确实不错，质量很好。
But they're good they're good bottles.
我的意思是，对吧？
I mean, they right?
我记得那瓶子。
I remember them.
它们有个小螺纹盖，我觉得现在还在生产，那种可以挂上去的设计，看起来就是专门为登山者做的。
They had, like, that little I think they still make them, like, that small screw top where the you could, like, hook it on a it looked like it was made for climbers.
比如能挂在快挂扣或者别的装备上。
Like, you could hook it on a carabiner or something.
是的。
Yeah.
而且它的粉末涂层做得特别好。
And it had real nice powder coating on it.
表面很有质感，我用了大概一周，特别喜欢。
It was really gritty, and I really enjoyed it for about a week.
后来我发现，不能往里面放冰块。
And I realized I couldn't put ice cubes in it.
也不能放进冰箱冷冻。
I couldn't put it in the freezer.
瓶口太小了。
It was small opening.
对。
Right.
没错。
Yeah.
而且它们是铝制的，所以不能放冷冻室。
And they were aluminum, so you couldn't put them in the freezer.
等等。
Wait.
为什么啊？
Why is that?
我还不知道呢。
I don't know that.
为什么不能
Why can't
冰会膨胀，把杯子撑裂。
you have I should expand and and crack.
它们基本上会直接裂开。
They basically rip open.
明白了。
Alright.
我挺喜欢把易拉罐放进冰箱冷冻的。
I kinda like putting a pop can in the freezer.
对。
Right.
没错。
Right.
我正上楼梯呢，它从一堆书上掉下来，摔得特别惨。
And I was walking up the stairs, and it fell off some books, and it dented almost like catastrophically.
看起来简直一团糟。
It just looked terrible.
因为罐子太薄了。
Because it was thin.
确实比一般的还要薄一点。
It was, like, thinner a little
很薄。
thin.
是的
Yeah.
对
Yeah.
我当时想，真可惜。
And I thought, well, that's too bad.
你知道的，我可是花了不少钱买的。
You know, I just paid a lot of money for it.
现在看起来完全不行了。
Now it doesn't look great.
几天后，我往里面倒饮料，往里一看，发现那层金箔掉了一部分。
Couple days later, I'm filling it up and I look inside and some of that gold had flaked off.
瓶子里本来有层金膜。
There was a gold liner.
就在瓶子里面。
Inside the bottle.
是的。
Yeah.
于是我心想，好吧。
And so I said, okay.
看来我真是在做水瓶这一行了。
Well, I guess I really am doing water bottles now.
我给我弟弟杰夫打了电话，他刚在本德的REI上班。
And I called my brother Jeff, who just started working at REI in Bend.
我就跟他说：嘿，杰夫。
And I said, hey, Jeff.
我需要一个水瓶。
I need a water bottle.
他回我说：Clean Canteen。
And he goes, Clean Canteen.
他们刚推出这个品牌。
They just started.
不错的品牌。
Good brand.
产品很好。
Good product.
真是好产品。
Great product.
于是他给我寄了一个Clean Canteen，但瓶口的设计跟我嘴唇不贴合。
And so he sends me a Clean Canteen, and I it just wasn't ergonomically correct for my lip.
每次喝水，水都顺着衬衫流下来。
And every time I'd take a sip, it dribbled down my shirt.
那时候是螺纹盖吗？
And was it a screw top at that time?
现在他们有各种翻盖款了。
I mean, now they've got all kinds of flip tops.
就是那种大口螺纹盖的瓶子吗？
Was it just a screw top, like, wide mouth bottle?
确实是。
It was.
而且瓶身够大，能放冰块，这点太棒了。
And it was big enough that I could put ice cubes in it, which was huge.
带着它去海滩，路上就能喝到冰凉的水，简直完美。
You know, to take to the beach and have cold water on the way there was was awesome.
然后我就把它埋进沙子里。
And then I'd put it in the sand.
我去冲浪，回来一看，水都晒热了，没法喝。
I'd go surf, and I'd come back, and it'd be too hot to drink.
后来我去爬山，爬到山顶，水又冷得喝不下。
And then I came home and I'd hike a mountain and I'd get to the top and it'd be too cold to drink.
于是我想到我爷爷有个老式的咖啡保温瓶，那种又大又重的老款。
And so I thought my grandpa had an old school coffee thermos, one of the big old heavy thermoses.
我记得那种瓶子。
I remember those.
我就想，为什么不能把同样的技术用在普通大小的水瓶上，让我们能真正喝到水呢？
And I thought, well, why can't we take that same technology and make it in a normal sized water bottle that we could actually drink water out of?
咱们先说说保温瓶吧，这东西已经存在很久了。
Well, let's talk about the thermos for a moment because that that's been around for a long time.
对吧？
Right?
所以并不是说这项技术不存在。
And so it's not like the technology didn't exist.
是的。
Yeah.
就是真空隔热技术。
It was vacuum insulation.
他们发明这个的具体年份我记不清了。
They came up I can't remember exact year.
我差点以为是十九世纪，甚至更早的十八世纪末，就已经有了真空隔热技术。
I almost wanna say it was, like, in the in the nineteen hundreds or even late eighteen hundreds, they came up with a vacuum insulation technology.
展开剩余字幕（还有 480 条）
简单说，就是内壁和外壁之间所有的空气都被抽走了。
Basically, it's like the between the inner wall and the outer wall, the air has been completely taken out.
这两层壁之间的空间，就是把空气完全抽空的地方。
The the part in between those two walls is where they've sucked out all the air.
对。
Yeah.
没错。
Yeah.
这样就形成了一个真空层，热量无法通过空气分子传递。
It would provide a vacuum space that no temperature air molecules could transfer between.
所以里面的东西，不管多热或多冷，温度都能保持住，因为外界影响不到它；比如装热饮，热量也不会通过真空层散出去。
So anything on the inside, whatever temperature it is, it's gonna remain that temperature because it doesn't have outside influences affecting it, and it doesn't release like, if you have hot liquids, the hot doesn't release through the vacuum.
明白了。
Okay.
这种设计真让人忍不住去思考。
So this experience is get gets you thinking.
比如，你得到一个干净的水壶。
Like, you get a clean canteen.
但还是不管用。
Again, it doesn't do the trick.
它没法让饮料保持冰凉。
It's not keeping your drink cold.
也没法让饮料保持温热。
It's not keeping your drink hot.
它做不到保温杯该做的事。
It's not doing what the thermos did.
以前你确实能买到保温杯，但那种杯子很大，上面有个盖子，拧开盖子，把咖啡倒进去，然后直接从里面喝。
But there is no ther you could buy a thermos, but the thermos was like a big thing and, you know, you had, like, the top and you unscrew the top and then you pour the coffee in there and then you drink out of that.
于是你开始想，等等。
And and so you're thinking, wait a minute.
为什么就没有一种适合水杯的保温设计呢？
Why isn't there a thermos but for water bottles?
没错。
Exactly.
我还希望内胆是金属的。
And I wanted metal on the inside.
我知道我不想要塑料，而且我也排除了铝材。
I knew I didn't want plastic, and so I figured and and I knew I didn't want aluminum.
所以我琢磨着，为啥不能直接用双层真空不锈钢呢？
So I figured, well, why can't we just make them out of double wall vacuum insulated stainless steel?
明白了。
Alright.
你心里头有个念想，非得把它实现不可。
So you you have this itch that you wanna scratch.
那你那时候，每天还去招牌店上班吗？
So what so what like, are you still working in the sign shop every day?
那时候你每天都去吗？
Are you going in there every day at that point?
是的
Yeah.
每天都很漫长。
Every day was was long days.
我们的打印机坏了，修好它、让它继续运转就得花上好几个小时。
Our printer was broken, and so it would take us hours and hours to fix it and keep running it.
那时候我简直被做水瓶的事压得喘不过气来。
And it was just it was like I was completely overwhelmed with having to do bottles.
我们有个客户会去中国参加广交会，帮他的客户找工厂生产产品。
And we had a client who would go to the Canton Fair in China, and he would help his customers find factories to build their products.
我清楚得很，我必须找个工厂，而且很可能得去中国。
I really knew that I had to find a factory and it was probably going to be in China.
于是我开始上网搜索，找到一家工厂，他们说：‘可以，我们能做。’
So started doing Google and found a factory that said, yes, we'll we'll do that.
你过来亲自看看吧。
Come on over and check it out.
好的。
Okay.
但你心里有具体的设计吗？还是你只是想，我只知道要双层的，要不锈钢的？
But did you have a design in mind, or did you just think, all I know is I want this to be double walled, and I want it be steel?
我现在就只知道这些。
That's all I know for now.
我也不确定具体该怎么做，但我清楚地知道，瓶口得够宽，能放冰块，拧开就能往里头放。
I don't know what and I know I know I want it to be a wide enough mouth where I could put ice in it, like unscrew it and put ice in it.
你就只知道这些？
Is that all you knew?
对，就这些。
It was.
我当时还觉得，肯定有人已经在做了。
And I kinda still figured that somebody was doing it.
肯定有人已经在生产这种东西了。
Surely, there must be somebody who's doing this.
不可能我是第一个想到这个的人。
I can't be the first person who's thought of this.
我知道，除非找到这样的产品，否则我根本停不下来。
I knew that I wasn't able to physically stop until I found that.
那你决定要做这件事的时候，第一步是怎么做的？
So when you decided to pursue this, what what was your first step?
如果换作是我，我肯定先上网搜一搜。
Because I would think if it was me, I would be looking online.
我会去联系对方。
I would make contact.
跟他们取得联系后，说不定就直接飞过去一趟。
I'd get in touch with them, and then maybe I would fly out there.
是的。
Yeah.
我找到一个，上面说‘可以’。
I found one that said, yes.
我们会这么做的。
We we will do that.
我们一向如此。
That's what we do.
好的。
Okay.
我卖了一块冲浪板。
So I sold a surfboard.
我还卖了一辆轻便摩托车，然后在2007年5月去了上海，找到了这家工厂。
I sold a moped, and I took off to Shanghai in May 2007 and found this factory.
我到了之后进去一看，满屋子都是塑料水瓶。
And I get there and I go in and it's all plastic water bottles.
他们带我参观，还给我演示了茶道，什么都安排了。
And they show me around, we go through the tea ceremony and everything.
我就问了，那隔热材料和不锈钢的在哪儿？
And I said, well, where are the insulated and where's the stainless?
他说：‘哦，没有这回事。
And he said, oh, no.
我们不干这个。
We don't do that.
没人这么干。
Nobody does that.
我说：总得有人做吧。
I said, well, surely somebody.
他说：真没有。
And he said, no.
压根儿没人做。
There's nobody.
我当时想，我都把冲浪板卖了。
And I thought, well, I've sold my surfboard.
我连摩托小车也卖了。
I've sold my moped.
钱快花光了。
Starting to run out of money.
看来我只能提前飞回去了。
I guess I'll just fly back early.
我正要离开工厂，这时有个人走过来，一把抓住了我的胳膊。
And so I start leaving the factory, and this guy came up and he grabbed my arm.
他说，我有个表亲在杭州，说不定能帮上你。
And he said, I have a cousin in Hangzhou that might be able to help you.
你为什么不找他聊聊？
Why don't you talk to him?
于是他给了我两张纸。
And so he gave me two pieces of paper.
一张是去火车站的路线。
One was to get to the train station.
另一张是去杭州的路线。
One was to get to Hangzhou.
我到了杭州，才发现自己一个人都不认识。
And I show up in Hangzhou and I realized I don't know anybody.
我根本不知道自己在哪。
I don't know where I am.
也不清楚该找谁。
I don't know who I'm looking for.
更不明白这里到底发生了什么。
I don't know what's going on here.
我正往下走扶梯，幸运的是，听到了特拉维斯的声音。
And I'm going down the the escalator, and luckily, I hear Travis.
我应了一声。
And I said, yeah.
她叫娜塔莉，带我去了办公室，我见到了她丈夫迈克尔。
And it her name was Natalie, and she takes me to this office, and I met her husband, Michael.
迈克尔是谁？
Who is Michael?
迈克尔就是我在上海认识的那个人的表弟。
Michael was the guy who was the cousin of the guy I met in Shanghai.
明白了。
Okay.
哦，原来他是中国人。
Oh, he was he was a Chinese man.
是的。
He was.
对的。
Yeah.
迈克尔是他的英文名。
Michael was his English name.
没错。
Correct.
他英语说得够好，能帮上你吗？
And he spoke enough English where he could help you?
一点点吧。
A little bit.
对。
Right.
第二天，我们上了火车，又往南走。
And then the next day, we get on the train, and we're heading south again.
我们到了一家真正的水瓶工厂，他们正在生产金属水瓶。
And we show up at a actual water bottle factory where they're doing metal water bottles.
我们进去后，迈克尔说：嘿。
And we go in, and Michael says, hey.
你知道，特拉维斯想做这种真空保温瓶。
You know, Travis wants to do these vacuum insulated bottles.
那 guy 听了就笑了。
And the guy just laughed.
他说：不行。
He said, no.
怎么可能没人做这种东西呢？
There's no way nobody does that.
我们不会这么做。
We're not doing that.
于是我们花了三天时间，一家工厂接一家工厂地跑，想看看有没有人做双层真空保温瓶。
And so we spent three days going from factory to factory trying to find out if they do double wall vacuum insulated bottles.
因为双层结构，就是先做一个金属瓶，然后把它放进另一个更大的瓶子里，再把两者连起来，大概是这样？
Because a double wall means it's like you make a metal bottle, and then you basically I guess, they insert it into another bottle and then connect them together or something?
对。
Yeah.
这跟金属围栏柱很像。
It's a lot like if you think of a metal fence post.
你有两个不同尺寸的围栏柱，一个小的套在大的里面。
You have two different sized fence posts, and one's inside of the other one.
然后中间会插一根铜管，把两层之间的空气抽走。
And then there's a little copper tube that vacuums out the air in between the two walls.
这需要他们生产线上有特定的技术，而他们大概没有，因为如果他们能做，肯定早就做了，毕竟谁不想赚钱呢。
And that requires, I guess, certain a certain technology on their on their assembly line that presumably they didn't have because I must imagining if they could do it, they wanna make money.
他们会说，当然可以。
They'd be like, yeah.
我们能做这个。
We could do this.
没错。
Right.
那时候根本没有市场需求。
There was no market.
没人向他们提过这种需求。
Nobody had asked them for it.
所以，就在倒数第二天，我们终于找到一家有真空设备的工厂，不过设备不大。
So finally, on the very second to last day, we find a factory that had a vacuum, and it wasn't very big.
大概有摩托车那么大，在真空设备里算不上大了。
It was kind of the size of a motorcycle, which isn't huge for the vacuum world.
他们当时在做那种小型的真空保温日本牛奶瓶。
And they were doing these little vacuum insulated Japanese milk bottles.
等等。
So wait.
你是说超市里卖的那种牛奶瓶吗？
Like, bottles of milk that you buy in the grocery store?
主要是给小孩喝的牛奶，还有配方奶和奶油奶。
It was more for, like, kids' milk and maybe formula and and brass milk.
用来装他们午餐的奶吧。
For their, like, lunches or something.
对。
Right.
是的。
Yeah.
但那些瓶子特别小。
But they were real small.
它们挺可爱的。
They were cute.
你知道的，那是日本产的。
They were, you know, they were Japanese.
所以就是特别精致的小容器。
And so they were just beautiful little containers.
我就说，嘿。
And I said, hey.
咱们干脆把它们做大一点，做成水瓶吧。
You know, let's let's just make them bigger and do water bottles.
他听了笑起来，看着我，可我没笑。
And he laughed and he looked at me, and I wasn't laughing.
我是认真的。
I was serious.
他说，行吧。
And he said, fine.
我们试试吧。
We'll try it.
稍后回来，我们会讲到特拉维斯如何终于做出样品，又恰好在对的时间走进了他家附近的全食超市。
When we come back in just a moment, how Travis finally gets some samples made and winds up walking into his local Whole Foods at exactly the right moment.
敬请关注。
Stay with us.
我是盖伊·拉兹，欢迎收听《我是如何打造的》。
I'm Guy Raz, and you're listening to How I Built This.
嘿。
Hey.
欢迎回到《我是如何打造的》。
Welcome back to How I Built This.
我是盖伊·拉兹。
I'm Guy Raz.
那是2007年，特拉维斯在中国，终于找到一家可能能为他生产真空保温水瓶的工厂。
So it's 2007, and Travis is in China where he's finally found a factory that might be able to make him a vacuum insulated water bottle.
但他和当地的向导迈克尔还有很多问题要解决。
But he and his local guide, Michael, they still have a lot to figure out.
我们没有模具，而且真空设备也不够大，没法完成这个操作。
We didn't have the molds, and we and the machine, the vacuum wasn't quite big enough to do it.
于是迈克尔和我接下来两周跑遍了各家工厂，买两公斤螺丝，再买金属板，买各种零件，自己动手组装机器，用来制造更多零件和设备。
And so Michael and I spent the next two weeks going from factory to factory, and we'd buy two kilos of screws, and we'd go buy metal plates, and we'd go buy all these parts to build all these machines to build more parts and more machines.
你说什么？抱歉，我没听清。
What what were you sorry.
你们到底需要造什么东西？
What what did you need to build?
我们得改造真空设备的内部结构，让它能装下更大尺寸的瓶子。
Well, we had to modify the inside of the vacuum to hold bigger sized bottles.
不仅得为瓶子本身制作模具，还得改造真空设备，好把模具放进去。
So not only do we have to get the the molds made for the actual bottles, but we had to modify the vacuum to get the molds inside of it.
你们为什么要这么做？
Why were you guys doing it?
为什么工厂不帮我们做呢？
Why why why why didn't the factory do it?
他们说我们可以租用设备时间，但仅此而已。
They said we could rent time, but that was it.
他们根本不愿意再为我们做任何别的事。
They weren't gonna do anything else to help us.
他们根本不相信这件事。
They didn't believe in it.
他们觉得这根本行不通，而且还认为
They didn't think it would work, and they they thought
租用我们的设备试试看。
rent time on our line and, you know, try it out.
没错。
Correct.
对。
Yeah.
但你们得自己动手做适配器，才能让这事儿成真。
But you had to build the adapters to make this work.
你们怎么知道该从哪儿下手？
How did you even know what to do?
你们怎么懂怎么造这个东西的？
How'd you know how build that?
他们给我们看了。
They showed us.
他们说，喏，这就是我们现有的东西，但根本行不通。
They said, you know, here's here's what we have, but it's not gonna work.
我们也不愿意配合你们做这个，因为这想法太蠢了。
And we're not willing to work with you to do this because this is a dumb idea.
根本没人想要真空保温水瓶。
Nobody wants a vacuum insulated water bottle.
所以我们压根儿没打算花力气。
So we're not putting forth any effort.
所以我们才想出了所有这些改进和调整。
That's how we came up with all the modifications and everything.
然后我就离开了，回到欧胡岛。
And then I took off, I come back to Oahu.
大概六个月后，我们接到电话，说样品做好了。
And about six months later, we got a call that the samples were ready.
你们想给它取什么名字？
And what name do you wanna put on it?
你们有Logo吗？
Do you have a logo?
你们有名字了吗？
Do you have a name?
我们当时还没有。
And we didn't.
于是所有人齐上阵，亲朋好友一起商量，这水瓶公司该叫什么名字？
And so all hands on deck, all friends and family, what should we call this water bottle company?
我兄弟想出了‘Hydro Flask’这个名字，但我特别不喜欢。
And my brother came up with the name Hydro Flask, and I hated it.
我觉得这主意糟透了。
I thought it was a terrible idea.
我不喜欢‘flask’这个词，但我们总得在瓶子上印点什么。
I didn't like the word flask, but we had to have something printed on the bottles.
最后我们还是用了这个名字，2007年11月拿到了第一批样品。
So we went with it, and we got the first two samples in November 2007.
你在设计上参与了多少？
And and how much sort of input did you have in the design?
你刚才说，是不是就随便提了个想法？
You just said, was it just a I don't know.
就是一个圆柱形，有个宽口，能拧上拧下，还是双层的。
What was a cylinder with a wide opening that screwed on and off, and it was double walled.
你们有没有给具体要求，比如颜色、喷塑这些？还是他们自己猜你们想要什么就做了？
Like, did you give them any specs about colors, about powder coating, like or did they just kinda make it based on what they thought you wanted?
是的。
Yeah.
我开车跑遍了整个岛，尽可能多地买瓶子，还买了卡尺，测量瓶口的厚度，找出哪个尺寸最符合人体工学，方便喝水、放冰块，然后我把所有这些都画了下来。
I had drove all over the island buying as many bottles as I possibly could, and I bought calipers, and I was measuring thicknesses of mouth sizes of bottles and which one was the most ergonomic size to drink out of and put an ice cube in and so I drew it all out.
说起来有点不好意思，但大约五年前，有人提醒我，我画的其实就是个潜水气瓶，最早的样品看起来真跟潜水气瓶一模一样。
And I'm kind of embarrassed to say but about five years ago, somebody pointed out that I'd basically just drawn a scuba tank, and it was the first ones just looked like a scuba tank.
这挺有意思的。
And it's interesting.
你居然专门去买卡尺来量瓶身和瓶壁的厚度，这很特别，因为瓶口的触感确实很重要。
You you buy calipers to measure the width of the bottle and the width of the the metal, which is interesting because there is I mean, there's a, like, a lip feel.
对吧？
Right?
当你把水瓶凑到嘴边时，这种感觉你平时不会刻意注意，但就像喝葡萄酒时，用那种薄薄的高档酒杯，喝起来就是更舒服。
When you're putting a water bottle to your lips, and we don't think about this consciously, but it's like when you when you have a beautiful wine glass that's just very thin glass, it just it's a better way to drink wine.
我觉得水瓶也是一样的道理。
And I think it's the same with a water bottle.
如果厚度刚刚好，不薄不厚，那你把这些规格告诉中国工厂了吗？还是他们随便做了个样品寄给你？
Like, if it's the right thickness, not too thin, not too thick, but did you give the factory in China those specs, or did they just kind of make something and send it to you?
两种情况都有。
Well, both.
我给了他们具体的规格。
I gave them the specs.
你知道的，我更喜欢美年达，胜过百事，但可口可乐又比雪碧更合我口味。
I you know, Minute Maid, I liked better than Pepsi, but Coke, I liked better than Sprite.
哦，你指的是这些塑料瓶吧。
The Oh, you're talking about these are plastic bottles, though.
是的。
Yeah.
我当时在量我的嘴唇有多大。
I was measuring, like, how big is my lip?
每种瓶子的瓶口大小，到底多大才适合喝水？
How big is the drinking size out of each of these bottles?
百威啤酒瓶、科罗娜啤酒瓶和牛奶瓶的对比。
Budweiser bottles versus Corona bottles versus milk jugs.
我找到最满意的样式后，就把规格给了他们，他们尽力做出了最好的产品，但第一批样品的瓶口特别尖锐，我不喜欢，可别人都觉得不错。
And once I found what I really liked, I gave them the specs and then they made it the best that they could, but the very first samples, the lip was real sharp and I didn't like it, but everybody else liked it.
而且它们是保温的。
And they were insulated.
效果不错。
It worked.
确实有效。
And it worked.
是的，我们拿了两个。
Yeah, we got two.
一个红色的，一个蓝色的，容量分别是530毫升和620毫升。
There was a red one and a blue one, eighteen and twenty one ounces.
我们去了威基基海滩，往里面放了冰块，然后直接拿给路人试用。
And went down to Waikiki Beach and put ice cubes in it and started just handing them to people.
他们冲完浪从水里出来，看到里面冰块，就说：哇，这东西我们真会买。
And they would get out of the water from surfing and they would see the ice and they'd say, wow, yes, is something we would buy.
顺便问一下，做这些样品大概花了多少钱？
Did you by the way, how roughly, how much did it cost to get the samples done?
大概一万块左右。
It was about 10,000.
那之后你们必须下订单吗？有最低起订量的要求吗？
And and was there a commitment that you would have to make an order after that?
一开始我们根本不知道这一点。
Well, we didn't know that at first.
我都没想过要问清楚最低订购数量。
I hadn't thought to ask about a minimum order quantity.
我没上过商学院。
I don't have an MBA.
这些事我都不懂。
I don't know these things.
我那时候真不懂这些。
I didn't know these things.
后来我们才知道，首批最低起订量是三千件。
We found out later that the first MOQ was 3,000.
那得花多少钱？
And how much would that cost you?
大概一万七千美元。
About $17,000.
明白了。
Okay.
那你手头有这么多现金吗？
So did you have that cash?
没有。
No.
没有。
No.
我们钱花光了。
We ran out of money.
所以我跟他们谈妥了，改成1500个。
And so I negotiated 1,500 instead.
明白了。
Okay.
那这笔钱你是怎么凑出来的？
So how did you finance that?
把所有东西都卖了。
Sold everything we had.
衣服、家具，全都卖了。
We sold all of our clothes and furniture and that.
你说到‘我们’，是指你和你女朋友辛迪吧？
And when you say we, it's this is you and your girlfriend, Cindy.
对。
Right?
对。
Correct.
没错。
Correct.
她也同意了。
She's on board too.
你们俩把所有东西都卖了，就是为了凑钱付这笔订单。
She's you guys are both selling all your stuff to to get the cash so you can pay for this order.
是的。
Right.
到了2008年3月，我们搬回了本德，住进了我妈妈家。
And then in March 2008, we moved back to Bend and moved in with my mom.
为什么不在夏威夷待着？
Why not stay in Hawaii?
那里开销太大了。
It was expensive.
没错。
And Yeah.
我知道我们得靠近机场和大型展会这类地方才方便。
I knew that we needed to have, you know, closer access to airports and and big trade shows and things.
本德长期以来一直是俄勒冈州的户外运动圣地，那时候正好开始蓬勃发展起来。
And Bend has kinda been an outdoor mecca for Oregon for quite a while, and it was it was just kinda really starting to take off as as an outdoor place to be.
明白了。
Got it.
好的。
Okay.
那是2008年，金融危机马上就要全面爆发了。
And this is 2008, financial crisis about to be in full swing.
对吧？
Right?
这应该是雷曼兄弟出事的前奏吧。
This is the beginning of I think Bear Stearns happens.
然后你知道吧，兄弟们都要走，事情马上就要彻底乱套了。
And then, you know, and it's gonna leaving brothers, and it's gonna go this is all gonna go gonna all go crazy.
但你回到本德，为了省钱，你是不是跟妈妈住在一起了？
But you go back to Bend, and you and to save money, you do you see you moving with your mom?
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
我哥哥刚搬回来，我妹妹也刚搬回来，还带着个孩子，家里挤得满满的。
And my brother had just moved back in, and my sister had just moved back in and had a baby, and it was it was a full house.
天哪。
Wow.
你上床睡觉的时候，想着马上就要收到那一单瓶子了。
So you get to bed, and and the idea is you're gonna get this order of bottles.
然后呢？
And and then what?
那时候你打算怎么办？
Where where were you what you gonna do at that point?
那部分我其实也没太有把握。
That part, I wasn't quite so sure about.
我知道波特兰有个周六市集，可以去摆摊卖东西。
I knew that we had a Portland Saturday market that sold you could go and sell your your wares.
所以我心想，不如先去波特兰的周六市集试试看。
And so I figured, well, we'll start at the Portland Saturday market and see how it goes.
明白了。
Okay.
但当那2500瓶货到的时候，是每瓶单独包装在盒子里的吗？
But when the shipment of 2,500 bottles arrived, were they, like, individually packaged in boxes?
每箱12瓶。
They were in boxes of 12.
好的。
Okay.
那你们把所有这些东西都存哪儿了？
And and where did you store all of it?
我祖父母有个双车位车库，我爷爷说我们可以用其中一个车位，直到夏天。
My grandparents have a two car garage, and my grandpa said we could have one of the two cars until the summer.
所以我们一开始在塞勒姆的车库里摆开了阵势。
And so we started out in Salem in in the garage.
明白了。
Alright.
所以这些货是2008年3月到的，对吧？
So you've got they arrive in March 2008.
当时的想法就是，先去农夫市场试试卖。
And the idea was let's start selling this to the farmer's market.
搭个摊子就行。
Let's set up a table.
对了，我猜你们的招牌一定很醒目，毕竟你们本来就是做招牌生意的。
And by the way, I'm assuming you have a pretty kick ass sign because you were in the sign business.
你的招牌上写的是‘Hydro Flask水瓶’，对吧？
Your sign is saying what it says Hydro Flask water bottles.
没错吧？
Right?
我说得对不对？
Am I right?
是的。
Yeah.
差不多吧。
Kinda.
我们当时分得清桌布和桌巾的区别。
Like, we we knew the difference between a table throw and a table cloth.
你懂的。
You know?
所以我们用了一块印着‘Hydro Flask’的桌巾，搭在 Rubbermaid 的桌子上，还加了个小展架。
And so we had a table throw that said Hydro Flask, and we put it up on the Rubbermaid table, and we had a little pop up banner.
我们还穿了印着Hydro Flask的T恤，戴了帽子，贴了贴纸。
We had our shirts that said Hydro Flask and hats and stickers.
你很清楚该怎么做，因为你们本来就很懂。
You knew what to do because you Exactly.
有正式授权的。
Had a signed
那时候天气特别热。
And it was hot.
那会儿是七月，我记得。
It was middle of, I think it was July.
有人过来就问：这是什么？
And people came and they'd say, what is this?
我说：这是水杯。
And it's a water bottle.
他们又问：我干嘛要买个水杯？
And they'd say, why would I need a water bottle?
因为这不是塑料的。
Well, because it's not plastic.
可以重复使用，而且有保温效果。
You can reuse it and it's insulated.
我们会在里面放冰块。
And we'd put ice cubes inside of them.
周五晚上放冰块进去，还会写上‘周五晚上8点’。
And I'd put ice cubes in on Friday night, and I'd write 8PM Friday.
到了周日，冰块居然还没化完，大家都惊呆了。
And then by Sunday, there's still ice cubes in it, and and people would freak out.
集市是周六还是周日举行？
And the farmer's market was on Saturday or Sunday?
周六和周日都有。
It was on Saturdays and Sundays.
对。
Yeah.
周六市集这名字其实不太准确。
Saturday market's a bit of a misnomer.
其实周日也有。
It's really on Sundays also.
对。
Right.
你会在上面贴张纸条，写上‘周五晚上8点放冰’。
So you would you would have a piece of tape on it, and it would say Friday, 8PM ice.
到了周日，人们就会惊讶地说：等等。
And then on Sunday, people are like, wait.
你周五放的冰，到现在还这么冰？
You put the icing on Friday, and it's still this cold?
是的。
Yeah.
外面气温都到38度了，可冰块居然还没化。
And it was a 100 degrees outside, and they were crossing the spread.
这个点子真不错。
I love that idea.
你们当时瓶子卖多少钱？
And how much were you selling the bottles for?
我们有一种18盎司的卖19.99美元，还有一种21盎司的卖24.99美元。
We had we had a 18 ounce that was $19.99, and we had a 21 ounce that was $24.99.
明白了。
Okay.
那是2008年。
And this is 2,008.
那时候金融危机刚开始，就是2008年的夏天。
It's the financial crisis is starting, and and this is the summer of two thousand eight.
人们已经开始感觉不对劲了，虽然还没彻底崩盘，但马上就要了。
So people are starting to get I mean, it's not totally crushed yet, but it's about to.
是的。
Yeah.
而且，再想想，二十块、二十四块，这价格简直太划算了。
And and, again, like, I'm thinking $20, $24, what a great deal.
但你得回到2008年来看这件事。
But but, again, you have to go back to 2008.
从2008年的角度看，这价格对大多数人来说可能有点贵。
And from a 2008 perspective, that was probably kinda pricey for people.
那时候人们大概会想，等等。
People were probably like, wait.
什么？
What?
二十块买一瓶？
$20 for a bottle?
买一个金属瓶子？
For a metal bottle?
是的。
Yeah.
那时候挺难的，因为他们通常先来找我们，聊完之后就去整个市场转一圈。
It was it was tough because oftentimes what they would do is they'd come by, they'd meet us first, and then they'd go shop the whole market.
要是还有剩的钱，才会考虑买我们的产品。
And then if they had any money left over, they would take a chance on us.
那时候我们每天在工厂附近能卖二十到五十瓶，卖完周六的市场，我们就回本德，在德雷克公园做‘音乐小聚’——那里周四下午会放电影，大家聚一聚。
So we're selling anywhere from 20 to 50 bottles a day at that plant And for the two then we'd leave the Saturday market and we'd head back to Bend and start doing what's called munching music at Drake Park, where they show a movie and have a bit of a Thursday afternoon get together.
你们卖的时候，大家肯定都看到你们是怎么让冰水长时间保持冰凉的，对吧？
And when you sold them, and, obviously, people had seen how how, you know, was keeping the this ice water cold.
你们有提供保修或者退换服务吗？
Did you offer any kind of warranty or return?
你们是怎么跟顾客说的？
Like, what did you say to people?
你们到底怎么说服他们花这笔钱买这个水瓶的？
Like, how how did you convince them to to part with their money for this water bottle?
因为在2008年，谁都不会觉得一个能一直用的水瓶是理所当然的事，跟现在完全不一样，现在大家反而会觉得：这还用问？
Because in 2008, the idea of having a a permanent water bottle was not like what it is now, where everyone's like, what do mean?
我现在去 pantry，随便一找就能看到。
Like, in my I can go in my pantry now.
我们家这种瓶子实在太多了。
We have too many of these things.
有 Hydro Flask、S'well、Yeti，各种牌子全都有。
We've got Hydro Flask and S'well bottles and Yetis, and we got all we got the whole thing.
每个品牌我们家都有一两个。
We got every brand in there.
我猜很多听的人现在也会说，对啊。
And I'm sure a lot of people listening are like, oh, yeah.
我家里也堆了一柜子这样的瓶子。
I got a closet full of these things now.
但那时候完全不是这样。
But then it wasn't like that.
那时候大家就是买个塑料瓶，喝完就扔。
People just bought a plastic bottle, a drink it, and threw it away.
在2008年的时候，只有那些特别注重环保的人才会这么做。
Or, you know, like, only only, like, really environmentally conscious people were doing this in 2008.
没错。
Right.
住在俄勒冈州倒是有个好处，因为这里确实有很多环保意识很强的人。
Which was a bit of a benefit being in Oregon because we do have a lot of environmentally friendly folks here in in the state.
我们还提供终身保修，说只要出了问题，我们一定负责。
But we gave a a lifetime warranty and said that if anything happens, we'll take care of it.
我们会给你换一个新的瓶子。
We'll replace your bottle for you.
这帮了大忙。
And that helped a lot.
那你们当时是怎么融资的？我是说，你们确实在卖这些瓶子吧？
So how were you financing the I mean, were you you know, you were selling them.
一瓶大概卖多少钱？五美元左右？
They were how much they're probably roughly, what, $5 a bottle?
那制造和运输每瓶的成本就是这个数吗？
That's what it was costing you to manufacture them and and have them shipped?
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
大概五块二五到五块五之间。
About $5.25, $5.50.
没错。
Yes.
明白了。
Okay.
所以你每瓶能赚十五到十七块，这利润已经很不错了。
So so you were making 15, you know, $17 per bottle, which is pretty good.
光靠这个利润，应该就能凑够下一批货的本钱了吧？
And that was enough money, I have to imagine, to to be able to finance the next order?
是的。
Yeah.
我们完全是自己筹钱起步的。
We just bootstrapped it all.
就你和辛迪两个人吗？
And it was just you and Cindy?
对。
Yes.
后来我们在本德的音乐集市上，有个男人走过来，说：嘿。
And and then what happened was we were at the Munch of Music here in Bend, and a guy came up and he says, hey.
我是在本德公报工作的。
I'm worth I work with the Bend Bulletin newspaper.
能给你们做个专访吗？
Can we do an article on you?
是的。
Yeah.
当然可以。
Sure.
没问题。
Fine.
于是我们登上了《本德商业报》的头版。
So we were on the front page of the business newspaper, BIN Bulletin.
到了接下来的星期四，有个人走过来跟我说：嘿。
And the following Thursday, a guy comes up and he says, hey.
我是销售代表，想代理Hydro Flask这个品牌。
I'm a sales rep, and I wanna rep Hydro Flask.
真的吗？
Wow.
是啊。
Yeah.
他叫布伦特，就住在本德，是个销售代表。
His name is Brent, and he lives in Bend, he's a sales rep.
他想把这种水瓶推广到西北地区的运动用品商店。
And he wanted to rep the bottles in in sporting goods stores throughout the Northwest.
那时候他主要卖什么？
And what was he selling at the time?
他其他的主打产品是什么？
What was his other main product?
我觉得他当时卖滑雪板、袜子，还有一些户外用品。
I think he had, like, skis and socks and, other outdoor products.
所以他过来跟我说，嘿。
So he was like, hey.
我觉得这产品不错。
I like this product.
我想和你们合作。
I wanna work with you.
你怎么确定他不是骗子？
How did you even how did you know he wasn't a scammer?
我没有。
I didn't.
你没做？
You didn't?
对。
Yeah.
没有。
No.
我说，行吧。
He I said, okay.
那你需要什么？
Well, what do you need?
他说，我需要48瓶。
And he said, I need 48 bottles.
那时候，我们剩下的不到一千瓶了。
And at that point, we were down to less than a thousand.
我当时就说，哥们儿，我真的不知道。
And I was like, I don't know, man.
我不能就这么白送你一箱酒。
I don't I don't I'm not gonna just give you free bottles.
他想要这些瓶子，是想拿去给零售商当样品推广。
He wanted the bottle so he could go around and offer them as samples to retailers.
对。
Right.
我说，我真的不太放心直接给你48瓶。
And I said, I just don't feel comfortable giving you a 48.
我说，我先给你24瓶，你试完告诉我效果怎么样。
I said, I'll give you a 24, and then you tell me how you did with the 24.
他卖掉了24瓶里的22瓶，还打开了不少渠道。
And he sold 22 of the 24 doors and opened them up.
他卖到哪儿去了？
He sold them to where?
就是一些独立的运动用品店吗？
To, like, individual sporting stores?
对。
Yeah.
主要是在俄勒冈州一带吗？
Just, like, around in in Oregon mainly?
俄勒冈、爱达荷、华盛顿。
Oregon, Idaho, Washington.
这些应该都是夫妻店吧，很多都是这样的。
And what were these, like these are mom and pop stores, presumably many of them.
所以他们每次订货大概不会超过一百瓶。
So they were probably ordering no more than a 100 of these bottles at a time.
是的。
Yeah.
我们刚开始时最低订货量是十二瓶，后来才提高的。
We started out with our our minimum was 12, and then we bumped it up
最低订货量提到十二二十瓶了。
to Twelve twenty bottle minimum.
对。
Yeah.
我特别喜欢这一点。
I love that.
因为它们是十二瓶一箱装的。
Because they came in 12 bottle boxes.
我们发现他们一开始订十二瓶，后来开始补货，就马上把每箱提高到二十四瓶。
And as soon as we figured that, okay, are buying 12 and they're starting to reorder, we bumped it up to 24 per case.
客户的订单量也越来越大。
And the accounts started getting bigger and bigger.
于是我们在东海岸和中西部又增加了几个销售代表。
And so we picked up a couple more sales reps on the East Coast and a couple in the Midwest.
很快，我们就开始招更多销售代表，开拓更大的客户。
And pretty soon, we started getting more sales reps and opening bigger and bigger accounts.
同时，你们进了全食超市，还去了迪克体育用品，但那还只是局部市场。
And meantime, you get into Whole Foods and then to Dick's Sporting Goods, but that's not nationally.
最初只是在俄勒冈州吗？
That's just in Oregon initially?
是的。
Yeah.
当我们第一批1500瓶运到，从塞勒姆送到本德时，我爷爷把我们赶出了车库，我当时就想，本德不是刚开了家全食超市吗？
When we got the first 1,500 bottles in and brought them from Salem over to Bend because my grandpa kicked us out of the garage, I thought, well, we just got a Whole Foods in Bend.
要不我去看看，问问他们怎么说？
What if I just go check it out and see what they say?
于是我走进全食超市，对店员说：‘我来卖水瓶的。’
And so I walked into Whole Foods and I said, hey, I'm here to sell water bottles.
他们让我去找负责进货的女士。
And they sent me back to the lady who buys water.
她问我：‘水在哪儿？’
And she said, where's the water?
我说，里面没水。
I said, there's no water.
就只是个瓶子。
It's just the bottle.
她一听，哎呀，这说不通啊。
And she's like, ah, that doesn't make any sense.
我说，这可是装水的瓶子啊。
I said, well, it's a water bottle.
她就说，行吧，你去找伊万谈谈。
And she goes, yeah, go talk to Evan.
于是我回去，看见有个男人躺在地上，正从底层货架往外拿水瓶，那些瓶子用的是CIG材料，还含BPA。
And so I go back and I there's a man laying on the floor, and he's pulling water bottles out of the bottom shelf and they were cig and they had BPA in them.
我就说，好消息来了。
And I said, hey, good news.
我是来自Hydro Flask的特拉维斯。
I'm Travis from Hydro Flask.
我拿这些水瓶来替换那些旧的。
I got these water bottles to replace those.
他问，这里面有BPA吗？
And he says, is there BPA?
我说，没有。
I said, nope.
全是金属的。
It's all metal.
他回，行吧。
He goes, okay.
挺好。
Fine.
你这里有几瓶？
How many do you have?
我们大概有六种颜色。
We had about six colors.
他又说，行。
And he says, fine.
每种颜色我都要一箱。
I'll take a case of each.
自从我们接了全食超市那个货架的订单后，我就把这套做法推广到了全城。
And so once we got the Whole Foods order just for that one bin location, I I basically used that all across town.
你会说，嘿。
You would say, hey.
我们进全食超市了。
We're in Whole Foods.
是的。
Yeah.
人们都说，连全食超市都认可，肯定靠谱。
And people are like, oh, good enough for Whole Foods.
够格让我们用。
Good enough for us.
我觉得现在亚马逊收购了之后情况不一样了，但以前Whole Foods的门店自己有很大的自主权来做这些事。
And I think it's changed now that Amazon owns it, but Whole Foods, like stores, had a lot of autonomy to do that.
现在你还是能看到一些本地化的产品，但更多是区域性的了。
Now you still see that, like, local and stuff, but now it's more regional.
所以你其实只要能打进一家Whole Foods就行。
So you could actually sell into one Whole Foods.
于是Bend那边的一家Whole Foods就开始卖了。
And so they this one Whole Foods in Bend starts to sell them.
对。
Yeah.
但当这个产品慢慢开始有起色的时候，接下来该怎么做呢？
And but how does how then as you as this product is kind of gaining some traction, right, then what's the next step?
有没有参加过什么行业展会？
I mean, was there, like, a trade show that you could go to?
你是开始主动打电话推销，还是Brent在负责打电话？
Did you start to cold call, or was Brent cold call?
我的意思是，他有人脉。
I mean, he had connections.
他有没有接触过更大的零售商？
Was he going to to bigger retailers?
你能说说你是怎么慢慢把产品推广到其他商店的吗？
Like, what tell me a little bit about how you start to expand this this out into other stores.
是的。
Yeah.
幸运的是，布伦特说：嘿。
Luckily, Brent said, hey.
你得去参加一个叫户外零售展的活动，在盐湖城，那里所有户外用品公司都会展示当季的新品。
You gotta go to this thing called the outdoor retail show in Salt Lake City, and it's where all of the outdoor product companies come to show what's new for the season.
我们付不起正规展位的费用，但还是花钱买了入场资格，然后用一堆竹子搭了个小棚子，挂上我们的宣传海报。
We couldn't afford a actual proper booth, but we paid to get in and we took a bunch of bamboo and kind of laced and wrapped together a hut to put up our banners.
当时全场就我们一家水瓶公司。
And we were the only water bottle company there.
很快，采购人员就开始过来，打听是谁在卖水瓶。
Pretty soon the buyers started coming and seeing who's selling water bottles.
之后，其他销售代表也来我们的展台，说：嘿。
And then with that, we had other sales reps that would come to the booth and they'd say, hey.
我负责这个小区域，或者那个大区域，我们是销售代表，想卖你们的水瓶。
I have this little tiny region in this area or this massive region in this country, and we're sales reps and we wanna sell the bottles.
所以这真的算是，呃，我不敢百分百确定，但可能是最早这么做的品牌之一。
So this really was and again, I can't I don't know for sure, but it was probably one of the first brands that was doing this.
对吧？
Right?
我想问你个问题，可能有点敏感，你们的设计申请专利了吗？
My question is for you, and this might be a sensitive question, was your design patented?
你们有做保护措施吗？
Did you have this protected?
我们后来申请了外观设计专利。
Well, what we did was we ended up getting design patents.
而且我们还申请了实用新型专利。
And so there's utility Mhmm.
比如保温方面的专利，但那些早就存在了，我们没法申请。
Patents that are, like, for the insulation, and we couldn't get that because that had already existed.
你们无法对真空技术申请专利。
You could not patent the vacuum technology.
没错。
Correct.
所以我们申请了外观设计专利，涵盖了瓶子的形状和尺寸，并确保在包装正面醒目地标注‘专利申请中’或‘已获专利’。
And so what we did was we design patented the design, the shapes and the sizes of the bottles, and made sure that it was on the packaging front and center patent pending or patented.
我发现，很多原本可能成为竞争对手的人看到‘专利’二字，就以为我们垄断了真空保温市场，于是选择避让。
And what I found was that a lot of people who maybe would have been competitors saw patented and they figured, oh, well, they've got the vacuum insulated market, we'll just leave them be.
这让我们顺利地独占了大约六到八个月，没人跟进做双层真空保温瓶，直到……
And it helped for about six or eight months that people just kinda left us alone and weren't really doing double wall vacuum insulated bottles until, oh, wait.
其实只是外观设计专利。
It's just design patent.
后来他们就开始绕开这个设计了。
You know, then they started designing around it.
对。
Right.
我猜，当大家看到这些产品效果这么好，肯定有不少公司觉得：嗯，这个我们也能做。
Because I would imagine as people saw how effective these were, you've got a lot of companies out there that are like, okay.
我们完全可以做。
We could do this.
我们也能做。
We can could do this.
这技术又不是他们独有的。
It's this this technology, they don't own this technology.
是的。
Yeah.
我觉得Clean Canteen是第一个这么做的。
I think Clean Canteen was the first.
当我发现他们在用真空隔热技术时，心想：完了，这下没戏了。
And when I found out that they were doing vacuum insulation, thought, Oh man, it's over.
你知道，他们单层的卖得这么好，我肯定他们双层的也会卖得很好，我们根本没机会了。
You know, we're out of business because they're selling the single wall so well, I'm sure they're going to sell the double wall.
他们用了另一种真空工艺。
And they used the different vacuum technique.
那种方法稍微简单一点，成本也低一些，但外观没那么好看，保温效果也不如我们的。
They used one that was a little bit easier, a little bit less expensive, and it didn't didn't look as good, and it ended up not working as well.
所以这反而给我们争取到了更多时间来发展。
So that that gave us a bit more of a runway to run with it.
原来如此。
Okay.
我猜你们肯定没什么现金吧？需求这么高，钱得不断往里投，根本没余钱做市场推广。
And so I have to imagine you've got no cash because if the demand is high and you've gotta constantly the money's gotta constantly be recycled out, you have no money, for example, for marketing.
是的。
Yeah.
关于 Bayt 播客
Bayt 提供中文+原文双语音频和字幕，帮助你打破语言障碍，轻松听懂全球优质播客。