In this conversation, Dr. Rob Yonover explains how surfing heavy North Shore days and studying volcanoes shaped his approach to invention, risk, and business. He details the origin of the See Rescue Streamer, how a simple, visible signal solved a life-or-death problem, and why persistence, lean ops, and direct outreach beat spray-and-pray tactics.
What you’ll learn
- The bootstrap formula: keep your job, keep costs tiny, prove demand, scale slowly
- Scrappy acquisition: fax blasts, niche PR, and being a polite pain in the ass
- Calm under pressure: training, free-dive reps, and biomimicry to manage fear
- Product rules that win: simple utility, small form factor, easy storage and shipping
- Defining success: profit, freedom, and flexibility over vanity metrics and burn
- Why nature time unlocks better ideas than screen time
Episode highlights
- (00:25) Who is Dr. Rob Yonover, big-wave surfer, volcanologist, inventor
- (03:36) From Miami to Oahu, science, surfing, and a paid PhD path
- (11:45) Nearly drowning on a 20-wave hold-down, training calm into your body
- (19:33) The See Rescue Streamer insight, from Christo’s art to orange visibility
- (32:56) PR like fishing, why niche media and persistence compound
- (48:37) Founder advice at 30: low overhead, profit first, permission to quit losers
- (55:10) Inventory and shipping reality, build what fits an envelope
Listen and explore
