Anatomy of a Startup

When looking at the size of IslandSurf’s potential market, one can look at sports participation levels as a guideline. Surfing, for example, was up 11.1 percent in 2003, to just more than 2 million people, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA). And wakeboarding participation was up 6.8 percent, to 3.3 million. But other sports are registering drops, including dirt biking and skateboarding, down 13.4 percent and 14.7 percent respectively, according to SGMA statistics.