Despite the attention it brings, air sports don’t have enough recognition as a potentially profitable market. The market hasn’t witnessed any innovations in air sports in a long time, making them less popular than water or snow sports. A reason could be the initial capital to get the business off the ground, as air sports can bring great risks.
Inspired by the lack of innovation and his favorite childhood cartoon, Tailspin, Aaron Wypszynski founded WYP Aviation. The company was determined to change the game of air sports and make it popular within the niche market of daredevils who were constantly looking for the next big adventure. Aaron wanted to introduce the evolved flight technique that’d be adventurous and possible for the general masses.
Aaron designed and manufactured WingBoard, a unique wakeboard for the sky. Wakeboarding was quite popular across the world, and water and snow wakeboarding were the sports people often enjoyed. However, Aaron saw a gap in air-wakeboarding and decided to fill it through his invention.
The WingBoard had a patented design for making air-wakeboarding possible in an indoor and outdoor environment. Aaron knew a huge market for people who wanted to enjoy adventurous sports in a controlled environment. Manufacturing indoor wind tunnels made this demand of the masses a possibility.
Despite the incredible ideas, the real issue was the seed capital required to kick the business. Manufacturing patented WingBoards and potentially indoor wind tunnels in the future required a huge investment. Besides that, people needed to know about this unique sports activity which needed marketing.
Aaron decided to appear on Shark Tank as a shark could massively help with all the requirements for a successful business. He started his pitch by explaining why he wanted to design new equipment in air sports and needed $500K in exchange for 20% equity in his company. He then presented the WingBoard, an incredible and shocking reveal for the sharks.
Aaron played a video showing how exciting WingBoards can be outdoors as they attach to a plane and allow the users to wakeboard through the sky. The sharks loved the demonstration and wanted to know more about what inspired Aaron to develop such an idea. However, the excitement died as the sharks learned more about the air wakeboard.
Aaron played another video for the sharks to witness the WingBoard in action in an indoor environment. This time around, an actual human was on the WingBoard that helped the sharks assess the device’s ability to balance human weight. Sharks were disappointed that the outdoor environment video had a robot riding the WingBoard.
The idea of indoor air-wakeboarding seemed exciting in theory, but the video depicted the boredom that ensued in practice. None of the sharks wanted to invest in the business after finding out the minimum potential this business had. Each shark started pulling out for their reasons.
Lori and Mark weren’t interested in the business as it had never been their type of niche. Daymond had concerns about the ROI and the time it would take to make it back. Sir Richard Branson, who appeared as a guest shark, also shared Daymond’s worries despite having tried the WingBoard design by climbing on board. Robert was the only remaining shark but had similar thoughts on the business’s success.
All five sharks were out, and WYP Aviation could not score a deal.
Our Review of WYP Aviation
After failing to secure any deal on Shark Tank, WYP Aviation never got to the manufacturing process of WingBoards. After the Shark Tank episode aired, the business claimed that it would invest in building indoor wind tunnel facilities to allow individuals to enjoy indoor air-wakeboarding. However, due to the lack of seed capital, WYP Aviation never managed to follow either of the plans.
WYP Aviation has a net worth of $3 million thanks to its contracts with the government. The company works on designing air crafts instead of air sports equipment. WYP Aviation has no social media engagement, and the company might never make its place in the untapped air sports industry.
Pros of WYP Aviation
WYP Aviation would have been a great sports opportunity for individuals with a daredevil attitude and a love of air sports. Whether the business had started indoor or outdoor air-wakeboarding, here are some of the things that may have worked in the company’s favor:
- WYP Aviation would have provided incredible opportunities to individuals who are into air sports.
- Air-wakeboarding could have become a new sensational air sport for daredevils.
- The indoor air-wakeboarding opportunity could have been a great opportunity for individuals who aren’t into outdoor adventures.
- The design of the WingBoard was sturdy enough to hold a person’s weight.
- The design of the WingBoard also supported an individual to maintain balance keeping the person on the board.
- The shoes on the air wakeboard were designed to hold a person in place.
- The WingBoard had a streamlined shape designed to easily cut through the air.
Cons of WYP Aviation
Here are some things that haven’t worked in favor of WYP Aviation:
- WYP Aviation’s air-wakeboarding didn’t look fun indoors compared to outdoor adventure.
- The business never came close to starting the mass manufacturing of WingBoards.
- The startup cost needed for making wind tunnels for indoor air-wakeboarding was high, leading the business to hold it off for now.
- Outdoor air-wakeboarding has the potential life danger just like any air sport.
- Providing indoor and outdoor air-wakeboarding experiences may have required additional costs that may have made the sports pricey for individuals.
- The WingBoard had a poor ergonomic design, as handling the wakeboard with hands for a long time tended to cause shoulders and back fatigue.
Who Is WYP Aviation For?
WYP Aviation would have made an excellent air sports opportunity for numerous people interested in adventurous and thrilling activities. The indoor wind tunnel facilities and air-wakeboard would have allowed individuals to participate in indoor air sports. People who aren’t into outdoor sports yet want an exciting activity to spend their time indoors would have loved WYP Aviation.
Are There Any Alternatives?
Numerous businesses provide their customers with incredible opportunities to participate in air sports. However, in recent years, iFLY has certainly raised the bar for indoor air sports as the company offers indoor skydiving experience for individuals across the States and other parts of the world. Indoor skydiving is a perfect way for people to participate in thrilling sports without risking themselves in the outdoor environment.
Our Final Thoughts
WYP Aviation has proved to be a profitable business, but not due to the idea it pitched on Shark Tank. The company is doing well for itself, thanks to the government contracts. We may see WYP Aviation in the future if the business finds the right sponsors for indoor air-wakeboarding and wind tunnel manufacturing and construction.
