A Berkeley architect folded a kayak from a single sheet of plastic, raised $443,000 on Kickstarter, and later sold the brand to Solo Stove.
The Oru Kayak is a folding kayak made from a single sheet of corrugated polypropylene that folds down to the size of a suitcase. It solves the storage and transport problem that keeps apartment dwellers and travellers off the water, since it needs no roof rack or garage. Owners unfold it in minutes into a rigid, puncture-resistant boat that performs like a hard-shell kayak. It is aimed at urban paddlers, campers and travellers who want to take a boat on a plane, train or small car. Unlike inflatable kayaks, Oru's folded hull stays rigid and tracks straight, offered across a line of models from entry-level to expedition.
Oru Kayak began in 2010 when founder Anton Willis, a Berkeley-trained architect and lifelong paddler, moved into a San Francisco studio apartment too small for his kayak. Inspired by an article on origami, he spent four years and 25+ prototypes folding kayaks from a single sheet of corrugated plastic. In 2012 he formed Oru Kayak with Ardy Sobhani and Roberto Gutierrez and launched a Kickstarter with an $80,000 goal, hitting it before lunch on day one and finishing at $443,806. It became the most-funded outdoor product in Kickstarter history at the time and shipped its first kayak in 2013. The founders pitched ABC's Shark Tank in 2014, and although the deal never closed, the exposure drove a surge in orders. Oru expanded into multiple models and by 2021 had sold over 50,000 kayaks and reached roughly $8 million in annual revenue. In September 2021 the company was acquired by Solo Stove (Solo Brands), joining a group that also includes Chubbies and ISLE.
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