“I approach business the same way I approach skiing — if I want to land a big jump, I’m going to drop in with as much speed as possible because if I do, I have the best chance of landing it.” – Jason Levinthal
When Line Skis sold to K2 in 2006, it had an established reputation in the industry. For years, pioneer Jason Levinthal and his innovative brand of snowboard-inspired skis shaped industry-wide innovation from of his mom and dad’s garage in Upstate New York. Then an investor came along and provided the backing to move out of said garage into a real factory of sorts, where they were able to partially meet and deliver on the ever-increasing consumer demand. But even in 2006 when international powerhouse K2 looked to expand its offerings by acquiring the long-time beacon of tomorrow, Line was still largely the little shop that could. Six years later in 2012, it was the number five ski company in the United States.
Development in business is in many ways about resources. However, for resources to even be a part of the forward-thinking question, there needs to first be an uninhibited commitment by the people involved. Jason had that uninhibited commitment in spades. Even when expanding involved going into debt, he was willing to make the necessary sacrifices. Why? Because in his mind’s eyes, leading his beloved pursuit to the promised land of tomorrow far outweighed any immediate concerns he had, including financial ones. Is that for everyone? Absolutely not. But when you’re at the forefront of a movement and recognized as such, those supposedly necessary sacrifices have slightly less risk involved with them, or at the very least are slightly more manageable.
And although debt was assumed, the necessary sacrifices paid off. Skiing realized the renaissance he started out of Albany and the industry is forever changed. Drawing from the snowboards, skis today allow for skiing to be exciting and fun again.
That being said, he is ready for further change. With Line having run its course, Jason is turning his attention to J Skis, an endeavor that promises to work off the strong foundation he built with experience from both Line and K2.
Basically, for J-Lev, what it comes down to is: nobody needs more of the same thing. Having seen Line through its ascent, he is now actively looking for the next thing.
