Breaking the Manufacturing Mold: How KAV Sports Turned the Traditional Model Upside Down

"You're leaving Guidewire to make what?"

That's what everyone asked Whitman Kwok when he announced his next move after the Guidewire IPO in 2012.

And honestly? I get it.

Of all the things he could choose to work on next, bike helmets did not make much sense, given Whitman’s background in B2B SaaS.

But helmets weren't just a business for Whitman—they were personal.

“There were about 3.8 million concussions in the US alone in sports-related activities. Unfortunately, six of those were on my son's hockey team. Two of the kids ended up being sidelined, couldn't play hockey after their concussions.”

🎥 Watch Whitman's pitch or listen in your favorite podcast app 🎧

But once Whitman got past the prototyping stage and looked to do his first manufacturing run of helmets, the numbers were staggering. He told us:

"The tooling costs alone were seven figures. Initial inventory runs were another seven figures plus a five or six month lead time"

Coming from B2B software, he couldn’t believe the numbers he was hearing. But I’ve noticed Whitman isn't one to back down from tough problems. He seems to enjoy them.

That’s when the polymath’s wheels started turning: what if they didn't need inventory at all?

The brutal reality of physical goods

Physical products companies are much harder to scale than software. Because they require sales to fund inventory, but inventory to make sales.

Chicken, meet egg.

Most helmet makers just accept this reality. They outsource to overseas factories, facing huge minimum orders, long lead times, and massive upfront costs.

Whitman envisioned something different.

Instead of million-dollar machines and warehouses full of inventory, what if they used $1,000 printers and made helmets on demand?

How it works

Instead of million-dollar machines, KAV uses 3D printers that cost less than your laptop. When demand spikes, they just add more printers. Each printer pays for itself before the 30-day payment terms are even due.

The secret sauce? Software that makes cheap hardware work like expensive equipment.

This allows KAV to scale production capacity in days, not months.

Traditional manufacturers deal with:

• 📦 Warehouses full of inventory

• 🏷️ Pressure to discount

• 📉 Slim margins

• 🐢 Slow product cycles

KAV enjoys:

• 🚫 Zero inventory

• 💰 80% margins

• 🔄 Rapid product iteration

This changes things on the product side too. Normally manufacturers need 3-4 years to launch a new helmet, KAV can launch one in just a few months.

Cool bro… but how is it venture scale?

The cycling helmet market is an interesting place for KAV to start. A passionate community willing to pay $$$ for customization. But with a total market size of $6B a venture bet bike helmets do not make.

For Whitman the venture-size prize lies in hard hats. Yes hard hats used on the job site. 👷

I’ll let Whitman explain:

“The entire industry is moving to what's called safety helmets. Providing a custom-fit helmet for a worker who's working outside in the heat all day—that's a massive benefit.”

Industrial safety. We're talking 500 million units annually.

Construction safety offers a much larger TAM than cycling, with businesses who can rationalize premium safety gear as an investment in safety. Just 1% of the global construction helmet market (500M units/yr) is 5 million helmets. If KAV can defend a $200+ price tag for custom-fit safety helmets? That’s a billion dollars in revenue right there.

Realistically, they won’t be capturing 1% overnight, but it shows there’s plenty of headroom in the market.

Are there risks? Sure.

Innovating in hardware is notoriously challenging. But unlike traditional helmet startups, KAV’s software-driven, pay-as-you-grow model sidesteps the pitfalls that sank promising helmet startups like Vicis. Whose innovative product couldn't overcome crushing upfront costs and inventory risks.

Now that you’ve heard our rundown on the company, find out what the VCs on our show thought of Whitman’s pitch 🧐

🎥 Watch Whitman's pitch or listen in your favorite podcast app 🎧

The Essentials

• Company: KAV Sports

• Funding Status: Raising $3M

• Founded: 2016

• Industry: Manufacturing/Sports Equipment

• HQ: San Francisco, CA - manufacturing/3D printing plant: Buffalo, NY

• Founder: Whitman Kwok, previously: Product lead at Guidewire (IPO 2012)

• Business Model: Direct-to-consumer custom helmets

• Key Innovation: Zero-inventory manufacturing

• Margins: 80%

Coming April 10th: The R4 Helmet

Whitman says the R4 represents a game-changing benchmark in cycling helmets. With performance that makes competitors look like a dot in the rear-view mirror.

Founders

Planning to raise money for your startup? You can apply to be on The Pitch, even if your round isn’t yet open. No intro needed, just go to 👉 pitch.show/apply

Investors

Want to invest alongside us in companies like KAV? Apply to join The Pitch Fund & Syndicate.