Making Waves

Dream of becoming your own boss? Hayden Cox turned his lifelong passion into a successful global business.

- Luke Benedictus 

THROUGHOUT HIS ADULT LIFE, Hayden Cox has never had a single job interview. In fact, he’s never even written out his CV. That’s because since he was a teenager growing up on Sydney’s north shore, Cox has only ever worked for himself.

Cox shaped his first surfboard at the age of 15. Twenty years later, Haydenshapes is a global surfboard business that retails in 70 countries and boasts offices and factories in Sydney and Los Angeles plus a major manufacturing plant in Thailand. Renowned for his technical innovation, Cox has won multiple awards for his surfboards, while his Hypto Krypto design has become one of the best-selling boards in the world.

“I never set out to be an entrepreneur,” the 35-year-old says. “I just loved making surfboards and wanted to spend my life doing something I loved.”

Here are six business lessons that he’s learned along the way. 

BROADEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE When Cox started making surfboards, he struggled to keep track of his orders and deposits. “I was going broke before I’d even become a proper business,” he says.

Instead of hiring an accountant, Cox learned how to do it himself. “I felt I had to do that to take control of what I was doing. Understanding how you do something in business allows you to take charge and deliver your input in a valuable way.”

Ever since, Cox has taught himself the skills to understand his business from every angle. He photographed and designed his first print ad. He represented himself in court over an early legal wrangle. He coded his first website.