Oru Through The Years

Oru’s Co-Founder Anton Willis loved being on the water. But after moving into a studio apartment, his kayak went into storage. Instead of accepting that as just the way things were, he asked a different question: what if a kayak didn't have to be so impossibly hard to own? 

After reading an article about the ancient art of origami and how objects can be created with a single sheet of paper, he started folding. Paper models of folding kayaks led to hacked full-sized prototypes. The first one sank in minutes, but they got steadily better.... and a weekend hobby quickly became a full-time obsession. 

He spent four years and 25+ prototypes working through an idea that a kayak could be created from a single sheet of corrugated polypropylene. The result was a kayak that folded down small enough to fit in a closet, a trunk, or the overhead bin of a plane and could easily fit in his studio apartment.  

Co-founder (Ardy or Roberto?), A young business school student took his first ever kayak ride under the Golden Gate bridge in one of these prototypes, and was hooked. It wasn't just a new product. It was a new argument. That kayaking didn't have to belong to people with trucks, garages, roof racks, and lake houses. That the water was for everyone. 

In 2012, Oru launched on Kickstarter and hit its funding goal before lunch on the first day. 730 people backed the idea before a single kayak had shipped. At the time, it was the most successful outdoor product in Kickstarter history. They weren't just backing a kayak. They were voting for a different way of doing things. 

In 2014, co-founders Anton, Ardy, and Roberto walked onto the Shark Tank stage with a folding kayak and a belief that the kayak industry was overdue for a disruption. It wasn't a pitch. It was the beginning of a movement. 

Since then, Oru has launched every new kayak the same way: by going to its community first. Before retailers, before investors, before anyone else. Kickstarter isn't just a funding platform for us, it's a reflection of what we believe. Every backer is proof that when you solve a real problem for real people, they will show up for you. 

What followed was a decade of constant kayak innovation proving the skeptics wrong. Our lineup grew from one folding kayak into a full family of boats built for every kind of paddler, from the first-timer who lives in a third-floor walkup to the expedition kayaker heading into open ocean. 

The barriers that keep people off the water have always been the same. Too heavy. Too big. Too expensive. Too much hassle. We've spent fifteen years systematically dismantling every single one of those excuses, one fold at a time. 

So if you've ever thought kayaking wasn't practical, wasn't possible, wasn't meant for someone who lives where you live or travels the way you travel, this is your invitation to reconsider. 

2010 - Anton Willis moved into a studio apartment, couldn't store his kayak, and spent the next four years developing the first Origami Kayak from a single sheet of corrugated polypropylene. 

2012 - Ardy Sobhani and Anton Willis officially formed Oru Kayak Inc. and launched their first Kickstarter campaign, hitting their funding goal before lunch on day one and raising $443,000 on an $80,000 ask. 

2013 - Oru shipped its first kayak and picked up four major awards at Outdoor Retailer, two of Europe's most prestigious design honors, and several other awards. 

2014 - The team pitched Shark Tank, secured a deal that ultimately never closed, and went on to partner with REI and Backcountry while launching the Coast on Kickstarter. 

2016 - Oru launched the 12-foot Beach model on Kickstarter. 

2017 - Oru joined 1% for the Planet, launched the Bay on Kickstarter, earned a Forbes feature, and coordinated the first ever solo kayak crossing from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. 

2018 - Oru launched the Haven Kayak and took full ownership of its manufacturing operations in Mexicali. 

2019 - The Inlet launched on Kickstarter, raised nearly one million dollars, and redefined what accessible and portable kayaking could look like. 

2021 - Oru relaunched four core models and was acquired by Solo Stove. 

2022 - The Lake launched on Kickstarter with a record 2,624 backers, making it the most supported campaign in Oru history. 

2023 - Oru launched the Camp Kayak on Kickstarter.