‘Wave maker’, Nick Hounsfield, is the Founder of The Wave, an inland slice of the ocean he’s created to provide a world first: a health and wellbeing focused surfing destination in Bristol. He secured £30m investment to develop and deliver the project as a Triple Bottom Line business - People, Planet and Profit. It’s also B Corp certified.
Nick has over 30 years’ experience in healthcare, science, conservation and education. He has also founded One Blue World, to channel his passion for advancing the BlueHealth movement. Through One Blue World he explores the cognitive, emotional, psychological, social and physical wellness benefits of water, waves and nature.
Working with a network of interdisciplinary experts, partners, and supporters who share this vision, they provide critical ‘blue’ thinking for projects, developments and organisations.
It was a breath of fresh air and incredibly inspirational talking to Nick about what he has achieved, and how.
Overview:
In our conversation, Nick
- Explains what The Wave is all about – a lake in Bristol as big as three or four Olympic-sized swimming pools.
- Describes the logistics behind creating waves, and how The Wave has been designed to be suitable for all ages and skill levels.
- Expands on how surfers use the lake – one hour of surfing time equates to four or five hours in the ocean.
- Talks through The Wave’s business model.
- Outlines the cash flow challenges of running a seasonal business.
- Details how they’ve made efforts to widen their demographic and ensure that everyone feels comfortable.
- Delves into where it all began and how he raised the eye-watering £30m set-up costs.
- Focuses on the importance of laying the right foundations and building strong connections when structuring the business.
- Discusses planning permission issues they faced.
- Enthuses about the day ‘the tap was finally turned on’.
- Shares his thoughts about possible expansion and being driven by the concept of ‘Blue Health’.
- Passes on to new entrepreneurs his most fundamental key learning.
