KITEAID was envisioned, developed and operated by two friends Stephan and Will. We met as roommates in university and shared a love of the outdoors, ultimately leading to a hobby in kitesurfing. Being an engineer and computer scientist, we both enjoyed creating things, improving on what existed and developing new ideas.

After damaging a kite while on vacation, we set out to find the best repair kit on the market. To our dismay, the repair options were very limited and produced unsightly repairs. In an effort to solve our own problem, we began testing different techniques on similar materials to understand what would be an effective repair. After extensive testing, we developed our first product, which you all know as the Sail Repair Kit. We were not intending to start a business initially, we just knew we had developed something unique and interesting, and wanted to share it with others. As interest grew, KITEAID was born…

The initial Sail Repair Kit product was a ripstop nylon laminated with a thermoplastic, allowing you to repair a kite and be back on the water in less than an hour. Customers asked us to develop a similar product for the leading edge and struts since it was observed that the ripstop would stretch too much when applied to struts. We used the same technique and switched out the ripstop for Dacron to produce the Leading Edge & Strut Repair Kit. Things started to pick up from there. After extensive testing, we introduced a Bladder Repair Kit. Customers started asking if we could develop a kit that they could use at the beach, and the Clear Sail Tape Repair Kit was born. There was a period where people were struggling with delaminated valves, so we crated our Valve Donut Repair Kit.

In our 20s, without families or children, we dedicated our evenings and weekends to advancing our offerings. We tested new strategies and talked to our customers to understand what their needs were. As we both got married and had kids, our dedicate KITEAID time reduced. We both work full time jobs outside of KITEAID, so we had less and less time to focus on it. KITEAID started as a passion project and we have continued to keep it running for 16 years, primarily in service to the community.

At this time, we are too busy with our families and careers to be able to continue the legacy of KITEAID. We know we have developed something unique and special, however, we are not in the position to be able to continue investing the time and energy to continue operations of the business.

If you are interested in taking on KITEAID as an opportunity, we are willing to discuss passing it along. Please inquire below with your details and we can have a discussion.

Lastly, I would like to thank all of our loyal customers who have made this all possible. You have helped us build something special which will leave a lasting impression on our lives. Thank you!