Bringing Wahoo back from the brink: Interviewing the company’s founder, Chip Hawkins

Over the last few years, the news from Wahoo has been increasingly bad. While the brand continues to show up in our lists of the best smart trainers and the best bike computers, that coverage has taken a back seat. What’s been driving the conversation instead is a slow drip of financial news as ratings agencies increasingly sounded alarm bells about Wahoo. It got to the point where Wahoo stopped being able to conduct normal business and the creditors took over. It looked like whatever was coming next, Wahoo as we all knew it wasn’t going to exist anymore. Then, last week, a press release went out. 

Except the press release didn’t say quite what we expected. The change of ownership was there, though not stated explicitly, but there was something about the new owner. It wasn’t some large company that controlled a bunch of cycling brands, however. Instead, the press release stated “Led by Wahoo’s Founder, Chip Hawkins, Wahoo has fully recapitalized its business with significant equity support from new and current investors with substantial experience in supporting diverse connected fitness and endurance athlete platform businesses.” 

The man who founded Wahoo was once again taking ownership control. As it turns out, Chip Hawkins didn’t have the capital to go it alone. The ownership of Wahoo now rests with four equal partners but the important detail is that the debt that had been acting as the albatross around the neck of the company is now wiped clean. While Wahoo still faces challenges ahead, the company will do it on solid footing. 

What happened?