Burton boards

In 1977, Jake Burton founded Burton Snowboards. This was a really difficult time to be manufacturing snowboards since most resorts banned riding sideways.

But Jake Burton kept persisting. He worked with local ski resorts to open their lifts to snowboards and finally in 1982, the Suicide Six ski area in Pomfret, Vermont, became the first mountain to allow snowboarders. Not long after Stratton Mountain, Jay Peak, and Stowe resort all opened up their slopes to boarders.

Here is the part that is interesting to me. At first, no one allowed snowboarders. Once it happened gradually, then it was suddenly you can ride everywhere. And once it was accepted at your local resort, other riders were curious to try too.

Because of their hard work bringing the sport to the public, Burton became one of the leading manufacturers of snowboards today.

Your ideas take time to adopt. Not everyone embraces your ideas, especially at the beginning. Even today, there are three resorts that still don’t allow snowboarding (two in Utah).

As Everett Rogers points out, you have your early adopters who will embrace the new and the laggards who are refusing to change.