Tim Karpinski, co-owner of Spiral Wax, holds a tray of Spiral Wax in the Spiral Wax workshop at his Bend home Wednesday morning. 6-4-25 Andy Tullis/The Bulletin

Tim Karpinski is no stranger to entrepreneurship.

In his 20s he started, grew and lost a snowboard glove business. 

So now at age 44, Karpinski wants to smartly step into the business arena with an environmentally friendly snowboard wax called Spiral Wax.

The first time he launched a business, he lost control to the investors.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” Karpinski said. “We had an incredible product and a great business, but because we didn’t know what we were doing, we lost it.” 

Moving to Bend, a place where entrepreneurs seem to thrive, Karpinski decided he wanted to do this business in a way that was sustainable. So he applied to the Bend Outdoor Worx mentorship program and was accepted. There he partnered with mentors and learned how to bolster the business side of the operations.

“We are planning to grow in the future,” Karpinski said. “That will include a production facility in Bend. I’m not building this business to sell.” 

Working with Bend Outdoor Worx

Working with mentors who have been where startup entrepreneurs currently stand lends value to the mentorship, said Gary Bracelin, who founded Bend Outdoor Worx, a community-based outdoor business mentoring program. 

 Hearing from others who have walked the same journey gives a startup business like Karpinski’s not only pro tips, but also advice on how to sidestep pitfalls. 

“Many startup founders come from a product or creative background,” Bracelin said. “They have a great idea but may lack experience in areas like finance, funding, operations, distribution or marketing. That’s where experienced mentors can make a real difference.”

For Karpinski, this business he’s creating — organic, environmentally friendly board wax — is spiritual for him. He and his partners, Max Warbington, Clara Machado and Troy LaLonde, have set sales goals, which they’re meeting, but are still able to maintain a lifestyle where they can hit the powder and travel, he said. 

“Our core value is we are here to snowboard,” Karpinski said. 

Today the eco-friendly product is on the shelves in 55 retail locations, Karpinski said. And starting this fall, Spiral Wax will be in REI stores as well. Every day he makes a new batch in his garage. When the business scales up and gets larger, that’s where the manufacturing facility comes in. 

“I realized I can make wax and do it in my garage,” Karpinski said. “I taught myself how. I wanted to make it eco-friendly and cool looking.”

That research and development took about a year, he said. He tapped into his marketing and design knowledge to create a plastic-free label. Then he had to source the products he needed to make the wax.

While Karpinski is cooking up the wax, it’s Warbington who is the face of the business, Karpinski said. 

In June alone, they made 3,000 bars of wax. July 1, they will begin their winter production to create 6,000 bars of wax.  

“We’re solely self-financed,” Karpinski said. “We’re trying to build something together that’s great and can offer real jobs and hire people.”

He started with the wax and plans to expand to into eco-friendly personal care projects like sunscreen and chapstick. 

“I wanted to make the product look cool, so that kids want to buy our brand,” Karpinski said. “We thought of the packaging first to stand out first and make it ourselves.” 

It’s not easy to take an idea and grow it into a business, Bracelin said. People have great ideas all the time, but it takes focus to build a lasting business model. 

“Bend Outdoor Worx helps outdoor companies not just launch, but grow, scale and survive,” Bracelin said. “We’re proud to say that over 85% of our alumni businesses are still operating or have had successful exits.”

Reporter: 541-633-2117, suzanne.roig@bendbulletin.com