March 12th, 2026 | by Robby Ringer
For this Founders' Series story, co-founder Robby takes us behind the scenes of the process of creating a new product, The Bivo LongShot. Hockey water bottles certainly weren't on Robby and Carina's minds when first creating Bivo, but a happy accident has lead to one of the most exciting innovations for us! --Thank you to Carter Clark for the header image.
Late one night in the spring of 2024, after the kids had gone to bed, Carina mentioned her sister had called. Our niece, Lucie, who plays ringette up in Montreal, was struggling to use her Bivo during practice.
For this Founders' Series story, co-founder Robby takes us behind the scenes of the process of creating a new product, The Bivo LongShot. Hockey water bottles certainly weren't on Robby and Carina's minds when first creating Bivo, but a happy accident has lead to one of the most exciting innovations for us! --Thank you to Carter Clark for the header image.
Late one night in the spring of 2024, after the kids had gone to bed, Carina mentioned her sister had called. Our niece, Lucie, who plays ringette up in Montreal, was struggling to use her Bivo during practice.
For those not familiar, ringette is played on ice, in full hockey gear, with helmets and face masks. Different sport, same hydration challenge.
I’m guessing some of you have tried holding your Bivo away from your mouth, inverting it, and trying to catch the stream of water mid-air. It doesn’t always go as planned … usually ends with water down your face and jersey.
Now try doing that on skates, out of breath, staring through a cage with tiny square holes.
Sorry Lucie. Love you.
In that moment, my mind snapped back to 2019 when I was cutting, hot gluing, and testing countless scrappy solutions for what would eventually become our Gravity Flow System.
I immediately said, “Carina, grab my phone and film this, I have an idea for Lucie.”
I pulled the nozzle apart, grabbed a spare vent straw, and threaded it up through the center of the nozzle. Then I pressed it back into the lid.
Prototype complete.
What Carina captured on video was a hilariously goofy-looking Bivo with about a five-inch straw sticking straight out of the nozzle. Equal parts ridiculous and functional.
A scrappy solution to a very real problem.
For those not familiar, ringette is played on ice, in full hockey gear, with helmets and face masks. Different sport, same hydration challenge.
I’m guessing some of you have tried holding your Bivo away from your mouth, inverting it, and trying to catch the stream of water mid-air. It doesn’t always go as planned … usually ends with water down your face and jersey.
Now try doing that on skates, out of breath, staring through a cage with tiny square holes.
Sorry Lucie. Love you.
In that moment, my mind snapped back to 2019 when I was cutting, hot gluing, and testing countless scrappy solutions for what would eventually become our Gravity Flow System.
I immediately said, “Carina, grab my phone and film this, I have an idea for Lucie.”
I pulled the nozzle apart, grabbed a spare vent straw, and threaded it up through the center of the nozzle. Then I pressed it back into the lid.
Prototype complete.
What Carina captured on video was a hilariously goofy-looking Bivo with about a five-inch straw sticking straight out of the nozzle. Equal parts ridiculous and functional.
A scrappy solution to a very real problem.
The Bivo LongShot prototype.
The Bivo LongShot prototype.
If you watch the video below and happen to have a Bivo (and a kid) nearby, I highly encourage you to try the prototype yourself. You’ll both get a kick out of it and it is sure to make you smile.
I’ve since had more than one kid tell me it’s the most fun way they’ve ever used a Bivo. Who knew!
At the time, it felt like a fun solution for Lucie. Nothing more.
Then about 6 months later our rep named Denny got word of it and sent the most hilarious picture of himself geared up on a video call in full hockey attire (yes, including a helmet with face mask) and using his long straw prototype AND LOVING IT.
Once again this solution had whacked me in the face out of the blue. It made me start asking myself whether hockey was Bivo’s next big thing. Carina, our mentor Neil, and I discussed it a bit and concluded we should pursue it with minimal effort to see what would happen.
If you watch the video below and happen to have a Bivo (and a kid) nearby, I highly encourage you to try the prototype yourself. You’ll both get a kick out of it and it is sure to make you smile.
I’ve since had more than one kid tell me it’s the most fun way they’ve ever used a Bivo. Who knew!
At the time, it felt like a fun solution for Lucie. Nothing more.
Then about 6 months later our rep named Denny got word of it and sent the most hilarious picture of himself geared up on a video call in full hockey attire (yes, including a helmet with face mask) and using his long straw prototype AND LOVING IT.
Once again this solution had whacked me in the face out of the blue. It made me start asking myself whether hockey was Bivo’s next big thing. Carina, our mentor Neil, and I discussed it a bit and concluded we should pursue it with minimal effort to see what would happen.
Thank you to Carter Clark for the pictures above!
Thank you to Carter Clark for the pictures above!
A simple one-cavity mold that doesn’t last long. We made 50 full fledged prototypes and convinced the University of Vermont’s NCAA Men’s Hockey Team to try them out. I will always remember the day Sam and I got up in front of the men’s team in their video room to demo the flow and present them each with their own bottle laser engraved with name and number. They roared. They applauded and each of them shook our hands on the way out. Go UVM!
A simple one-cavity mold that doesn’t last long. We made 50 full fledged prototypes and convinced the University of Vermont’s NCAA Men’s Hockey Team to try them out. I will always remember the day Sam and I got up in front of the men’s team in their video room to demo the flow and present them each with their own bottle laser engraved with name and number. They roared. They applauded and each of them shook our hands on the way out. Go UVM!
Robby and Sam presenting the LongShot to UVM men's hockey in 2024.
Robby and Sam presenting the LongShot to UVM men's hockey in 2024.
Perhaps at this moment I should have known it was time to lean into this opportunity. However, the world had other plans. Tariffs, ouch. Overnight, many businesses including our own were left uncertain of their future. We threw every ounce of effort into our survival. We got scrappy. Got creative. Ruthless prioritization became our motto. It helped us stop some things to make room for survival tactics. And in all the fast paced decision making we deemed hockey too much during a time of chaos. And so it goes. It slipped through the cracks again.
Forgotten, almost.
Perhaps at this moment I should have known it was time to lean into this opportunity. However, the world had other plans. Tariffs, ouch. Overnight, many businesses including our own were left uncertain of their future. We threw every ounce of effort into our survival. We got scrappy. Got creative. Ruthless prioritization became our motto. It helped us stop some things to make room for survival tactics. And in all the fast paced decision making we deemed hockey too much during a time of chaos. And so it goes. It slipped through the cracks again.
Forgotten, almost.
As it turns out, I had also sent samples to a variety of youth teams and asked for them to take a survey. When asked if they would consider using the Longshot over their current hydration system, an overwhelming 87% responded ‘yes, definitely.’
Once again, whack, the hockey opportunity hit me right in the face.
So, one day in late 2025 without telling anyone on the Bivo team I threw the rest of the sample inventory of what I called The Bivo LongShot Nozzle up on our website. Asked a buddy for a photo of his kid who used it during hockey so we looked somewhat legit. It sold out.
I maxed out our sample mold and scrapped together another small batch of nozzles. They sold out, again.
As it turns out, I had also sent samples to a variety of youth teams and asked for them to take a survey. When asked if they would consider using the Longshot over their current hydration system, an overwhelming 87% responded ‘yes, definitely.’
Once again, whack, the hockey opportunity hit me right in the face.
So, one day in late 2025 without telling anyone on the Bivo team I threw the rest of the sample inventory of what I called The Bivo LongShot Nozzle up on our website. Asked a buddy for a photo of his kid who used it during hockey so we looked somewhat legit. It sold out.
I maxed out our sample mold and scrapped together another small batch of nozzles. They sold out, again.
Thank you to Carter Clark for the picture above!
Thank you to Carter Clark for the picture above!
The coolest part, people (some of you!) had no clue who Bivo was. I know this because I emailed each person that bought the first batch of LongShots as I was baffled. How did you find us? Why did you purchase it? And do you like this thing I’m calling the Bivo LongShot?
It turns out you were not buying Bivo. You had no clue who we were. Instead, you were buying a solution to a problem that hadn’t been solved.
The coolest part, people (some of you!) had no clue who Bivo was. I know this because I emailed each person that bought the first batch of LongShots as I was baffled. How did you find us? Why did you purchase it? And do you like this thing I’m calling the Bivo LongShot?
It turns out you were not buying Bivo. You had no clue who we were. Instead, you were buying a solution to a problem that hadn’t been solved.
At some point we realized we had become the top organic result for ‘best hockey water bottle’ on Google. That wasn’t planned. It was just demand meeting a gap (and some kick ass SEO work). While this shocks us, it has taught a valuable lesson.
Listen to the small indicators. Solve real problems. Always stay scrappy. And most important of all if you do these things and listen, listen, listen to your community it will shape your path forward. Hockey looked foreign as a path. All you first LongShot customers showed me Bivo isn’t just a cycling brand. I mean, we do really love cycling. It will always be near and dear to us. AND Bivo is truly a performance hydration innovation and brand that will always listen to people in sport.
We’ve learned a lot from building LongShot, but we know we’re still early. If it helps fuel more fun on the ice, that’s all we’re after.
Thanks for being here with us!
- Robby
At some point we realized we had become the top organic result for ‘best hockey water bottle’ on Google. That wasn’t planned. It was just demand meeting a gap (and some kick ass SEO work). While this shocks us, it has taught a valuable lesson.
Listen to the small indicators. Solve real problems. Always stay scrappy. And most important of all if you do these things and listen, listen, listen to your community it will shape your path forward. Hockey looked foreign as a path. All you first LongShot customers showed me Bivo isn’t just a cycling brand. I mean, we do really love cycling. It will always be near and dear to us. AND Bivo is truly a performance hydration innovation and brand that will always listen to people in sport.
We’ve learned a lot from building LongShot, but we know we’re still early. If it helps fuel more fun on the ice, that’s all we’re after.
Thanks for being here with us!
- Robby
Leave a comment (all fields required)