Fail Forward

Frankie Marion, founder of Xplor Boatworks, shares how a boat built in his garage for a personal expedition turned into a fast-growing manufacturing company built on craft, failure, and culture.

In this conversation, Frankie breaks down why “fail forward” is core to how they design boats, build teams, and lead people. We talk about learning through mistakes, building products by hand instead of software, growing without losing soul, and why happiness and ownership matter as much as margins. A raw look at what it really takes to build a manufacturing business from the ground up.