Center Consoles Only co-founder Alan Blanco tells ‘The Creator Spotlight’ how he built one of the boating industry’s fastest-growing businesses.
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How does an Instagram page go from a $7,000 purchase to a $2.5 million fundraise? That’s exactly what Center Consoles Only (CCO) co-founders Alan Blanco, Brian Gonzalez, and Eric Taggart and Slow Ventures partner Megan Lightcap break down in the latest episode of Beehiiv’s The Creator Spotlight Podcast hosted by Francis Zierer.
When Blanco bought the CCO Instagram page for $7,000 in 2016 from a man named Ian Scott, he wasn’t looking to build a media empire—he just knew a good asset when he saw one. At the time, Blanco already had a few years of content creation experience running a boat page called Poop Deck.
To soften the blow of the initial purchase price, Blanco struck a deal with Streamline Boats, a newly launched manufacturer he previously collaborated with through Poop Deck, who paid him $3,500 to help grow their business through the page, effectively making back half the cost right away.
For a long time, CCO remained a profitable <a href="https://learnearningfun.com/72-of-gen-z-has-a-side-hustle-7-to-try-from-home/” title=”72% of Gen Z Has a Side Hustle — 7 To Try From Home”>side project while Blanco worked a full-time job in his father’s construction company. That changed in the summer of 2018 when part-time CCO work nearly matched his construction income. With his and his wife welcoming their first daughter that same month, it was a high-stakes moment to make a leap.
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“It was the best and worst time to do it,” Blanco said on the podcast. “Very stressful, but you know, in my mind, failure was not an option. I had to make this happen.”
Blanco’s friends Gonzalez and Taggart eventually came on board as co-founders. Blanco worked with Gonzalez to build out a subscription marketing model for boat manufacturers, which ranged from $250 to more than $1,000 per month and included tiered content shoots. Within a month, their client base jumped to around 30 to 40 manufacturers, turning his temporary break into a permanent pivot.
As the brand’s presence grew, CCO expanded far beyond a social media account. They launched a waterfront real estate business that pulled in $50 to $60 million in sales its first year, and partnered with a man named Adriano to launch Orion Boatworks, accruing 20 pre-orders for a custom boat hull before the first one was even built. They also ran Open Fisherman, an e-commerce drop-ship operation that raised $600,000 for nonprofits through charity raffles.
