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Everything a journalist, podcast host, newsletter writer or event organiser needs to feature Rob Ward. Copy anything you need.

Rob Ward in a black cap and jacket beside a painted graffiti wall

At a glance

Who
Rob Ward, Co-Founder of Quad Lock.
The story
Bootstrapped a phone-mount Kickstarter into a global ecommerce brand at $50M+ in revenue with no outside capital in the early years, scaled it to $200M in revenue, then a $500M exit.
Reach
Millions of units sold in more than 100 countries.
Before
Toolmaker apprenticeship, industrial sales, then a run of side businesses including the Opena, the first Australian Kickstarter product.
Now
Invests in and advises founders and operators across startups and scale-ups, with a focus on consumer brands, autonomy and tech.
Based
Melbourne, Australia.

Bios

Short bio · 60 words

Rob Ward is the Co-Founder of Quad Lock, the phone-mounting brand he and Chris Peters bootstrapped from a Kickstarter into a global ecommerce business selling millions of units in more than 100 countries, culminating in a $500M exit. A former toolmaker, he now invests in and advises founders and operators across startups and scale-ups in consumer brands, autonomy and tech.

Extended bio · 150 words

Rob Ward co-founded Quad Lock in 2011 with Chris Peters. A former toolmaker who left university after three weeks, he had already launched the Opena, the first Australian Kickstarter product, which sold in 100 countries within six months. Quad Lock started with a performance phone mount for cyclists. The pair bootstrapped it from personal savings, forgoing salaries in the early years, and grew it into a global ecommerce brand selling millions of units in more than 100 countries. They built the team, took products from prototype tooling to mass production, and built a performance-marketing engine across Meta, YouTube and Google. In 2020 Quad Lock sold a stake to Quadrant Private Equity; in 2024 it was acquired by Sweden-based Thule Group in one of Australia's largest ecommerce exits, with Rob completing his exit in late 2025. Today he invests in and advises founders and operators across consumer brands, autonomy and tech.

Timeline

  1. Before 2011Toolmaker apprenticeship and industrial sales, then side businesses with Chris Peters, including the Opena, the first Australian Kickstarter product.
  2. 2011Rob Ward and Chris Peters found Quad Lock.
  3. 2012Public launch on Kickstarter as a performance phone mount for cyclists. The founders leave their jobs, forgo salaries and bootstrap from personal savings.
  4. 2012 to 2019Scaled to a global brand: the team, mass production, and a performance-marketing engine across Meta, YouTube and Google on a global ecommerce operation.
  5. 2020Quadrant Private Equity takes a stake to professionalise operations.
  6. 2024Acquired by Sweden-based Thule Group in one of Australia's largest ecommerce exits.
  7. 2025Rob completes his exit and turns to investing in and advising founders and operators.

Interview topics

  1. From a Kickstarter to a $500M exit: the full Quad Lock story
  2. Bootstrapping vs raising: building without early outside capital
  3. From toolmaker to founder: what an engineering apprenticeship teaches you about building products
  4. The Opena: getting copied at scale, and what it taught us about protecting what you build
  5. The DTC numbers that actually matter: unit economics, payback and MER
  6. How to build a brand with an exit in mind
  7. What I look for as an investor in consumer brands, autonomy and tech
  8. What I would do differently starting a consumer brand today

Photos

Free to use for coverage of Rob. Each is around 2000px wide. Need print-resolution originals? Get in touch.

Portrait: Rob Ward in a black cap and jacket beside a painted graffiti wall
Portrait2000 × 1333 Download
Lifestyle: Rob Ward sitting on the back of a black four-wheel drive beside a yellow canola field
Lifestyle2000 × 1333 Download
Quad Lock: Rob Ward in a Quad Lock cap and t-shirt in the Quad Lock office
Quad Lock2000 × 1334 Download
Wide banner: Rob Ward smiling beside a graffiti wall, with space on the left for text
Wide banner2000 × 940 Download
Download all four photos (.zip, 1.3 MB)

Suggested wording

Featuring Rob on a show, in an article or on stage? Pick whichever fits your format and paste it as is.

For podcast show notes

Rob Ward is the Co-Founder of Quad Lock, which he bootstrapped to $50M+ in revenue, scaled to $200M, then sold in a $500M exit. Today he invests in and advises founders and operators across consumer brands, autonomy and tech.

For an article or author bio

Rob Ward co-founded Quad Lock and grew it from a bootstrapped Kickstarter into a global ecommerce brand selling in more than 100 countries, before a $500M exit. He now invests in and advises founders across consumer brands, autonomy and tech.

For an event or speaker intro

Our next guest started out as a toolmaker. With his mate Chris Peters, he turned a Kickstarter bike mount into Quad Lock, a global brand that sold millions of units in more than 100 countries, bootstrapped all the way to $50M in revenue, before a $500M exit. Please welcome Rob Ward.

No attribution needed, though a link to robyward.com is always appreciated.

Get in touch

For interviews, podcasts, speaking or anything else, the contact form reaches Rob directly. He's also on LinkedIn and X.

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