Fly Guys

Paul Griffiths and David Carr say the success of the business they run rests primarily on quality control.

Yet the products they sell, intricately designed flies for fly-fishing, are made 8,000 miles away by a group of 10 employees in Kenya, on the east African coast.

It's an odd offshore location for a business, yet Griffiths and Carr, business partners behind Sarasota-based Dryflyonline, make it work. It helps that Carr, son of onetime World Bank executive Stephen Carr, grew up partially in Kenya. It also helps, says Griffiths, that Kenya and the U.S. have a free trade agreement. Finally, the cost of labor, adds Griffiths, is lower in Kenya than the States.

But the bedrock reason behind the success of Dryflyonline, which sells manufactured flies wholesale and retail, is in the how, not the where, says Griffiths. Sales at the firm are up 30% since the company's website, Dryflyonline.com, launched last month, though the firm declines to release specific revenue figures. Says Griffiths: “The key to this game is to consistently use good materials.”

At Dryflyonline that means materials sourced and approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Those materials are shipped to Kenya, where the employees create a variety of patterns, including dry, wet, eggs, worms and saltwater flies. The patterns are then hand-tied to durable steel hooks. “A lot of (businesses) do flies,” Griffiths says, “but our approach is new.”

While the flies are made overseas, Griffiths and Carr conduct final inspections locally before the products are shipped to customers. Griffiths, further, calls each customer soon after an online order is shipped, to see how it's going. “It's not just a sell,” Griffiths says. “It's also about service.”

Dryflyonline, in a nod to the fly-fishing customer base, which is rather particular when it comes to materials that can make or break success, also offers a consortium of sorts: Fishing guides and other high-volume anglers who seek to replicate their unique proprietary patterns can submit custom flies to Dryflyonline for manufacturing and pricing.

Griffiths and Carr, both born in England, have fished since they were young boys. They met a few years ago when Carr, an art teacher at the Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences, taught Griffiths' children. They became friends while fishing, and decided to go into business together in early 2012. Carr is the artistic and design side of the partnership, which includes the website, while Griffiths handles business logistics. Griffiths has worked in the cruise and restaurant industries.

The business, so far, isn't a full-time venture — though Griffiths and Carr both hope that changes quickly. Carr says he would like to see the company get to the point where local employees take over operational roles, including customer service, shipping and fulfillment. “The main goal” in the early going, adds Griffiths, “is to plan and structure this correctly.