For surf schools · Founding cohort

Run your break your way.

Bookings, card payments, coaches, and an ocean that tells you when to teach — built by a surf instructor, and proven with real money before we asked a single school to trust it.

Claim your school — free

The story

Built in the water, not in a boardroom.

I'm Paulo Cavalcante, founder of AYON. I've been surfing for 26 years. For the last seven I've lived in Huntington Beach, California, and for the past four years I've worked as a surf instructor — teaching for top-rated local schools and coaching students of my own.

I lived the problem from inside: the WhatsApp chaos, the cash envelopes, the no-shows, the student who never knows if they're improving. So I built the tools I needed. First AYON Wave, a forecast and coaching app that helps beginners read the ocean and see their real progress. Then SurfSchool, so the schools I work beside could run on software worthy of them.

And before asking anyone to trust it, I did what a coach would do: I tested it in the water. I set up a working school model, took real bookings, moved real money, issued real refunds — and fixed what broke. Every feature on this page earned its place that way.

Paulo Cavalcante mid-turn, smiling through the spray

The founder, at work.

A young student standing up on a soft-top surfboard for the first time, coach beside them in the whitewater

First stand-up, coach in the water. This is the product.

"No words can describe how fun it was to have my first surfing lesson with Paulo. From his passion for surfing to his phenomenal teaching ability, I am glad I had the opportunity to learn from him… he guided me through every step of the way."
Ernesto M. — public Yelp review, first lesson, 2024

What the community says

"Paulo works with HB surf schools and taught my grandson last summer." — parent, Huntington Beach community group

Ask Google

Search "surf lessons Huntington Beach" and Google's own overview names Paulo — "frequently recommended by local parents and community groups for teaching beginners and kids."

Straight answers

The four questions every school should ask a platform.

Where does my money go?

Straight to you. Students pay by card; the payout lands in your own Stripe account, then your bank. AYON never holds your money.

What's the catch?

Your first 100 bookings carry zero commission. After that, a flat 5%. Card processing (~5%) is Stripe's fee, charged on every card payment anywhere — we name it instead of hiding it.

What about refunds?

One tap from your Payments tab, you stay in control. Disputes? Every booking carries what card networks ask for: a signed waiver, a dated service, a clean payment trail.

Do my students stay mine?

Your Stripe, your student list, your direct relationship. We're the pipes, not the middleman — leave any day and everything is still yours.

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Studentpays by card

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Stripe checkoutsecure, standard

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Your Stripe accountthe money is yours

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Your bankdirect payout

The money path. AYON is never in it.

The unfair advantage

The only booking system that knows when the water is teachable.

Your dashboard reads the forecast like an instructor: best teaching windows per ability, wave height against your students' level, your booked lessons laid over the day's conditions. Modeled guidance, clearly labeled — never a substitute for your judgment on the beach.

Excellent-window recommendations per ability level, every morning
Your lessons shown against the conditions they'll run in
Wave, wind and period from the same engine that powers AYON Wave

Founding schools

The terms, in plain words.

First 100 bookings: zero commission
After that: flat 5% — nothing else, ever
No subscription · no contract · $0 in months with no bookings
Your own Stripe account from day one
Set up in minutes; leave any day and keep everything

This is your break

Run it your way.

Claim your school page, connect your Stripe, and take your first booking this week — with a founder who teaches on the same beaches you do.

Claim your school — free