Hardware Podcasts

Spikeball: Chris Ruder

How I Built This · 19 Jun 2023 · 1h 09m

What this episode covers

Chris Ruder, founder of Spikeball, explains how he revived a defunct 1989 game by securing the expired trademark and building a grassroots community among PE teachers, Christian youth groups, and the Amish. He details the early struggles of bootstrapping with $100,000, managing cash flow after entering Dick's Sporting Goods, and rejecting a Shark Tank deal to maintain brand control. Ruder also discusses the strategic decision to name the sport 'Roundnet' to protect the trademark and the acquisition of tournament software company Flango to diversify revenue.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Dick's Sporting Goods, Young Life, Monster.com, Tomi, Toys R Us, Franklin Sports, International Roundnet Federation
Products
Spikeball, Flango, Microsoft Xbox, Spiderball, Rollerblade, Pickleball
Also
Shark Tank, Jeff Knurek

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