Tim Swindle and Scott Brown seek an investor for PaddleSmash, their backyard game that’s a combination of pickleball and Spikeball, in Shark Tank episode 1505. The game was invented by a mutual friend named Joe Bingham. Joe has seven kids who liked playing Spikeball. They recently took a liking to Pickleball, but Joe wanted a way he could play in the backyard. He put his engineering skills to work and built a prototype the family enjoyed playing.
Enter Tim and Scott, two guys with toy industry experience at both a corporate and entrepreneurial level. They got together with Joe in 2021 and got the game manufactured. The game consists of a net system, foldable court, paddles and 2 balls. The game is best played by 4 people . It’s simple to play: serve across to your teammate, teams use 2-3 hits to get the ball back in the court, both teammates must hit the ball on a possession and consecutive hits are allowed. Within 2-3 hits, get the ball back into the court. Now it’s the opposing team’s turn. You get points when the ball doesn’t bounce up over the net or the ball hits the ground. That’s it.
After a short time in business, the company has had success. They have PaddleSmash in sporting goods retailers – DICK’S Sporting Goods, Scheels, Academy Sports + Outdoors and Amazon. Sales are over $1 million. The business is still young, so they likely want a Shark’s help scaling growth.
Company Information
Video
Posts about PaddleSmash on Shark Tank Blog
Paddle Smash: Where Outdoor Sports and Family Fun Collide
PaddleSmash Shark Tank Recap
Tim and Scott enter the Shark Tank seeking $250,000 for !0% of their company. They tell the Sharks that Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in North America and Spikeball is a wildly popular outdoor game. Imagine if Pickleball and Spikeball went out for a nice romantic evening and made a baby – taht baby is Paddlesmash. They’ve combined the best elements of both into the ultimate outdoor game. They show a video of people playing and explain how the game is played. Games are to 11 points so it’s quick and fun to play. It’s portable too, so you can take it anywhere.
The game is best for families and kids over age 13. Mark asks if the guys know Spikeball came on Shark Tank – they know. Mark says it’s the one deal he missed. They talk about how Joe Bingham invented the game. Tim and Scott have a combined 25+ years in the toy and game industry. They were introduced to Joe shortly after they sold their other businesses and were looking for something to work on. Tim and Scot have the rights to the game and Joe gets a royalty.
Let’s Talk Numbers
The retail price is $200. It costs $55 to make and they pay Joe a 5% royalty on net sales.It comes with 4 paddles, 2 balls, a net and the base is the carrying case. They have $700,000 in sales and they are at break even right now. They started direct to consumer and sent cold emails to sporting goods retailers and they all said yes. The $250,000 would be used for inventory and they want too do some social media marketing.
Kevin likes it. He offers $250,000 for 20%. Robert says he and Mark own a Pickleball team. He likes it because Pickleball is blowing up. Robert and Mark offer $250,000 for 20%. They start to counter and Robert and Mark say no. Kevin goes to 15% “just to squeeze heads.” Robert says they don’t want Kevin. They ask if Robert and Mark would match Kevin. After conferring, they counter with 15%. Robert says no then they accept Robert and Mark’s deal.
PaddleSmash Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show.
As of the first re-run of this episode in May, 2024 (about 6 months after the original air date), there is no evidence the deal with Mark and Robert has closed. In the week following the original air date, the company did over $300,000 in sales.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on PaddleSmash & Tim Swindle and Scott Brown as more details become available.
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