657: They Bet Everything on a Sport Nobody Took Seriously… Now It’s Worth $200M

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Entrepreneurship, Business, Marketing

4.9 • 664 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

These two brothers sold a profitable airsoft business to bet everything on a sport most people had never heard of. In 2014, Rob and Mike Barnes founded Selkirk Sport in the pickleball space—back when the sport was small, the products were cheap, and the category felt entirely mom and pop. Eleven years later, the company is valued at over $200 million with revenue up 1,900% since 2019, and pickleball is closing in on tennis as America's most-played racket sport. In this interview, the co-founders of Selkirk Sport break down how they built the premium brand in an emerging category—from serializing their first 360 paddles expecting mistakes, to investing $1 million into a dedicated R&D lab, to their contrarian take on athlete sponsorships and why signing a pro is only 30% of the work. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why they sold a profitable business to go all-in on a sport nobody had heard of • How serializing their first 360 paddles shaped Selkirk's premium quality obsession from day one • Why they invested $1 million in an in-house R&D lab instead of white-labeling cheap product like everyone suggested • The four P framework (Product, People, Process, Promotion) that's driven Selkirk's growth from day one • How they built an in-house marketing agency and cut all external agencies to move faster at lower cost • Why athlete sponsorships are only 30% of the work—and why investing in promotion is what actually builds brand equity • Their counterintuitive COVID strategy: reduce hours, keep every employee, and bet on the rebound • Why they launched SLK by Selkirk as a separate sub-brand to compete at lower price points without destroying the premium brand • How Selkirk Labs—a members-only experimental product program—created a real-time consumer feedback loop • When and why they moved away from digital advertising and became one of the only pickleball brands buying linear TV • How they identified the coming consolidation in pickleball and why they took on strategic investment from Bluestone Equity Partners to be part of it If you're building a brand in an emerging category, navigating the tension between premium positioning and mass-market growth, or trying to turn a niche obsession into a category-defining company, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about brand building, product strategy, and timing your bets. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/operators⁠⁠⁠⁠ HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠ CONNECT WITH SELKIRK Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/selkirksport/ Website → https://www.selkirk.com Mike's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-barnes-9775a67a Rob's LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-barnes-848603192/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Founder Fam, I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omniscend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e-commerce founders. We've been recommending OmnisCent to Founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling the seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results.
0:24.0	Did you know on average, Omnysend customers make $68 for every $1 they spend, which is an insanely good return on investment.
0:32.6	And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code Founder 50.
0:39.3	Just head to Omnicend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started.
0:45.1	All right, now let's jump back into the show.
0:48.6	So what happens when two homeschooled brothers sell their profitable airsoft business
0:52.9	to bet everything on a sport most people
0:55.7	have never even heard of. And then 12 years later, built into a company valued over 200 million
1:01.3	with revenue up 1900% since 2019. Well, today's guests are Mike and Rob Barnes, their co-founders
1:08.1	of Selkirk Sport, the premium pickleball brand, has become synonymous
1:12.0	with this fast-growing sport in America. They discovered pickleball in 2008 and saw something that
1:17.6	nobody else did. Massive potential in a sport that felt very mum and pop with low-quality products.
1:23.8	Now they're a market leader in a sport that's exploding globally and could become the
1:28.4	largest racket sport in the world. In this conversation, you'll discover why they serialize
1:33.4	their first 360 paddles expecting to make mistakes and how that approach really shaped their
1:38.5	premium quality obsession and their contrarian approach philosophy to athlete sponsorships and
1:43.6	why athletes is only 30% of the work and promotion is the other 70%
1:47.9	and why they invested $1 million into a dedicated R&D lab
1:51.8	instead of slapping their logo on a cheaper white lab would paddle like everyone told them to.
1:56.9	This is a masterclass in betting on an emerging category,
2:00.6	building a premium brand from scratch,
2:02.5	and why sometimes the biggest opportunities are in sports, nobody's heard of.
	...

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