I’m an MBA student-analyst for a prominent angel investment group in Southern California. We recently reviewed an application for a golf product similar to the thousands you see at the PGA Show every year, although this one was impressively innovative and had solid defensibility – ideal circumstances for a start-up.
After much deliberation, the angel group could not overcome their concerns about scalability and thus did not invest in the company. Their view was that the golf industry is overly traditional and abhorrent to change, so customer acquisition would be too long and costly of an endeavor.
This experience made me wonder – is any golf idea/company suitable for a venture capital type of investment where expected returns are 10x in 3-5 years? Golf is a $76 billion industry with only a 10% participation rate in the U.S., so it seems like there should be abundant room for entrepreneurs to innovate and scale quickly.
However, the reality is that I haven’t seen anything recently within the golf industry that would be worthy of a VC-type of investment. That doesn’t seem right to me.
Thus, this blog exists to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit surrounding golf by looking at game-changing ideas and the issues facing entrepreneurs with these ideas. I look forward to taking the journey with you.
After much deliberation, the angel group could not overcome their concerns about scalability and thus did not invest in the company. Their view was that the golf industry is overly traditional and abhorrent to change, so customer acquisition would be too long and costly of an endeavor.
This experience made me wonder – is any golf idea/company suitable for a venture capital type of investment where expected returns are 10x in 3-5 years? Golf is a $76 billion industry with only a 10% participation rate in the U.S., so it seems like there should be abundant room for entrepreneurs to innovate and scale quickly.
However, the reality is that I haven’t seen anything recently within the golf industry that would be worthy of a VC-type of investment. That doesn’t seem right to me.
Thus, this blog exists to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit surrounding golf by looking at game-changing ideas and the issues facing entrepreneurs with these ideas. I look forward to taking the journey with you.
Thanks for your kind words, Best B Schools in India! I'm glad you enjoy the blog.
ReplyDeleteHello Tanner, I believe there are, but as you know inventors are their own worst enemy. There are tons of great ideas and I have seen a few, but by the time I see them, the inventor is so discouraged that it didn't work their way and/or it didn't make them a million in a month.
ReplyDeleteI have put a few of my medical technologies on hold to pursue other markets, golf being one of them.
I actually just came up with an idea after reading your profile. Thanks for the spark.
Bob
Bob, thanks for your kind words. It made my day hearing that I sparked an idea. If you're willing to share, I'd love to discuss it and provide any guidance/feedback I may have. Feel free to post it here or send me a DM to sdtanner@gmail. Thanks again and I hope to talk soon.
ReplyDeleteHello Steve,
ReplyDeleteDid you get the email I sent you on Friday?
I'm not sure if it went through.
Thanks,
Bob
Hi, Bob. Yes, I got your email and just replied with a bunch of thoughts ... you have some intriguing ideas and I look forward to discussing them offline.
ReplyDelete