In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee interviews Blake Renaud, the founder of PicklePlay, a startup capitalizing on the global popularity of pickleball. Blake, based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, discusses her journey as an entrepreneur, starting with her casual involvement in pickleball which led to identifying several pain points in the sport. These challenges inspired her and her husband to create PicklePlay, an app designed to help players find courts, connect with other players, and manage their games and groups. The app boasts features like an interactive map to locate pickleball courts, a player connection system, and a club/group portal for organizing games and events. PicklePlay has grown significantly, with nearly 150,000 users worldwide, although primarily in the US.
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Blake shares the challenges faced in the entrepreneurial journey, including the need to rebuild the app in its second year to support scalability. She emphasizes the importance of listening to customer feedback and adapting to the fast-evolving sport. Recently, PicklePlay was acquired by Utter Sports, which will allow Blake to continue leading the company under a larger umbrella, providing more resources and integration opportunities. She describes the acquisition process as a challenging yet rewarding experience, highlighting the importance of networking and building trustworthy relationships in the industry.
Blake reflects on the support she received from the Cedar Falls business community, despite some initial setbacks in funding. She advises future entrepreneurs to ensure their business is not solely dependent on one person and to approach funding with foresight. Looking ahead, Blake is excited about the future of PicklePlay and is open to embarking on new entrepreneurial ventures, driven by the lessons learned from her journey so far.