Podcast with Pickleheads CEO, Max Ade: Raises $2.5M Seed Round for the #1 Pickleball App
This week on The 4th Quarter Podcast, we sat down with Max Ade, co-founder and CEO of Pickleheads, the #1 app for pickleball players to find local courts, connect with players, and build their own pickleball communities. Pickleheads is backed by a recent $2.5M seed round — including prior pre-seed investments from Kevin Durant's 35V and notable angels.
Check out our key takeaways from the podcast:
#1 Why Pickleball Isn't Just a Sport — It's a Social Phenomenon
Pickleball’s explosive growth comes from accessibility and strong social appeal —not just traditional sports dynamics
“Pickleball is the exact opposite of the digital isolation trend; it’s about community and human interaction”
Its inclusive, social nature will ensure lasting popularity beyond being just another sports fad
#2 From Free Court Finder to Category Leader
Inspired by HubSpot’s website grader tool, Pickleheads gained initial traction by building the ultimate pickleball court finder, creating powerful organic traffic
SEO is critical to virality — “We knew paid acquisition wouldn't scale for millions of casual players”
Now, with a large recreational player base, Pickleheads is adding advanced matchmaking and skill-based round-robin features to boost player experience and community engagement
#3 Pickleball’s Path to Global Scale
Max is bullish on pickleball’s global potential, highlighting its natural accessibility as crucial to international adoption
Pickleball’s low barrier to entry uniquely positions itself for expansion into Europe, Asia, and the Middle East
With its expanding network, Pickleheads is ideally placed to capture exciting growth opportunities as pickleball gains traction worldwide
#4 Startup Advice from Max
Consumer startups should adopt a distribution-first strategy — “We inverted the usual startup playbook, first mastering distribution via SEO, then layering monetizable products afterward”
Take career risks early, especially in your twenties: combining youthful ambition with calculated moves yields exponential results — “your twenties are the best time to leap”
#5 What’s Next for Pickleheads
With fresh capital, Pickleheads is entering an exciting new phase — launching nationwide events, building out their team, and advancing the sport globally
“And if you want to make $10K a month running Pickleball events in your local area, go to Pickleheads — [they] got the tools for you to do it!”
Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals
Venture Capital
Camb.ai, a speech synthesis and translation startup that offers multilingual soccer live streaming, raised $11M in Pre-Series A funding (Mar. 19th)
Simultaneous multi-year deal announcement with French soccer’s LFP
Supporting GTM teams across markets in Japan, India, Europe, and N. America
Series A raise targeting $75M already in early discussions; total funding to date at $15.5M [SBJ]
HireBob.ai, a developer of AI agents geared towards fitness and health & wellness clubs, raised $20M in Seed funding (Mar. 19th)
Plans to accelerate agentic AI initiatives, offering 24/7 branded support for bookings, inquiries, and member engagement
Raised $20M from a VC firm featuring ex-Google executives to enhance AI-driven customer service and sales for fitness brands [Athletech]
Fixated, a digital entertainment platform that offers talent management and content production services for creators, raised $12.8M in funding (Mar. 14th)
Represents top digital creators like Sketch, Botez Sisters, and Zach Justice
Expanding operations and reach of services for creators, including content strategy and brand partnerships
Investment led by Eldridge Industries [FinSMEs]
Good Good Golf, a next-generation golf media brand, raised $45M in Growth funding to enhance the sport’s engagement and accessibility (Mar. 20th)
Funding to drive global expansion across content, retail, and live experiences
Led by Creator Sports Capital; other investors include Manhattan West and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions among others [Good Good Golf]
Yeet, a crypto casino & sportsbook platform for traditional casino games and crypto-native gambling experiences, raised $7.75M in funding (Mar. 18th)
Plans to focus on markets outside the U.S.: Asia, Latin America, and Europe
Investment led by Dragonfly, other investors include Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz and LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino among others [Decrypt]
M&A and Investments
Celtics’ $6.1B acquisition names William Chisholm as franchise’s new owner (Mar. 20th)
Sales deems the franchise the most expensive NBA team sale in history
Sixth Street backing group led by Chisholm with commitments of over $1B
Overcoming bids from Phillies owner Stan Middleman, Friedkin Group, and existing investor Steve Pagliuca [Sportico]
PE firm Sixth Street secures a 10% stake in the Giants, covering both the MLB team and $1.5B Mission Rock development (Mar. 18th)
28-acre project, a public-private partnership with RE firm Tishman Speyer
Raine Group retained to handle the sale, on behalf of the SF Giants
Sixth Street joins Arctos Partners as a PE investor in the Giants' real estate-heavy portfolio; additionally invested in the Cubs, Red Sox, and Dodgers [Sportico]
Sportradar acquires IMG Arena for $125M from Endeavor Group in ‘definitive agreement’ for betting-data expansion move (Mar. 20th)
Endeavor to divest IMG Arena, paying out $225M total, including $125 million paid to Sportradar and $100M to sports rights holders
Acquisition, expected to close in Q4 2025, aims to enhance Sportradar’s global betting sports portfolio in tennis, soccer, and basketball [SportsPro]
Oakland A’s reportedly seeking $550M equity investment for Las Vegas Ballpark, at a $2B valuation (Mar. 18th)
In discussions to secure up to $550M for their $1.75B Vegas stadium
The Fisher family to cover any shortfall if $550M investment target is not met [SBJ]
Coalition Capital, Kylian Mbappé’s VC firm enters competitive sailing, backing France SailGP team (Mar. 14th)
Playtomic, a platform connecting racquet sports players worldwide, raised $70M in equity and debt funding (Mar. 19th)
Allocating funds across U.S. expansion, product development, and M&A
Of the $70M, $20M comes from Match Invest and $11M in debt from Santander
Investment led by Match Invest; other investors include Bonsai, and Arconas among others [SBJ]
USL’s Detroit City FC eyeing $10M in equity funding (Mar. 19th)
New 14K-seat stadium underway, with demolition of existing site set for August
According to an SEC filing, $1.1M already raised from a single undisclosed investor, indicating a minimum investment of $500K [SBJ]
Professional Triathletes Organisation secures $10M investment from niche-focused Cordillera Investment Partners (Mar. 19th)
Aims to elevate triathlon’s commercial presence, bridging gap with major sports
Firm focus, includes emerging sports leagues, women’s sports, and lower-tier professional teams among other niches [SIG]
Photo Creds: NBA - Boston Celtics sold for $6.1B.
Strategic Ventures
PIF-backed LIV Golf secures a multi-year, global streaming deal with DAZN (Mar. 14th)
Bringing LIV Golf+ to over 200 markets, free via DAZN’s FAST channel
DAZN gains exclusivity in key markets, including Germany, Japan, and Italy
Follows PIF-backed SURJ Sports’ recent acquisition in a major stake in DAZN [Sportcal]
Kevin Durant’s Boardroom unveils exclusive ‘Boardroom Members Club’ geared towards sports and media professionals (Mar. 13th)
Targeting professionals in sports, media, and finance, along with select athletes
Key advisers include Michael Strahan, Mark Ronson, and Taylor Rooks among others
Offering in-person experiences, networking events, and an exclusive annual conference [SBJ]
UEFA taps soccer-focused commercial rights partner Relevent for six-season global commercial rights strategy (Mar. 17th)
Sales process for 2027-2033 cycle to launch by summer 2025
Replaces TEAM Marketing as UEFA’s global marketing partner after 3 decades [InsiderSport]
Whoop partners with reformer-based brand, Solidcore, to enhance strain and intensity wearable tracking (Mar. 13th)
Focused on underestimated effort in reformer-based training due to slow, controlled movements
Enabling biomechanics-based tracking for more precise ‘Strain’ and recovery insights [Athletech]
Amazon partners with Mexican Football Federation (FMF), Liga MX in major sponsorship deal (Mar. 13th)
Securing sponsorship of Mexico’s national soccer teams and Liga MX leagues
FMF to integrate Amazon Web Services for AI-driven stats and match streaming
Amazon Prime members gain exclusive perks, including match tickets and meet-and-greets [Sportcal]
World Sevens Football (W7F) launches new global seven-a-side women’s soccer league with $5M prize pool among two 2025 events (Mar. 20th)
First eight-team competition kicks off in Portugal from May 21-23; winning team at each event secures $2.5M in prize money
Investors commit $100M over five years to fund W7F’s invitational tournaments
DAZN to broadcast matches, featuring two 15-minute halves and extra time [SportsPro]
Playfly, a sports media platform known for its ‘Fandom as a Service’ approach, signs historic 10-year, seven-figure NIL and media deal with Mater Dei High School (Mar. 19th)
Mater Dei to leverage Playfly’s resources for sponsorships, merchandise, and media exposure; Deal will also help athletes with financial literacy and brand-building [Sportico]
Diga Labs, a web3 gaming ecosystem, teams up with metaverse gaming world E4C, by Ambrus Studio, for immersive metaverse gaming (Mar. 20th)
Aims to expand gaming communities and integrate blockchain innovation, targeting 10M+ Web2 players transitioning into Web3 gaming
Initiatives include the Heroes of Eldarune event and multiple E4C & Eldarune projects [VentureBeat]
Relo Metrics, a sports marketing analytics tool, taps Nvidia tech to enhance Census and Edge platform offerings (Mar. 18th)
Integrating Nvidia’s multi-modal embedding model to refine logo detection and sponsorship valuation
Holds partnerships with teams across MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, and NHL [SBJ]
Startup Competitions
Outside Interactive, an outdoor & active lifestyle company, launches pitch competition for outdoor startups, offers $100K in prizes (Mar. 13th)
‘Outside Ignite’, seeks startups in outdoor, health, and active lifestyle sectors
$100K in cash, media, and legal services for first, with $50K advertising prize for runner-up
Finalists to pitch at the Outside Summit in Denver in June; Submissions close on April 11, 2025 (Apply Here) [Outside Inc.]
Job Board & Opportunities: Week of March 21st
Here are some cool roles we found and personally curated this week - enjoy!