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Chris Ruder

15 statements across 3 episodes · 2 bullish · 1 bearish · 1 people on the record · first statement Jun 19, 2023 by Chris Ruder · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: Chris Ruder's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Everything said about Chris Ruder, oldest first

Jun 19, 2023
Assertion Supported
Spikeball Reached $1 Million in Revenue Without Any Full-Time Employees
“So we had a million dollars with zero full-time employees in 2013, and that's when my wife and I agreed it was safe to quit the day job.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 46:07 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ruder: Early Spikeball Customers Received Non-Automated Personal Emails From the Founder
“So nearly every customer that bought at spikeball.com would get a personal email from me. It was not automated.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 37:26 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ruder: Spikeball generated $10,882 in revenue in its launch year
“We finished that year at, I believe, 10,882 dollars.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 34:33 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ruder: Shark Tank finale appearance drove immediate direct sales and retail inbounds
“It was the final segment of the season finale. So yeah, we had a massive party at our office, huge sales on spikeball.com that weekend and in the weeks to follow. But the real lift was we started getting tons of inbound requests from retailers, primarily like …”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 55:45 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Assertion Supported
Ruder: Spikeball was originally launched in 1989
“I believe Spikeball was launched in 1989, so I was 14 at the time.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 8:30 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Insight
Chris Ruder: Vacation Requests Should Default to Yes for Strong Performers
“If you're doing your job well, and everything, and you know, you're gonna make sure things are covered while you're out, You know, the default answer should be yes.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 6:02 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ruder: Spikeball raised a little over $100,000 in initial capital
“So we wound up raising, I think, a little over a 100,000 dollars. So it was roughly 10, 15,000 dollars a head.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 23:26 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Chris Ruder Earned Spikeball Equity From Partners via Sales Targets
“So I came up with, I think it was like a three-year plan where if I hit certain sales numbers, I would earn stock from them. If I didn't hit the number, then I don't get anything, and some of the guys were cool with that. Some were not, but, you know, I spoke …”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 30:22 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023 negative
Disclosure
Spikeball's Shark Tank Deal With Daymond John Collapsed Over Licensing
“And when we talked about sort of what direction it would be or what do we want to do, his main interest lied in licensing. So I think he said something along the lines of, you know, Chris, I've got friends at Marvel Comics. Let's maybe explore like a Spider-Ma…”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 54:31 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Disclosure
Ruder: Spikeball does not have a formal business plan
“To this day, you know, we don't have a formal business plan”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 37:08 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Assertion Supported
The Original Spikeball Had No Patent and an Expired Trademark
“There never was a patent on the product, so the design itself is kind of open, and the trademark, which protects the name Spikeball, has been expired, like, 10 years or something like that, so.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 13:15 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Jun 19, 2023
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ruder: Spikeball purchased its domain name for $100
“So we got spikeball.com for a hundred dollars.”
Chris Ruder Jun 19, 2023 ▶ 21:32 Spikeball: Chris Ruder
Nov 21, 2024
Disclosure
Spikeball operated entirely direct-to-consumer for its first five years
“We weren't in any stores for our first five years. 100% spikeball.com.”
Chris Ruder Nov 21, 2024 ▶ 28:12 Advice Line with Chris Ruder of Spikeball
Nov 21, 2024
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Chris Ruder: Volleyball players hated Spikeball when it first launched
“And I also thought that, you know, when I launched, I was like, yeah, volleyball players are gonna love this game, and that was just what I thought. They wound up hating it but it was these groups that I never would have thought of in a million years that love…”
Chris Ruder Nov 21, 2024 ▶ 3:52 Advice Line with Chris Ruder of Spikeball
May 22, 2025 neutral
Insight
Ruder: Early International Expansion Requires Existing Organic Demand
“The time where it makes the most sense to really consider it is if you have that existing demand. If you don't, then, man, it feels like a really heavy lift”
Chris Ruder May 22, 2025 ▶ 33:24 Advice Line: Scaling Strategies
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