Chris Ruder, founder of Spikeball, discusses rediscovering the discontinued lawn game during a 2003 trip before reviving the brand.
Prediction Open · timeframe Jun 2043
Chris Ruder Predicts Roundnet Will Eventually Become an Olympic Sport
“Yeah, I absolutely think we will be recognized by the Olympics. I think there will be professional round net players, and we will be considered a legitimate sport.”
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”
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 …”
Insight
A Free Product That Cannot Market Itself Is Not Great
“You need to give away a ton of your product for free. And if the product can't really travel on its own, it can't market itself, then you might not have that great of a product.”
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…”
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…”