From golf to hunting, a new group of startups wants to make the experience even better

From golf to fishing to pickleball, outdoor sports and recreation have boomed during the pandemic. But unlike some pandemic-induced trends (virtual conferences, Zoom pleased hours), interest in outdoor activities has remained.

Until the end of 2023, participation in outdoor activities rose to a record 175.8 million peopleor 57% of all Americans ages 6 and older, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

But the influx of interest exposed a lack of innovation in lots of parts of the industry. From phone bookings to money payments to a hardware market dominated by traditional brands, the outdoor recreation category was rife with opportunities for entrepreneurs.

In the past few years, entrepreneurs have created SaaS software for hunting and fishing guides. Founders have built AI-powered firms that find and book golf tee times. Kevin Durant has invested in a startup that helps people find pickleball courts. And the list goes on.

Meanwhile, VCs have also taken an interest. In 2019, VCs invested $48.60 million in 25 sports technology firms, according to PitchBook. In 2021, that figure rose to $949.26 million and 53 firms; in 2023, during VC winter, investments totaled $189.71 million and 43 firms. While that’s a major crash compared to 2021 (when VC investment was at a record high across all industries), dollars invested last yr still represent a 290% increase from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Online acceleration

Benjamin Lazarov, co-founder and CEO of AnyCreek, a startup that creates booking and business software for fishing and hunting guides, told TechCrunch that he would never have considered starting his company before the pandemic. But then Lazarov tried to book a hunting guide in Vermont in 2022.

He asked a cashier at nearby Orvis for local guide recommendations, and he or she gave him a paper list of seven names to call. As he called and left voicemails, it occurred to him that with every thing else moving online during COVID-19, why was he still trying to book guided hunts over the phone? After that, he resigned as regional development director at Compass and launched AnyCreek.

“I think if I had tried to start this business five years before COVID-19, there’s no way,” Lazarov said. “COVID-19 has definitely accelerated the adoption of more technology. There’s a new generation of guides who are leaning into technology, leaning into mobile devices, running every other part of their lives online.”

Mallard Bay is one other startup that’s bringing online hunting and fishing guides. The Houston, Texas-based company launched in 2019 and its site boomed after lockdowns eased in 2021, growing from 19 guides on its platform to greater than 100, co-founder and CEO Logan Meaux told TechCrunch.

Loop Golf, a startup that automates finding and booking tee times at a public golf course, was founded in response to the surge in new golfers that made it harder for existing players to play. Matthew Holden, co-founder and CEO of Loop Golf, told TechCrunch in June that he got here up with the idea when he realized the surge in golf interest that got here after the pandemic wasn’t going away.

“It was getting harder and harder to find time to play,” Holden said. “I spent hours looking at different options. I was sick of it, and my wife was definitely sick of it.”

Changes in behavior

As the world has been forced online, consumers have come to expect to interact with all businesses that way, Lazarov said. People simply don’t want to return to booking by phone, and so they want technology to do more for his or her leisure lives, just because it does for his or her work and private lives in other areas.

It’s like a New York restaurant that updated its point-of-sale system to support cashless transactions. “They’ll never go back,” Lazarov said, because the new POS system “helps them run their business better. Think about how much more money they can make.”

Scott Holloway, managing partner at Starting Line and investor in AnyCreek, said people, especially younger generations, increasingly want to spend extra money on experiences than on physical things. This trend has been well-documented in quite a few studies dating back a decade agoHe added that firms creating technology to support experience-based transactions are in a good position.

Additionally, people often need to purchase new equipment and supplies to perform new activities.

Many start-up firms have also emerged to provide equipment, clothes and niknaks for these new hobbyists. Eastside Golf Course AND Malbon Golf Course Both firms are venture-backed startups that aim to equip and equip new golf fans who may not want to appear to be Arnold Palmer from the Sixties. Nettie AND Recess are startups designing pickleball paddles that do not appear to be they got here from a Florida retirement home.

Early investors entering this category akin to Hip-campbooking platform for campsites and AutoCampglamping company, showed that customers were fascinated about innovation in the category years ago. Now, greater than 10 years later, Holloway believes there’s still a lot that entrepreneurs can do.

There’s reason to think he’s right. Services that rent out things like kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards still have web sites that appear to be they were in-built 2002. The same goes for those that supply every thing from archery to ziplining. Many outdoor-recreation businesses could still use some help.

“The market is huge,” Holloway said. “As Marc Andreessen famously said, ‘software is eating the world,’ but this is one of the last consumer spends that software hasn’t eaten. Consumers are demanding it. It’s a huge market opportunity to ride that wave.”