Cincinnati native Catherine Baxter had never heard of pickleball, that is until her now-fiance’s parents made a makeshift court in their New York City apartment during quarantine in 2020.
She could tell the sport — a popular combination of tennis, badminton and Ping-Pong — had a certain appeal, even from a distance, no pun intended. “I could see it had this hold on people,” she said. “And I filed the thought away.”
Then she started playing herself. “I saw instantly why people loved it,” she said. More importantly, she saw opportunity.
Nettie Pickleball Co. is the result, and the startup, now several months old, is quickly catching fire with its line of retro, 1960s-inspired paddles and more. But it's more than just gear.
Baxter is building what could be the city’s next breakthrough lifestyle brand, investor and Cincinnati startup veteran Dave Knox told me.
‘There's a gold rush’
There’s a few reasons for Nettie's quick success: Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country. At least 5 million people are playing around the world. Even Cincinnati is getting in the game. The city earlier this year earmarked $500,000 to upgrade its tennis courts at Sawyer Point for pickleball play. Aces Pickleball, a bar and entertainment complex centered around the sport, will open later this year at the $100 million Factory 52 development in Norwood.
But the brand stands out in more ways than one. When Baxter went to buy her own gear, she noticed the market was amiss. Paddles were either super expensive and masculine, or cheap Amazon finds that were not very well designed.
Nettie is positioning itself to be a more accessible — yet still premier — brand. Its designs are joyful, stylish and bright (but not neon, she said). “Equal parts creativity, quirk and competitiveness.”
“I wanted it to be fun,” Baxter said. “I said, ‘If Don Draper were to play pickleball, what would his paddles look like?’”
Baxter, at this juncture, was still living in the Big Apple, but it quickly became apparent Nettie could not thrive inside her New York City apartment. She packed her bags and moved back to Cincinnati. The company officially launched in conjunction last August.
So far, sales are primarily e-commerce driven. The company hit the six-figure mark in about a nine-month span. The company had to take a brief pause when Baxter sold out her pilot run just before the holidays last year.
The attention it's garnered has been as equally eye-catching as its designs.
Nettie’s paddles were front and center on an April episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show," when Barrymore and co-host Ross Mathews tried their hand at pickleball (Nettie was never said by name, but Baxter said it added to the momentum the company was already experiencing).
More recently, Nettie was named the "Best New Pickleball Brand” by Men's Health Magazine; Baxter was featured in a Glamour article titled, “Women Are Leading Pickleball’s Big Boom;” and the paddles were listed as a “best gift” in a newsletter published by former “Today” host Katie Couric.
Knox, a former Brandery co-founder and Blue North’s new executive director, said it’s rare for brands to start out this way — with such a big initial splash.
He and J.B. Kropp, who also helped start the Brandery, a nationally known accelerator, have joined Nettie as investors and hands-on advisers. Knox said they came across Nettie when Baxter applied for a Main Street Ventures grant (Brandery’s prior investments in startups like Ahalogy, Roadtrippers and Modulus, which all celebrated exits, help fund Main Street programs) and were intrigued.
Pickleball is a growing sport, sure, but Nettie has attracted a spectrum of attention.
“No one has mastered the lifestyle piece of this, that the paddle is an extension of yourself,” Knox said. “There’s this multi-generational reaction. The paddles get the same level of reaction from my kids as my dad — you don’t get that from many brands. And then you meet Catherine. She has something special. She gets it and is level-headed, which is a skill you need in entrepreneurship. This could be Cincinnati’s next big thing.”
So far, Nettie has rolled out paddles in four designs: the Ashbury, named for the famed San Francisco Haight-Ashbury neighborhood; the Bainbridge, named after the island near Seattle where pickleball was born in 1965; Pendleton, named for the neighborhood Baxter lives now; and the Bedford, the Brooklyn street and neighborhood where Nettie came to life.
There are also coffee mugs, and a paddle bag (which is currently sold out). The individual paddles retail for $79.99, while sets (a double pack) start at $149.99.
Baxter said Nettie is making moves to expand into retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue. Stores like Dick’s and Walmart are also practical plays, Knox added, but the company could find a home at racket shops, gift stores and boutiques, yoga studios and more.
To fuel that rollout, Nettie just landed a round of seed funding. Baxter declined to disclose the amount, but she said the money will help build out inventory and more.
She sees the market as one that will only continue to grow.
“There’s a gold rush happening, and it’s time to think of this as a real business,” she said. “People are putting a lot of money into it, and there’s an increasing level of competition. The need to accelerate is now.”
