From golf to fishing to pickleball, outdoor sports and recreation have boomed during the pandemic. But unlike some trends the pandemic has caused (virtual meetings, Zoom happy hours), interest in outdoor activities has stuck around.
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, participation in outdoor activities will reach a record high of 175.8 million by the end of 2023, accounting for 57% of all Americans age 6 and over.
But the flood of interest also revealed a lack of innovation in many parts of the industry. From reservations by phone to cash payments to a gear market dominated by established brands, the outdoor recreation sector was rife with opportunity for entrepreneurs.
In the past few years, entrepreneurs have built SaaS software for hunting and fishing guides. Founders developed an AI-powered company that searches and books golf tee times. Kevin Durant invested in a startup that helps you find pickleball courts. And the list goes on.
Meanwhile, VCs are also showing interest: In 2019, VCs invested $48.6 million in 25 sports tech companies, according to PitchBook. In 2021, that rose to $949.26 million and 53 companies, with total investments of $189.71 million in 43 companies in VC winter 2023. That's a big drop from 2021 (a record-breaking year for VC investment across all industries), but last year's investments still represent a 290% increase over pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Online Acceleration
Benjamin Lazaroff, co-founder and CEO of AnyCreek, a startup that develops booking and back-end business software for fishing and hunting guides, told TechCrunch that he had never considered starting a company before the pandemic. But Lazaroff tried to book a hunting guide in Vermont in 2022.
He asked the cashier at his local Orvis for some recommendations for local guides, and she gave him a paper list of seven names to call. As he made calls and left voicemails, he realized why he was still trying to book a guided hunt over the phone when everything else had moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic. He then left his position as Compass' director of regional growth to start AnyCreek.
“If I had tried to start this business five years before COVID-19, I don't think there's any way I could have done it,” Lazaroff said. “COVID-19 has definitely accelerated technology adoption. There's a new generation of guides who are technology-first, mobile-first, and they're doing every part of their lives online.”
Mallard Bay is another startup that offers hunting and fishing guides online. The Houston, Texas-based company was founded in 2019 and grew from 19 guides to more than 100 on its platform after lockdowns eased in 2021, co-founder and CEO Logan Moe told TechCrunch.
Loop Golf, a startup that automates the search and booking of tee times at public golf courses, was founded as a response to the rise in new golfers making it harder for existing players to play. Matthew Holden, co-founder and CEO of Loop Golf, told TechCrunch in June that he came up with the idea when he noticed that the surge in interest in golf that occurred after the pandemic wasn't going away.
“It was getting harder and harder to find tea times,” Holden said. “I would spend hours searching through different options. It was annoying me and it was definitely annoying my wife.”
Behavioral changes
When the world was forced to move online, consumers prepared to have all their interactions with businesses online, Lazaroff said. People just don't want to go back to making phone reservations, and they want technology to play more of a role in their leisure lives, similar to the role it plays in other areas of their work and personal lives.
It's like the New York City restaurant that updated its POS system to accommodate cashless payments. “They never went back,” Lazaroff says. “The new POS system helps them run their business better. Just think of how much more money they could make.”
Scott Holloway, managing partner at Starting Line and investor in Anycreek, said people, especially younger generations, are increasingly willing to spend money on experiences over physical things — a trend that's well-documented in numerous studies going back a decade. He added that companies building the technology that underpins these experience-based transactions are in a smart position.
Additionally, new activities often require the purchase of new gear and equipment.
A number of startups have also sprung up to supply equipment, clothing, and accessories for this new hobbyist. Eastside Golf and Malbon Golf are both venture-backed startups that aim to provide clothing and accessories for new golf fans who don't want to look like Arnold Palmer from the 1960s. Nettie and Recess are startups that design pickleball paddles that don't look like they came from a Florida retirement community.
Venture-backed early entrants into the space, like campsite booking platform Hipcamp and glamping company AutoCamp, demonstrated years ago that there was a consumer appetite for innovation in the space, and now, more than a decade later, Holloway believes there's still a lot entrepreneurs can do.
There's reason to believe he's right: Websites for canoe, kayak, and stand-up paddleboard rentals still look like they were built in 2002, as do providers offering everything from archery to zip lines. Many businesses in the outdoor recreation sector still need tech help.
“The market is huge,” Holloway said. “Marc Andreessen famously said, 'Software is eating the world,' and this is one of the last consumer spending areas that software isn't eating yet. Consumers are demanding it. It's a huge market opportunity to be in on this wave.”