In this episode of The Jimmy Rex Show, Jimmy sits down with Preston Unck, entrepreneur and founder of Teebox, a company bringing innovation and community into the world of golf. Preston shares how his passion for the game led him to create Teebox, and how the sport itself has shaped his views on discipline, patience, and building relationships both on and off the course.
The conversation dives deep into the lessons golf teaches about life and business — from handling pressure, to staying present in the moment, to constantly working on small improvements. Preston explains how Teebox is making golf more accessible and engaging, while also serving as a platform for personal growth and connection.
Alongside the golf discussion, Jimmy and Preston explore the mindset required to create meaningful change, take risks, and build something that truly aligns with your passions. Whether you’re an avid golfer, an entrepreneur, or someone looking for fresh inspiration, this episode blends sports, business, and personal growth in a powerful way.
The conversation dives deep into the lessons golf teaches about life and business — from handling pressure, to staying present in the moment, to constantly working on small improvements. Preston explains how Teebox is making golf more accessible and engaging, while also serving as a platform for personal growth and connection.
Alongside the golf discussion, Jimmy and Preston explore the mindset required to create meaningful change, take risks, and build something that truly aligns with your passions. Whether you’re an avid golfer, an entrepreneur, or someone looking for fresh inspiration, this episode blends sports, business, and personal growth in a powerful way.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Jimmy Rex Show.
Today on the podcast, we have the founder and CEO
of Tea Box, Preston Unk And if you guys haven't
had the opportunity to visit one of these locations yet,
by the way, they are quickly growing. They have almost
fifty locations either built or being built right now.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
This is kind of the future of golf.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
This is a sport that is absolutely just taken off
since COVID and Preston is at the front of kind
of the future of what this looks like.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
So we dig into that here on this episode.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
This is one of those episodes if you're an entrepreneur
or you have an idea about a business in your own,
you're gonna love this episode of how Preston just took
action and made this happen. So, without further ado, let's
get to the show. Also, today's podcast is brought to
you by Bucked Up. This is their light lightly carbonated protein.
This is the Rainbow candy flavor. These are one hundred calories,
(00:51):
you guys, twenty five grams of protein. In fact, when
I go golfing, I always start with one. In fact,
I start every morning with one. It's kind of like
my morning coffee. They don't have caffeine, but just kind
of get you going in the morning and super healthy
way to do it.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
So if you are in the business.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Of drinking a lot of protein right now, we're trying
to look for some new products that taste good.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Check out bucked Up Protein rist and good to see it.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Man, Hey, you can to see you too, Nice to
meet you.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting there about gosh, maybe ten
fifteen years ago, it felt like golf was dying, like
it was on its deathbed, right, I remember, because I
always love golf. And then all of a sudden, dude,
during COVID, everybody realized, oh we can go outside, spend
a few hours with our friends being nature and go play.
And now it's you go to get a tea time
(01:42):
and you have to get it like four or five
days out. It's like the sport is probably healthier than ever. So,
I mean, your timing has been really good.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I mean I am a product if you love that
COVID evolution of golf. I played it growing up. We
were an athletic family, and like if it had a
ball or something that you could you could throw and
compete and try to beat your friends. Like we were there, right,
and so playing golf when we were younger, though like
(02:09):
we didn't My mom was a school teacher and you know,
we didn't have the money that was like, hey, let's
go golf and get golf equipment. It was just wasn't
our cards. Even though at a grandpa was a member
of a country club. It was like at that time,
like you don't bring your grandkids to play golf. So
we just went to the pool. But you know, going
in business and family and acciding a couple of businesses,
I just had opportunity and yeah, I was home in
(02:31):
my neighborho.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Was a.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Worked at a course, Dell Stewart, I mean his eighties,
he's retired. Just worked to just get free golf, come play,
you know, come and join this men's league. And you
kind of tease because golf was never I never took
it serious. I played baseball and my brother played football.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
And springs do not compliment each other, no, for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
But you know I found my Nike slingshots, and my
older brother when he played in the NFL, he had
a Nike deal. That was my graduation gift is like
he needed to spend a little more money on is
it was going to go away. And Mason got me
some sling shots fifteen years prior to you know, when
I actually pulled them out and used them and it
was fun. I mean, you just get hooked. Golf has
that ability to just pull you in. I think that's
(03:13):
what happened to a lot of the world, especially the
new entrance of the game that really found out like, hey,
it's competitive. I used to compete in other sports and
I kind of lost that edge in sport. I did
it more in like sales and business. Adrenaline of closing
a deal like that was like for me like fourth quarter,
like how to show up? You know. So when I
got into like golf again and established a handicap, was
(03:35):
like dang, like I want to get better. So yeah,
I think there's a lot of people and that saved golf.
Really if you think about it, like when I hope
in this business and I'm sure we'll get into it,
it was like I still did the same research I
would have done if I opened one of my former
startups like software and whatnot, and so you know, I
just I learned like twenty seventeen eighteen, like this game
(03:56):
was failing, like PJA was figuring out what to do
to get on TV still and you know there's still
people interested, but that market was actually actively like what
I called like they were dying. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I remember they were really worried about the sport, and
I remember being worried about it just because I like golf.
You know, So how did you go then from just
kind of having a loose interest in golf to starting
a company?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, around like what was the impetus?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Well, so I had exited a company to we work.
Really awesome experience started from six of us to one
of the first We were yeah, sorry it was team,
but we exited too. We were oh got it.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
They bought you guys at a time part was just
going nuts, grabbing everything.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Well, they grabbed everything that wanted to be a software
right for the valuation and it was. It was a
great experience. It's cash still like something that we couldn't
turn down, but it was at a time to where
they went from sixty four billion dollar valuation to an
eight billion dollar bill.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Out while they were doing the buyout right.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
After our buyout, like the year I had to stay
there to transition and do that.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Thankful you got the good exit. Then you had the.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Shares too, and we work where you're just like, dang,
like this is the next Amazon. It was. You know
what a great career Adam Adam Newman and man I
could you ever made in it? Oh? Yeah many times?
And and uh I mean from showing up when he
bought our business and you know, bare feet and talking
about you know, of course uh utah a lot of
LDS and things like that. He oh, you know, very
(05:22):
similar to you guys. Like I feel like I'm you know,
not getting religious, but ushering in the Messiah like he himself.
He had that kind of I don't know if I
call it goddism where these these founders, the CEOs can
get very like.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I get that they start thinking that they're yeah, chosen
or something something.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And you know he could, I mean he could sell anything.
He was really just charismatic on on how he could
present and and get you just so into this conversation
you're talking about like soft Bank, one of the like
that fund. You know it's you don't they don't get
money to anybody, right, and when they do, if it fails,
they take you what's what happened. But getting into back
(06:02):
to the story, I mean, it was a really interesting
experience for me because I learned a lot of what
not to do, but I just also just I wanted
to get back to something that I was passionate about,
and I went to Lucid chart if you heard of them,
big awesome company, and uh it was. It was nice
because I was just in a seat, like as a
startup and when you're when you're going all over the
place and doing things, especially leading a sales organization and startup,
(06:23):
it's like you're, hey, babe, I'm gonna go to New York,
like right now, I gotta go, right So I was
able to settle down a little bit. But at the
same time, it was like really boring.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Like I felt like that, especially being an entrepreneur, it's
just I mean, there's so much going on all the
time and you're wearing a dozen hats and I can
only imagine going yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
So so just like that, I was just sitting and
see and I really enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong.
Lucid at the time when COVID hit, I mean, the
numbers that that we hit and experience were incredible. I
mean it was just a skyrocket. So you still felt
like you're in like a six hundred employee startup. But
so so when I was introduced to golf by my
neighbor and I went and played and then experience that summer.
(07:01):
Just in twenty twenty, I was playing twice a week
and just going to town. I got new clubs and
I was invested. My wife was like, like, what are
you doing, Like you've never played golf. We've been married
like thirteen years.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Worrying about the help of the relationship.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Like a lot of guys do use golf to avoid
being around their family, and my dad did that.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
OK, yeah, for sure, it's other hours or more.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, so if.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
You hang out after but no, my wife is awesome.
And and for me too, it's kind of an out
like green grass and being outdoors, like it was just
such a good like time to be just outdoors and
not really thinking, silence the phone, put it in the bag,
and do your thing. And so it was a combination
of that. And then winter hit in Utah and I
(07:46):
was like, where do I go? Like I was hitting
in a ring. Yeah, let's go to scott Stife. My
brother lived there at the time, I definitely hit that up.
But you know, I'm that guy who was so addicted
to the game because of like just wanting to get better.
I'm hitting and arrangement, it's snowing, and yeah I was
covered and had the heater, but like I'm still hitting
in the snow. Like what like asking myself, like you're insane, dude,
(08:09):
Like just take a few months off. But I really
started to love the game. And then when I watched
it on TV and I watched like the just how
kids got into it and youth trained and how I
and myself wanted to get better, I just saw some gaps.
I was like, there's no like physical presence in the game, right,
like you're not trying to get stronger or.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
That was it.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
That was what originally helped Tiger Woods to stand out.
He was the first guy that took his physical, you
know side of everything so serious, and you know, every
single part of his game was better than everybody else
is because he was such a physical specimen over them.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
And and it was I think the world like understood
that and they they got it, but nobody implemented it
other than like high end golf. And that's the thing
about golf just in general, and what really COVID did
in my belief to golf, it brought in a different
demograffic that helped bring helped bring more accessibility to the game,
(09:04):
and it was more inclusive, Like they just had to
learn how to be inclusive. And as sad as it was,
that's why golf was failing, like they just they yeah, it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Was like it was very expensive and it was like
these rules all the time, and you're you know, I
hated going golfing with anybody random because they're yelling at
you for your shadows and their.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Ball and you're like, dude, I'm just trying to have
it my time out here.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Okay, Yeah, yeah, Like I think golf probably helped a
little bit with that too, right, to like loosen that
up a little.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Bit percent, I call it. And I fed anybody by
khakis and callers just that like mode of like just
you know, you have to tuck your shirt in and
then there's times and places when maybe it's appropriate, but
you know, it's it just woke the game up economically
for sure, and they had to figure out, well, how
do we receive this this new entrant. And because of
the capital it brought right, these courses were overwhelmed, like
(09:52):
you said, and then the off course golf got a
lot more popular. Top golf obviously was before COVID. Matter
of fact, when I was Elucid, they were one of
my customers, and so I worked with them kind of
in behind the scenes actually with their Callaway deal. They
were originally going to go public and then and then
Callaway came in and someone build them out because of COVID,
and so just seeing behind the scenes, not even knowing
(10:15):
I wasn't even like golf as I as I was
or I am now, But just having that experience was
really actually like fortelling into getting in the golf business.
But yeah, when it comes to my interest in the
business side of it, I really did. I opened a
facility just because I wanted.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
A place to train, like with a simulator. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
So I had a buddy I used to work with,
George Bergan. He owns Pickler. You've probably seen Pilar around.
He had just started it and there was a space
next to him in his base, and you went to
up North and he's like, hey, you should you should
open your facility next ours. We got like three thousand
square feet available, come check it out. And so you
look at it, you're like, hey, this is cool. It's
(10:58):
a flex space like walls and cement. And I just
was like, hey, I want a gym because I like
working out simulators, because I need a swing and see
where my ball goes and not in snow and a
putting green. You know, that's that's what I want to
get better. Hopefully, Like thirty friends joined me so that
I could at least like pay my Yeah, we're good,
(11:18):
Like we got something. And as I was building it
and just getting like attention from the community like high
school programs, you know, my friends that golfed, and it
got a lot more attention. We had our open house,
it was like oh wow, like out the gates. We
got sixty customers that weekend and like people really showed up, right,
and it was fun to build that in the next
(11:40):
couple of weeks to maxing out and you know, you're
looking at this subscription model like I used to from
software and be like, huh, this is cool. Like the
community showed out bringing a value that is actually being
received and it's like more of a lifestyle, not just
you know, I'm going to sell this and hope you
like it type of mentality. So it was I mean,
(12:00):
the let's see, we opened in August of twenty twenty one,
really six months went into it, and my eyes just
really started open that I was like, I want to
do this more. I want to just get other communities
just involved. It wasn't what it is today. That was
not my grand vision. It was just I could go
to Kaysville, which is so so and so far away
(12:21):
that other people were asking, man, that's a little far
to drive to, you Ena, when are we going to
bring one there? So it was just just like all right,
well that same buddy who opened a Picklar who opened
one over there, and we just started like, I mean,
we only have two together, you know. But it was
that was the mentality's like okay, great, I'll be next
to you there too, And so you know, there was
that mode of just like growing because and just trying
(12:43):
to get new customers elsewhere, and really we grew to
high school athletes. That was kind of the early mentality
and it still is today. But you know that the
high school teams will be like, man, like they're training
Bonneville's training there, Like I want to train. I want
ours but it's too far away, you know. So so
that was kind of where it led. And then when
I decided to go full time, it was like all right,
(13:05):
like I'm all in and I had my first sell
was obviously my wife. She's like, you're gonna You're gonna
leave Lucid. And you're probably familiar with those people you
talk to and yourself, like you get the way I
call the golden handcuffs right, like.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
You're making just enough money, but you're.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Not really happy and it Lucid. I had like rsu's
and it was like you kind of get it, like
you've been in software sales for fifteen years and you're
in leadership at Lucid, Like that's what you work for
you now, your whole career. And but I think, you know,
I was listening to one of your episodes around that Castle.
That's a lot of like where I was at. You know,
I just experienced an exit and it's great Financially, it's awesome.
(13:42):
You kind of feel in a career when you get
to that mode where you build something with people and
they're like somebody else buys it, Like wow, like there's
a value there other than just filling customers. Needs. You
felt a big gap in the marketplace in another company's need,
and so yeah, there's there's satisfaction there. But I think
that software sells well. We see a lot in our
valley here in Utah. So many people go like it's
(14:05):
a cycle. Maybe go on a mission or do something
and go to college and get sucked into door to
door or or cells. And it's not a bad thing too,
Like there's you can make some good money, but like
money always, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yeah, I mean, well, it's it's such a tricky thing
because I always, you know, I very few things will
set you up better for life than going and doing
that door to door sells. But you also give up
every summer for your twenties. And I'm like, that is
a high price to pay. Like that's the only reason
I never did it. I was like, I just.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Did not want to give up my summers. That was
literally my whole reason I didn't do it. I love summer.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
I've got a buddy, Davey Adams and his crew man.
They're they awesome people and they put in the work
like they're they're part of event. And he leads a
few teams now and he's made his price, and so
he's able to be a little more free and and
really be a leader. And it's awesome. But it's true,
I have a true respect for those type of sellers.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Oh, five hours on the doors, like twelve in an
office did?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Yeah? I mean I went on a mission in soul
religion and I didn't make anything. I wouldn't do that
for money.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Well, I sold steak and chicken door to door for
three years, year round. So it's like the equolent of
doing about a dozen summers, you know, And I'm telling you, man,
you earn your money on those doors.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
But yeah, I have the highest respect for it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
I do think that it's any kid would be benefit
from going to do a summer or too. But also
you don't want to give up your dream of what
you really want to do because the money is so good, right,
because you can make so much money so fast. Yeah,
it can almost skew your view of what work is
supposed to fill and look like.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
And there's also just there's that double edged sword there
because like with me in software sells, and I worked
at market startup in Augden when I was going to college,
and that was before I got recruited to the startup
and it was actually perfect timing because I wasn't making
much and we just had our first child, married a
couple of years, and I was making like forty fifty sixty,
(16:00):
so it was like easy to be like, oh yeah,
I'll join the startup and make like thirty five forty
thousand and get some stock and being an audend boy,
like you don't know what stock is, like you know
what these shares are, and that's fine, Like it was cool,
Like I grew up with a school teacher knowledge, you know,
Like I just was a school teacher son that didn't
like education. So sales was it for.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Me, you know.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Yeah, But there's a there's you know, when I was
seeking and I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, my
dad's an entrepreneur, so I always like had these Like
it's not that I was just like setting goals to
one day open my business. I didn't know what it was.
I just knew I wanted to get into it. But
seeing the struggles of being an entrepreneur and the sacrifice
of my dad made and things that he did as
(16:39):
an example my vision on being an entrepreneurs, like I
want to go get in and learn the ropes of
really cells, like is your I feel like being an entrepreneur,
you are a seller through and through.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Well, if you're not, you're always having to outsource the
thing that's going to cost you the most. And if
you can sell then know it's like my coaching program,
I'm my own sales guy and so I don't have
to a somebody thirty forty percent of the contract. I'm
I'm able to do so much more with it because
I am the sales guy.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
One percent, and you're you're selling your business. Like you know,
we we we raise money as we started to really
grow and take this serious and so you know it's
been a strength. Now, not every entrepreneur needs to be
a seller. I think there's that like if you've got
a passion for something and you're not that people person, yeah,
you got to go get one. And I think people
can adapt to right as you say you coach people. Yeah,
(17:29):
like people will invest if you've got a great idea,
and especially if you're the brain right like there you talent.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Yeah, you have to just be the person that just
has that vision, knows where it's going, can accumulate the pieces,
whether that's you know, having a sales guy or whatever.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
So for me, it was I wanted to put in
the work, and I always had ideas and I'll kind
of go to the story that I to tell a lot.
We have franchises in every week from all over the
country now that are asking, you know, the founder like
how did you get into this, and you know, tell
the story kind of what I did when it comes
to the neighbor asks me to go off. But one
(18:02):
area to where you know, I was always had this
like okay, like I have this idea, and I'd go
and run it through. And it's usually around the software
world because kind of growing your career up in Utah,
especially in the last fifteen years, you can get caught
in traps that's like if I'm going to be successful,
I've got to go start a mega software business that's
(18:22):
going to IPO or we're gonna exit for a billion dollars.
If not, why start it right? And so you know,
you'd have those ideas and thoughts and it's funny I'd
go to like, uh, you know, my wife has always
been supportive but very like grounded and like, hey, we
obviously got to take care of our family. You know,
and when you have a young family, that's hard. Sometimes
it's just like hey, well, like I need health insurance
(18:43):
and benefits and things like that. But yeah, I'd go
to my mom and she'd be very supportive, but she'd
always be but like you're just got state your company, right,
Like she'd always put all those seeds and like, you
do it, but don't leave.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
It's funny.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I always tell people, don't go to your parents or
the people that love you the most for advice, because
they're going to give you advice.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
It's going to cause you the least.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Amount of pain, yeah, to them, to them, right, And
so it's like, well, if you play it safe, you'll
be fine. This could cause a lot of pain down
the line. And so they're always going to make you
want to choose the safe path, and unfortunately most of
the big success comes on the other side.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, And I you know, you go like look back
at my mom and it was like that's their nature, right,
And I think everybody needs to have that backbone and
be able to be like, hey, well you know, let
me educate you through this process through also failure, right,
and that's important, Like I'm going to go take this
risk But why bring that up is you know, there
(19:37):
was times when I had those ideas that it was
definitely the right thing not to do them, you know
what I mean, Like they're just like I think we
can get emotional in these oh man like, especially when
it was around usually when I would tell my parents
or somebody about it, it was like, I'm going to
make so much money. I feel like when I hear
that from people, that's one of those signs to be like,
maybe you shouldn't go all in if it's all about money, right,
(19:59):
and so like in her wisdom, but also to like
that like also mentality of the system, right, Like the
system taught my mom to go be a school teacher
and do thirty five years in the same classroom in
first grade. Right, So there's there's this balance that we
have to be humans and we have to be adults
to make our decisions. But when it was time for
the idea of tea box and came to my mind
(20:20):
and my passion for golf, I had two boys at
the time. My oldest was ten eleven and youngest was
like four or five, and she saw me with them
and her being a school teacher, a big emphasis of
tea box and where I had been in my career.
I had exited company, so she she didn't know what
I would make and all that stuff, but she knew.
I was like, Okay, well I go and I tell her, Hey,
(20:42):
I'm like literally sitting in the parking lot to put
my first and last month rent deposit, which I had
never done. On a commercial space like this, I could
start up little software things that.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I do and it was likefl and.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
I was out like a money yeah. But when I
did that, I was literally calling her to be honest,
to like talk me out of it. I was like,
here's like like thirty thousand dollars, like harder in cash.
It's my cash, Like I'm just going to give it
to some lady who's you know, works for this commercial agent.
And it's done, it's gone, you know. And she just
gave me this mode of like you need to do it,
(21:14):
like this is something that you should, you should do.
I see your passion for it, and and in our
conversations a lot of that passion was sent around youth.
And she's like, because it will be something that they need,
the kids need, the generation needs, and that was like dang,
like it didn't work like she told me to do it,
like all right, I'm gonna like come out of the
car and go tell here's my thirty thousand dollars landlord,
(21:34):
and let's go right. But that was an interesting experience
because at the time, my mom was also passing of cancer,
and so like, you know, you go through as as
an adult and like you think you have it all together.
I was thirty four or thirty three at the time,
and you're letting you know when you're you're the youngest
(21:54):
and your mom is going through that experience and that
like influence of hey, you should do this when I
usually tell you not too right and I'm also passing.
Like to me, it was like not only was I
in it because I'm a father I have to supply
for my wife and family, but like like that influence
of my mom had in my life was like it
just changed my world. You know. It was like holy cow,
(22:15):
Like my mom believed in me and we didn't know
she was going to pass a month later, but it
was like whoa, Like I'm all in, you know, And
and there's this this this mode of where the influence
of tea box has been successful is when we go
all in when we do everything like you don't have
it tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
That's everything though, right, It's like I always one of
my favorite things is anything worth doing, is worth overdoing,
or if you can do something, do it right. Like
it's how I do everything. If I'm doing a vacation,
I'm gonna do it. If I'm throwing a party, We're
gonna have a party. If I'm starting a business, We're
gonna go all in.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Like yeah, and you do. You kind of have to
burn the bridges a little bit. You have to, you know.
I always say, if you chase.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Multiple rabbits, they all get away, And so you have
to really go all in on something. And what's cool
about that, whether it's a relationship, whether it's a business,
when you go all in like that, yeah, there is
no regrets. It doesn't matter if it works, if it
doesn't work. You're like, I learned so much from this.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I went all in.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
I wouldn't do it different and there's peace that comes
with that. And so it's just a great I'm glad
you mentioned that because it's just such a good way
to approach anything that you did.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Hundred and you know, when I went to that, we
worked ill. Even though I made money from the exit,
it was pretty like damaging to like my like being
opportunistic or optimist, like having this like oh my gosh,
like what we thought was going to be incredible just
crashed right, and it was like can I do it again?
Or you know, like this mode of like.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
You wonder over again, like did I get lucky? It
was the timing of the market was this real?
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yeah? And so like. But what it did though, to
me is I learned, like I saw a lot of
people who lost a lot more than I did. And
I lost what was on paper, right Like there was
people who lost their businesses who did all paper.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
And a lot of your transaction and equity then is
that a.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Lot of it all? Most of it was cash. We
were like there was company in the valley that had
majority equity. I mean I remember one of the particular meetings.
I want named names, but uh, just this gentleman coming
storming into our office because one of the executives we
work was there at the time and he lost seventy
five percent of his business in one day when they crashed,
(24:17):
and and you know, like what do you tell shareholders?
Adam Newman was irresponsible and you know, we're spent three
billion dollars when he raised one, Like you just can't
do that right and so like, But what I learned
is like, like people rebuild. You just rebuild, like you
said earlier, there's like so many people had, you know,
during economic challenges, like you just if you can read
(24:38):
the next day, you're gonna rebuild.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I tell people one of the gifts of life is
to go broke. I don't know if you've ever lost everything,
but it's like you get to this raw bottom and
you're like this was my takeaways, Like it's.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Not that bad.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
That bad.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
No, Like I'm good, I still have food, I have
people that love me. I enjoy my life. You lose
everything and then all of a sudden, you're not afraid
to go for it.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
People so afraid to go to nothing, and it's like, no,
it's not a terrible place to be.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Yeah. I think as an entrepreneur, whether you lose it
or like you are successful. I tell people, especially young entrepreneurs,
if they want to get into it, just be comfortable
having nothing and being fed. Last, Yeah, if you are
content with that, and now there's modes where like you
have to have like a patient spouse, Like you have
(25:25):
to have a family that is okay with like not
going on vacation or your vacations turn into like camping trips.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
And that's part of the reason, Like you got to
do the work on yourself so that you're not getting
fulfillment from external force sources.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Right, Like if you can get all of your.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Love and significance and you know, fulfillment from within, then
you're probably happier camping with your family than you would
be in Hawaii on the beach, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
It's like, why the.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Beach you're worried about? Like, almost.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Are we getting our money's worth here?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
We're running out of the line here, I just spent
this much on whatever.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Totally. Look, I've been rich and I've been poor. Out
was rich every time.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
But like the point of this whole conversation is like
I think you have to be honest about it, and
you can only say this. I think if you've had
a lot of money and had no money, right, But
it's like it does not make a giant difference in your.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Ability to really love your life.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
And when you get that, you just are willing to
go for it and you just are so much more
willing to risk everything and go for it. And I
think so many people play it safe and at the
end of their life. I did a full study on
this one time, and the number one regret of that
dying is they didn't go for it like they did.
They left these things on the table, and it was
always because they were afraid of going to zero, going broke,
(26:37):
going single, whatever it might have been.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Yeah, Yeah, And I think too growing up in a
low income home school, I mean we had, I say this,
we have what we needed, right, Like my mom supplied,
my dad supplied. They were divorced when I was too,
so I had a very kind of separate, you know,
kind of life in the way of like what I
did with my dad and my mom what you do
as a you know, kid with divorced parents. But my
(26:59):
mom was like supply for a lot of my life.
But I learned from her example of having to like
be a school teacher and do side things just to
make sure that I could like play baseball, and my
brother could play football and my sister could cheer whatever.
It was like it just like we didn't have more
than we needed. And like when I was young, I
had to work to buy cleats, I had like work
(27:21):
to pay for gas and things like that, and so
I really appreciate that. And even now, like with my kids,
we're not well off by any means, but like we
have things that we wanted and like we can get
you know, have toys and fun things. But it's hard
to raise kids.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Well, it's hard to simulate that if you actually have money. Right,
They're not dumb, they know. I was talking to John
and Pistana about this the other day and he literally said,
he said, the hardest thing about having money. I asked him,
the question is to my coaching group. I said, what's
the hardest part about or the worst part about having money?
And he said, trying to help your kids have that
burning desire.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
He said, they're not stupid. They know how much money
I have.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
You know, He's like, man, it's very difficult to create
these scenarios where they're actually motive.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
And that's that's to me, is it's it's hard because
I see generational like up and downs, and and you know,
there's there's a lot of successful, wealthy people that have
successful youth and children. But like as a father, I
have four kids and That's one of my biggest concerns
is like make your own path, do your own thing.
And my mind is fifteen, Like he's at an influential
(28:24):
age right now to where he's got to make decisions
that will like help him actually get ahead start in
life and and the generation today and and as we
kind of get past, you know, we're navietting little more
of my personal life than Tea Box. But like the
thing about Tea Box is like we're trying to set
principles and processes through training and programming in golf that
(28:47):
hopefully translates to I know how to set goals, I
know how to have discipline and work hard on things
and actually go execute and fulfill something. And and yeah,
we use golf as that like platform. But that's why
I feel our youth program has just skyrocketed.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Because how do you guys do that with the Box?
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Yeah, so we have coaches at every facility we call
our Box Pro And.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
The way, how many locations are you guys at now?
Speaker 3 (29:11):
We're fourteen in Utah. We do in Utah, yeah, Utah,
And then we have forty five that are in the
works across the coin in sixteen states. And we got enfranchising.
A track man hit us up early twenty twenty three
and said, hey, you should launch this franchise program with us.
We like what you do and we had a relationship
with them from some things that I had kind of
being an enterprise sells rep and know how to kind
(29:32):
of bark up the ladder and talk to some people
about you know, even being the small little thing to
try funny you.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Just like certain people just have different skills. I'm like,
certain people just know how to land on their feets.
Some people just know how to get in the room.
Some people just know how to talk to the right person.
It's they're just skills that you can't teach. I can't
explain it on a spreadsheet. It's like, yeah, trust me,
this is just what I do.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
And that's that's the strength I have. I love to communicate,
love to talk. Then I mean you put that in
a business and a passion. I was talking to executive
a track man titleists just like I have no business
being there, especially if you can watch me golf, like
I'm still like a ten or twelve handicap. It's because
I love the business side of too much and kind
of like growing a business that impacts a lot of people.
(30:11):
My time will come and that's the biggest thing. Like
when I golf with investors, it's like a first couple holes,
they're like, oh, so you just really love the sport,
Like they figure out like that I'm not like this stick.
But honestly, that's an advantage that we have a tea boxes.
Like we've gathered people who have a passion for golf
but also no business better and they're through and through
and in the golf business world that's opposite. It's usually
(30:33):
people that are like amazing golfers that are like trying
to find themselves in a career of golf. And we've
been able to just come in with a different edge
and different you know, success patterns. And then part of
like how we structured our boxes we call them, is
a result of that. So like with our coaching program,
our box pro we don't really need them to be
this like, hey, I was on this college team where
(30:55):
I was a semi pro, and I you know, I
was on some of these tours or I was a
pro at a golf course. Actually it's not our first
criteria to go after the pros on golf courses. We
want people that almost if you thinking about like a
conciergrat hotel, right, that they can really drive a community.
And when people come in, we have this rule of sixties,
So within sixty seconds the box pron needs agreet them
(31:15):
by name, right, and then within sixty minutes they go
to every one of our bays and get what we
call a drop in tip, right. And so they're just
there to help. And because we don't charge for lessons,
our coaching is all on demand awesome. We don't nitpick
people because golf is also.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Very like you also don't want somebody telling you your
swing if you don't, like, if you're not sure who
they are, you know, it's like if you're.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
Not and so if you can connect, then it's like, okay,
I trust this person and to connect. It's crazy. You
go to Chick fil A, You're in and out. They're
the best at feeling like that person kind of like
not knows me, but they at least said hello and welcome.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
And I'm always amazed that they get people to act
so friendly at Chick fil A that they're making so
little money.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
You know what I mean, I'm like, how do they
get them to be so friendly?
Speaker 3 (31:58):
So friendly? Eddit I know go down a road of
the research of in and out that I would do.
How much they pay their employees, sure, and how they
like you're you give me a general manager and make
two hundred and sixty thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
They just pay a little bit more than else.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
They'll never go outside in And there's some theories there
that we have with our box pros. But it's taking
that energy because if you go into like a clubhouse
of a golf course, it tends to be the exact opposite.
You automatically feel inadequate.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Oh yeah, like they just make you look stupid. You're
complaining about your shirt.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Yeah, whatever's like craft Like I don't know if I'm
wearing that right nice product like I used to, you know,
shop at Mervons growing up because again my mom's school teacher.
But that mode. So so we're flipping yeah some urbins, man,
but we flipped it upside down. And and so you
got to go back to youth and what we're doing
like like this this energy in the game. Yes, from
(32:48):
amateurs like adults like us, we either got into it
more or played it more. But the youth it's unreal. Now,
like my boys tried out for high school and you're
talking to high school coach up and up we were
They're used to having like ten to fifteen kids try out,
you know, and now they're having forty fifty sixty kids
try out, and they're like the score to compete.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
You know.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
My side a shot a seventy seven the other day
as a freshman and he didn't qualify, you know, and
it's like that's awesome, like yeah, see that, and teaching
him like did use that as like edge, like you
need to shoot a seventy six next time? Seventy five?
You know. But that's that's been fun to get these
these kids and really influence them in a in an
athletic way too, right, Like we have full gyms in
(33:34):
our facilities, and so we in our training you have
to work out and hit like you can't just go
into the base and hit like we just want you
to have a focus on the physical side. And when
they get it and it clicks, and especially when their
parents are texting us like, oh my gosh, my kid's
hitting a thirty yards first hour.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
So good because it just gets kids out, It gets
them being physical, It gets them active. Yes, and golf
is one of those things that it's a little bit
like real estate. I built my earate. You never can
perfect it, you can never master it, but golf you can't.
It's one of the beauties of it. It's it's designed
to frustrate you. It's designed to teach you, and you
can't master it no matter how.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Good you get.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I mean, and you know, you think about that in
the business world and in cells you said real estate,
Like the coolest thing about golf is you're minimizing risk.
Like if you can minimize risk and know where you
can miss, then you're going to score lower, right, And
and I think that's awesome. In business, it's like, Okay,
let's make sure that we're going to go after it,
like you said, like I'm going to pull out the
driver on the short part for I'm going to go
(34:31):
after it. But if I miss, I want to miss
on this side and on the water to the left,
like those those comparisons, and and so yeah, I mean,
it's fun like being in the golf business and having
it be a mode of our mission is inspired through
the game of golf, like that's what we live through.
And having a lot of career individuals that work with us.
We have thirty two full time employees in our corporate office.
(34:53):
Like it's it's crazy you built this quick man. Yeah,
I mean we're going after it, dude, Like it's it's
the game is ready for and it's received right, It's
not like we're just trying to like, you know, hope
opportunity comes based on us plant a flag and putt
a location somewhere. It's being received well. And the other
businesses like a titleist, track man, paying all the manufacturers.
(35:15):
We were the fastest to grow organic accounts with them
without being like a longtime club seller like Dick Sporting
Goods or you know, things like that. And so it's
been fun to see their recognition of our energy being
a little different. I think it kind of challenges them
a little bit. Kind of funny story. Just this December,
we had the PG Show in Orlando, and we had
(35:36):
thirty locations in the works at the time. Right. And
so when you're thinking, like, I don't know how the
golf business was before four years ago, Like I'm just
like and I don't care, you know, Like my mode
is like I'm just gonna do what I think needs
to be done for our business and the game in
the industry. And I go to the PGA show and
again having this like sales background and being at a
thousand tech shows in my career, right, you go into
(35:59):
i'll just say a manufacturer booth because I want to
say them by name, and it's like you have to
almost like approach them, and there's like thirty people in there,
and they're like this big, glorified manufacturer and like You're like, dude,
I'm trying to sell your product in my stores. And
they're like, h no, You've got to go through this, dude.
That dude, I'm like, why are you here at a
trade show like you usually go to these to like
(36:21):
push product out and yeah, And so we quickly made
a connection with them, and they came in our office
and they saw I mean, we've got twelve thousand square
fot office up in Centerville and it used to be
a coworking space and it's just a beautiful office and
it has a location in the front. And people are like,
oh wow, like you guys are legit a business, not
just like a simulator, you know, like just one of
(36:42):
these pop up lounges that are all over the place.
And and yeah, you've raised eight million dollars capital and
you're putting in places to grow and things like that.
So it's been a really interesting transition to where it's
like when you talk about earlier like sending it, Like
when I quit my goal and handcuff job, I was
not going to not send it, you know, like, and
you match that with the energy in the game and
(37:04):
and with like the industry is receiving things like if
it makes sense, for example, like our training and programming,
like the coaching model. That's why we went from a
thirteen percent annual membership rate to a seventy six percent
in like a year and a half. You know, and
you talk about annual recurring revenue versus monthly recurring revenue,
it's a game changer in business, you know. So it's
(37:25):
been it's been a lot of fun. But yeah, man, So.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
What's your I mean, what's your vision for ultimately? How
many locations are you hoping to get? I mean, obviously
as many as possible, probably, but like what's kind of
your vision for the next couple of years?
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Yeah, I mean locations like we we have to go
physically to be able to get like our training in
these markets and The beautiful thing is golf is everywhere,
like it's we're just in Ireland when we do.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
You guys favor cold weather places that can use in
the winter more or not.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Like once we broke this mold. That's like we're a
player development facility. We don't rely on those trends of
indoor golf.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Like that's true too, because like even when in like
Arizona and in Tech some of those places it's too hot
to golf, like Saint George four months out of the year,
you did not want to go golf there.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
Trust me. Seasonality still helps, like we don't say it
doesn't sure, especially new locations as a pop right, but
being tied now as a player development facility and the
programming that we have and the testimonials and stories and
when we get in the market how we market they
get it. And off course golf is there's more rounds
played off course than on course.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Last year.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
That was a kid, a big change in the industry.
And so we're we're doing better in the way that
we get about sixty to seventy percent of our net
new memberships in the market annual out the gates within
a month of opening doors. So from like a franchise
model when you can pop like that and start making
your money back and not just have this like steady pace.
(38:46):
That's been really attractive in the franchising way.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Yeah, so do you guys are do you keep some
of them corporate orre they all franchised out? Now we
have a few corporate and.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
We are going to do more corporate in the future
in like kind of a plant your flag and markets
and let it grow around. It was just using capital
wisely strategically there, and so yeah, that's that's kind of
big and big push. We also launched a tech company,
uh a sister company that is called forge f or j.
It's it's a player development club fitting AI tool and
(39:17):
so I kind of as it is, it is unreal, right,
but the you'll see in commercials and and other companies
that you know they have AI and we're we're rooted
deep in a partnership with track Man, and we are
one of the only companies that get their data data
and that we're building personas and doing things with them.
(39:38):
And it's really exciting because we're we're building actual, real AI,
Like we have our own engine and our l M
is learning and growing and hired a CTOs a named
Chef Hanson. He's been in Microsoft and all the all
the big companies. Before AI was anything, it was just
in machine learning and and went on. So we have
a whole team. We got Chief product officer Ravish out
(39:59):
of San francisc Go with a team of developers, and
so we built this AI tool to first disrupt club cells.
If you've ever bought clubs, we've been fitted for clubs.
It's like a monotonous experience.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
It is.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
I remember I had my guy trying to help me
and it was so annoying. And then it was like
his nephew, but he was my golf pro and he's like,
do you want stiff or loose shafts? I'm like, I
don't freaking know. Yeah, he learned how to golf an
hour ago. What do you want me to tell you?
Speaker 2 (40:25):
You know?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
And so like with us, kind of the roundabout there
is we have so much data that our you know,
our members come in through five times a week and
hit one hundred plus balls at time. And so with
that and then in the market, because we get all
of track man data, we can tell you what you
need without you actually asking.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
That's what I would have loved. I would have loved
that right.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
And so and we only need a few swings and
that's what fitters are doing. But fitters are persuaded. They
you know, they have a manufacturer given them a higher
return than others, and oh you should probably you need this,
but like let's put you into that. You know, I
just didn't like that mode, especially for golf, because clubs
do make a difference. I mean we just partner with uh,
(41:07):
a couple of pro golfers, but uh, Nick Faldough, I
don't know why his name is come to mind. Nick
Faldo is you know, he's very passionate around like you
need the right club, like especially once you start playing
more and more, and as being a baseball player, like
we swing hard, so you need a stiff shaft. And
but it's not just going stiff. It's like there's different variances.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Of length and everything into it.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
So Nick invested in Forge and t box because he
sees what the where the game is going and how
we can really flip the industry upside down from how
you buy clubs cool, make it a little more hardware
as a service, and certain things like that to make
it you know, more inclusive, so super excited about that.
And then you know, from a physical side, we're just
growing across the country. We have opportunities to work with
(41:52):
some track Man partners in Japan and as well as Canada.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
That's a nice it's growing everywhere too.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Well for people that want to come that one of
your locations that want to you know, try for themselves.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
What's the best place where do we send them?
Speaker 3 (42:04):
Yeah, go to TBX, dot golf so easy to remember
at dot golf URL but check that out or t
box underscore HQ on instead and see the story.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
But I love it, man, Well, thank you for coming in.
It's pretty cool man. It's one thing I love about
your stories. Like I think a lot of times people think,
you know, they have an idea, but just that whole
going all in and how quickly it can really take off.
I mean, this is something that happened during COVID. Yeah,
it's not like this was fifteen years in the making
with you and obviously your experience being in all these
(42:34):
other industries at tech and other things help you a lot.
But ultimately you can make things happen.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
You can do things passion. I mean I think you
have to have passion whether you have the experience or not.
But passion can kind of curve experience a little bit
because sometimes you can hire. We talked about that earlier,
like if if you have a product that makes sense
and has a value, you still need to have passion
because if you don't have passion for it, people you know,
they feel it.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
People feel your employees feel it, your people, you know,
a good visionary it's like, oh, I just you want
to be on that bus.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
You know so well? Awesome you having me out, man, Yeah,
that was amazing. You can't wait to come and try
one and come.
Speaker 3 (43:07):
On will okay? Appreciate you awesome, nice man.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Thank you again for listening to the Jimmy Rex Show.
And if you liked what you heard, please like and subscribe.
It really helps me to get better guests, to be
able to get the.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Type of people on this podcast. It's going to make
it the most interesting.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Also, want to tell everybody about my podcast studio, The
Rookery Studios now available in Salt Lake City and or
in Utah. If you live in Utah and want to
produce your own podcasts. We take all of the guests
work out of it. For you and make it so simple.
All you do is you come in, you sit down,
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(43:44):
post it for you. If interested in doing your own podcast,
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Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Jimmy Rex Show.
Today on the podcast, we have the founder and CEO
of Tea Box, Preston Unk And if you guys haven't
had the opportunity to visit one of these locations yet,
by the way, they are quickly growing. They have almost
fifty locations either built or being built right now.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
This is kind of the future of golf.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
This is a sport that is absolutely just taken off
since COVID and Preston is at the front of kind
of the future of what this looks like.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
So we dig into that here on this episode.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
This is one of those episodes if you're an entrepreneur
or you have an idea about a business in your own,
you're gonna love this episode of how Preston just took
action and made this happen. So, without further ado, let's
get to the show. Also, today's podcast is brought to
you by Bucked Up. This is their light lightly carbonated protein.
This is the Rainbow candy flavor. These are one hundred calories,
(00:51):
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Speaker 2 (01:02):
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Speaker 1 (01:05):
Of drinking a lot of protein right now, we're trying
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Speaker 2 (01:09):
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Speaker 3 (01:20):
Man, Hey, you can to see you too, Nice to
meet you.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting there about gosh, maybe ten
fifteen years ago, it felt like golf was dying, like
it was on its deathbed, right, I remember, because I
always love golf. And then all of a sudden, dude,
during COVID, everybody realized, oh we can go outside, spend
a few hours with our friends being nature and go play.
And now it's you go to get a tea time
(01:42):
and you have to get it like four or five
days out. It's like the sport is probably healthier than ever. So,
I mean, your timing has been really good.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I mean I am a product if you love that
COVID evolution of golf. I played it growing up. We
were an athletic family, and like if it had a
ball or something that you could you could throw and
compete and try to beat your friends. Like we were there, right,
and so playing golf when we were younger, though like
(02:09):
we didn't My mom was a school teacher and you know,
we didn't have the money that was like, hey, let's
go golf and get golf equipment. It was just wasn't
our cards. Even though at a grandpa was a member
of a country club. It was like at that time,
like you don't bring your grandkids to play golf. So
we just went to the pool. But you know, going
in business and family and acciding a couple of businesses,
I just had opportunity and yeah, I was home in
(02:31):
my neighborho.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Was a.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Worked at a course, Dell Stewart, I mean his eighties,
he's retired. Just worked to just get free golf, come play,
you know, come and join this men's league. And you
kind of tease because golf was never I never took
it serious. I played baseball and my brother played football.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
And springs do not compliment each other, no, for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
But you know I found my Nike slingshots, and my
older brother when he played in the NFL, he had
a Nike deal. That was my graduation gift is like
he needed to spend a little more money on is
it was going to go away. And Mason got me
some sling shots fifteen years prior to you know, when
I actually pulled them out and used them and it
was fun. I mean, you just get hooked. Golf has
that ability to just pull you in. I think that's
(03:13):
what happened to a lot of the world, especially the
new entrance of the game that really found out like, hey,
it's competitive. I used to compete in other sports and
I kind of lost that edge in sport. I did
it more in like sales and business. Adrenaline of closing
a deal like that was like for me like fourth quarter,
like how to show up? You know. So when I
got into like golf again and established a handicap, was
(03:35):
like dang, like I want to get better. So yeah,
I think there's a lot of people and that saved golf.
Really if you think about it, like when I hope
in this business and I'm sure we'll get into it,
it was like I still did the same research I
would have done if I opened one of my former
startups like software and whatnot, and so you know, I
just I learned like twenty seventeen eighteen, like this game
(03:56):
was failing, like PJA was figuring out what to do
to get on TV still and you know there's still
people interested, but that market was actually actively like what
I called like they were dying. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I remember they were really worried about the sport, and
I remember being worried about it just because I like golf.
You know, So how did you go then from just
kind of having a loose interest in golf to starting
a company?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, around like what was the impetus?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Well, so I had exited a company to we work.
Really awesome experience started from six of us to one
of the first We were yeah, sorry it was team,
but we exited too. We were oh got it.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
They bought you guys at a time part was just
going nuts, grabbing everything.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Well, they grabbed everything that wanted to be a software
right for the valuation and it was. It was a
great experience. It's cash still like something that we couldn't
turn down, but it was at a time to where
they went from sixty four billion dollar valuation to an
eight billion dollar bill.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Out while they were doing the buyout right.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
After our buyout, like the year I had to stay
there to transition and do that.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Thankful you got the good exit. Then you had the.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Shares too, and we work where you're just like, dang,
like this is the next Amazon. It was. You know
what a great career Adam Adam Newman and man I
could you ever made in it? Oh? Yeah many times?
And and uh I mean from showing up when he
bought our business and you know, bare feet and talking
about you know, of course uh utah a lot of
LDS and things like that. He oh, you know, very
(05:22):
similar to you guys. Like I feel like I'm you know,
not getting religious, but ushering in the Messiah like he himself.
He had that kind of I don't know if I
call it goddism where these these founders, the CEOs can
get very like.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I get that they start thinking that they're yeah, chosen
or something something.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And you know he could, I mean he could sell anything.
He was really just charismatic on on how he could
present and and get you just so into this conversation
you're talking about like soft Bank, one of the like
that fund. You know it's you don't they don't get
money to anybody, right, and when they do, if it fails,
they take you what's what happened. But getting into back
(06:02):
to the story, I mean, it was a really interesting
experience for me because I learned a lot of what
not to do, but I just also just I wanted
to get back to something that I was passionate about,
and I went to Lucid chart if you heard of them,
big awesome company, and uh it was. It was nice
because I was just in a seat, like as a
startup and when you're when you're going all over the
place and doing things, especially leading a sales organization and startup,
(06:23):
it's like you're, hey, babe, I'm gonna go to New York,
like right now, I gotta go, right So I was
able to settle down a little bit. But at the
same time, it was like really boring.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Like I felt like that, especially being an entrepreneur, it's
just I mean, there's so much going on all the
time and you're wearing a dozen hats and I can
only imagine going yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
So so just like that, I was just sitting and
see and I really enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong.
Lucid at the time when COVID hit, I mean, the
numbers that that we hit and experience were incredible. I
mean it was just a skyrocket. So you still felt
like you're in like a six hundred employee startup. But
so so when I was introduced to golf by my
neighbor and I went and played and then experience that summer.
(07:01):
Just in twenty twenty, I was playing twice a week
and just going to town. I got new clubs and
I was invested. My wife was like, like, what are
you doing, Like you've never played golf. We've been married
like thirteen years.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Worrying about the help of the relationship.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Like a lot of guys do use golf to avoid
being around their family, and my dad did that.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
OK, yeah, for sure, it's other hours or more.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, so if.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
You hang out after but no, my wife is awesome.
And and for me too, it's kind of an out
like green grass and being outdoors, like it was just
such a good like time to be just outdoors and
not really thinking, silence the phone, put it in the bag,
and do your thing. And so it was a combination
of that. And then winter hit in Utah and I
(07:46):
was like, where do I go? Like I was hitting
in a ring. Yeah, let's go to scott Stife. My
brother lived there at the time, I definitely hit that up.
But you know, I'm that guy who was so addicted
to the game because of like just wanting to get better.
I'm hitting and arrangement, it's snowing, and yeah I was
covered and had the heater, but like I'm still hitting
in the snow. Like what like asking myself, like you're insane, dude,
(08:09):
Like just take a few months off. But I really
started to love the game. And then when I watched
it on TV and I watched like the just how
kids got into it and youth trained and how I
and myself wanted to get better, I just saw some gaps.
I was like, there's no like physical presence in the game, right,
like you're not trying to get stronger or.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
That was it.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
That was what originally helped Tiger Woods to stand out.
He was the first guy that took his physical, you
know side of everything so serious, and you know, every
single part of his game was better than everybody else
is because he was such a physical specimen over them.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
And and it was I think the world like understood
that and they they got it, but nobody implemented it
other than like high end golf. And that's the thing
about golf just in general, and what really COVID did
in my belief to golf, it brought in a different
demograffic that helped bring helped bring more accessibility to the game,
(09:04):
and it was more inclusive, Like they just had to
learn how to be inclusive. And as sad as it was,
that's why golf was failing, like they just they yeah, it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Was like it was very expensive and it was like
these rules all the time, and you're you know, I
hated going golfing with anybody random because they're yelling at
you for your shadows and their.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Ball and you're like, dude, I'm just trying to have
it my time out here.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Okay, Yeah, yeah, Like I think golf probably helped a
little bit with that too, right, to like loosen that
up a little.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Bit percent, I call it. And I fed anybody by
khakis and callers just that like mode of like just
you know, you have to tuck your shirt in and
then there's times and places when maybe it's appropriate, but
you know, it's it just woke the game up economically
for sure, and they had to figure out, well, how
do we receive this this new entrant. And because of
the capital it brought right, these courses were overwhelmed, like
(09:52):
you said, and then the off course golf got a
lot more popular. Top golf obviously was before COVID. Matter
of fact, when I was Elucid, they were one of
my customers, and so I worked with them kind of
in behind the scenes actually with their Callaway deal. They
were originally going to go public and then and then
Callaway came in and someone build them out because of COVID,
and so just seeing behind the scenes, not even knowing
(10:15):
I wasn't even like golf as I as I was
or I am now, But just having that experience was
really actually like fortelling into getting in the golf business.
But yeah, when it comes to my interest in the
business side of it, I really did. I opened a
facility just because I wanted.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
A place to train, like with a simulator. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
So I had a buddy I used to work with,
George Bergan. He owns Pickler. You've probably seen Pilar around.
He had just started it and there was a space
next to him in his base, and you went to
up North and he's like, hey, you should you should
open your facility next ours. We got like three thousand
square feet available, come check it out. And so you
look at it, you're like, hey, this is cool. It's
(10:58):
a flex space like walls and cement. And I just
was like, hey, I want a gym because I like
working out simulators, because I need a swing and see
where my ball goes and not in snow and a
putting green. You know, that's that's what I want to
get better. Hopefully, Like thirty friends joined me so that
I could at least like pay my Yeah, we're good,
(11:18):
Like we got something. And as I was building it
and just getting like attention from the community like high
school programs, you know, my friends that golfed, and it
got a lot more attention. We had our open house,
it was like oh wow, like out the gates. We
got sixty customers that weekend and like people really showed up, right,
and it was fun to build that in the next
(11:40):
couple of weeks to maxing out and you know, you're
looking at this subscription model like I used to from
software and be like, huh, this is cool. Like the
community showed out bringing a value that is actually being
received and it's like more of a lifestyle, not just
you know, I'm going to sell this and hope you
like it type of mentality. So it was I mean,
(12:00):
the let's see, we opened in August of twenty twenty one,
really six months went into it, and my eyes just
really started open that I was like, I want to
do this more. I want to just get other communities
just involved. It wasn't what it is today. That was
not my grand vision. It was just I could go
to Kaysville, which is so so and so far away
(12:21):
that other people were asking, man, that's a little far
to drive to, you Ena, when are we going to
bring one there? So it was just just like all right,
well that same buddy who opened a Picklar who opened
one over there, and we just started like, I mean,
we only have two together, you know. But it was
that was the mentality's like okay, great, I'll be next
to you there too, And so you know, there was
that mode of just like growing because and just trying
(12:43):
to get new customers elsewhere, and really we grew to
high school athletes. That was kind of the early mentality
and it still is today. But you know that the
high school teams will be like, man, like they're training
Bonneville's training there, Like I want to train. I want
ours but it's too far away, you know. So so
that was kind of where it led. And then when
I decided to go full time, it was like all right,
(13:05):
like I'm all in and I had my first sell
was obviously my wife. She's like, you're gonna You're gonna
leave Lucid. And you're probably familiar with those people you
talk to and yourself, like you get the way I
call the golden handcuffs right, like.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
You're making just enough money, but you're.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Not really happy and it Lucid. I had like rsu's
and it was like you kind of get it, like
you've been in software sales for fifteen years and you're
in leadership at Lucid, Like that's what you work for
you now, your whole career. And but I think, you know,
I was listening to one of your episodes around that Castle.
That's a lot of like where I was at. You know,
I just experienced an exit and it's great Financially, it's awesome.
(13:42):
You kind of feel in a career when you get
to that mode where you build something with people and
they're like somebody else buys it, Like wow, like there's
a value there other than just filling customers. Needs. You
felt a big gap in the marketplace in another company's need,
and so yeah, there's there's satisfaction there. But I think
that software sells well. We see a lot in our
valley here in Utah. So many people go like it's
(14:05):
a cycle. Maybe go on a mission or do something
and go to college and get sucked into door to
door or or cells. And it's not a bad thing too,
Like there's you can make some good money, but like
money always, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yeah, I mean, well, it's it's such a tricky thing
because I always, you know, I very few things will
set you up better for life than going and doing
that door to door sells. But you also give up
every summer for your twenties. And I'm like, that is
a high price to pay. Like that's the only reason
I never did it. I was like, I just.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Did not want to give up my summers. That was
literally my whole reason I didn't do it. I love summer.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
I've got a buddy, Davey Adams and his crew man.
They're they awesome people and they put in the work
like they're they're part of event. And he leads a
few teams now and he's made his price, and so
he's able to be a little more free and and
really be a leader. And it's awesome. But it's true,
I have a true respect for those type of sellers.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Oh, five hours on the doors, like twelve in an
office did?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Yeah? I mean I went on a mission in soul
religion and I didn't make anything. I wouldn't do that
for money.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Well, I sold steak and chicken door to door for
three years, year round. So it's like the equolent of
doing about a dozen summers, you know, And I'm telling you, man,
you earn your money on those doors.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
But yeah, I have the highest respect for it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
I do think that it's any kid would be benefit
from going to do a summer or too. But also
you don't want to give up your dream of what
you really want to do because the money is so good, right,
because you can make so much money so fast. Yeah,
it can almost skew your view of what work is
supposed to fill and look like.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
And there's also just there's that double edged sword there
because like with me in software sells, and I worked
at market startup in Augden when I was going to college,
and that was before I got recruited to the startup
and it was actually perfect timing because I wasn't making
much and we just had our first child, married a
couple of years, and I was making like forty fifty sixty,
(16:00):
so it was like easy to be like, oh yeah,
I'll join the startup and make like thirty five forty
thousand and get some stock and being an audend boy,
like you don't know what stock is, like you know
what these shares are, and that's fine, Like it was cool,
Like I grew up with a school teacher knowledge, you know,
Like I just was a school teacher son that didn't
like education. So sales was it for.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Me, you know.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Yeah, But there's a there's you know, when I was
seeking and I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, my
dad's an entrepreneur, so I always like had these Like
it's not that I was just like setting goals to
one day open my business. I didn't know what it was.
I just knew I wanted to get into it. But
seeing the struggles of being an entrepreneur and the sacrifice
of my dad made and things that he did as
(16:39):
an example my vision on being an entrepreneurs, like I
want to go get in and learn the ropes of
really cells, like is your I feel like being an entrepreneur,
you are a seller through and through.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Well, if you're not, you're always having to outsource the
thing that's going to cost you the most. And if
you can sell then know it's like my coaching program,
I'm my own sales guy and so I don't have
to a somebody thirty forty percent of the contract. I'm
I'm able to do so much more with it because
I am the sales guy.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
One percent, and you're you're selling your business. Like you know,
we we we raise money as we started to really
grow and take this serious and so you know it's
been a strength. Now, not every entrepreneur needs to be
a seller. I think there's that like if you've got
a passion for something and you're not that people person, yeah,
you got to go get one. And I think people
can adapt to right as you say you coach people. Yeah,
(17:29):
like people will invest if you've got a great idea,
and especially if you're the brain right like there you talent.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Yeah, you have to just be the person that just
has that vision, knows where it's going, can accumulate the pieces,
whether that's you know, having a sales guy or whatever.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
So for me, it was I wanted to put in
the work, and I always had ideas and I'll kind
of go to the story that I to tell a lot.
We have franchises in every week from all over the
country now that are asking, you know, the founder like
how did you get into this, and you know, tell
the story kind of what I did when it comes
to the neighbor asks me to go off. But one
(18:02):
area to where you know, I was always had this
like okay, like I have this idea, and I'd go
and run it through. And it's usually around the software
world because kind of growing your career up in Utah,
especially in the last fifteen years, you can get caught
in traps that's like if I'm going to be successful,
I've got to go start a mega software business that's
(18:22):
going to IPO or we're gonna exit for a billion dollars.
If not, why start it right? And so you know,
you'd have those ideas and thoughts and it's funny I'd
go to like, uh, you know, my wife has always
been supportive but very like grounded and like, hey, we
obviously got to take care of our family. You know,
and when you have a young family, that's hard. Sometimes
it's just like hey, well, like I need health insurance
(18:43):
and benefits and things like that. But yeah, I'd go
to my mom and she'd be very supportive, but she'd
always be but like you're just got state your company, right,
Like she'd always put all those seeds and like, you
do it, but don't leave.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
It's funny.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I always tell people, don't go to your parents or
the people that love you the most for advice, because
they're going to give you advice.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
It's going to cause you the least.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Amount of pain, yeah, to them, to them, right, And
so it's like, well, if you play it safe, you'll
be fine. This could cause a lot of pain down
the line. And so they're always going to make you
want to choose the safe path, and unfortunately most of
the big success comes on the other side.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, And I you know, you go like look back
at my mom and it was like that's their nature, right,
And I think everybody needs to have that backbone and
be able to be like, hey, well you know, let
me educate you through this process through also failure, right,
and that's important, Like I'm going to go take this
risk But why bring that up is you know, there
(19:37):
was times when I had those ideas that it was
definitely the right thing not to do them, you know
what I mean, Like they're just like I think we
can get emotional in these oh man like, especially when
it was around usually when I would tell my parents
or somebody about it, it was like, I'm going to
make so much money. I feel like when I hear
that from people, that's one of those signs to be like,
maybe you shouldn't go all in if it's all about money, right,
(19:59):
and so like in her wisdom, but also to like
that like also mentality of the system, right, Like the
system taught my mom to go be a school teacher
and do thirty five years in the same classroom in
first grade. Right, So there's there's this balance that we
have to be humans and we have to be adults
to make our decisions. But when it was time for
the idea of tea box and came to my mind
(20:20):
and my passion for golf, I had two boys at
the time. My oldest was ten eleven and youngest was
like four or five, and she saw me with them
and her being a school teacher, a big emphasis of
tea box and where I had been in my career.
I had exited company, so she she didn't know what
I would make and all that stuff, but she knew.
I was like, Okay, well I go and I tell her, Hey,
(20:42):
I'm like literally sitting in the parking lot to put
my first and last month rent deposit, which I had
never done. On a commercial space like this, I could
start up little software things that.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I do and it was likefl and.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
I was out like a money yeah. But when I
did that, I was literally calling her to be honest,
to like talk me out of it. I was like,
here's like like thirty thousand dollars, like harder in cash.
It's my cash, Like I'm just going to give it
to some lady who's you know, works for this commercial agent.
And it's done, it's gone, you know. And she just
gave me this mode of like you need to do it,
(21:14):
like this is something that you should, you should do.
I see your passion for it, and and in our
conversations a lot of that passion was sent around youth.
And she's like, because it will be something that they need,
the kids need, the generation needs, and that was like dang,
like it didn't work like she told me to do it,
like all right, I'm gonna like come out of the
car and go tell here's my thirty thousand dollars landlord,
(21:34):
and let's go right. But that was an interesting experience
because at the time, my mom was also passing of cancer,
and so like, you know, you go through as as
an adult and like you think you have it all together.
I was thirty four or thirty three at the time,
and you're letting you know when you're you're the youngest
(21:54):
and your mom is going through that experience and that
like influence of hey, you should do this when I
usually tell you not too right and I'm also passing.
Like to me, it was like not only was I
in it because I'm a father I have to supply
for my wife and family, but like like that influence
of my mom had in my life was like it
just changed my world. You know. It was like holy cow,
(22:15):
Like my mom believed in me and we didn't know
she was going to pass a month later, but it
was like whoa, Like I'm all in, you know, And
and there's this this this mode of where the influence
of tea box has been successful is when we go
all in when we do everything like you don't have
it tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
That's everything though, right, It's like I always one of
my favorite things is anything worth doing, is worth overdoing,
or if you can do something, do it right. Like
it's how I do everything. If I'm doing a vacation,
I'm gonna do it. If I'm throwing a party, We're
gonna have a party. If I'm starting a business, We're
gonna go all in.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Like yeah, and you do. You kind of have to
burn the bridges a little bit. You have to, you know.
I always say, if you chase.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Multiple rabbits, they all get away, And so you have
to really go all in on something. And what's cool
about that, whether it's a relationship, whether it's a business,
when you go all in like that, yeah, there is
no regrets. It doesn't matter if it works, if it
doesn't work. You're like, I learned so much from this.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I went all in.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
I wouldn't do it different and there's peace that comes
with that. And so it's just a great I'm glad
you mentioned that because it's just such a good way
to approach anything that you did.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Hundred and you know, when I went to that, we
worked ill. Even though I made money from the exit,
it was pretty like damaging to like my like being
opportunistic or optimist, like having this like oh my gosh,
like what we thought was going to be incredible just
crashed right, and it was like can I do it again?
Or you know, like this mode of like.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
You wonder over again, like did I get lucky? It
was the timing of the market was this real?
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yeah? And so like. But what it did though, to
me is I learned, like I saw a lot of
people who lost a lot more than I did. And
I lost what was on paper, right Like there was
people who lost their businesses who did all paper.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
And a lot of your transaction and equity then is
that a.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Lot of it all? Most of it was cash. We
were like there was company in the valley that had
majority equity. I mean I remember one of the particular meetings.
I want named names, but uh, just this gentleman coming
storming into our office because one of the executives we
work was there at the time and he lost seventy
five percent of his business in one day when they crashed,
(24:17):
and and you know, like what do you tell shareholders?
Adam Newman was irresponsible and you know, we're spent three
billion dollars when he raised one, Like you just can't
do that right and so like, But what I learned
is like, like people rebuild. You just rebuild, like you
said earlier, there's like so many people had, you know,
during economic challenges, like you just if you can read
(24:38):
the next day, you're gonna rebuild.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I tell people one of the gifts of life is
to go broke. I don't know if you've ever lost everything,
but it's like you get to this raw bottom and
you're like this was my takeaways, Like it's.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Not that bad.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
That bad.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
No, Like I'm good, I still have food, I have
people that love me. I enjoy my life. You lose
everything and then all of a sudden, you're not afraid
to go for it.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
People so afraid to go to nothing, and it's like, no,
it's not a terrible place to be.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Yeah. I think as an entrepreneur, whether you lose it
or like you are successful. I tell people, especially young entrepreneurs,
if they want to get into it, just be comfortable
having nothing and being fed. Last, Yeah, if you are
content with that, and now there's modes where like you
have to have like a patient spouse, Like you have
(25:25):
to have a family that is okay with like not
going on vacation or your vacations turn into like camping trips.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
And that's part of the reason, Like you got to
do the work on yourself so that you're not getting
fulfillment from external force sources.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Right, Like if you can get all of your.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Love and significance and you know, fulfillment from within, then
you're probably happier camping with your family than you would
be in Hawaii on the beach, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
It's like, why the.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Beach you're worried about? Like, almost.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Are we getting our money's worth here?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
We're running out of the line here, I just spent
this much on whatever.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Totally. Look, I've been rich and I've been poor. Out
was rich every time.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
But like the point of this whole conversation is like
I think you have to be honest about it, and
you can only say this. I think if you've had
a lot of money and had no money, right, But
it's like it does not make a giant difference in your.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Ability to really love your life.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
And when you get that, you just are willing to
go for it and you just are so much more
willing to risk everything and go for it. And I
think so many people play it safe and at the
end of their life. I did a full study on
this one time, and the number one regret of that
dying is they didn't go for it like they did.
They left these things on the table, and it was
always because they were afraid of going to zero, going broke,
(26:37):
going single, whatever it might have been.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Yeah, Yeah, And I think too growing up in a
low income home school, I mean we had, I say this,
we have what we needed, right, Like my mom supplied,
my dad supplied. They were divorced when I was too,
so I had a very kind of separate, you know,
kind of life in the way of like what I
did with my dad and my mom what you do
as a you know, kid with divorced parents. But my
(26:59):
mom was like supply for a lot of my life.
But I learned from her example of having to like
be a school teacher and do side things just to
make sure that I could like play baseball, and my
brother could play football and my sister could cheer whatever.
It was like it just like we didn't have more
than we needed. And like when I was young, I
had to work to buy cleats, I had like work
(27:21):
to pay for gas and things like that, and so
I really appreciate that. And even now, like with my kids,
we're not well off by any means, but like we
have things that we wanted and like we can get
you know, have toys and fun things. But it's hard
to raise kids.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Well, it's hard to simulate that if you actually have money. Right,
They're not dumb, they know. I was talking to John
and Pistana about this the other day and he literally said,
he said, the hardest thing about having money. I asked him,
the question is to my coaching group. I said, what's
the hardest part about or the worst part about having money?
And he said, trying to help your kids have that
burning desire.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
He said, they're not stupid. They know how much money
I have.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
You know, He's like, man, it's very difficult to create
these scenarios where they're actually motive.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
And that's that's to me, is it's it's hard because
I see generational like up and downs, and and you know,
there's there's a lot of successful, wealthy people that have
successful youth and children. But like as a father, I
have four kids and That's one of my biggest concerns
is like make your own path, do your own thing.
And my mind is fifteen, Like he's at an influential
(28:24):
age right now to where he's got to make decisions
that will like help him actually get ahead start in
life and and the generation today and and as we
kind of get past, you know, we're navietting little more
of my personal life than Tea Box. But like the
thing about Tea Box is like we're trying to set
principles and processes through training and programming in golf that
(28:47):
hopefully translates to I know how to set goals, I
know how to have discipline and work hard on things
and actually go execute and fulfill something. And and yeah,
we use golf as that like platform. But that's why
I feel our youth program has just skyrocketed.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Because how do you guys do that with the Box?
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Yeah, so we have coaches at every facility we call
our Box Pro And.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
The way, how many locations are you guys at now?
Speaker 3 (29:11):
We're fourteen in Utah. We do in Utah, yeah, Utah,
And then we have forty five that are in the
works across the coin in sixteen states. And we got enfranchising.
A track man hit us up early twenty twenty three
and said, hey, you should launch this franchise program with us.
We like what you do and we had a relationship
with them from some things that I had kind of
being an enterprise sells rep and know how to kind
(29:32):
of bark up the ladder and talk to some people
about you know, even being the small little thing to
try funny you.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Just like certain people just have different skills. I'm like,
certain people just know how to land on their feets.
Some people just know how to get in the room.
Some people just know how to talk to the right person.
It's they're just skills that you can't teach. I can't
explain it on a spreadsheet. It's like, yeah, trust me,
this is just what I do.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
And that's that's the strength I have. I love to communicate,
love to talk. Then I mean you put that in
a business and a passion. I was talking to executive
a track man titleists just like I have no business
being there, especially if you can watch me golf, like
I'm still like a ten or twelve handicap. It's because
I love the business side of too much and kind
of like growing a business that impacts a lot of people.
(30:11):
My time will come and that's the biggest thing. Like
when I golf with investors, it's like a first couple holes,
they're like, oh, so you just really love the sport,
Like they figure out like that I'm not like this stick.
But honestly, that's an advantage that we have a tea boxes.
Like we've gathered people who have a passion for golf
but also no business better and they're through and through
and in the golf business world that's opposite. It's usually
(30:33):
people that are like amazing golfers that are like trying
to find themselves in a career of golf. And we've
been able to just come in with a different edge
and different you know, success patterns. And then part of
like how we structured our boxes we call them, is
a result of that. So like with our coaching program,
our box pro we don't really need them to be
this like, hey, I was on this college team where
(30:55):
I was a semi pro, and I you know, I
was on some of these tours or I was a
pro at a golf course. Actually it's not our first
criteria to go after the pros on golf courses. We
want people that almost if you thinking about like a
conciergrat hotel, right, that they can really drive a community.
And when people come in, we have this rule of sixties,
So within sixty seconds the box pron needs agreet them
(31:15):
by name, right, and then within sixty minutes they go
to every one of our bays and get what we
call a drop in tip, right. And so they're just
there to help. And because we don't charge for lessons,
our coaching is all on demand awesome. We don't nitpick
people because golf is also.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Very like you also don't want somebody telling you your
swing if you don't, like, if you're not sure who
they are, you know, it's like if you're.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
Not and so if you can connect, then it's like, okay,
I trust this person and to connect. It's crazy. You
go to Chick fil A, You're in and out. They're
the best at feeling like that person kind of like
not knows me, but they at least said hello and welcome.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
And I'm always amazed that they get people to act
so friendly at Chick fil A that they're making so
little money.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
You know what I mean, I'm like, how do they
get them to be so friendly?
Speaker 3 (31:58):
So friendly? Eddit I know go down a road of
the research of in and out that I would do.
How much they pay their employees, sure, and how they
like you're you give me a general manager and make
two hundred and sixty thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
They just pay a little bit more than else.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
They'll never go outside in And there's some theories there
that we have with our box pros. But it's taking
that energy because if you go into like a clubhouse
of a golf course, it tends to be the exact opposite.
You automatically feel inadequate.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Oh yeah, like they just make you look stupid. You're
complaining about your shirt.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Yeah, whatever's like craft Like I don't know if I'm
wearing that right nice product like I used to, you know,
shop at Mervons growing up because again my mom's school teacher.
But that mode. So so we're flipping yeah some urbins, man,
but we flipped it upside down. And and so you
got to go back to youth and what we're doing
like like this this energy in the game. Yes, from
(32:48):
amateurs like adults like us, we either got into it
more or played it more. But the youth it's unreal. Now,
like my boys tried out for high school and you're
talking to high school coach up and up we were
They're used to having like ten to fifteen kids try out,
you know, and now they're having forty fifty sixty kids
try out, and they're like the score to compete.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
You know.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
My side a shot a seventy seven the other day
as a freshman and he didn't qualify, you know, and
it's like that's awesome, like yeah, see that, and teaching
him like did use that as like edge, like you
need to shoot a seventy six next time? Seventy five?
You know. But that's that's been fun to get these
these kids and really influence them in a in an
athletic way too, right, Like we have full gyms in
(33:34):
our facilities, and so we in our training you have
to work out and hit like you can't just go
into the base and hit like we just want you
to have a focus on the physical side. And when
they get it and it clicks, and especially when their
parents are texting us like, oh my gosh, my kid's
hitting a thirty yards first hour.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
So good because it just gets kids out, It gets
them being physical, It gets them active. Yes, and golf
is one of those things that it's a little bit
like real estate. I built my earate. You never can
perfect it, you can never master it, but golf you can't.
It's one of the beauties of it. It's it's designed
to frustrate you. It's designed to teach you, and you
can't master it no matter how.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Good you get.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
I mean, and you know, you think about that in
the business world and in cells you said real estate,
Like the coolest thing about golf is you're minimizing risk.
Like if you can minimize risk and know where you
can miss, then you're going to score lower, right, And
and I think that's awesome. In business, it's like, Okay,
let's make sure that we're going to go after it,
like you said, like I'm going to pull out the
driver on the short part for I'm going to go
(34:31):
after it. But if I miss, I want to miss
on this side and on the water to the left,
like those those comparisons, and and so yeah, I mean,
it's fun like being in the golf business and having
it be a mode of our mission is inspired through
the game of golf, like that's what we live through.
And having a lot of career individuals that work with us.
We have thirty two full time employees in our corporate office.
(34:53):
Like it's it's crazy you built this quick man. Yeah,
I mean we're going after it, dude, Like it's it's
the game is ready for and it's received right, It's
not like we're just trying to like, you know, hope
opportunity comes based on us plant a flag and putt
a location somewhere. It's being received well. And the other
businesses like a titleist, track man, paying all the manufacturers.
(35:15):
We were the fastest to grow organic accounts with them
without being like a longtime club seller like Dick Sporting
Goods or you know, things like that. And so it's
been fun to see their recognition of our energy being
a little different. I think it kind of challenges them
a little bit. Kind of funny story. Just this December,
we had the PG Show in Orlando, and we had
(35:36):
thirty locations in the works at the time. Right. And
so when you're thinking, like, I don't know how the
golf business was before four years ago, Like I'm just
like and I don't care, you know, Like my mode
is like I'm just gonna do what I think needs
to be done for our business and the game in
the industry. And I go to the PGA show and
again having this like sales background and being at a
thousand tech shows in my career, right, you go into
(35:59):
i'll just say a manufacturer booth because I want to
say them by name, and it's like you have to
almost like approach them, and there's like thirty people in there,
and they're like this big, glorified manufacturer and like You're like, dude,
I'm trying to sell your product in my stores. And
they're like, h no, You've got to go through this, dude.
That dude, I'm like, why are you here at a
trade show like you usually go to these to like
(36:21):
push product out and yeah, And so we quickly made
a connection with them, and they came in our office
and they saw I mean, we've got twelve thousand square
fot office up in Centerville and it used to be
a coworking space and it's just a beautiful office and
it has a location in the front. And people are like,
oh wow, like you guys are legit a business, not
just like a simulator, you know, like just one of
(36:42):
these pop up lounges that are all over the place.
And and yeah, you've raised eight million dollars capital and
you're putting in places to grow and things like that.
So it's been a really interesting transition to where it's
like when you talk about earlier like sending it, Like
when I quit my goal and handcuff job, I was
not going to not send it, you know, like, and
you match that with the energy in the game and
(37:04):
and with like the industry is receiving things like if
it makes sense, for example, like our training and programming,
like the coaching model. That's why we went from a
thirteen percent annual membership rate to a seventy six percent
in like a year and a half. You know, and
you talk about annual recurring revenue versus monthly recurring revenue,
it's a game changer in business, you know. So it's
(37:25):
been it's been a lot of fun. But yeah, man, So.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
What's your I mean, what's your vision for ultimately? How
many locations are you hoping to get? I mean, obviously
as many as possible, probably, but like what's kind of
your vision for the next couple of years?
Speaker 3 (37:37):
Yeah, I mean locations like we we have to go
physically to be able to get like our training in
these markets and The beautiful thing is golf is everywhere,
like it's we're just in Ireland when we do.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
You guys favor cold weather places that can use in
the winter more or not.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Like once we broke this mold. That's like we're a
player development facility. We don't rely on those trends of
indoor golf.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Like that's true too, because like even when in like
Arizona and in Tech some of those places it's too hot
to golf, like Saint George four months out of the year,
you did not want to go golf there.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
Trust me. Seasonality still helps, like we don't say it
doesn't sure, especially new locations as a pop right, but
being tied now as a player development facility and the
programming that we have and the testimonials and stories and
when we get in the market how we market they
get it. And off course golf is there's more rounds
played off course than on course.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Last year.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
That was a kid, a big change in the industry.
And so we're we're doing better in the way that
we get about sixty to seventy percent of our net
new memberships in the market annual out the gates within
a month of opening doors. So from like a franchise
model when you can pop like that and start making
your money back and not just have this like steady pace.
(38:46):
That's been really attractive in the franchising way.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Yeah, so do you guys are do you keep some
of them corporate orre they all franchised out? Now we
have a few corporate and.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
We are going to do more corporate in the future
in like kind of a plant your flag and markets
and let it grow around. It was just using capital
wisely strategically there, and so yeah, that's that's kind of
big and big push. We also launched a tech company,
uh a sister company that is called forge f or j.
It's it's a player development club fitting AI tool and
(39:17):
so I kind of as it is, it is unreal, right,
but the you'll see in commercials and and other companies
that you know they have AI and we're we're rooted
deep in a partnership with track Man, and we are
one of the only companies that get their data data
and that we're building personas and doing things with them.
(39:38):
And it's really exciting because we're we're building actual, real AI,
Like we have our own engine and our l M
is learning and growing and hired a CTOs a named
Chef Hanson. He's been in Microsoft and all the all
the big companies. Before AI was anything, it was just
in machine learning and and went on. So we have
a whole team. We got Chief product officer Ravish out
(39:59):
of San francisc Go with a team of developers, and
so we built this AI tool to first disrupt club cells.
If you've ever bought clubs, we've been fitted for clubs.
It's like a monotonous experience.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
It is.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
I remember I had my guy trying to help me
and it was so annoying. And then it was like
his nephew, but he was my golf pro and he's like,
do you want stiff or loose shafts? I'm like, I
don't freaking know. Yeah, he learned how to golf an
hour ago. What do you want me to tell you?
Speaker 2 (40:25):
You know?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
And so like with us, kind of the roundabout there
is we have so much data that our you know,
our members come in through five times a week and
hit one hundred plus balls at time. And so with
that and then in the market, because we get all
of track man data, we can tell you what you
need without you actually asking.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
That's what I would have loved. I would have loved
that right.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
And so and we only need a few swings and
that's what fitters are doing. But fitters are persuaded. They
you know, they have a manufacturer given them a higher
return than others, and oh you should probably you need this,
but like let's put you into that. You know, I
just didn't like that mode, especially for golf, because clubs
do make a difference. I mean we just partner with uh,
(41:07):
a couple of pro golfers, but uh, Nick Faldough, I
don't know why his name is come to mind. Nick
Faldo is you know, he's very passionate around like you
need the right club, like especially once you start playing
more and more, and as being a baseball player, like
we swing hard, so you need a stiff shaft. And
but it's not just going stiff. It's like there's different variances.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Of length and everything into it.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
So Nick invested in Forge and t box because he
sees what the where the game is going and how
we can really flip the industry upside down from how
you buy clubs cool, make it a little more hardware
as a service, and certain things like that to make
it you know, more inclusive, so super excited about that.
And then you know, from a physical side, we're just
growing across the country. We have opportunities to work with
(41:52):
some track Man partners in Japan and as well as Canada.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
That's a nice it's growing everywhere too.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Well for people that want to come that one of
your locations that want to you know, try for themselves.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
What's the best place where do we send them?
Speaker 3 (42:04):
Yeah, go to TBX, dot golf so easy to remember
at dot golf URL but check that out or t
box underscore HQ on instead and see the story.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
But I love it, man, Well, thank you for coming in.
It's pretty cool man. It's one thing I love about
your stories. Like I think a lot of times people think,
you know, they have an idea, but just that whole
going all in and how quickly it can really take off.
I mean, this is something that happened during COVID. Yeah,
it's not like this was fifteen years in the making
with you and obviously your experience being in all these
(42:34):
other industries at tech and other things help you a lot.
But ultimately you can make things happen.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
You can do things passion. I mean I think you
have to have passion whether you have the experience or not.
But passion can kind of curve experience a little bit
because sometimes you can hire. We talked about that earlier,
like if if you have a product that makes sense
and has a value, you still need to have passion
because if you don't have passion for it, people you know,
they feel it.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
People feel your employees feel it, your people, you know,
a good visionary it's like, oh, I just you want
to be on that bus.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
You know so well? Awesome you having me out, man, Yeah,
that was amazing. You can't wait to come and try
one and come.
Speaker 3 (43:07):
On will okay? Appreciate you awesome, nice man.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Thank you again for listening to the Jimmy Rex Show.
And if you liked what you heard, please like and subscribe.
It really helps me to get better guests, to be
able to get the.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Type of people on this podcast. It's going to make
it the most interesting.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Also, want to tell everybody about my podcast studio, The
Rookery Studios now available in Salt Lake City and or
in Utah. If you live in Utah and want to
produce your own podcasts. We take all of the guests
work out of it. For you and make it so simple.
All you do is you come in, you sit down,
you talk and leave. We record it, edit it, even
(43:44):
post it for you. If interested in doing your own podcast,
visit our Instagram and send us a DM Rookery Studios,
or go to our website, The Rookery Studios dot com
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