Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! Our amazing guest is Ben Johns, the greatest pickleball player of all time. He has been the No.1 player in the world in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles for most of the last 3 years. On the business side, Ben is a co-founder of Pickleball Getaways, a vacation travel company that arranges pickleball vacations to Mexico, Portugal, Croatia, and other sunny locations. He is also the co-founder of Pickleball 360, an online instructional video subscription service that gives lessons on how to become a better pickleball player.  00:00 Introduction Who is Ben Johns?  01:59 Ben’s background Supportive, inspiring parents and 6 siblingsEncouraged to follow their own passion  04:15 Homeschooling of 7 kids Mom used online resources and textbooksKids worked at their own pacePersonal responsibilitySocial aspects of homeschoolingThey pursued their interests, and social stuff happened naturally  08:59 Sports Ben played as a kid Played baseball, tennis, table tennis, golfVery eye-hand oriented sports  10:32 Ben's college experience Switched majors from Business to Material Science and EngineeringHow Innovators Think course by Professor Mark WellmanAdvice to people who don’t know what they want to doExpose yourself to different things, experiment, research  17:24 Developing and innovating a new pickleball racket Genuinely interested in how to make paddles betterBeing genuine creates an opportunity in almost any area  19:27 Optimism and fear of failure Optimism is important, but also confidence and work ethicsDo your utmost and put 100% of your effortIf you fail, learn from it  22:56 Ben’s first business venture Pickleball had the stigma of an old person's sportWanted to make it more exciting  24:04 What is pickleball? A combination of tennis and ping-pong on a badminton-sized courtVery easy to learn and very easy to play  27:19 The professional pickleball The history of pickleball associationsThe TPA and APPThe merging of 2 leagues  32:25 The ownership and worth of pickleball teams The worth of major pickleball teamsTeams are part of venture capital groupsWho are the owners?  35:44 How do teams make money? A revenue modelThe vision is to make it like an NBA NFL type of leagueNo major TV contract but a rapidly growing fan basePickleball has fanatically engaged fans - a golden nugget for any investor  40:39 Pickleball statistics Its popularity is growing among different groupsIt has a great social component  45:43 The start of Ben’s professional career First professional tournament – US Open in 2016Won the US Open in 2017Making money and covering expenses Sponsors: Sandee | Bliss: Beaches Want to Connect? Reach out to us online! Website | Instagram | LinkedIn