Social entrepreneurship alumna Grace Moore ‘16 is the co-founder and chief creative officer at Recess Pickleball, an Austin-based pickleball outfitter selling equipment and apparel with a nostalgic, heritage aesthetic. Moore along with her co-founder and friend, Maggie Brown, started playing pickleball during quarantine as a healthy way to connect with people in an open-air recreational activity. The friends like to say that “it takes two minutes to learn and fifteen minutes to fall in love,” and they quickly did.
As much as they enjoyed the game, they had trouble finding gear to match their style. “Everything we found had volcanoes or dragons or was black and neon green,” Moore said. “It just didn't fit our vibe.”
After initial research suggested an uptick in pickleball interest among consumers, the pair saw the market as white space. They decided to give it a ‘dink,’ creating designs that would resonate more with their audience and the recreational player.
The May 2021 launch of Recess Pickleball was a success, receiving orders from people the co-founders didn’t know from the first day. Moore remembers excitedly thinking, “Okay, this is serious. This actually could be something really big.”
The positive market response within the first six months motivated Moore and Brown to take on an investment round to help expedite the growth. “We realized that if we didn’t jump in and do it, somebody else would.”
A little over two years later, Recess Pickleball has a manufacturing site in Austin, the company employs close to twenty-one people full-time, there is a Recess Pickleball office space and the offerings have expanded to include pickleball accessories and clothing.
As the co-founder of a thriving brand that is nationally recognized, Moore is thankful for the influences from her Belmont education that have contributed to her entrepreneurial success.
“I feel rare and lucky that I'm actually using what I studied,” Moore said. “I feel like all the professors mentored me in one way or another. They were awesome at fueling the fire and helping me explore every avenue I could go down with business. That exercise really helped me start thinking more like an entrepreneur and understanding what makes a good business and what I should look for.”
Focused on sustainable social enterprises, Belmont’s social entrepreneurship major was the first in the country, and the self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur” knew it would be a great fit for her as a transfer student. Recess Pickleball maintains a heart for social entrepreneurship by incorporating several give-back elements. Limited edition campaigns give back a portion of profits to charitable causes. For the last two years, Recess has promoted a pink pickleball paddle in October for breast cancer awareness along with an event.
“It’s a fun mission to get behind,” Moore said. “While we’re a for-profit company, we definitely look for ways to give back to our community.”
Co-founding Recess Pickleball is a full-circle experience for Moore and Brown who meet in elementary school at recess. Now they get to play a role in curating fun for others.
“We wanted the pickleball paddle to be as fun as the game itself,” Moore said. “The core of what we’re doing is just helping people have fun.”
As the popularity of pickleball continues to sweep across the nation, Recess Pickleball will continue providing gear that enthusiasts love.