Andrew Klein moved to Los Gatos last fall with his wife and new baby.
He’s hoping to make a mark on the community. And he’s hoping his startup will provide the perfect way to get a “grip” on that plan.
He founded Groovy Grips in February 2024, an outgrowth of his passion for pickleball.
Klein created grip tape in funky patterns for lovers of the sport.
At the time he was living in San Francisco.
Klein realized that people were accessorizing their paddles—but not the grip.
That sparked his big idea: to create a product that adds more cushion and reduces hand slippage.
Thus, “Groovy Grips” was born
This local entrepreneur has global ambitions for his brand that serves the fast-growing pickleball market
Though the concept was there over a year ago, he began selling the product in the last three months.
Coming from a baseball background of playing at Menlo Atherton High School—not to mention growing up in a baseball-obsessed family—Klein found the perfect cross.
“There is a growing trend of baseball players customizing their bat grips,” Klein said.
He realized he could take that concept and bring it to pickleball.
“The pickleball community (has) a very fun, laid-back atmosphere that feels very recreational,” he said. “I wanted to create a product that creates the carefree vibe when someone goes out to play pickleball.”
Klein says he wanted to capitalize on the pickleball craze, and, since launching, he noticed his customers had bought his product for baseball bats, tennis rackets, golf clubs, swords, nunchakus and even lawnmowers.
A single pack retails for $7.99, while the three-pack is $16.99.
He’s already shipped 300-400 units.
He decided to only sell on Amazon, for now.
Meanwhile, he runs his own video production company called “Fog Coast Productions,” which has operated out of San Francisco for the last eight years.
(Groovy Grips)
He says if pickleball enthusiasts in Los Gatos—from those who play at the Bay Club to those who frequent tennis courts around town—are interested, he’s even set up a promo code for locals.
“I’m now going to the point where I am seeing people that I don’t know use my product,” he said.
Seeing word spreading throughout the Bay Area—and beyond—makes him feel proud.
He wanted to use Amazon as a test-bed to get customer feedback.
But, he adds, he feels that the pickleball community brings people together.
Klein says he’s seen this himself at the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos.
Even the names of his products are quite colorful: Firecracker Swirl, Aztec Burst, Galaxy Splash, Sunburst Swell.
And now, he’s on to his fifth design: Jungle Bloom.
“Some of our concepts started with generative AI, which has helped us play with wild color palettes,” says Klein.
He explains that it gets refined by hand. Then he surveys friends and family about the output.
In terms of the trajectory of the business, Klein says he wants to create different lines of groovy-sporty goods.
He’s thinking they can go as far as creating “groovy socks” and edge guards for the paddles.
But where does this grooviness come from?
Klein says it’s an authentic representation of his own fun and colorful personality.
When someone sees these sorts of visuals on their paddle, it signifies that they are here for a good time, he explains.
Jumping into this business venture has come with quite the learning curve.
For the last eight years, he’s been more service-focused.
But for this company—a physical product—he entered uncharted territory.
Klein studied supply chains and mold-making.
He ended up finding a manufacturer on Alibaba in China.
“I got my first shipment in January,” he said. “It took me about one month to get everything out to Amazon.”
Sales were going pretty well. But suddenly, Donald Trump’s new tariffs arrived.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to place another order at the time.
However, it is something that looms in the background.
Klein closes off by saying he hopes to sell 5,000 grips in his first year.
And with Amazon’s “Prime Day” coming up in July, he’s optimistic about the possibility of hitting that target.
Head to GroovyGrips.com to learn more.
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