New Podcast: Think Big, Start Small – How Can Small Businesses Thrive Through Turbulence?
It’s a fascinating exploration of an entrepreneurial journey two decades in the making. Driven by ambition to solve problems and elevate performance in the sport he loves, Adam Battersby carried on his father’s visionary legacy. From scrappy backyard beginnings tinkering with machines to partnerships with iconic pro baseball teams, the Pro Batter saga continues ascending to new heights.
The Spark of Innovation
The genesis of Pro Batter Sports stems from Adam’s passion for baseball, passed down from his dad Greg, who built a batting cage in their backyard. But Adam struggled to hit curveballs from traditional machines. Seeking a better training solution, Greg’s engineering mind envisioned a revolutionary pitching machine – merging a multi-wheel mechanical pitcher with video projection technology.
Fostering Innovation Through Collaboration
Game-changing innovations rarely follow a predictable trajectory. Developing pioneering products and refining bold ideas takes time and iterative effort. Greg recognized that realizing such an ambitious vision required collaboration with engineers to contribute specialized expertise. He recruited various partners over 8 years to help make each prototype iteration more advanced. Blending Greg’s design ingenuity with Adam’s real-world hitting experience, the group incrementally overcame daunting technical barriers.
Leveraging Early Wins to Enable Growth
Early deals with pro teams fueled the growth of Pro Batter Sports, including the New York Yankees buying machines for their MLB and minor league facilities after demoing the simulator. Securing that first big sale or installation can serve as a springboard for significant expansions down the road. More than generating immediate revenue, landing initial clients provides opportunities to get referrals or visibility that opens doors to new applications and adjacencies. Single project wins, if strategically leveraged, can catalyze cascading market growth.
Key Takeaways:
- Leverage wins for referrals, visibility, and expansion opportunities
- A hard-won market foothold enables compounding gains if strategically leveraged
- Think creatively about indirect benefits from initial product acceptance
Ever-improving cutting-edge Solutions
Now with Adam as President, Pro Batter Sports continually refines their simulator product. Employing the latest tech and additional partners’ expertise, they better mimic authentic pitching motions. But it’s never finished – they relentlessly build upon feedback and their own lofty aspirations to provide unmatched training realism. Even with immense growth since that first White Sox sale, taking risks on emerging concepts persists.
The Pro Batter story spans basement batting cage beginnings to pioneering new training techniques, reaching the sport’s highest levels worldwide. Examining stories of successful entrepreneurs reveals recurring themes and principles applicable to business builders everywhere. With agile operations, strong teams, bold sales efforts, and strategic leveraging of opportunities, small players can compete at higher levels.
