We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Cronjé recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our mission is to help grow the sport of pickleball rooted in community and inclusivity. The sentiment that the world of sports and fitness are exclusively for young, fit, wealthy & able-bodied people is false. Pickleball is a recreational sport that transcends that notion. Pickleball is for everybody – no matter what that body is.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I decided to develop Single Double back in the summer of 2021. I was living in a new place and did not know very many people. Pickleball gave me a safe space to be active, meet new folks and make new friends. When I first started playing pickleball, I couldn’t find any paddles that were durable and design focused, so I decided to create my own.

Since the sport of pickleball is exploding, I hope that people will love Single Double not only for its aesthetics and quality, but for what it stands for – that pickleball is for everybody regardless of age, background or ability. I’m most proud to have a platform to represent the true Pickleball community – which is diverse and come from all walks of life. Single Double is female owned and operated based in Asheville, NC.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I manufacture my products in China – something I have never done before. Naively, I thought it would be a simple process, it is not. I used an import/export website to find out where bigger brands manufacture their product and then contacted those factories in combination with websites like Made In China and Alibaba. The problem is that not a lot of these factories want to do small productions with a new company and how do you weed out the ones with subpar product while simultaneously trying to blindly vet the good ones? In combination with high minimums, language barriers, time differences, production and shipping in the Covid era it was an extremely difficult process. I sampled the same pickleball designs with five different manufacturers so I could test the quality on all and then iterate with the best one who was willing to accomodate smaller production runs. Do not put all of your eggs in one basket – it is extremely important to have options in case something happens with the manufacturer you work with. In the long run, it may cost more up front, but it will save you time and money in the long game. In addtition, never take the first quote – everything is a negotiation, they want to work with you.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

Before I decided to create Single Double Pickleball, I had just built and launched another company le Tablescape – a high end events company in South Florida. I spent 6 months building this company, started booking events and realized my heart just wasn’t in it. Right around the time I launched le Tablescape, I started playing pickleball and had the idea to launch a paddle company because I saw a gap in the market and the foresight of a huge fitness trend happening right in front of my eyes. But how? I just worked so hard to launch this other company and I had investors that believed in me! Well, I tapped my network to seek out someone who was more passionate about my company than I was and then I sold it to them for a profit. I paid all my investors back, took that money and became 100% owner in my new company – Single Double Pickleball. The moral of the story is, don’t get attached to your business – I saw a more profitable opportunity and let go of the one that wasn’t because I wasn’t personally attached to my idea. It’s good to be passionate – but you are so much more than just one idea and you have the ability to change your mind at any time if it suits you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.singledouble.net
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/singledoublepickleball
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/singledoublepickleball
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/singledoublepickleball
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/SingleDoublePB
• Other: Pinterest : @SingleDoublePickleball

Image Credits
Daniel Barlow Miss Jen Media Studio Foray Power Move Marketing *It really depends on which photos you decide to use! I can always clarify if needed.