11SIX24 Pickleball
The biblical story of David and Goliath recounts a young shepherd, David, who defeats the Philistine giant Goliath, despite being much smaller and using only a sling and stones while Goliath is well-armed.
It’ s fitting that the owner of a breakthrough paddle company started with a staff of one— and his name is David.
However, David Groechel was working with more than a sling and stones, and the 33-year-old Davidson, North Carolina, resident had ample motivation after a bad paddle experience.
“ I launched 11SIX24 after breaking two $ 225 paddles in just a few weeks,” Groechel says.“ I saw a gap in the market. Players deserved durable, high-quality performance gear at a great price.”
The Detroit native(“ I like to say I have Detroit grit”) is candid and confident.“ I’ m not trying to outspend the giants— I’ m out-listening them. I have my sights set on Selkirk for the next five years. I’ m coming for them.”
Groechel gave his upstart paddle firm the offbeat name 11SIX24 because that’ s exactly how many jelly beans were in a jar at a contest he won. Groechel didn’ t just guess the amount, he calculated it. He likes research, so he called the jelly bean manufacturer( which was allowed by the contest sponsors), did some math and hit the number on the head. Groechel’ s math won him $ 25,000. A 2014 graduate of Michigan State University with a finance degree, Groechel researched paddle manufacturers in China and ordered samples from quite a few.“ I would test them all and ended up choosing the one I liked best. I then ordered my first batch, which was around $ 5,000, paid for USA Pickleball testing and was on my way.”
Groechel sold his first paddle in July 2023. His paddles quickly caught on due to their quality, low prices( all 11SIX24’ s paddles are under $ 200), and attractive graphics and colors featuring teal and black. Paddle reviewers gave 11SIX24 rave reviews.
In a nod to the contest Groechel won, he named a paddle Jelly Bean. He priced it at $ 99.99 and it has sold incredibly well.
11SIX24 has not signed any professional pickleball players to endorse its paddles.“ And that’ s strategic,” Groechel says.“ Pro sponsorships are pricey and deliver limited ROI for a smaller brand like mine. Instead, the budget goes to research and development, and working to expand our ambassador program.
“ Almost all of our growth has been organic, powered by word of mouth and a team of ambassadors that has grown to almost 4,000 players. I’ m now dipping into paid media with an agency partner.”
Groechel declines to discuss profits or specific sales numbers but says 11SIX24 had three consecutive record months this past spring, and his goal is to sell 75,000 paddles this year with a“ stretch” goal of 100,000 paddles.
One industry insider admits,“ For a smaller paddle company producing paddles in a Chinese factory, the markup on a $ 150 paddle is around three times the cost to make it.”
Asked how 11SIX24 can compete against industry Goliath Selkirk, Groechel says,“ Will I reach their size? I don’ t know but I am going to try through excellent customer service, quality paddles and prices no one else can beat.”
Groechel often replies to customer emails himself. However, his company’ s success has led him to hire a part-time warehouse helper and support worker who replies to“ the easier emails.”
The popular paddle reviewer Braydon Unsicker, host of the“ Pickleball Effect” YouTube channel and website, says 11SIX24 grew initially from online forums, influencers and word of mouth.
He also credits Groechel’ s innovations:“ The Hurache-X was its own mold of an elongated paddle that had a great swing weight and twist weight combo we weren’ t getting from other brands. This was something no one else was doing. It worked, stood out, and they kept their momentum by being in front of trends and staying ahead of the curve tech-wise.”
The success of 11SIX24 is magnified when you consider the competition. There are approximately 1,500 paddle companies registered with USA Pickleball, according to USAP Vice President of Equipment Compliance Riley Burgess( perhaps 800 are active).
USA Pickleball charges companies a onetime $ 1,750 registration fee and a $ 4,500 testing fee for every different paddle model.“ Our fee is simply to cover the costs needed to perform the [ certification ] test, and keep everything operating that is necessary,” Burgess says.
Most of the paddles sold in the U. S. are made in factories in China. Only a handful of paddle manufacturing facilities existed there a few years ago. It’ s estimated that there are now as many as 100.
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SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2025 | MAGAZINE 37