“Be brave – step out and be an entrepreneur, don’t just follow a Corporate route. That said, I always wanted to have my own business but lacked an idea I had full conviction in. So I’d also say be patient for the opportunity, keep your eyes open, and grab it with both hands when it comes along.” – Andy Knee

Today we feature Andy Knee, the founder of PadelStars. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.

Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?

My background is in sports, I’ve worked for many years leading, advising, marketing and commercialising major professional sports events, leagues and competitions both in the UK and around the world. Out of University, I followed a predictable path into the City, but soon after starting I realised, I didn’t care much about the ultimate product (and at times wasn’t sure what the product itself was!).

So I thought to myself: what do I care about, what am I interested in? Which led me to sport, something I’ve enjoyed throughout my life. In my role as CEO of PadelStars I’m primarily focussed on identifying and agreeing suitable locations for us to build padel centres, forging strong relationships with the site owners, overseeing the planning process and the subsequent build, and then the operation of the centre itself. In doing this I work closely with both Jamie and Jeevan.

No day is the same, it’s both big picture and mundane detail, it’s long hours, weekends, always on. But it’s good fun, we enjoy the ups and make each other laugh through the downs, and we’re all highly motivated to build a great business we can be proud of.

How did you start your business?

I came across padel 20 years ago in Barcelona. I’d relocated there for work, the first time in the city, barely spoke the language and didn’t know a soul. In my third week, I found myself on what I was told was a padel tennis court with a work colleague named Bruno and two guys I’d never met. They were good, I was not. They spoke Catalan, I looked confused. But I took to it far quicker than I expected, we had a brilliant game, some great points, a few outrageous shots and pretty much non-stop laughter. By the end of that first match, I had my first 3 friends in the city.

My love for padel (and Barcelona) was born. On my way back that night I remember thinking padel would be so popular in England, I’m taking it home with me. But a couple of years later I moved to France, life took over – work, marriage, family, friends – and thoughts of creating UK padel centres took a distant back seat. Fast-forward a couple of decades and I was working with the football World Cup in Qatar.

Padel was booming there yet still in its infancy in the UK. Whilst loving my career in sport that Barcelona feeling was still strong – and the desire to start a business focussed on getting people active and having fun was too good to delay a second time. It was time to take the plunge… Jamie and I joined forces and, with the support of many wonderful friends, we’re building padel centres and putting exactly what I so enjoyed in Barcelona all those years ago – fun, camaraderie, great exercise – at the heart of them. Our courts are welcoming to all, young and old, novice or expert, social player or competitive demon, and everyone in between.

Our aim is that every time you play padel you’ll come off our courts having had a great time, heart pumping, face beaming, a life-affirming experience shared with friends, old and new.

What does your business do and where is your company based?

PadelStars develops and operates padel tennis courts. Padel tennis is the fastest-growing sport in the UK and across Europe. Most commonly referred to as a blend of tennis and squash, it’s played on a small, enclosed glass and wire court, with a net in the middle, and is usually played as doubles.

The sport is booming for a variety of reasons, namely, it’s easy to pick up (but difficult to master), it’s hyper-sociable, great exercise, and a lot of fun. I’m based in southwest London, but PadelStars is across the southeast of England, with (thus far) six padel tennis centres. Each centre has a PadelStars team operating it whilst the rest of us work from home – and are on the road at least three times per week visiting existing and new sites.

What’s the story behind your success?

It’s too early to call us a success! But it feels like we’re on a good path. The story and key drivers of our journey can be rather haphazardly explained as follows: I started PadelStars with a great friend, Jamie. We played padel, loved it, and thought ‘There’s something in this’. Jamie and I have different skill sets, different approaches and occasionally different opinions: but it turns out we’re a strong team. It’s great to be doing something as partners that we both greatly believe in.

Our first hire, Jeevan, is a rock star. She’s our Chief Operating Officer and complements Jamie and me extremely well. The three of us get on – we work hard and have a great time doing it. And we’re united by strong ambition and a clear sense of direction for the business. We are in an industry, padel tennis, that’s hot. We didn’t know that when we started, but our initial hunch proved correct. Padel tennis will be a massive participation sport in the UK. If you haven’t tried it yet, do so – you’ll love it.

We recruit based on personality first and foremost. Yes, there’s a skills requirement for any job, and all PadelStars have a love of sport, but a fun, can-do, enthusiastic personality is critical to us. We’re a small, growing team, based in different locations. We try to make sure there’s a common bond and we all contribute to a happy, positive working environment. We don’t take ourselves too seriously: we’re in leisure, let’s have fun!

How long has your company been operating, and what have been key milestones in its development?

We’ve been around since 2022. The obvious milestones have been raising our first round of funding, building our first padel centre, and seeing our courts flooded with players – young and old, experienced and novice, all backgrounds and demographics. It’s particularly satisfying when someone who’s never ‘done’ bat and ball comes and plays: they find they can do it, and typically love it!

Following up on that, can you share any emerging trends or shifts you’re seeing in your industry that others might not be aware of yet?

The padel tennis industry in the UK is still pretty young, I don’t see too many trends right now. The trend largely appears to be growth! But aside from that different operating models are starting to emerge, an increase in tournaments and competition, the emergence of corporate events, an emphasis on getting kids involved, and more technology gradually coming in. There are a lot of things happening all at once as the UK realises the massive appeal of the sport.

Celebrity interest is another significant driver for padel. It seems to be the hot new thing and the preferred sport of actors, rappers, musicians, business leaders, and the second-favourite sport of professional footballers, rugby players, cricketers, and Formula 1 drivers. It’s also starting to take on the corporate and social networking role that used to belong to golf and, more recently, cycling.

We know that there are ups and downs in business. What’s been your biggest lesson so far?

Be relentless, keep on pushing. I’m trying hard to make sure I always follow that!

How has that lesson influenced your approach to decision-making, especially when faced with uncertainty?

Be fearless.

Given your experience, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for companies in your sector right now?

The continued growth of padel tennis as a major participation sport presents a significant opportunity for companies in this sector. Additionally, there will be the ‘halo effect’ of padel tennis becoming more visible as a professional sport, with the possibility of inclusion as an Olympic sport in the long term. This visibility will help drive its popularity and attract more participants.

At PadelStars, we have trademarked ‘The Happiest Sport.’ We feel that padel tennis, and PadelStars, have real authenticity in this space. We will continue to build on that authenticity to engage more people with our brand, and on a deeper level.

One of the key challenges we face is over-supply. There is a current sense of a “gold rush” in the padel sector, with many operators pursuing new sites. Another challenge lies in the capital required to build and operate padel tennis centres. These centres are expensive to construct, placing pressure on the business model.

Pricing is a further challenge. Given the high costs of building and operating padel facilities, the price of padel courts tends to be too high. I dislike operators trumpeting padel’s great inclusivity and then charging a court price that only a few can afford. Padel must be accessible to a very wide cross-section of the population to achieve its enormous potential as a sport.

We’re nearly at the end of our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?

To effectively manage our operations, we rely on several key tools. First and foremost is our PadelStars booking app, which centralises and manages all our bookings across various sites. While it takes a lot of effort to fine-tune a booking system, when it works well it’s an excellent tool. Alongside this, the data we collect from bookings plays a critical role in our business.

There’s no end of data, it’s of course how you analyse and apply the findings that counts. Lastly, we have developed an excellent in-house planning tool that helps us decide where we choose to build padel tennis sites. As the industry matures, the location of each site will become critical. We aim for this tool to guide us in avoiding poor site choices.

How do you see technology changing your industry in the next 3-5 years?

From a player’s side, technology is already available to generate highlights of your game. At the end of a 90-minute match, you can receive match highlights or individual player highlights. This will become more widespread.

The next stage of this is to apply virtual coaching, such that players have their own personalised ‘where and how to improve’ after every match, supplemented by instructional videos from elite Coaches.

The booking apps will improve further to be an even greater facilitator for people meeting, playing, learning, socialising, competing and hence for community building.

From an Operator side, these same apps will be fantastic tools to develop closer, more meaningful engagement with players, real loyalty and belonging. Ultimately, the best clubs will have a really vibrant close-knit community of players at its core.

What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?

Professionally my life goal is pretty simple: build a business that I am proud of. For what it offers, how it does it, how it treats people and ultimately what it means to people. I think it’s a privilege if people choose to spend their leisure time and their money with you, and you need to be sure you are always delivering value to them.

To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” What advice would you give to another founder or someone thinking about starting a business, and why?

Be brave – step out and be an entrepreneur, don’t just follow a Corporate route. That said, I always wanted to have my own business but lacked an idea I had full conviction in. So I’d also say be patient for the opportunity, keep your eyes open, and grab it with both hands when it comes along. Do something you’re passionate about and a product you really enjoy. It makes the hard work, setbacks, and daily frustrations much more tolerable. It’s corny but true: enjoy the journey. And ideally, smile and laugh as you go.

“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and PadelStars”

To learn more about PadelStars visit: https://padelstars.co.uk

You can find out more on social media channels below:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/padelstars-uk

https://www.linkedin.com/company/padelstars-uk

https://www.facebook.com/PadelStarsUk

https://www.instagram.com/padelstarsuk