Tyler Cichelli, founder of Voodoo Pickleball and a business student at the University of Utah, is making the game more fun and affordable for all players.
Cichelli’s vision took off when he and his buddies got into pickleball and couldn’t find any fun paddles. Everything they found for sale was expensive, and all the options looked very similar. Cichelli likes to stand out on the court, so making his own unique paddles just made sense.
Voodoo Pickleball focuses on recreational players rather than just competitive players. Voodoo stands out by creating paddles with exceptional design and performance, all while maintaining an affordable price point.
Cichelli is most proud of Voodoo’s launch. “Launching was huge,” he said. “We did a lot of social media promotion and giveaways, and our website is up and running.”
He has big plans for the future. “I want to get out products into big retail stores like Dicks Sporting Goods and Scheels,” he said. “We are working with them right now. I also want to partner with other brands and create collab paddles. There are some things in the works that customers should be excited for.”
Cichelli is growing his business through the Lassonde Founders program at the University of Utah’s Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. The residential-entrepreneur program is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Utah. Those admitted receive a scholarship to launch businesses and live together at Lassonde Studios.
What Cichelli has found to be the most beneficial part of the Lassonde Founders program is the mentorship and role models provided to him. Receiving support in areas such as marketing strategies, scaling, product development, and every stage of brand building has been incredibly valuable, he said. Moving forward, Cichelli is eager to grow in size of his business.
Check out Voodoo Pickleballs paddles and more at @voodoopickleball on Instagram or voodoopickleball.us.
Voodoo Pickleball is creating pickleball paddles with unique designs.
