Each month, we offer our startup clients the opportunity to share their story and showcase their business in our Startup Newsletter. This month’s featured emerging company is athletic equipment startup, ProXR, LLC.
Name and company
Grady Phelan of ProXR, LLC
When did you start your business?
July 12, 2013
What inspired you to start your business?
I accidentally threw a baseball bat that nearly hit my son – I wanted to develop an improved grip for baseball bats. That discovery lead to a totally new platform for athletic grip with applications in baseball, hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, golf, squash and others.
What city are you based in?
St. Louis, MO.
What is your product or service?
Grip technology featured on ProXR baseball bats for consumers and Old Hickory baseball bats for Major Leaguers and the TORCH™ hockey knob for hockey players at all levels of play.
What sets your product or service apart from the competition?
Our products increase athletic performance by optimizing the connection between an athlete’s grip and their equipment. Baseball players gain 3 to 5 miles per hour on their exit velocity and hockey players increase their snapshot speed by roughly 15%. Additionally, the ProXR knob design reduces injury-causing compression and decreases the forces which cause thrown bats.
What is the best business advice you ever received?
- Get well funded
- Don’t give up. You’re closer than you think
- Surround yourself with people smarter than you
- Innovation is a threat to established companies – they don’t want you to succeed
Is there anything else you would like to share about your business?
Our products have been approved for use in MLB, NHL and the NCAA. Our bats are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the first angled knob bats ever used in regular season games. ProXR won the National Grand Prize for the Wells Fargo Works Competition in 2015.
Boston Red Sox hitter Hanley Ramirez tore up the first week of the season swinging an Old Hickory bat with a ProXR knob on it. He had a two-run home run and a game winning double in the 13th inning against the Marlins.
What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
Cycle, play baseball & softball with family & friends
If people want to learn more about your startup, where should they go?
FOX Sports coverage of our bat innovation: https://youtu.be/qNOfwTGhOwQ
If you would like your startup company to be considered for an Anders Startup Client Spotlight, please complete our questionnaire.
