For years Jack Oswald was a touring tennis skilled. He aimed for high worldwide rankings, the important thing to critical earnings. The rankings by no means got here, however fixed journey uncovered a nagging downside: his tennis baggage stored breaking.
Thus started his ardour for designing a greater bag for athletes on the go. And that led to Cancha, a direct-to-consumer vendor of sport and journey baggage, which he launched in 2019 from his base within the U.Okay.
Jack and I lately spoke. He mentioned his transition to entrepreneurship — early struggles, elevating capital, and extra. Our whole audio is embedded under. The transcript is condensed and edited for readability.
Eric Bandholz: Inform our visitors who you might be and what you do.
Jack Oswald: I’m the founding father of Cancha, which implies “courtroom” in Spanish. We design customizable, modular sport and journey baggage — gear that transitions simply between work, play, and health. Our mission is to make sports activities journey seamless and assist folks keep lively.
My background is in tennis. I spent years coaching and touring to compete, chasing the dream of going professional. I didn’t attain the highest, however I realized an awesome deal and gained invaluable international expertise, together with studying French and Spanish.
Earlier than the pandemic, I started designing baggage for myself to fulfill the wants of an athlete on the transfer — from courtroom to metropolis to nature. I had no background in delicate items design, however I dove in. In the course of the pandemic, with journey and tennis on maintain, I targeted full-time on constructing Cancha and studying ecommerce.
Initially, our goal market was touring athletes, however most clients at present are on a regular basis commuters and leisure gamers. We’re particularly in style within the U.S., which accounts for 60% of orders. Brexit made promoting in Europe more difficult, so the U.S. grew to become our main market. Curiously, we even have a loyal buyer base in Asia, together with Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, regardless of not advertising in these locales.
Bandholz: Inform us extra in regards to the transition from tennis to entrepreneurship.
Oswald: It was an extended, gradual course of. As a child, I believed nothing may cease me from turning professional. However actuality hit — tennis is hard to make a residing in. Solely the highest 100 gamers earn effectively, and past 150 within the rankings, you’re typically dropping cash. In contrast to soccer, the place hundreds of gamers make a residing, tennis is financially brutal until you’re on the high.
I gave it every part — touring continuously, chasing rating factors, attempting to outlive every week. The grind was intense, and also you’re typically alone with out the identical sources as rivals. A coach, first rate lodging, or perhaps a meal could make an enormous distinction. The psychological and bodily toll is gigantic, particularly when dealing with dropping streaks or setbacks.
I ultimately realized I wanted a brand new path. I in all probability would’ve stored pushing had I not found a brand new ardour with Cancha. A lot of my friends struggled post-tennis, however I used to be lucky to search out one thing significant. Even so, it took over a yr to completely shift. I used to be nonetheless half-committed to tennis whereas constructing Cancha, progressively accepting that it was time to maneuver on.
Bandholz: Luggage are costly to fabricate. The place did you get the cash?
Oswald: It began scrappy. I wasn’t spending a lot at first. I used to be studying from mates who knew about delicate items design. Between tennis tournaments, I attended commerce exhibits, the place I met suppliers who generously provided samples, maybe pondering I used to be extra established.
In late 2019, I ran a crowdfunding marketing campaign, elevating roughly £10,000 ($13,500). I had no advertising expertise, but it surely supplied a little bit of capital to maneuver ahead. Then, throughout the pandemic, we obtained a authorities aid mortgage, which helped fund our first manufacturing run and enabled us to undertake higher design work. That was a serious enhance.
We started with tennis baggage as a result of that’s what I knew. The idea was a modular system — baggage with add-ons for footwear, laptops, or moist gear. We first tried a backpack with racket add-ons, but it surely was too cumbersome. So we pivoted to a devoted tennis bag and expanded from there.
Having contacts within the U.S. tennis area — reviewers and influencers — helped us get early traction. From there, we’ve grown into different racquet sports activities and extra lifestyle-oriented baggage.
A most important purpose for launching Cancha was frustration — my tennis baggage stored breaking. Tennis is a rising sport, however the trade itself stays largely conventional, particularly in advertising. Most manufacturers depend on gross sales representatives and retail, and their baggage are sometimes poorly made, used as loss leaders to promote rackets. In contrast to golf, the place premium baggage are the norm, tennis baggage lack innovation and high quality.
I noticed a niche for higher supplies, considerate design, and sturdiness. That grew to become our focus: premium, modular baggage that meet the wants of recent gamers and vacationers.
On the advertising aspect, I additionally wished to interrupt the mould. Most tennis manufacturers rely closely on participant sponsorships, however these include restrictions — gamers who wished to make use of our baggage typically couldn’t. So we went direct-to-consumer through ecommerce, bypassing the old-school gatekeepers.
Bandholz: How did your development evolve?
Oswald: It has been gradual. We haven’t had a breakout second from advertisements or gifting — no “rocket ship” success. It’s been a gradual enchancment throughout the board. Our baggage are important purchases. They final a very long time, and other people take time to determine. That makes acquisition difficult, particularly with rising advert prices.
Our restricted manufacturing strategy has labored effectively. We’ve leaned into that with e-mail advertising — providing limited-edition drops, unique colorways, and model collaborations inside tennis and past. We’ve additionally performed loads of pre-orders.
Creating pleasure across the product improvement course of and shortage has helped drive engagement and curiosity. As a substitute of counting on one massive channel, it’s been a mixture: constructing hype, sustaining a tight model, and slowly incomes belief.
Bandholz: Do you’ve gotten repeat patrons?
Oswald: Sure, and that’s been a power. Our modular design permits clients so as to add equipment, naturally encouraging repeat purchases. Folks typically purchase a base bag first, then return for add-ons.
I design equipment to face alone whereas additionally integrating with our baggage. That twin strategy provides us crossover attraction — some folks purchase simply the laptop computer bag, whereas others construct full journey methods over time.
Restricted drops play a job, too. Prospects provide suggestions on what they need. That helps information future product improvement. We’ve had clients spend upwards of $2,000 over a number of years. That form of engagement has been key to our development.
Bandholz: The place can folks purchase your baggage or attain out?
Oswald: Our web site is MyCancha.com. I co-host the Underdog Ecom Podcast for bootstrapped homeowners. I’m on X and LinkedIn.
