Allison Pine, a senior at California Lutheran University, has taken her passion for playing pickleball with her family and has created a new business, Pikl Pal, that promotes endorphins and overall wellness.
With the support of her family and mentors, Pine launched Pikl Pal in Dec. 2023. Pikl Pal features pickleball paddles that are covered with green smiley faces which Pine said helps people to be more inclined to pick one up, start playing, and inspire them to live a life of wellness.
“My goal with Pikl Pal is to create a space for people from all walks of life to connect through movement,” Pine said.
Since Pine was eight years old, she said it has always been her dream to start her own business.
“I saw that both my parents were entrepreneurs, and I thought in my head that I could probably take the same risk that they took, and I was never really scared of taking risks to start a business,” Pine said. “It was always a thing that intrigued me and was exciting to me, so I am so happy that I could finally fulfill that.”
Pine said over the COVID-19 pandemic that she and her family got into fitness and wellness and discovered pickleball was something they all enjoyed and benefited from through their various stages of wellness.
During the time, Pine said her dad had been through three surgeries and her sister had just had a baby. Even though everyone was at a different stage in their wellness state, Pine said they were still connected through playing pickleball together and moving around, which was inspiring to her.
“I loved how we could all connect through movement and through pickleball,” Pine said.
Through her journey of pickleball, Pine said she discovered a need for the paddles to look more aesthetically pleasing and took a risk hoping other pickleball players shared the same necessity.
Pine said her favorite part began during the research and development period when she would talk to people about her paddles and ask them for feedback. She said this process was incredible to her because she got to meet new people through talking about her product.
The Entrepreneurship Club at Cal Lutheran, Pine said helped her along her journey specifically with brainstorming, creating a plan of action, and understanding strategy within a business.
“What she’s doing is creating something unique and trendy and fashionable, I think it will bring awareness to those who don’t think of pickleball as something they can do for wellness,” mentor to Pine and entrepreneur Adam Amzalag said.
Since the creation of Pikl Pal, Amzalag said Pine has been getting people to the pickleball courts and thinks it has been engaging a lot of people.
“She figured out pickleball is a fast growth industry, and if she focuses on pickleball and even within one aspect of pickleball, which is people need rackets,” mentor to Pine and Principal at Capital InVentures Dianne Gubin said.
Pine said that her goal is to sell Pikl Pal internationally, but for now is excited to market to different people across the United States.
“I think Allison will be successful in anything that she does, she has an amazing attitude and she’s got so much warmth and just natural charm around her. She is genuinely interested in other people, and I think that whatever path she chooses she will be successful,” Gubin said.
Find the full article at Cal Lutheran's Echo Newspaper.