Craig Moody developed Shoot 360 after watching his son choose video games over basketball.
- For six years, Moody ran a production company while also developing Shoot 360.
- Moody’s says the business with outside investors is too big to manage with the family alone.
Told this essay is based on a conversation with Craig Moody, Founder and Chairman of ShThe text360. This has been edited for length and clarity.
About 15 years ago, my son was sitting at home playing a basketball video game. I said to him, “Why don’t you go outside and play?” I grew up shooting and coaching, and I could not imagine that he would enjoy playing basketball on screen.
I walked out of my game room thinking, “If I could make a gym like a video game, I could make it happen.”
This idea stuck with me. I did more research, and one morning I woke up and said to my wife, “I think I’ve found it.” I rented a warehouse and started building Shoot360 that night.
My father was an entrepreneur, and I learned from him
I was already familiar with entrepreneurship. My father was a contractor who ran several businesses. He owned an equipment rental yard that he developed into a regional chain and later sold to a national chain. I followed in his footsteps and was running a construction company.
When you work for yourself, there are no limits to what you can do. People would say it was the American dream – and I have always loved the freedom of it. Whether it’s building or gaming, the ability to go out on my own and create something that I think is special really appeals to me.
I ran both companies for 6 years
I launched Shoot 360 in 2012. In the first few years, growth was slow. I was developing a way to bring together physical hoops and balls with digital tracking and gamification in a way that would appeal to the younger generation.
I hired people to help with this and ploughed any profits back into the company. I kept my production company running to cover my expenses. Doing both was time-consuming: I was logging 16-hour days, seven days a week.
By 2018, Shoot 360 was beginning to grow significantly. I closed my construction company rather than selling it because I didn’t have an opportunity to manage the change. Shoot 360 was expanding very rapidly.
My kids understand business better than me in some ways
All three of my kids love basketball and have been involved in the business since the beginning. I had been working long days, but the kids were in the gym with me, testing the product. They were passionate about business, and it wove itself into the fabric of our lives.
When they went to college and started studying business, they realised how much opportunity we had. He has deep respect for what I’ve done, but he argues that he understands the business better than I do.
In a way, they are right. Shoot 360 is a technique based on video game culture. My kids understand what motivates people in the gaming world, and getting their input is an advantage.
I don’t plan to leave the business for my children
Today, all three of my children – now 31, 29 and 23 – are working in the business. When I started working for my father, I started at the grassroots level. Before helping run things I was washing equipment and managing the rental counter.
I’m taking the same approach with my kids. I’ve started them at the bottom and worked my way up. Being in different roles helps them find their area of talent.
Although we all work together, we will not pass Shoot 360 on to the next generation. Once you bring in outside investors, you’re giving up some of that traditional family business structure.
Last year, Shoot 360 made nearly $20 million in revenue. To grow this business and make the greatest impact on the basketball community, we will keep it outside the scope of the family business. Really, it already is.
