Episode

108 From a $650M Exit to Building America’s Padel Ecosystem

Podcast
The Sports Business Leaders Podcast
Published
Jun 12, 2026
Duration seconds
1018
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sportsbusinessleaders/episodes/108-From-a-650M-Exit-to-Building-Americas-Padel-Ecosystem-e3kn1bc
Audio
https://anchor.fm/s/e9c4d3c8/podcast/play/121389868/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-5-12%2F426021289-44100-2-94a6ee7600955.m4a
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/the-sports-business-leaders-podcast-7164281/episodes/108-from-a-650m-exit-to-building-america-s-padel-ecosystem
Markdown
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Summary

Emiliano Abramzon is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and the co-founder of Nearpod, the interactive learning platform that was acquired by Renaissance Learning in a deal reportedly valued at approximately $650 million. Today, he is the co-founder and CEO of Racquet 360, a company building one of the most comprehensive padel and racquet sports ecosystems in the United States. In this episode of the Sports Business Leaders Podcast, Emiliano shares his journey from scaling a successful technology company to helping grow one of the fastest-growing sports categories in the world. He discusses why padel presents a massive opportunity in the U.S., the similarities between building a SaaS company and a sports business, and how Racquet 360 is creating value through facilities, leagues, events, distribution, and community-building. The conversation also explores customer acquisition, network effects, data-driven decision making, raising capital, building great teams, and the importance of collaboration across emerging sports ecosystems. Whether you're a founder, investor, or sports executive, this episode offers valuable insights on scaling businesses and building industries from the ground up.