Komodo Pickleball’s Partnership with Andre Agassi: Komodo Pickleball, a paddle company based in Grand Junction, Colorado, was close to shutting down in 2023. Founder Dave Milo had only days of money left. But a surprise meeting with tennis legend Andre Agassi changed everything. Agassi joined as a part-owner and helped the company expand internationally. Though Agassi has since moved on, the support he gave came just in time.
Komodo Pickleball now sells paddles and gear in over 22 countries. The company started as Komodo Tennis in 2019 but switched to pickleball after Dave Milo saw how fast the sport was growing. At first, Dave Milo didn’t like pickleball. But once he tried it and saw the business opportunity, he changed his mind.
From Tennis to Pickleball
In 2019, Dave Milo started Komodo Tennis. But when pickleball became more popular, he took notice.
“Several of my tennis buddies started playing pickleball, and I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t want to even be around it. It was loud. It was obnoxious. It was for old people, you know, and being young – I was 50 at the time – I still was a tennis player.” – (milo)
“I dove into the business side of pickleballing and looking at all the growth and how fast it was growing compared to tennis, which we were in already. It would have been really stupid not to go into pickleball from a business sense.” – (milo)
After trying the sport, Dave Milo said,
“My manufacturers who made tennis equipment, actually made some pickleball paddles. I got some demos. I finally got talked into trying the sport, and I fell in love with it.” – (milo)
“And within a matter of six months, I ended up dumping and killing the tennis side of the business – which, we had tennis rackets we already made and strings and everything like that – to starting to be 100 percent pickleball.” – (milo)
A Turning Point
In early 2023, Komodo Pickleball was struggling.
“I was down to my last little bit of money, and, I mean, I have everything invested in this.” – (milo)
Feeling overwhelmed, he turned to his faith.
“And I asked the Lord to help me. I said, ‘Lord, I’m giving this to you. I cannot do this anymore. I’m mentally, physically, financially, I’m gonna lose everything that I have, and I don’t know what to do.’” – (milo)
He had 15 days of income left. On day 14, he met Andre Agassi through a friend at an event in Denver.
“On Day 14, I met Andre Agassi, and Andre Agassi came on board and helped lift me to a next level. And you can look that up, it’s online, Komodo Pickleball, Andre Agassi was a part owner of our company.” – (milo)
In his office at 1077 22 Road, Dave Milo pointed to a photo of him, his wife Jessica, and Andre Agassi.
“He lifted us up to the next level and brought us out of a hole.” – (milo)
Although Andre Agassi is now with another company, Joola, Dave Milo says they are still close.
“He is with the number one paddle company in the world right now, because they’re paying him big bucks. I had called Agassi the day before to wish him a happy birthday.” – (milo)
“Things in life like that, and in business, it’s truly amazing what can transpire when you release it and give it to God. And that’s what I did. I mean, I completely said, ‘Take it. ‘” – (milo)
Growing Around the Globe
Komodo Pickleball is expanding quickly. A major sign of that is the Komodo Open, a tournament that started May 7 and runs until May 11. Over 250 players are expected to join this year. As of January 1, Komodo Pickleball ranked in the top 20 paddle brands sold in pro shops.
“The tennis world right now is where a lot of the pro shops are picking up pickleball. There’s not a lot of dedicated, just pickleball stores. It’s a lot of racket sports, too, so tennis is the big one. So, in the tennis world right now, out of pro shops, tennis pro shops, we’re ranked 20 right now, which is phenomenal.” – (milo)
That ranking came before Komodo launched in 22 countries in March. They are now shipping to Australia and New Zealand.
“Product is on its way there right now. Probably June 1st they physically will be selling product.” – (milo)
He is also traveling this spring to visit Komodo sites in Spain, Australia, China, and Pakistan.
Investing in the Future
Marketing is now a big part of Komodo’s growth plan. Dave Milo admitted he didn’t realize how important marketing was in retail.
“marketing is a very big key in retail. And I didn’t realize that till this last year, and now I’m having, you know, to really market Komodo. … And now going global, even marketing harder.” – (milo)
“I mean, we’re going to be doing a series of eight capital raises, just because we’ve moved into that level of … we need millions of dollars.” – (milo)
“My team, we talk about our marketing and what we’re doing, we need to quadruple our marketing right now. We need to be doing not, you know, $20,000 a month in marketing. We need to do 40, 50, 60,000 a month in marketing. And that’s a huge number, so we’re looking at trying to do about a million (dollars) a year in marketing, and we need to bring in a strategic partner or capital raise to do that.” – (milo)
“It’s like you’re sitting on the edge of the volcano right now, and it’s rumbling and smoking, and it’s about ready to explode. And we’re just right on the cusp of that, and it’s just an amazing feeling.” – (milo)
More Than Just Paddles
Komodo makes more than paddles. It also sells bags, balls, and other gear. One of their newest products is the BioBall, which is biodegradable.
“and it’s Earth conscience. It goes away within three years, and there’s no microfibers or any microplastics or nothing left over.” – (milo)
Still, he wonders if making a long-lasting ball is smart for sales.
“You want the turnover on the ball. The more balls you sell, the more money you make.” – (milo)
“Or is it: Do you want something that you provide a product that is better for the consumer? And I’ve always been that way.” – (milo)
Giving Back
Komodo also offers lessons and play areas at their home base. They’ve opened a nonprofit called Little Dragons Academy to teach kids the game and get them active.
“Now we have a Little Dragons Academy, and we’re teaching kids how to play pickleball, and we’re trying to get kids out of the house and off the computer and off their phones and getting them out with another sport.” – (milo)
The Komodo Open helps fund the non-profit. Dave Milo owns six acres and hopes to grow the facility into a full campus with indoor and outdoor courts and housing for visiting kids.
“I own six acres here, so we’re looking at expanding our indoor facility to possibly making six indoor courts, and then we would like to make some outdoor courts as well and make it more of a campus-style facility.” – (milo)
“What my goal is for the kids is to be able to have a facility down the road to where we can put ADUs (accessory dwelling units) outside, and kids can fly in for camps from all over the country and all over the world.” – (milo)
“And I would like to build this model here and then be able to do this in different cities around the country and around the world. Actually my true goal is to be able to offer these in Africa and South America and China and Taiwan, where kids that don’t have a lot of money can get scholarships.” – (milo)
Faith at the Center
Faith is a big part of Komodo Pickleball. Dave Milo says each paddle has a Bible verse number printed on it.
“I’m a very faith-based person. I’m not a Bible thumper, and I don’t push the Lord on people, but every one of my paddles, my model numbers on the paddles are Scripture, and you can see it on the board, every paddle has a Scripture to it.” – (milo)
Examples include the pink Katana paddle labeled PR31:31 for Proverbs 31:31, and the Furi 14 paddle labeled J3:16 for John 3:16.
“My daughter has named them, I’ve named them, we just have certain verses in the Bible that means something to us and coincide with the name of the paddle that we have.” – (milo)
“You may not be a believer, but if you play pickleball and you have this in your hand, it’s a form of: The Lord’s blessed it, and you’re gonna be blessed as well. And maybe it’ll help you in your life somehow, some way, you know? And so, it just means a lot to me, and it means a lot to my company and my family.” – (milo)
“You know, I went ahead and did it, even though the masses told me, ‘You shouldn’t do that.’ It’s been a really, really great thing, and more and more I’m coming out with speaking that and talking about that, that we are a faith-based company, and the Lord is a huge part of our lives. And we want to make sure everybody else is blessed equally as well.” – (milo)
Looking Ahead
Komodo Pickleball’s pickleball paddles are meant for players past the beginner stage.
“Once a person learns the game, and they actually know how to keep score and they’re physically playing games and having rallies back and forth, that’s when they need to change their paddle and upgrade to an intermediate style paddle.” – (milo)
For new players, Komodo offers the Evolve 7 paddle. Komodo Pickleball’s pro shop is located at 1077 22 Road in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Working Day and Night
Running a global business keeps Dave Milo busy.
“We’re working all hours. I mean, I started at 1 a.m. this morning. That’s about my time that I get up, because my manufacturers are overseas, and we’re the opposite times of them, so their daytime is our nighttime. So, I work a lot through the middle of the night. I do all my U.S. stuff during the day and all my global stuff at night.” – (milo)
News in Brief: Komodo Pickleball’s Partnership with Andre Agassi
Komodo Pickleball, based in Grand Junction, Colorado, nearly shut down in 2023 before tennis star Andre Agassi stepped in as a partner. Founded by Dave Milo, the company now sells high-end pickleball gear in over 22 countries. Fueled by faith, Komodo also supports kids through its non-profit, Little Dragons Academy.
ALSO READ: Andre Agassi Steps into Pickleball Spotlight: How to Watch His Historic Participation at 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships