Tee Commerce — The Online Pro Shop Company

Aug 2

The Problem

Golf and eCommerce have both exploded during Covid. Golf clubs and courses recognize this and often explore the idea of launching an online shop, but quickly realize that it’s just too much work with everything else they have going on at the course. This is causing them to leave money on the table.

What The Company Does

Tee Commerce is making it easy for clubs and courses to offer online pro shops to members and golfers. Courses can either sell their own inventory or Tee Commerce can take over the entire process from taking orders, to managing inventory, shipping and customer service. Courses are attracted to the second option because it is hands off for them and requires zero inventory risk.

The Market

There are over 15,000 golf courses in the U.S. alone. While Tee Commerce is laser-focused on golf right now, similar opportunities lie in other industries such as breweries, private schools, etc.

Business Model

Tee Commerce offers a white label solution to golf clubs — here is an example of a course shop. Courses and clubs pay a monthly subscription, while Tee Commerce takes a percentage of online shop sales. Tee Commerce carries little to no inventory and completes orders and fulfillment “just-in-time”.

Traction

Tee Commerce is currently working with roughly 40 golf courses and is poised to expand rapidly through some partnerships that will be announced in the near future. The company recently launched a partnership with the New England Professional Golf Association (NEPGA) and is the official online pro shop of the NEPGA Jr. Tour. Tee Commerce also graduated from Mass Challenge in 2020.

Founding Team Background

Ben Vainer is the Founder and CEO of Tee Commerce. His entrepreneurial spirit presented itself at an early age when he started a t-shirt company as an undergrad at UMass. Ben even nabbed himself a free membership at a golf club in exchange for building them a website.

What They Need Help With

Tee Commerce’s platform is built and ready to bring on new courses and clubs. Any introductions to club pros or GMs at courses, golf course ownership groups, or golf club management companies would be helpful. Any intros to golf industry experts would be great as well. Tee Commerce plans on raising a seed round as we head into the fall. Connect with the Tee Commerce team.

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Jeff Piltch

Passionate about the Boston and broader New England startup ecosystem. You’ll see me writing about that, technology’s impact on real estate, and other stuff.