One of the biggest problems with golfing is not only the price but also finding and getting to a course.
But what if the course could come to you?
Introducing Dryvebox.
Dryvebox is making it easier and more affordable to play golf by offering a fully mobile, on-demand solution that brings the driving range right to your doorstep.
No need for memberships or long drives to the course.
You just sign up, and a state-of-the-art golf simulator will show up at your location, ready to go.
In our conversation with Dryvebox co-founder Adeel Yang, we talked about the inspiration behind Dryvebox, how the company is changing the game, and the future of golf as they continue to innovate and make the sport more accessible to players of all levels.
Hello, who are you, and please describe your company.
I’m Adeel Yang, Co-Founder and CEO of Dryvebox, the leading mobile golf simulator company with a mission to cultivate golf everywhere.
We are transforming how people experience golf through our patented mobile golf simulators – what we call “Boxes.”
These tech-infused, weatherproof, climate-controlled, and solar-powered mobile golf experiences allow us to deliver golf to anyone, anywhere.
To share the journey that led me to Dryvebox, I need to take you back to the beginning of the last decade.
I started my entrepreneurial journey back in 2010 with an educational software company, Picmonic, which was acquired by TrueLearn, followed by a healthcare technology company, Medumo, which was acquired by Phillips in 2019, and that was the year I picked up golf.
I fell completely in love with the game.
When the pandemic hit, I was desperate to keep playing. My wife understandably nixed my idea of putting a golf simulator in a room in our San Francisco home, yet my wheels kept spinning, eventually settling on the idea that became Dryvebox.
What was the process of getting the company off the ground?
Dryvebox began as just a passion project in 2020.
I remember driving home one day and seeing some RVs parked on a street near my house, which sparked the idea – “What if I could put a golf simulator in a trailer?”
The early days were an adventure.
I talked to dozens of fabricators and manufacturers, filed our first three patents, and built a prototype that was, honestly, far from perfect.
The sound was rough when hitting a driver, the ceiling was uncomfortably low, and the impact screens were imperfect.
But even with that raw prototype, I began hearing positive feedback. People were genuinely excited about it.
To get some early users, I would park behind the dorms on school campuses, golf courses, and office parks, where I had friends who were learning golf and knew other people who would want to try it out, and the interest was immediate.
That’s when I knew we might be onto something bigger than just my own golf practice solution.
Knowing I had a love for but not expertise in golf, I knew I needed to find a co-founder to fill that void, which led me to Jake Hutt, PGA. I found him by taking lessons from various coaches and going somewhat undercover to find the right partner.
Within 10 minutes of my lesson with Jake, I knew he was different – authentic, energetic, knowledgeable, and with a fresh perspective as a PGA Pro.
I stopped the lesson halfway through and pitched him the idea. The prototype box didn’t quite yet match the dream, but Jake got the vision immediately. Once aboard, we brought in two additional co-founders to round out the team and got to work.
How is the company doing today and what does the future look like?
We are experiencing remarkable growth.
We’ve expanded to over 30 Boxes operating across the United States and Canada. Since launching our franchise model at the end of last year, we’ve added over 20 franchises.
We’re now in nearly two dozen cities and have recently gone international with our first Box in Canada.
Since the beginning of this year, we have more than doubled the number of simulators in operation. We’ll continue to grow, in part thanks to a recent round of funding from TMRW Sports (the company behind our newest partner, TGL, the soon-to-launch simulator golf league), Golf Digest, Old Tom Capital, and EP Golf Ventures.
All that is to say, we are thrilled about the trajectory of Dryvebox and our ability to bring golf all over this country and beyond.
Through starting the business have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous for other sports founders?
Two key lessons stand out from building Dryvebox:
First, perfect can be the enemy of good. When we started with our prototype, I saw every imperfection – the unevenly slapped-on pieces, and exposed metal surfaces – but others saw the magic of the experience. If we had waited for perfection, we might never have launched.
Second, be willing to evolve your business model based on market feedback. We initially thought the business would focus on practice and play. But even from that prototype box, we saw that people were just plain having fun in the boxes. So, we made some tweaks to the box design, including adding a back deck (what we call the “party deck”), which really opened up additional market segments. Being flexible with your approach while staying true to your core mission is crucial.
How big do you all see this company growing?
Our vision is to make golf so accessible that we can deliver an amazing golf experience within 15 minutes of every American, and we’re looking to expand internationally as well.
The National Golf Foundation has estimated that off-course golf has overtaken on-course golf in participation, which excites us about the future possibilities.
At the same time, we’re being thoughtful about our growth pace. While we could expand faster, we’re focused on building a strong operational foundation to support sustainable long-term growth.
What is the company’s business model?
Our business model is multi-faceted. The primary revenue driver is serving events. The events market is an enormous category.
We have sponsors using us as a vehicle to promote their brands at concerts, PGA Tour stops, trade shows, and other activations.
We also have companies and nonprofits using us for their own client, donor, and employee events.
And finally, we have private consumers booking us for parties from birthdays to weddings. When boxes are not serving events, individuals can use our online platform to book self-serve, hourly, practice/play/coaching sessions at any one of our box’s public “home base” parking locations.
Our primary growth strategy is through franchising, which allows us to partner with passionate entrepreneurs who want to bring golf to their communities.
Our franchisees benefit from our proven operational model, best-in-class technology, and established relationships with major brands like Topgolf, Genesis, and TGL.
What advice do you have for other founders looking to get in front of investors?
The key is to build something people genuinely want and can experience firsthand. It is so much easier to tell the story when there is a working prototype.
With Dryvebox, we learned early on that getting people into the Box was crucial – once they stepped inside, they understood the vision immediately.
This principle has held whether we’re talking to investors, partners, or potential franchisees. Another tip would be to find investors who care as much as you do about the problem you are solving or are aligned with your specific business mission.
We have been fortunate to attract investment from golf-focused funds like Old Tom Capital and EP Golf Ventures, as well as strategic partners like TMRW Sports and Golf Digest, all of whom believe in both the business potential and our mission to grow and innovate in golf.
What are some predictions you have for the industry over the next year?
The golf industry is at a fascinating inflection point. We’re also seeing a trend toward off-course golf experiences becoming more popular and making golf more accessible and convenient.
The success of Topgolf, Five Iron Golf, X-Golf, PopStroke, Puttshack, and many other new off-course facilities shows that people want to engage with golf in new ways that fit their busy lifestyles.
With TGL launching in January 2025, I believe we’re also going to see an increase in interest in simulator golf and tech-enabled golf experiences.
This new format will help professionalize and legitimize simulator golf as a more mainstream sport break down traditional barriers to entry and attract a younger, more diverse audience to the sport.
The future of golf will be a hybrid of traditional on-course play and technology-enabled experiences, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this evolution.
Are you currently hiring and/or raising capital? If so, where can people find out more?
We have just completed our latest funding round, which we announced mid-October, with TMRW Sports and Golf Digest joining as new investors and Old Tom Capital and EP Golf Ventures doubling down on their initial investment.
That said, we are always interested in connecting with potential partners who share our vision for growing golf.
We’re also consistently bringing in passionate entrepreneurs to run Boxes of their own. Notably to our friends to the north of us, we have just begun to offer franchising in Canada, where we debuted our first-ever international Box earlier this year.
For more information about franchising opportunities or to learn more about Dryvebox, visit www.dryvebox.com.
