Originally published in Carroll Capital, the print publication of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. .听
Greg Bartoli 鈥�99 was playing mini golf with his wife, Patty, MCAS 鈥�99, and their three children, when a thought came to him: This whole industry could use an update. That notion eventually turned into PopStroke, a new spin on mini golf. Out are the windmills and tacky turf; in are the dining venues, playgrounds, and elevated putting greens like real golf. You can order a drink on PopStroke鈥檚 mobile app and have it delivered anywhere on the grounds. Tiger Woods and TaylorMade are equity investors, and Bartoli, a first-generation American (his father emigrated from Italy), now leads a billion-dollar-plus company he founded just six years ago. Here, the one-time Eagles basketball player speaks about scaling up an enterprise and what students need to do in the world being made by AI.听
Did you leave Boston College with a plan?听
Yes, the plan was to work on Wall Street trading fixed-income securities. I did that, right after graduating. I spent 14 years on Wall Street, almost half that time as a managing director at JP Morgan. And then, around 2010, I had the entrepreneurial itch. I started buying up commercial real estate in South Florida, and one of those properties was near the beach in Jupiter. Patty and I thought: There鈥檚 a real need for family-focused outdoor entertainment. Let鈥檚 build a mini-golf course there.
And not your usual course.听
No, before then, we happened to play mini golf while on vacation in Hilton Head. I started thinking of a way to modernize these businesses, bring in technology, nightlife, an ice cream parlor, a full service bar with an attached playground, and other experiences. Our kids were under four years old, so we thought of a place where you could watch games and have craft beers while your kids weren鈥檛 driving you crazy.
Where did that take you?听
Lighthouse Cove in Jupiter, a mini-golf attraction now with two other locations. It became our proof of concept for PopStroke. We started PopStroke in 2020 as a golf entertainment attraction for everything from date nights to daytime outings with the kids鈥� something for all generations. We just opened our 21st venue, in Austin, Texas, with many more to come. We鈥檙e also heading north with climate-controlled, indoor-outdoor venues. We recently opened the first one in Nashville.
Scaling up is hard to do. How have you done it so fast?
For us, scaling is easier now than it was a few years ago. We鈥檝e developed what I refer to as a farm system, like the Red Sox or Yankees. We have a team from within that we鈥檙e developing, and when we open a new venue, we promote from within. We start off with a management team that understands the culture, the technology, the process, our brand, and most importantly, our customers.
“ 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 solve problems today by staying in one lane. When you are thinking of taking the risks, take the risks. You鈥檙e going to come up with great ideas. Don鈥檛 let people talk you out of them.鈥� ”
How has technology figured into this growth?听
Technology is paramount to the future of the company. In 2020 I founded Heard Technologies, a vertically integrated, direct-to-guest, app-based, point of sale ecosystem. Our team of engineers and developers are constantly innovating and improving the guest experience. Having our own tech platform means we don鈥檛 have all these third-party software dependencies that make it harder to scale.
Popstroke's Tampa location
It鈥檚 a tech world. Any advice for students?
I say, think about what the world is going to look like five or 10 years from now, not the way it looks now. It may take just one analyst to do the job of four as a result of AI. Think about the new services that will be needed, the industries branching out from new technologies. Think about starting a business.
After the interview, Bartoli spoke to students at a campus event hosted by the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship. He talked about the advantages they have at Boston College, where they鈥檙e exposed to a teeming array of disciplines. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 solve problems today by staying in one lane,鈥� he said, adding: 鈥淲hen you guys are thinking of taking the risks, take the risks. You鈥檙e going to come up with great ideas. Don鈥檛 let people talk you out of them.鈥�
