How this Founder is Saving Traditional Golf Retail, Sporting Goods Retail, and Making it Easier to Play the Game of Golf

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Meet Tyler 

Ever since he was a kid, Tyler Gottstein knew he didn’t want to work the traditional 9-5. He was inspired by the generation of entrepreneurs before him to create something that would change the world. Growing up, Tyler had an innate desire to solve problems, and do what he thought was right. 

From a young age, Tyler wanted to start businesses and be an entrepreneur. Raised in Southern California, Tyler played college basketball, and went on to earn his MBA and M.Ed. from the University of Washington. 

He started his first company when he was only 16, importing electronics and selling them online. He ultimately grew that business to over $200,000 in sales his first year. Tyler’s next endeavor was buying and selling sports tickets. As he got older Tyler decided he wanted to build a successful real estate business with short-term rental properties he still owns and operates today. 

As an ultra-competitive person, Tyler replaces the competitive aspect of athletics with the businesses he creates. “I’ve been able to channel my competitive nature into business,” states Gottstein.

He picked up golf when he was about 12 years old. “My parents had just divorced and I became very independent of anyone else when I was very young,” Tyler says, “I thrived in the individual component of playing the game.”

The experience put him on the path to success. Running a successful online business at 16 is no small feat. Through his individual hustle came learning experiences and the ever present drive he found in himself. 

In his teens he learned digital marketing, importing and shipping products, and how to build a structured business. 

Saving the Game of Golf

How this Founder is Saving Traditional Golf Retail, Sporting Goods Retail, and Making it Easier to Play the Game of Golf

After his college basketball career ended, he played golf constantly. He saw a broken purchase experience when it came to purchasing golf clubs and products. He saw there was no introduction of technology, and golf courses were losing sales opportunities to big box retailers and online stores with more inventory.  “I was trying to buy golf clubs and I had no idea really what was best for me going into a store,” Tyler states, “There was no clarity provided, and when moderate to active golfers want to buy new equipment, it’s a very unclear experience.”

Tyler decided it was time to bridge the gap and simplify the experience to help grow the game of golf. “Technology improves experiences, the best of technology improves your life,” he says. Thus, Cadi was born. Cadi was created to leverage the golf course by introducing its technology to provide resources to help the golf courses compete versus other channels. 

The difficulty to ship products, the poor online experience, and the non-existent ability to demo products purchased online is killing niche markets. Cadi’s new shopping experience uses both a physical presence, the Cadi Kiosk, as well as an online marketplace.

The Cadi Solution

“The concept of walking into a big store and being overwhelmed by products is part of not having access to the right information,” states Gottstein. Cadi’s convenient location on the course uses user experience and user interface to provide the information golfers need to play their best round!

Cadi’s technology was created using sensors and has a network of users you are able to communicate with and learn with before you even step foot on a course. Cadi gives golfers the opportunity to demo clubs on the course before making a purchase, so you are able to see and feel the clubs in a less intimidating surrounding and a more beneficial experience for success. 

Cadi plans to use the Amazon model to factor their technology into traditional retail and sporting goods retail. Amazon began with books. Their marketplace was able to add new product lines and industries because of what their customer experience was. “We start in golf and then use our platform and marketplace to add additional industries using the same or similar user experience,” Tyler explains, “It can be added to tennis facilities, to ski products in the mountains, or to surfboards on the beach, all with the goal of being able to access self serve products you can then have an unbeatable demo experience with.”

How this Founder is Saving Traditional Golf Retail, Sporting Goods Retail, and Making it Easier to Play the Game of Golf

Tyler’s goal behind creating the Cadi platform is to help golf companies get their products into more golfers’ hands, in the most ideal place possible, on the course! Cadi is perfect for the next generation of golf, which is entertainment golf made popular by places like TopGolf. Cadi is currently partnered with over 60+ public golf facilities, and plans to explore opportunities with entertainment venues like top golf who see over 10 million new golfers annually.

Cadi is currently raising capital to continue their mission of offering an unbeatable purchase experience for golfers of all skill levels. Join their mission on StartEngine for as little as $250 and have your stake in modern sports retail!

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