334 | Creating Demand From A DIY Game Idea | with Tyler Simmons

Honest Ecommerce

Tyler Simmons is the founder and CEO of Elevate Sports, the company behind BucketGolf, a portable par-3 game that transforms backyard spaces into playable courses and brings a competitive twist to casual golf. Elevate Sports designs products that blend athletic training and outdoor entertainment, helping families connect and athletes sharpen their skills through hands-on play.

Before launching Elevate Sports, Tyler was a Division I college athlete and worked at a lacrosse equipment company. With no prior experience in product development or ecommerce, he started by building a lacrosse training aid from scratch. That early prototype sparked a journey into consumer products, culminating in the launch of BucketGolf, a category-defining game that hit $1 million in revenue before Tyler hired his first full-time employee.

Whether turning a homemade backyard game into a seven-figure business or figuring out paid media strategy through trial and error, Tyler brings a scrappy, product-first lens to brand building. He shares insights on launching without a playbook, designing products that go viral on video, and bootstrapping high-growth businesses without outside capital. His story is proof that you don’t need a perfect plan, you just need to start.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:37] Intro
• [00:53] Launching products that bring people together
• [01:46] Validating demand with zero research
• [03:53] Making mistakes instead of waiting
• [05:47] Building momentum before it’s perfect
• [06:44] Choosing action over endless planning
• [08:09] Learning to sell before scaling up
• [12:05] Electric Eye, Social Snowball, Portless, Reach & Zamp
• [18:27] Learning paid media through trial and error
• [20:21] Boosting what already works organically
• [21:30] Standing out in a saturated market
• [25:27] Pushing through constant setbacks

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Elevate Sports for Lacrosse Training Gear elevatesportsequipment.com/
• The Ultimate Backyard Golf Game bucketgolfgame.com/
• Follow Tyler Simmons linkedin.com/in/tyler-simmons-771b5718a
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
• Drive revenue through affiliates & referrals socialsnowball.io/honest
• Revolutionize your inventory and fulfillment process portless.com/
• Level up your global sales withreach.com/honest
• Fully managed sales tax solution for Ecommerce brands zamp.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!