Spikeball got a deal on Shark Tank, but it never closed. Chris Ruder, the Chicago founder who turned a forgotten 1980s backyard game into the company behind roundnet’s most common equipment, pitched in the Season 6 finale, which aired on May 15, 2015. He asked for $500,000 for 10% and accepted $500,000 for 20% from Daymond John, who also wanted control of licensing, manufacturing and retail. The deal fell apart afterward over differences in strategy, according to Wikipedia’s summary of two Forbes reports. Spikeball kept its independence and kept growing: by fall 2017 Ruder said he had sold his millionth net, and the company reported $15 million in sales that year. It is still in business in October 2026 and still the brand most people use as the name of the sport.
The Spikeball Shark Tank deal at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Episode | Season 6, Episode 29, the season finale (aired May 15, 2015) |
| Pitched by | Chris Ruder |
| Ask | $500,000 for 10% (a $5 million valuation) |
| Sales claimed on air | 29,000 units in a year; $3.2 million projected; a 10,000-unit Dick’s Sporting Goods order |
| Offers | Kevin O’Leary: $500,000 loan at 9% for 10%. Daymond John: $500,000 for 25% plus licensing control, settled at 20% |
| Deal | Daymond John, $500,000 for 20% |
| Did it close? | No. It fell apart over strategy, per Forbes as summarized by Wikipedia |
| Status, Oct. 2026 | Active |
$500,000 for 20% valued Spikeball at $2.5 million, half of what Ruder asked. Our post-money valuation calculator shows both sums.
A game from 1989 and a company from a basement
Roundnet, the game Spikeball sells equipment for, was created in 1989 by Jeff Knurek, according to Wikipedia. It faded, then “experienced a revival in 2008” when Spikeball Inc. began making and promoting the gear, which is why “spikeball” became the everyday name for the sport. The company’s Wikipedia entry says it was incorporated in 2007 and started in Ruder’s basement in Chicago with $100,000 in seed money from Ruder and five friends, after he bought the product rights and contracted a manufacturer in China. Ruder had worked in sales at Microsoft, Monster.com and Live Nation, and left corporate sales in 2013 to run Spikeball full time.
What happened in the Tank
According to Shark Tank Blog’s account of the episode, Ruder told the Sharks he had sold 29,000 units in a year, projected $3.2 million in sales, had a 10,000-unit order from Dick’s Sporting Goods, and was paying about $14 to land a set that sold for $59. Lori Greiner, the episode’s guest Shark and Mark Cuban went out, Cuban over the valuation. O’Leary offered a $500,000 loan at 9% interest plus 10%. John offered $500,000 for 25% and control of licensing; after counters they agreed on 20%.
Why the Daymond John deal fell apart
Wikipedia, citing Forbes articles from 2017 and 2018, says Ruder accepted on air but the deal “fell apart” before the episode aired, over differences in strategy. John’s offer came with control over licensing, manufacturing and retail, which would have put the most important decisions in the investor’s hands. A 2018 Forbes headline cited by Wikipedia frames the lesson as “choosing control over a big stake.” We could not open the Forbes articles themselves, so we report the reason as Wikipedia summarizes it and do not quote either side.
What happened to Spikeball after Shark Tank
Spikeball built a sport around its product. AFP reported in August 2018 that Ruder had sold his one-millionth net in fall 2017, that the company had generated $15 million in sales that year, and that hundreds of thousands more nets had sold since. It funded the infrastructure: Spikeball started a tournament in Point Pleasant, New Jersey in 2013, more than 2,500 teams signed up for official tournaments in the 2018 season, ESPN2 broadcast tournaments in May and July 2018, and the company sent kits to schools and trained PE teachers, according to AFP. The game now has an international governing body, the International Roundnet Federation, which held its first world championships in 2019 and had 44 member nations as of July 2025, per Wikipedia.
The sales history, using only figures with a named source:
| When | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| By 2013 | Over $1 million a year | Wikipedia |
| 2014 (on air) | 29,000 units in a year; $3.2 million projected | Shark Tank Blog’s episode account |
| 2017 | $15 million in sales; millionth net sold | AFP |
$15 million in 2017 against the $3.2 million projected on air is about a fivefold increase in three years. Had the John deal closed, 20% of that growth would have belonged to him, along with control of the licensing that the company used to build its brand.
Is Spikeball still in business?
Yes. Spikeball’s online store carries a 2026 copyright and sells current sets from the $54.99 Traveler to the $159.99 TITAN, under the tagline “OG Brand. Trusted Since ‘08.” The company is privately held by Ruder and his early investors; no outside Shark holds a stake. Several other companies now make roundnet equipment, Wikipedia notes. We could not verify an official Amazon listing, so there is no Amazon link here.
What founders can take from it
First, a handshake on Shark Tank is not binding, and the terms that matter are often the ones about control rather than money. John’s 20% came with licensing, manufacturing and retail; Ruder decided the price was too high. Second, a company can grow its market instead of its distribution. Spikeball spent on tournaments, schools and broadcasts, and the sport it built sells its product. Third, keep the walk-away option real. The deal fell apart and the company was fine, because it was already profitable enough to fund itself. For another founder who chose independence after the Tank, read Kodiak Cakes; for a deal that also died in due diligence, see Plated.
