Swag Golf Raises $10M From Verance Capital, Shaun White, Zach LaVine
Club and apparel startup Swag Golf has raised a $10 million round, led by Verance Capital, that includes Olympic gold medalist Shaun White and NBA All-Star Zach LaVine.
The company plans to use the money to bolster multiple parts of its business by growing existing product lines, launching new ones and expanding manufacturing capacity. It is also prioritizing growth in Asia and Oceania.
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It’s the first real outside funding for Swag, which was founded in 2018 with about $1 million in seed capital from friends and family. While the valuation in this deal was not provided, the company is profitable, and on pace for about $25 million in sales this year, according to someone familiar with the numbers. It has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 100% since its founding.
“The addition of outside investors into our community accelerates our ability to take on more ambitious growth opportunities in new product lines and markets with the care and thoughtfulness our community deserves,” Swag founder and CEO Nick Venson said in an email.
Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, Swag Golf makes putters, club headcovers and other golf apparel. The company has utilized bold designs, licensing deals with MLB and WWE, and limited-edition product drops to cultivate a loyal following. When Swedish golfer Anna Nordqvist won the 2021 British Open using a Swag putter, for example, the company created—and promptly sold out of—276 “Queen Anna of Swag” custom putter covers for $155.55. (276 was her four-round score.)
The company’s growth has come alongside a wider boom in the golf industry, sparked in part by the COVID-19 pandemic. Golf participation in the U.S. is at its highest level (25.1 million players) since 2012, according to a recent study from Endeavor Analytics, while participation in the Asia/Pacific region (now at 183.6 million) is up more than 14% in just the last two years. U.S. golf equipment sales were $3.7 billion in 2021, the report says, the highest total in at least 15 years.
Other investors in the Swag round include Aurum Partners VC, the family office of San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York; Greg Zeeman, former CEO of Libra Solutions; and Alex Cohen, founder of Heights LLC.
In 2020, Swag acquired Georgia-based manufacturer Ecktron Performance to solidify its headcover production and expand its wholesale business. Professional golfers using Swag putters include Nordqvist and PGA Tour professional Nick Hardy.
Verance Capital was founded in 2020 by investment banker Lyle Ayes, who is an executive/investor in the Houston Dynamo and serves on the Swag Golf board. The group has about $200 million under management and invests across sports, media and technology. Its portfolio includes Stix Golf, Meadowlark Media, Betsperts and Wave Sports + Entertainment.
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