Sport and Spirit of Ultimate Frisbee

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ari Nitikman, co-founder of Elevate Disc Sports, located in New Westminister, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We teach kids aged 6 - 19 values such as conflict resolution and sportspersonship through the wonderful sports of ultimate frisbee and disc golf! We run camps, evening clinics, and school programs year-round.

We don't just teach these values through words: These sports are unique because they are self-refereed and played co-ed even at the highest levels of competition. So yes, if an athlete believes they got fouled, for example, they have a civil conversation with their opponent to resolve the situation and move forwards. These types of skills are needed more than ever in our world, and we believe teaching the next generation through fun sports is the best way to do it.

More recently, we started to license our curriculum and marketing strategies to other entrepreneurs around the world looking to start an ultimate / disc golf business in their area.

Tell us about yourself

My life has a lot of ultimate frisbee in it. I've been playing since Grade 6 (15 years now) and have represented U24 Team Canada twice at the World Championships. I dropped out of business school when I was 20 to start Elevate. I still remember the day I made a Venn diagram while journaling in my room: What am I good at? Playing ultimate frisbee. What do I like doing? Working with kids. How do I combine those two into a business? Ultimate frisbee camps for kids!

These days, I'm motivated most by finding other entrepreneurs around the world and empowering them to start their own disc sports businesses for kids. The entrepreneurship journey has given me so much, and I want more people to experience it for themselves.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Probably a tie between winning the Best Youth Entrepreneurs of 2020 by Small Business BC, and the fact that the business is still thriving after six years, and we bring ultimate and disc golf to over 10,000 athletes per year.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Giving myself permission to take breaks and vacations without feeling guilty that I'm letting my employees down or losing out on potential business.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Start tomorrow with something "easy." Something that doesn't require you to take a risky loan/investment. See if you can make $1,000 doing lawn mowing by doing some door-to-door sales. If you can't make that happen, I think you'll have a tough time with a more complicated business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://elevateultimate.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevate.ultimate/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ari-nitikman-562278a9/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.