Exploring Life & Business with Amanda Nguyen & David Borish of Boardball

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Nguyen & David Borish.

Hi Amanda, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
We grew up playing and loving volleyball at school, but as we got older, we started to become disconnected from the sport, simply because we didn’t always have access to a court and a net. So we started brainstorming ways we could stay connected to this sport.

In 2019, we started playing Boardball as a hobby on a squash court. We tested different board types, rules, and playing experiences with friends and family. It started out as an opportunity to stay in touch with volleyball and was really just for our own fun, but when we took this sport outside for the first time in June 2020, things started to change. Videos of us playing went viral, with hundreds of people from around the world inquiring about how they could play, and where they could purchase a board. We incorporated that night and got to work.

In September 2020 we ran a Kickstarter campaign in order to develop and mass-produce the Boardball sets. We officially launched Boardball in mid-September, 2021, when our first order of Boardball sets arrived in North America.

Through our short history, we have learned there is substantial demand for our new sport from a variety of users, from beginners and youth to competitive volleyball players. Within the first month of our launch, we were already sold in over 40 US states and every Canadian province.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Starting a business is already a challenge, mix in a pandemic and you’ve got unprecedented challenges. We had to learn how to develop a completely new product without being able to visit factories or sourcing locations, freight costs were skyrocketing – we were a tiny fish in a huge sea of global supply chain problems.

Because of these massive obstacles, we ended up being delayed several times in getting our product to market and fulfilling our pre-orders and it made it even more challenging to plan our next orders as lead times grew longer and longer. Despite the challenges, we still managed to fulfill all our Kickstarter orders at the year mark! We’re continuing to grow and find ways to improve efficiencies as we break down our steps further.

As you know, we’re big fans of Boardball Inc. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Boardball is a new sport we created that aims to lower the barriers to playing volleyball. Instead of hitting over a traditional net, you’re hitting onto a portable, compact board. Think volleyball meets spikeball. The game is played 2v2, is competitive, and dynamic, and provides a new way for players to use their bump-set-spike skills, anytime and anywhere.

What’s next?
Our vision is to become an internationally recognized sport that makes the game of volleyball more accessible and convenient. We’ve already run Boardball tournaments and events across Arizona, including at Legacy Sports at Bell Bank Park and at the University of Arizona, as well as other locations in California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.

We are excited to be preparing for more events and leagues across the US and Canada that will provide opportunities for people to play and connect with the Boardball community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.boardballsport.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boardballsport/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boardballsport/