Selkirk Raises $30M at $200M Valuation, Setting Stage for International Expansion

“We’re not only trying to build the largest pickleball company,” CEO Mike Barnes said. “We're trying to build a world-class sports company."

Selkirk Sport, one of pickleball’s most recognized equipment brands, just took a major step in scaling its business.

The company announced a $30 million growth equity investment from New York-based Bluestone Equity Partners, reports Forbes, marking Selkirk’s first outside capital raise and valuing the business at about $200 million.

Founded in 2014 by the Barnes family — brothers Mike (31), Rob (33) and Tom (29) along with their father, Jim — Selkirk has grown from making 25 paddles a day to a fully vertically integrated brand that manufactures paddles, balls, nets, shoes and apparel both overseas and in the U.S.

Selkirk products are widely available online and through mass retailers like Target, Costco and Amazon.

Since 2019, Selkirk’s revenue has reportedly increased by 1,900 percent.

An eye toward international expansion

Selkirk expects to generate at least $100 million in revenue this year and has expanded to more than 200 full-time and part-time employees.

The Barnes family still runs the company — Mike and Rob as co-CEOs, Jim as president, and Tom heading research and development.

The Bluestone partnership is designed to help Selkirk expand internationally (especially in Asia) and continue investing in technology and product development while keeping it tightly focused on pickleball rather than diversifying into other sports.

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"Selkirk wanted to partner with one company that would take a minority stake rather than seek multiple investors and give up control of the company," reports Forbes.

Bluestone, led by founder Bobby Sharma and founded in 2023, invested in Selkirk through the firm's $300 million debut fund, Bluestone Capital I.

Reports Forbes:

Selkirk is Bluestone’s first pickleball portfolio company, but Sharma said he expects that Bluestone will make other investments in the sport that complement Selkirk.

Pickleball has “crossed from trend into an enduring, mass participation sport," Sharma added.

Selkirk recently collaborated with Tesla to create a one-of-a-kind pickleball paddle that's since sold out several times over. We're giving one away... enter below.

A singular focus on pickleball

In May 2025, Selkirk debuted a high-tech, million-dollar research and development lab at its headquarters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Inside, there are high-tech machines with robotic arms, a bank of 3-D printers used for rapid prototyping, a CT scanner to look at how a paddle's core changes over time, and a ball-cannon used to mimic intensive game-play in a controlled environment.

“Pickleball is not going to be on a hockey stick growth curve forever, but we think we’ll be able to adapt and be able to focus on the industry for the long term,” Mike Barnes told Inc. at the time. “And we have no plans of getting into other sports.”

This singular focus on pickleball has helped the brand become one of the few marquee equipment manufacturers at the amateur and pro levels.

Selkirk's deal with Bluestone reflects the sport’s broader momentum: pickleball remains the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., with participation surging year-over-year — a trend that is now attracting serious institutional capital alongside bigger brands entering the space.

It was just last week that Nike signed its first-ever pickleball pro in Anna Leigh Waters.

“We’re not only trying to build the largest pickleball company,” Mike Barnes said. “We're trying to build a world-class sports company from an infrastructure process. In our minds, we’re building the next generation of how sporting goods companies can operate."

Feature image via Selkirk