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Andreas Katsaounis started Alpha Omega Pickleball while he was still in high school. Bringing his business to Nebraska has offered more resources and new opportunities to grow his business — and his business acumen.
When Katsaounis started playing pickleball in high school, the average price of a quality paddle surprised him.
“A nice paddle ran about $200, which I thought seemed super overpriced," he said. “The next tier down were $10 or $20 paddles. I kept asking myself, ‘where’s the in-between?’”
The question of where to find an affordable, good-quality paddle led Katsaounis, now a sophomore at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, to start Alpha Omega Pickleball, a middle ground bridging quality and affordability for pickleball paddles.
Since high school, Katsaounis has grown his business and brought it to the College of Business’ Entrepreneurship Accelerator program and its Entrepreneurship Catalyst programs as a Husker student. Both have been particularly impactful in helping Andreas develop his business and entrepreneurial skills.
The Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program helps Husker business owners incubate and develop short and long-term plans for their current businesses, allowing them to learn from real-world professionals and from peers in similar situations.
“In the Accelerator program, I'm surrounded by other students who are also going through the experience of being business owners in college, which is really cool," he said. "We can brainstorm, bounce ideas off each other and practice pitching ideas.”
Pitching has been a big part of Andreas’ entrepreneurial success at Nebraska. Last spring, Andreas earned third place in the Center for Entrepreneurship’s New Venture Competition, earning $10,000 for Alpha Omega Pickleball.
“I was a freshman and probably one of the youngest people there — and, it was the first time I had ever pitched my business,” he said. "I didn’t really know what to expect but winning third place was amazing.”
As he continues in the Center for Entrepreneurship’s Accelerator program, which helps students develop and grow their unique business plans, Katsaounis sees nothing but possibilities ahead.
“If you had asked me two years ago when I was starting this business where I wanted to take it, I would’ve had no idea,” he said. “Today, I have so much support through Nebraska and all the different programs here that I feel like it could go anywhere. It’s a great place for me to grow, learn, build up my business and see where it all takes me.”
