Game, Set, World on Fire

Launching a Business in a Shifting World

Photo Credit: Phil Chester & Sara Byrne

It’s been some time since I last wrote here. In the interim, the world has shifted, Substack has grown a lot more crowded, and I’ve poured nearly everything that I’ve got into launching Spence — a new racquet sports brand. I haven’t written anything that wasn’t an investor deck or product description in ages. But, a late call with our lead factory partner last night inspired me to write some thoughts down.

In tennis, timing is everything. It’s a cruelly precise game - where being early can be just as fatal as being late. A player may have flawless form, sharp instincts, and a killer strategy, but without timing, the match is lost before it begins.

Building a brand isn’t so different. You can have the voice, the positioning, the product - even the right people. But if the market isn’t ready, or the wind shifts while the ball’s still in the air, it doesn’t matter how clean your serve is.

Timing isn’t a small detail. It’s the difference between a champion and a cautionary tale.

For five years, I coached myself to trust 'the clock'. When I first pitched this idea, I was told that tennis was niche, that racquet sports weren’t growing, that the category lacked cultural relevance. Fast-forward to now, and “tenniscore” is everywhere from moodboards to magazine spreads, and 'racquet' has been crowned the fastest-growing global category in sports.

Just under three weeks ago, we flipped the switch on our website and launched Spence. In many ways, the timing felt uncanny. Racquet sports participation is surging and the conversation around the category has never felt more alive.

Photo Credit: Phil Chester & Sara Byrne.

And still: timing.

Turns out, not all world leaders play tennis, and instead have games of their own. We may have spent years sowing seeds to build long term relationships with remarkable factories, but suddenly, the right partners are in the wrong country. Doing business across borders has become a high-stakes puzzle that demands agility, creativity, and a willingness to tear up the playbook mid-match.

For those of us raised in the optimism of a globalized world, the idea that working together could suddenly become impossible feels almost absurd. Now the challenge is creative, but it’s got nothing to do with art direction and everything to do with surviving.

There have been many moments where I've felt a step ahead and still behind, but I’ve come to believe the true difference-maker isn’t just seeing a trend and beating others to market - it’s clarity of vision and the conviction to stay true to it. It’s about drawing from within, not copying the other brand on Instagram.

The early response to Spence has been a fleeting thrill. After years of work, there’s something truly moving about hearing from strangers - people with no skin in the game - telling us that Spence feels different, that it cuts through the noise. Those moments land like a pull of ice-cold Gatorade on the hottest day in August. They don’t last long, but they remind us why we showed up in the first place, and they keep us coming back for the next point.

This isn’t a letter about pivoting production or tweaking pricing strategy. It’s a reminder that for a lot of us, business is deeply personal. At its best, it’s a strange kind of joy - to care this much, even on the hardest days. And if you’ve made it this far, consider this your invitation: Tell us what you want to see from Spence because we’re listening.

The whole damn point of all of this was to bring more of us together over a shared love of racquet sports and to have a little fun.

At the end of it all, ‘It Starts with Love.’

- Amanda

Photo Credit: Blake Shorter.