VENTURE CAPITALIST AND ENTREPRENEUR Arjun Vaidya has rolled out Season 2 of Pickle & Pitch, positioning it as India’s first sports-led pitching IP that redefines how founders and investors engage by moving conversations from boardrooms to the pickleball court.
Created and conceptualised by Vaidya, Pickle & Pitch combines the fast-rising sport of pickleball with startup pitching, offering founders a more informal, high-energy setting to present their ideas while building meaningful connections.
The format requires each participating founder to play a single pickleball set, up to 11 points, with Vaidya before delivering their pitch. By design, the experience strips away the rigidity of conventional pitching environments, encouraging more open, authentic interactions.
The opening episode of Season 2 in Mumbai featured 17 founders pitching their ventures on court, followed by a post-event mixer that brought together over 100 founders from the startup ecosystem, creating a strong, community-driven moment for India’s entrepreneurial landscape.
The IP attracted more than 1,000 applications, highlighting significant interest from founders seeking access, visibility and a more human approach to investor engagement.
Pickle & Pitch is scheduled to travel across six cities in India, expanding its reach to founders nationwide and reinforcing its position as a first-mover platform at the intersection of sport, startups and storytelling. Season 2 is powered by GoKwik and Red Bull.
Vaidya said, “Having been on both sides of the table, as a founder and now as a VC, I’ve seen how traditional pitches, whether on Zoom, in offices, or even cafés, often come with an inherent power dynamic. I wanted to remove that completely. I’m a huge sports fan, and pickleball, in particular, is an incredibly accessible sport – anyone can play it. On the court, founders are relaxed, they let their guard down, and you learn so much about them – their sportsmanship, their mindset, their demeanour. That leads to far more meaningful conversations than a purely transactional pitch. Pickle & Pitch started purely out of passion. I never imagined it would resonate the way it has, but it’s been incredible to see how founders have embraced it.”
