Jordan Meinster, the CEO and founder of PickUp USA Fitness, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and spent his formative years in Colorado before moving to San Diego in 2006. Presently, he resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Casey, who is also a co-founder of PickUp USA.
During his high school and college years, as well as into his thirties, Jordan’s favorite pastime was playing pick-up basketball. While he enjoyed the game, he found the unstructured and chaotic nature of it frustrating. As a result, he began conceptualizing a gym format that would incorporate elements of traditional pick-up basketball, such as referees, uniforms, a queueing system, and scorekeeping, to create a more organized and enjoyable experience.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Jordan Meinster:
Describe your background and what did you do before you started/joined the company?
Before starting the company has worked a variety of jobs. He’s managed fine-dining restaurants and has also worked full-time in finance. Jordan did his undergrad at Fort Lewis College and has an MBA from USC.
Tell us about the inception of the company. How did it all start?
Basketball is one of Jordan’s favorite sports. You can find him playing pickup basketball once a week. He noticed that playing pickup basketball can be a huge hassle. There was too much arguing. The games were unorganized and inconsistent. Finding a place to play pickup basketball was a huge headache in general. Outdoor courts are available at parks, but only if the weather permits it. In 2012, he walked away from the world of finance and founded the first PickUp USA in Los Angeles. His goal was to eliminate these hassles and provide communities with a safe place to play organized, competitive pickup games. Jordan has worked every position, from janitor to trainer to referee to manager. He slowly began hiring staff members to fill each role as the business grew.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
Jordan’s success is due to his growth mindset. He believes that mistakes are a part of the learning process. They are huge learning opportunities. He also says that there’s no ceiling in learning. In fact, our team attends continuing education seminars regularly. PickUp USA Fitness has been around for over 10 years. We have a proven system that works, but we’re always looking for ways to continue to improve our systems for our franchisees. We’re constantly working to make our program as turn-key as possible so that our owners can focus on growing their businesses and making a difference in their communities.
Which are the major services of the company and how do the company to get ahead in the competition? What value-added services does the company provide?
PickUp USA Fitness is a one-stop basketball fitness club. Each facility has a full weight room complete with fitness equipment, weights, jump ropes, etc. What makes our gyms unique is that we specialize in basketball. PickUp USA has two verticals: youth hoopers and adult hoopers. Youth hoopers have access to recreational games and performance training. The most notable service for the youth is our Youth Development League, which focuses on teaching the youth the fundamentals of basketball. It consists of practices, games, tournaments, and all-star events. Adult hoopers have access to officiated pickup games, leagues, and tournaments. Private and group training, vertimax training, and Dr. Dish shooting machines are available for all our guests. Court rentals are also available for outside programs or private groups to use. There’s no need for multiple memberships. You can get your basketball and fitness training done under one roof.
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?
Creativity and innovation are important aspects of our company. We provide our owners with an established system to successfully open and operate their business, while giving them plenty of opportunities to personalize their facility. Our owners determine their location, how to design their gym, how many courts they want, what kind of equipment they want, etc. When owners want to pilot a service, we provide them with the guidance and resources they need to do so. This is one of the reasons for our company’s success. Some of our most popular services came from our owners, such as the shooting machines.
What is the significance of innovative ideas in the company?
Innovation is very important to the company. Each team constantly innovates to improve our systems for franchisees and guests. There’s always room for growth. We firmly believe that this is the best way to grow your business and get ahead of the competition. The market is always changing, so it’s important that we change with it.
Give us your opinion on; do organizations rely heavily on individual heroics or team processes?
Organizations rely heavily on team processes. Everyone on our team has a precise process that contributes to our company’s success. It’s our Development Team’s job to find and award territories to the most qualified candidates. We have a dedicated Financing and Real Estate team to assist our owners with site selection and obtaining the funds for their buildout. Our marketing and operations teams work together to help our owners open and operate their clubs. The marketing team aims to bring awareness and exposure to our clubs and assist our owners with marketing their businesses. Our operations team works tirelessly to improve our services, the guest experience, and club-level operations. We’ve established a variety of processes for our clubs’ team as well. There are specific processes for owners, managers, referees, trainers, and janitors. These clearly defined team processes are the reason our company is one of the hottest fitness franchises in the nation!
What are your responsibilities as the Chief Executive Officer of the company? What is the happiest part of your daily routine?
It’s the CEO’s responsibility to oversee the company to ensure that it’s profitable and that goals are met. Delegating tasks is one way to encourage your team to meet certain goals. It also helps with workload management. Creating a great work environment is another responsibility of the CEO. Having positive employee satisfaction is a great way to boost productivity. The happiest part of our daily routine is team collaboration. We enjoy coming together to share our goals and highlight our areas of success.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
It’s important to have a growth mindset. Leaders will face many adversities and obstacles. Embrace the challenge and acknowledge that this is just another learning opportunity for you. It’s another way for you to grow and become a better leader.
