GRIND Interactive

GRIND Interactive, operating as GRINDBasketball, designs and sells portable basketball shooting and rebounding equipment. Its flagship product, the GRIND Machine [G1], is marketed as the world's first portable basketball shooting machine: it rebounds shots and passes the ball back, delivers up to 1,200 shots per hour when loaded with two basketballs, weighs 110 lbs and folds to 38" x 13" x 18" for transport, with nine locking rotation spots for shooting positions. A patented one-bolt hinge allows the top section to be detached, and the company states a roughly 60-second setup and tear-down process. A second, lower-priced product, the GRIND Gx, is a portable shot rebounder that mounts to a hoop, rebounds makes and misses, rolls the ball back, folds compact at 20-25 lbs and supports up to 800 shots per hour with an unaided 180-degree manual turning radius.

The company positions its equipment for three use cases: at-home practice, school and gym programs and teams, and travelling trainers who move equipment between gyms. Products are sold with a one-year warranty as standard on both machines, with extended coverage plans for the GRIND Machine available at $199 (2 years), $299 (3 years), $499 (5 years) and $799 (8 years). Warranty terms cover hardware functionality issues, netting failures and replacement of the Internal Module, a serviceable assembly the company says contains over 90% of the machine's components; cosmetic damage, misuse and commercial use are excluded, U.S. replacement-part shipping is free while Canadian customers pay shipping, and Internal Module replacements are capped at three per warranty. Alongside hardware, GRIND sells training equipment and an apparel capsule collection.

Founding story

Thomas Fields founded GRIND to offer an affordable, lightweight portable shooting machine for amateur basketball players who previously lacked access to such training equipment.

Business model

GRIND sells hardware directly to consumers and institutions through its own Shopify-based online store, supplemented by extended warranty plans, training equipment, apparel and an affiliate program that pays cash to referrers. Consumer financing for the flagship machine is offered through Affirm at monthly instalments starting around $92-$97.

Revenue comes from one-time product sales of shooting and rebounding machines, accessories and apparel, plus paid extended warranty plans priced from $199 to $799 depending on term length.

Traction

The company markets itself as trusted by thousands of customers and publishes buyer testimonials citing ease of setup, breakdown and customer support. It has appeared on Shark Tank and is a portfolio company of the investor Bronze Valley.

Latest developments

GRIND has expanded from a single flagship product to a two-machine lineup, opening pre-orders for the $399 GRIND Gx hoop-mounted rebounder alongside the $1,995 GRIND Machine [G1], and has added tiered extended warranty plans, a summer apparel capsule and an affiliate program.