Let's be honest. Starting a business is hard. And sometimes, no matter how great your idea seems, the market has other plans.

Here's what we thought would happen: We'd open a dedicated pickleball facility in the Detroit Metro area—no tennis courts getting priority, no volleyball leagues taking over on Tuesday nights, no fighting for court time. Just pure, uninterrupted pickleball heaven.

We'd done our homework. We knew similar concepts existed in other cities. We'd watched the pickleball explosion firsthand and knew Detroit Metro players were hungry for more court time.

Here's what actually happened.

As we scouted locations and crunched numbers, we realized something. The Detroit Metro area already has several excellent dedicated pickleball facilities: Bash Pickleball Club with 18 courts, Court4 Detroit with 10, Paddle + Par with 11, and more on the way (hello, Northville's 16-court facility opening in September).

The market wasn't lacking options—it was getting crowded.

We could have pushed forward anyway. Built it and hoped they'd come. But that seemed like a fast track to joining the graveyard of well-intentioned but poorly timed businesses.

So we asked ourselves: What does the pickleball community actually need?

The answer hit us during a conversation with a player at Palmer Park. She pulled out her phone, showed us three different websites, two Facebook groups, and a saved screenshot from someone's Instagram story—all to find information about courts in different parts of the metro area.

"I just want to know where I can play," she said. "Why is that so hard?"

Bingo.

The New Secret Pickle

We're not building courts anymore. We're building something better: a comprehensive, easy-to-use directory of every pickleball court in the Detroit Metro area.

Free outdoor courts? We've got them. High-end indoor facilities? Listed. Community centers, parks, athletic clubs, and everything in between? All in one searchable, filterable map.

Right now, we're tracking over 80 locations across Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. You can filter by indoor/outdoor, by county, by facility type, or just browse the interactive map to see what's near you.

From Detroit to... Everywhere

Detroit Metro is our testing ground, but it's just the beginning. Once we've perfected the directory here, we're expanding across Michigan. Then? Wherever pickleball is played.

Because here's the thing: this problem isn't unique to Detroit. Players everywhere struggle to find courts, compare options, and discover new places to play.

What We Learned

Pivoting isn't failing—it's listening. The market told us it didn't need another physical court facility right now. But it desperately needs better information about the courts that already exist.

We're proud to provide that. And honestly? We're more excited about The Secret Pickle now than we ever were about the original plan.

Check It Out

Visit us at thesecretpickle.fun. Find your next favorite court. Share it with your pickleball friends. And if we're missing a location you love, tell us—we want to know.

The Secret Pickle might not be what we originally planned, but it's exactly what the community needs.

And sometimes, that's even better.