Bridging Golf's 15-Year Tech Gap: Ryan Walsh and the Fairway Finder Solution

From surf instructor to golf industry disruptor, Ryan Walsh's entrepreneurial journey exemplifies taking risks and embracing change. In today's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, we're featuring the founder of Fairway Finder, the first tee time marketplace with comprehensive coverage of all public golf courses. Ryan's philosophy of "ask for forgiveness, not permission" has driven his mission to modernize golf technology for the younger, tech-savvy generation. His story demonstrates how identifying gaps in traditional industries and pushing beyond comfort zones can transform a simple side hustle into an innovative business that's changing how people experience the game of golf.

Hi, Ryan! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

Fairway Finder is the first tee time marketplace with comprehensive coverage of all public golf courses. Golf has always lagged behind in technology by about 10-15 years, which can be especially frustrating to the younger tech-savvy generation that is taking up this great game. We are on a mission to change that by reducing all of the friction out there with booking tee times online.

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

My summer out of college, I was interning at a big digital marketing agency, but in order to make ends meet, I had to find some work outside of my 9-5. I've been a surfer all of my life so I thought doing surf lessons in the afternoons or weekends would be a good idea. I created a one-page website, started running some Google ads, and before I knew it I had more demand than I could handle, and I was making more money with my lessons than at my day job. Unfortunately, the local lifeguards picked up on my success and wrote me a ticket for not having the proper permitting. I had to stop doing the lessons, but I was hooked on starting my own businesses from that point on. 

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

I think the surf lesson experience was probably that point. I really liked having that autonomy and power in my own hands. There was no ceiling for how much I could make or how much fun I could have. It felt like I didn't have to follow the standard play book that everyone else seemed to be mindlessly following. 

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

I've recently started using CapCut (a video editor) to create content for my newest venture, Fairway Finder. With social media becoming more and more important, creating engaging content is the name of the game. And CapCut's editor + the newest iPhone makes it sooooo easy for an amateur like me to make professional-level videos. 

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

Back in college, I worked for Red Bull as a student marketer. My then boss (who is, coincidentally, my next door neighbor now) always said that growth only comes outside of your comfort zone. I think this was her way of getting us to work hard and put ourselves out there, but it stuck with me. I'm a massive introvert, and would be fine sitting on my couch with my computer all day if I could, but in business and life, you need to put yourself out there - whether it's going to a networking event or putting yourself in front of the camera to film an ad. Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone will help you grow as a professional and personally as a friend, husband, father, etc.

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

With Fairway Finder, the only way we could get immediate traction was by NOT asking for permission. Instead of going to every course and asking if we could list their tee times, we just went ahead and created a technology to monitor the tee times on their website and then create our own database with all of that inventory. Starting this business would have been impossible if we had gone with option 1. I'm a big fan of asking for forgiveness, NOT permission. Another lesson I learned from my boss at Red Bull. 

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

I'll say 2 things. 

1) The fact that entrepreneurship will fully consume you. There is no turning your brain off at the end of the day, and you just need to be okay with that 

2) You have to have a high tolerance for risk. This is truly what sets us apart from others out there. People get comfortable in a job that provides them stability, even though many people are more than capable of starting their own business. As long as you can get over this hump and be okay with the risk, then you get to benefit from all of the upside while being cautious of the downsides.

Want to dive deeper into Ryan's work? Visit Fairway Finder's website fairwayfinder.io