He Cashed Out His 401(k) to Start a Business. Now the Gamified Sports Franchise Pulls in Over $20M in Revenue.

Craig Moody still remembers the afternoon that planted the seed for his business. His teenage son and a friend were glued to a video game inside, ignoring the sunny day and the backyard basketball hoop Moody had always envisioned as their playground. 

When they refused his suggestion to go outside and shoot some hoops, Moody walked into the next room and told his wife, “If I could create a gym like a video game, I think we’d have it made.” 

So in 2012, drawing on two decades as a high school and college basketball coach, Moody cashed out his 401(k) to launch Shoot 360 (#343 on the 2026 Franchise 500), a tech-powered, gamified basketball training franchise that now generates over $20 million in annual revenue. As founder and president, he has turned that one “gym like a video game” idea into a global network of data-driven training centers where kids and adults can compete. Shoot 360 has about 60 operating locations, with another 60 in the pipeline. 

The following Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity and concision. 

Cashing out his 401(k) to start Shoot 360

What is Shoot 360? Just a high-level overview.
We are a company that uses technology to teach shooting, passing and ball handling. We are really a basketball training and competition platform, and we use software to amplify how we teach.

How do you use software?
We have what we call shooting courts and skill courts. In the skill courts, there are big screens, and in the shooting courts, there are big screens above the baskets. We use software on the training side for gamification and around the science of training. Then we collect all the data and analytics and put those into an app where every player can see their progress.

Can you describe how Shoot 360 turns basketball into a more video game–like experience? How does that work?
In our shooting courts, we have skill competitions. We run shooting leagues and different leaderboards, and you can compete. If you are in New York and I am in Portland, we can play each other in real time. Whatever competition we want to do, we can do it with essentially no latency, so it feels almost perfect. I can compete with players all over the world — Asia, Europe, Canada and the U.S. — wherever there is a Shoot 360 location, in real time.

How much did it cost to start, and how did you fund it?
The first facility we built cost around $300,000 to $400,000. I had saved some money, and I also used my retirement money — my 401(k).

How Shoot 360 rakes in revenue

How does the company make money?
We are a franchisor, so we make money by building new facilities and from the royalties we get from franchisees. Franchisees make money by running the business on a membership-based model, similar to an LA Fitness or Lifetime Fitness, where members pay a monthly fee.

How much does a monthly membership cost?
Typically, around $120 to $160 per month. 

Franchise strategy

You started the business in 2012. When did you start franchising?
We started franchising at the very beginning of 2020. Our first franchise location opened in Kirkland, Washington, near Seattle, in the last week of 2019.

How many corporate locations did you build before that first franchise opened?
We had four locations before the first franchise location. 

When did you realize that Shoot 360 could be a franchise, not just a single business or a few corporate locations?
We decided it would be difficult to scale this across the country as a purely corporate business because we are so connected to our local communities. We felt that having franchisees would be the most powerful way to move forward. What really made me see the opportunity was people flying in from all over the country and the world to see what we were doing and to ask about franchising. As we grew those first four locations, there was so much interest that we dug into it, hired a consultant, got feedback and ultimately landed on franchising.

Looking back at your first locations, what worked well enough that you felt it was franchisable, and what was not working?
The big thing was we created a system where you could come in and get a very predictable workout. You could schedule your time, go into the skill court and the shooting court, get your work done in an hour, and add private training if you wanted. Once we saw that system come together, we knew it was highly franchisable. What did not work as well was real estate, especially as Covid hit. We require specialized light industrial real estate with higher ceilings and no poles in the way, and during Covid, that industrial space was being absorbed quickly, making it challenging to find suitable locations.

How much does it cost to start a Shoot 360 franchise?
It typically costs between about $600,000 and just over $1 million.

Secrets to growth

You went from four locations to around 60 in five to six years. What is the secret to that growth?
We have a strong brand in a market that is really wide open and historically fractured. There was a lot of momentum, and the industry needed something like this. Beyond that, it came down to good execution and planning. We actually lost a couple of years during Covid because it was very difficult to get facilities built, so most of our growth has been in the last three and a half to four years.

What happened during the pandemic when gyms had to shut down?
We were unusual because the way we train is in individual pods, which naturally creates social distancing. That allowed us to operate most locations at reduced capacity while still meeting guidelines around the country. We opened 16 locations during Covid, which was phenomenal to me, given all the restrictions.

What drove that kind of growth during such a challenging time?
It was a combination of word-of-mouth, our sales processes and our brand being very sticky and fun for kids and players in general.

Differentiation and interview question 

In a crowded franchise landscape, what is your core differentiator?
Our differentiator is our culture and the impact we aim to have on communities, particularly kids, but also families and adults. I think everyone today is looking for purpose and a way to make a difference in a world that does not always appear to value that. People truly do want to make a difference. We are in sports, working with youth and adults, and ultimately, it comes down to our culture and purpose in a game that is the second most popular in the world.

What is one interview question you always ask potential franchisees, and what does it reveal?
We always ask why they want to be part of Shoot 360. Their answer usually reveals if they align with our core values, which we call EPIC: ethics (doing the right thing all the time), performance (giving our best), innovation, and a culture of encouragement. We want to see that they are as interested in investing in people as they are in making money. We do not consider ourselves transactional; we consider ourselves relational, and you need that mindset for this to work.

Advice and lessons for founders

What is some hard, concrete advice you have for founders?
You have to be ready to make whatever sacrifices are needed to get the business where you want it to be. You should be prepared to work harder than you ever have. It is not really about the number of hours; it is about doing what needs to get done.

Can you share a lesson you learned while building this business?
I have learned to never take anything for granted. Covid is a great example — you are moving along, and suddenly the world turns upside down. You have to adapt, innovate and problem-solve to get through it.

We have had installation issues and software launches that did not go well. There is no single story that captures it all, but the process is consistent: Confront the problem head-on, look at all the options, stay calm and make the best decision possible. There is no book for most of this. It comes down to your experience, common sense and teammates to make problems solvable.