St. Louis Sports Grip Technology Startup ProXR Scores Investment from 35 Capital

ProXR LLC, a St. Louis startup focused on sports grip technology, has inked a deal with a private equity firm founded by a member of the Chicago Cubs ownership group. The St. Louis company has entered into an investment partnership with Thirty-5 Capital of Chicago. The private equity firm has invested in ProXR in partnership with existing investor and board member Robert Morley, a former professor of electrical and systems engineering at Washington University. Terms of the financing were not disclosed. Grady Phelan, founder and chief innovation officer of ProXR "I'm excited to lead the growth of ProXR's brand. The products they've developed are precisely what athletes around the world are searching for — innovations that improve performance and increase power," said Ron Saslow, founder and managing partner of Thirty-5 Capital.

Founded in 2014, ProXR develops ergonomic grip technology for baseball and other sports. Saslow said he was drawn to ProXR because of its “disruptive technology” and ability to create products that can be used globally for multiple sports.

Saslow founded Thirty-5 Capital in 2019. He operates the firm with his son Joey and was previously chairman and CEO of dental products manufacturer Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co., which he sold in October. He is a limited partner of the parent company of the Chicago Cubs.

Thirty-5 Capital will take a hands-on approach with ProXR. Saslow is joining ProXR as its chief commercial officer, a role the company said will focus on global marketing and expansion. The company’s founder, Grady Phelen, has taken on the position of chief innovation officer.

The investment for ProXR comes as the St. Louis company looks to chart growth both in baseball and other sports. The company was founded based upon Phelan’s patented angled baseball bat technology that is designed to improve performance and safety. In 2010, Mike Hessman of the New York Mets became the first Major League Baseball player to use the technology. It has been used by several MLB players, including Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong.

In April, ProXR announced it had signed license agreements with five MLB-approved baseball bat companies. Phelan said the new financing partnership with Thirty-5 will provide the opportunity to accelerate those agreements.

“This is going to allow us to support those licensees with marketing, messaging and research to help them sell the ProXR bats that they're making now,” he said.

In addition, the company is targeting other sports. Phelan said the latest investment will help ProXR push forward on its hockey stick knob and advance its development pipeline to enter other sports sectors, including golf. As for baseball, the company also plans to expand to the aluminum bat and youth bat markets. ProXR estimates it has a potential market size of more than 60 million North American athletes.

Moving forward, Phelan said he sees his company “on a path to do for hands what Nike did for feet.” “I think we are really looking at now with the players we have in place,” he said.

Nathan Rubbelke Reporter St. Louis Business Journal