{"id":165562,"date":"2020-10-27T07:05:49","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T11:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=165562"},"modified":"2020-10-26T14:29:45","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T18:29:45","slug":"uconn-entrepreneur-smashes-home-run-sophisticated-baseball-training-invention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2020\/10\/uconn-entrepreneur-smashes-home-run-sophisticated-baseball-training-invention\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Entrepreneur Smashes a Home Run With Sophisticated Baseball-Training Invention"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>As a high school baseball player, Elijah Taitel ’22 (BUS, ENG) wanted to develop a more powerful, well-refined swing to deliver blistering results at bat.<\/p>\n

Little did he know when he began creating the ProVelocity Bat, an innovative baseball and softball training tool, it would attract the interest of the Tampa Bay Rays, an MLB slugger, and numerous private coaches and parents.<\/p>\n

By the end of September, the company had exceeded its 2020 forecasted revenue. Sales, which often top $10,000 per month, remain brisk.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Elijah Taitel (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible feeling making money for a business that I worked so hard to start,\u2019\u2019 says Taitel, a junior who is pursuing a dual-degree in business and engineering through the MEM program.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I graduate from UConn, I don\u2019t see myself working for someone else,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to use the money from ProVelocity Bat for future entrepreneurship.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Creating a Faster, More Efficient, More Powerful Swing<\/strong><\/p>\n

What makes the ProVelocity Bat unique is a sliding “power barrel” that releases to the impact position when a batter achieves the desired speed. If the swing is incorrect or insufficient, the batter hears only one click. A double click indicates the swing was in the targeted range. The immediate, audible feedback is one of the selling points of the device.<\/p>\n

Equipped with resistance bands, the bat can accommodate everyone from Little Leaguers to professionals, with swing-speed settings from 20 to 80 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

Major league players begin their swing as the ball is leaving the pitcher\u2019s hand, Taitel explains. They need to develop maximum bat speed prior to impact and\u00a0 keen eye coordination to check if the ball is in the strike zone. A longer time between clicks indicates correct mechanics and more time in the strike zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe feedback has been spectacular,\u2019\u2019 says Taitel, who builds the bats himself and sells them for $495. Professional players have reported a 4% increase in hitting strength in just three weeks using the ProVelocity Bat, Taitel says. Anecdotally, coaches have told Taitel that they\u2019ve seen speed increases up to 25% in younger players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no feeling in the world like hitting a baseball cleanly, and watching it sail,\u2019\u2019 says Taitel, who played baseball from ages 8 to 18. The demands of a double-major have prevented him from playing at UConn, but his love for the game hasn\u2019t diminished.<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurship Runs in the Family <\/strong><\/p>\n

Taitel, of Short Hills, N.J., combined his love of baseball with his family\u2019s legacy as athletic entrepreneurs. His grandfather created the Landice treadmill company. He eventually sold the business, but 12 years later, Taitel\u2019s father and a good friend repurchased the business. The high-end treadmill earned the top rating by Consumer Reports<\/em> for 14 years.<\/p>\n

The two men are small partners in ProVelocity Bat. Taitel credits his entrepreneurial streak to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m very ambitious, but I\u2019ve received a ton of support and mentorship from them because they\u2019ve owned a successful business,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cThis wouldn\u2019t have been possible without the support, mentorship, and guidance they gave me.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

His dad helped with the design for the ProVelocityBat. For two years, they had multiple iterations and revisions. In September of 2018, Taitel sent his invention to an agency that trains some of the top professional players in the world and asked them to test it; by January of 2020, Taitel launched his invention at the American Baseball Coaches Association trade show.<\/p>\n

At UConn, he was able to develop the business even more. Taitel was among the finalists in the School of Business\u2019 Innovation Quest (iQ) competition in 2019-20 and participated in its Summer InQubator, which helps aspiring entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Professor Rich Dino, iQ founder\/adviser Keith Fox \u201880 (BUS) and mentor Andrea Stalf helped him with a marketing plan that involved contacting previous buyers, which helped shape his target audience and messaging, and increased sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cRich has an incredible desire to go above and beyond. Every time I asked for help, he\u2019d give me the most in-depth response or connect me with the perfect people. He helped me get my trademark for virtually nothing and has connected me to the top marketers in the world,\u2019\u2019 Taitel says. \u201cRich can tie in criticism with an almost nurturing tone that makes it easy to digest and implement.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Make No Mistake, This Man is a UConn<\/em> Husky<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taitel visited UConn in 8th<\/sup> grade. When he didn\u2019t get into the Ivy league college that he had his heart set on, he immediately chose UConn without a second visit. He hasn\u2019t regretted the decision. The highly selective MEM program combines his engineering prowess with his business interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love UConn. I have a great group of friends,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cMy high school graduating class had 56 students. It was scary the first weekend on campus, to be in a dorm that had more people on my floor than I had in my high school class! UConn is so big, but it feels so small. I can walk from the Student Union to the library and see three friends. I love the diversity and the community feel.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cManaging school and my business is very difficult at times and can get overwhelming. Frequently I have to leave lectures to talk to people on the phone, and at times I am juggling a lot. However, the emphasis on slow growth to maintain high margins has helped for the time being.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Two of Taitel\u2019s four siblings attend Northeastern University, which has the same mascot and generates some good-natured ribbing. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m the better Husky,\u2019\u2019 he jokes.<\/p>\n

Entrepreneur Preparing for Next Best Thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taitel is now moving into extra innings with his company, preparing a social media advertising campaign for the ProVelocity Bat, targeting college players and professionals. And, true to his goal of becoming a serial entrepreneur, Taitel has already embarked on a new venture, devising a software system to track, predict, and visualize the flight of a baseball, much like the technology used by pro golfers. Being an entrepreneur isn\u2019t easy, but Taitel is enjoying the respect he worked hard to attain.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone who knows me knows how hard I worked on it. This is a disruptive product, and, at first, I got a lot of pushback from trainers, coaches and players,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cUntil I had data from some of the most reputable sources, the ProVelocity Bat was seemingly looked at as an overpriced gimmick.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019m getting unsolicited endorsements from parents and coaches who love the product. One parent emailed me recently that his son committed to a D1 school after using it,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the best part. My product is something people are using and benefitting from.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elijah Taitel ’22 (BUS, ENG) swung for the fences in his first at-bat as an entrepreneur, and notched a grand slam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":165600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,1731,156,1862,2235,2225],"tags":[2249,664,1474,2252],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-165562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-entrepreneurship","category-profile","category-busn","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-storrs","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-school-of-business","tag-school-of-engineering","tag-student-profile"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-26 09:44:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165562"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165589,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165562\/revisions\/165589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/165600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165562"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=165562"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=165562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}