Building 'Different': The Jesse Cole Playbook for Disrupting Traditional Industries
Jesse Cole took a failing baseball team, ignored every rule, and built a $50M empire with a 3M waitlist. Here's the exact playbook.
In 2016, Jesse Cole bought a failing college baseball team for $100,000.
Then: 2016
- • Empty stadium
- • Lost money every season
- • Had no fans
- • Followed every tradition
Now: 2026
- • Sold out every game
- • 3M person waitlist
- • $50M+ annual revenue
- • More famous than MLB teams
And now they're going after youth sports.
"It will take a lot of work to create something that is new and different. But we are ready for the challenge."
— Jesse Cole
This isn't a story about baseball. It's a playbook for building something radically different in a traditional industry.
The Starting Point: Find a Broken Industry
Jesse didn't pick baseball because he loved baseball. He picked it because minor league baseball was dying.
The Symptoms:
- • Empty stadiums (teams averaged 1,000 fans/game)
- • No innovation (same game format for 100+ years)
- • Bad economics (most teams lose money)
- • Declining interest (fans stopped caring)
The Opportunity:
When an industry is stuck, different beats better. You don't need a better baseball team. You need something that isn't baseball.
Key insight: Traditional industries are vulnerable to disruption because they're optimized for a world that no longer exists.
How to Spot a "Broken Industry"
Look for these signs:
1. Everyone Does the Same Thing
- • Same pricing
- • Same service model
- • Same marketing
- • Same customer experience
Example: Youth sports — every league has tryouts, practices, games, tournaments. No innovation in 30 years.
2. Customers Complain, but Nothing Changes
- • "It's too expensive."
- • "It's too competitive."
- • "It takes over our lives."
But operators shrug: "That's just how it is."
3. Incumbents Are Complacent
- • "We've always done it this way."
- • "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
- • "Our customers don't care about [X]."
Translation: They're ripe for disruption.
4. There's Pent-Up Demand for "Different"
- • Customers stick around because there's no alternative
- • They'd switch immediately if something better existed
Example: Minor league baseball in 2016 — fans didn't love baseball, they just had nothing else to do. The second a fun alternative showed up, they jumped ship.
Step 1: Identify the Real Problem
Jesse didn't ask: "How do we win more baseball games?"
He asked: "Why are people bored?"
The problem wasn't the team's record. The problem was the experience sucked:
- • Long games (3+ hours)
- • Dead time (pitching changes, commercial breaks)
- • No fan interaction (players ignore fans)
- • Overpriced (tickets, concessions, parking)
The customer pain point: "I paid $50 to be bored for 3 hours."
Jesse's reframe: "We're not selling baseball. We're selling entertainment."
How to Find the Real Problem (Framework)
1. What do customers actually complain about?
Not what you think the problem is. What do they say?
2. What do customers tolerate but hate?
These are often invisible to operators because they're "just how it is."
3. What would customers do if they had a choice?
If there was a radically different alternative, would they switch?
Step 2: Ignore the "Rules"
Once you know the real problem, the next step is to ignore every "rule" of the industry.
Jesse didn't ask: "How do we improve baseball?"
He asked: "What if we broke every rule?"
The Rules Jesse Broke
❌ Rule
Baseball games must follow MLB format
✓ Jesse
"What if games were 2 hours max?"
❌ Rule
Players can't interact with fans during games
✓ Jesse
"What if players danced with fans between innings?"
❌ Rule
Fans sit quietly and watch
✓ Jesse
"What if fans were part of the show?"
❌ Rule
Tickets should be expensive (supply/demand)
✓ Jesse
"What if we sold at face value, no scalpers?"
❌ Rule
You need TV deals and ad revenue
✓ Jesse
"What if fans became the marketing?"
How to Break the "Rules" (Framework)
- List every assumption in your industry (pricing, delivery, interaction, "what everyone does")
- Ask: "What if we did the opposite?" — For each assumption, flip it
- Test the most radical flip — Just the one that scares you the most
Why? Because if it scares you, it probably scares your competitors too. That's where the opportunity is.
Step 3: Design for Delight, Not Efficiency
Traditional Businesses
- • Minimize costs
- • Maximize throughput
- • Streamline operations
Get fans in → sell hot dogs → get them out
Jesse's Approach
- • Make fans smile
- • Create shareable moments
- • Design for "I can't believe they did that"
Delight creates exponential growth
How to Design for Delight (Framework)
1. Ask: "What would make someone tell their friends?"
Not "satisfied" — what would make them text 5 people immediately?
2. Build "Wow" Moments Into the Experience
Don't wait for magic to happen. Design it. Every participant should leave with a story.
3. Measure Delight, Not Satisfaction
Track NPS, social shares, referrals. Satisfied customers stay. Delighted customers recruit.
Step 4: Embrace the Haters
When Jesse launched Banana Ball, the baseball world hated it.
- • "This isn't real baseball."
- • "You're ruining the sport."
- • "This is a gimmick."
Jesse's response: "We're not trying to be baseball. We're trying to be entertainment."
Key insight: If you're doing something radically different, traditionalists will hate it. That's the signal you're onto something.
Why Haters Are a Good Sign
1. Haters = You're Different Enough
If everyone loves your idea, it's not different. Different = polarizing. Half will hate it. Half will love it. That's the point.
2. Haters = Free Marketing
Every "Banana Ball isn't real baseball" tweet → more people Google "Banana Ball" → waitlist grows.
3. Haters = Validation
The loudest critics are often incumbents (threatened by you), traditionalists (clinging to old ways), or your competitors' customers (curious but defensive).
How to Handle Haters
- 1. Don't argue. Just say "We're not for everyone. And that's okay."
- 2. Double down on your fans. Ignore the 50% who hate you. Serve the 50% who love you.
- 3. Use criticism as content. Hater: "Banana Ball is a joke." Response: "You're right. And 3 million people are laughing."
Step 5: Build a Movement, Not Just a Business
The Bananas didn't just build a team. They built a movement.
3M
Waitlist
Banana gear
Not team jerseys
User content
TikToks, memes, fan art
Recruiting
Fans bring friends
Key insight: Customers buy products. Fans join movements.
How to Build a Movement (Framework)
1. Give Them an Identity
Product: "I bought a ticket." Movement: "I'm a Banana Ball fan." Create a name for your community. Goal: Make membership feel exclusive.
2. Make Them Part of the Story
Let fans vote on decisions. Feature fans in content. Invite fans onto the field. Goal: Participants, not spectators.
3. Create Rituals
Everyone wears yellow. Everyone dances to "Talkin' Baseball." Everyone chants "Let's go Bananas." Rituals create belonging.
Step 6: Now Export the Model
Once you've proven it works, scale it.
Jesse's path:
- Started with one team in Savannah
- Touring nationally (sold-out games in 30+ cities)
- Planning international tours
- Launching Banana Ball youth sports
How to Scale "Different" (Framework)
1. Codify the Model
Write down: what makes it different, what must stay the same (non-negotiables), what can be adapted (local customization).
2. Test in a Second Market
Before scaling nationwide, prove it works somewhere else. Validates the model isn't just "luck" in your hometown.
3. Find Operators Who Share Your Values
Don't franchise to anyone. Franchise to people who believe in the mission. Bad operators will cut corners and kill the movement.
The Jesse Cole Playbook (Summary)
Step 1: Find a broken industry with unhappy customers
Step 2: Identify the real problem (what do they really hate?)
Step 3: Ignore the "rules" — flip the scariest assumption
Step 4: Design for delight, not efficiency
Step 5: Embrace the haters (if traditionalists love it, you're not different enough)
Step 6: Build a movement with identity, participation, and rituals
Step 7: Scale it — prove, refine, expand, franchise
Case Studies: This Playbook in Action
🏌️ Topgolf (Golf)
- Broken industry: Golf (elitist, slow, boring)
- Real problem: People don't want to play golf. They want to hang out.
- Rule broken: "Golf must be serious and played on courses."
- Result: $1.5B valuation, appeals to non-golfers
💪 CrossFit (Fitness)
- Broken industry: Gyms (boring, isolating, no community)
- Real problem: People don't want to work out alone.
- Rule broken: "Gyms should be cheap and anonymous."
- Result: 15,000+ gyms worldwide, cult-like following
🏠 Airbnb (Hospitality)
- Broken industry: Hotels (expensive, impersonal)
- Real problem: Travelers want local experiences, not corporate chains.
- Rule broken: "Only hotels can provide lodging."
- Result: $100B valuation, disrupted global hospitality
🚗 Tesla (Automotive)
- Broken industry: Car dealerships (pushy sales, bad experience)
- Real problem: People hate buying cars.
- Rule broken: "You must sell cars through dealers."
- Result: Direct-to-consumer sales, $800B market cap
Pattern:
Every disruptor found a broken industry, ignored the rules, designed for delight, built a movement, and scaled it.
Your Turn: Where Can You Apply This?
Ask yourself:
- What industry do I know well?
- What do customers complain about (but nothing changes)?
- What "rule" could I break?
- What would make customers tell their friends?
- Am I ready to piss off traditionalists?
If you have answers to all five, you have a business.
The Bottom Line
Jesse Cole didn't build a better baseball team. He built something radically different in a dying industry.
In stagnant, traditional industries, different beats better.
You don't need more capital, more experience, or more resources. You need the courage to ignore the rules, design for delight, embrace the haters, and build a movement.
And if you do, you won't just build a business—you'll redefine the industry.
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