Alumnus’ “Hole-In-One” Idea Crowns Him Latest Entrepreneurial Champion
Lynn alumnus Nicholas Miller merged his entrepreneurial aspirations with his passion for golf and founded Golf Pro Delivered (GPD), a company that rents and sells portable golf simulator studios to make the game more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Originally from Long Island, Miller’s interest in golf began at the early age of ten. While studying at Lynn, Miller was a member of the Men’s Golf Team and majored in sports management with a minor in American studies.
“Competing at a high level [at Lynn] prepared me internally for other high-pressure situations,” he said. “And the feeling of being on a team that is accomplishing great things parallels to my business now.”
After graduating in 2014, Miller decided to pursue a professional career in the golf business. His first job out of college was at Bedford Golf and Tennis Club in Bedford, New York.
He then worked as a Golf Professional at the Wheatley Hills Golf Club for two seasons. There, he met his business partner Jeff Wibben and together they started coming up with the idea of GPD.
“I attribute the birth of GPD to a mindset change,” Miller explained. “I read a book that changed my life.”
Grant Cardone’s “The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure” significantly influenced both Miller and Jeff. He said, “We went out to dinner one night, and I said to [Wibben], ‘Let’s come up with a concept that solves all the problems that we see in golf today and let’s not stop working until we work for ourselves.’”
During six hard-working months, Miller and Wibben balanced their jobs at the country club while spending their off-the-clock hours creating what GPD is now. Wibben drew out the original plans by taking their concept and putting it in on paper.
“[It took] extreme sacrifice, massive amounts of action and funding through people we knew in the golf world who believed in the product,” said Miller.
After doing research and development with a manufacturer in Texas, they got their first prototype and later, a working model. Now, their golf simulators provide an experience created “by golfers for golfers.”
“[Working at GPD] is awesome,” Miller said. “We are able to do what no other company is able to do right now.”
In addition, Miller believes they “Go above and beyond with customer service. For example, if someone rents a studio from us they are going to get a handwritten thank you note with a box of golf balls.”
More recently, Miller and Wibben had the opportunity to pitch their idea to entrepreneur and business executive, Kevin Harrington. An original member of the television series Shark Tank, Harrington loved GPD.
“It was supposed to be a one-hour meeting and it turned into four hours. The meeting could not have gone any better and he could not have been more interested.”
Currently, GPD operates in New York. In upcoming years, they plan to expand nationwide and eventually become a global company. To learn more about Nick Miller and GPD, please visit www.golfgpd.com.
