---
title: "Larry Gulko, Gulko & Company | CourtSide | TopSpin Digital"
url: https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/larry-gulko
description: "Brand architect Larry Gulko on why a racquet club needs an only brand, building culture from the inside out, and getting a focus before you open."
lang: en-US
---

All episodes (https://topspindigital.co/courtside)EP 14

# Larry Gulko, Gulko & Company

Brand Architect and Founder

November 3, 2026

Larry Gulko built Gulko & Company, ran marketing for Cybex and founded the CEO Brand Leadership Roundtable at Harvard Business School, now in its 14th year. His advice for clubs: stop trying to be a better version of the club down the road and give people a reason to choose yours. I asked Larry about his work with Greg Norman and The Biggest Loser, what a club with a small budget should do first, and why a brand starts with the people inside the business.

## Key Takeaways

- Why having a brand name does not make you a name brand.
- How he brought Greg Norman into the Cybex story, including 100 letters to country club general managers.
- Why a club's reputation is built from the inside out, through its people and culture.
- What happens in a nine hour BRAND: NEW DAY session.
- Why waiting to see if a competitor tries your idea first can cost you the idea.
- What tennis, pickleball and padel clubs can learn from golf events and programs.
- His first piece of advice before a facility opens: get a focus.

## More episodes

Episode 0

May 13, 2026

### Evan Dechtman, TopSpin Digital

Founder

A short introduction to CourtSide: why we are building a long-form interview series for the people running racquet sports, what each episode looks like, and how to be considered as a guest.
https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/introducing-courtside

Episode 1

May 15, 2026

### Andy Zodin, Columbine Country Club

Director of Racquet Sports

Andy Zodin on 15 years running racquet sports at Columbine Country Club, what a director actually does day-to-day, the ownership conversations that never go away, staffing teaching pros in 2026, and how private clubs are handling pickleball.
https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/andy-zodin

Episode 2

May 22, 2026

### Julius Gavin, Tennis University

Independent Tennis Coach, Founder

Julius Gavin, known online as tennis.god, has nearly 90,000 Instagram followers, charges $1,000 for six hours of coaching, and claims he can build a complete tennis game in 40 hours. We get into the math behind the program, the fraud accusations, the real economics of driving thousands of miles with a trunk full of balls, and how short-form content converts a viewer into a paid client.
https://topspindigital.co/courtside/ep/julius-gavin

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