In corporate America, Stanley Anderson '79 says, executives often assume that their peers grew up in privileged circumstances. Anderson, who was raised in Chicago, offers a correction: "I spent my early years trying not to get recruited into gangs, getting shot at, watching my friends get murdered, and thinking that if I don't leave, I will die," he says. "I was fortunate to survive."

Survive he did, and then some. Anderson built an impressive career at the likes of HP, Intel, and the Palo Alto Research Center - a résumé that would make most LinkedIn influencers weep with envy. Now he's applying that management expertise as CEO of Costa Pickleball, a Las Vegas - based startup that sells high-performance paddles in decorative designs. Because nothing says "executive leadership" quite like a paddle that matches your personality.

Beyond giving customers a way to, as he says, "bring their identity to the court," Anderson is also betting on technology: he's developing a quieter type of paddle he expects will provide a competitive advantage. Yes, the pickleball noise complaints have reached the boardroom, and Anderson is ready to capitalize on the ensuing arms race - or rather, paddle race.

Succeeding in today's pickleball market will be tough - the sport is booming, and every startup and its cousin seems to be launching a paddle line - but Anderson thinks he has what it takes, partly thanks to an important lesson he learned at MIT: "There's nothing you can't accomplish if you are willing to put effort into it." A sentiment that presumably applies equally to surviving gang violence and disrupting the recreational sports equipment industry.

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