Abby Olson brings experience as a franchise executive and owner.
By Andrew Carlo
One of the fastest-growing indoor pickleball court franchises in North America has added a key leader to its executive team.
The Picklr, the Salt Lake City, Utah-based sports and recreation franchise, announced that Abby Olson has joined the company as its new chief operating officer.
Olson previously served as vice president of field operations and vice president of training at Crumbl, the dessert and fresh-baked cookies franchise, where she helped scale the company from fewer than 10 locations to more than 1,100 across two countries.
According to The Picklr, during her tenure at Crumbl, Olson oversaw the opening of up to 16 new locations per week. Olson helped oversee supply chain, franchise development, customer experience, and international operations at the food and beverage franchise.
In her new position at The Picklr, the company said that Olson is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, streamlining franchise support systems, and fostering cross-functional collaboration across departments, including franchise operations, customer experience, training, international expansion and brand compliance.
“Abby’s entrepreneurial mindset and deep operational knowledge make her the perfect fit for this critical leadership role,” said Jorge Barragan, co-founder and CEO of The Picklr. “Her experience scaling one of the fastest-growing franchise brands in the country is invaluable as we accelerate The Picklr’s national and international expansion.”
Olson’s background also includes being a multi-unit franchise owner.
“Joining The Picklr at this stage of its journey is an incredible opportunity,” said Olson. “This brand has an undeniable magic that sets it apart. The focus now is on helping franchisees create truly memorable experiences for their club members—while growing the sport by bringing even more people into the pickleball community.”
The Picklr said it has sold more than 500 state-of-the-art pickleball clubs and has set a goal of 80 more units by the end of 2025. The company recently announced that it had reached a franchise agreement with Nippon Pickleball Holdings, Co. for the development of 20 locations in Japan.
Information about franchise opportunities with The Picklr is available at thepicklr.com/franchise.
