I have a confession: I like pickleball.
There. I said it. I have jumped on the bandwagon with your mother and every venture capitalist in the world. I sometimes wait over an hour for a court to open up at the park near my house. And, apparently, I have become part of the problem for the ever-growing herd of people who claim the sport is ruining their lives.
Since the pandemic, pickleball has become the fastest-growing sport in the country. Its meteoric rise has sparked conspiracy theories over who may be profiting from the “propaganda machine” behind it. Celebrity investors are pouring millions into the sport. Pickleball-focused magazines on the sport want to make sure you know that Stephen Colbert and all his famous friends are playing, too.
All of this chatter is, in part, what led our very own Jackson Fordyce from the deal section to challenge two venture capital firms in his city of Austin, Texas, to a little friendly competition, which Fortune captured on video.
Make sure to watch the match between Silverton Partners and LiveOak Venture Partners, who go toe-to-toe in Fortune’s first rendition of the “venture capital pickleball league.” After the game, Jackson sat down with the players to talk about venture in Austin and what sectors investors are most bullish on for the next five years. You can watch the full video here.
TikTok pays up…It’s no longer just free videos on TikTok. As part of the company’s new “Creativity Program Beta,” or CPB, TikTok is paying creators to publish videos over 60 seconds. Some of those video makers told Fortune they are making thousands of dollars per month—with one TikToker paying off his mortgage from payouts. Are creators going to go full-time? And will the new program alleviate some of the turmoil between TikTok and its creators that has defined the platform? My colleague Alexandra Sternlicht has the story here.
One more thing…The Term Sheet team is heading out to Park City this weekend for Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference, where you’ll be hearing from top technology and media leaders, operators, entrepreneurs, innovators, and influencers—some of them quite controversial—for a dynamic exchange of ideas. I’ll be interviewing former vice president Al Gore and drone CEO Andreas Raptopoulos from Matternet. And Anne and I will be hosting a Term Sheet breakfast roundtable on Tuesday. If I don’t run into you out on the mountain biking trails on Monday, make sure to drop me a note so I can say hello.
See you tomorrow,
Jessica Mathews
Twitter: @jessicakmathews
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com
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Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.
