West Georgia Cornhole and Titan Bags: Beanbags, Boards, Booming Business
Millions of Americans associate cornhole with vacations, tailgate parties, and backyard relaxation. To meet the growing demand for this popular sport, one west Georgia man turned a college hobby into a thriving business.
Brandon Greba was a full-time student at University of West Georgia and avid cornhole player. For extra income, he began making cornhole boards to sell on websites and via word of mouth, a venture he continued while working a corporate job for seven years. Finally, his desire for a stronger work-life balance got the better of him.
“I had married, we wanted kids, I was burned out on travel and the orders just kept increasing,” Greba said. “I had to make a decision, and in 2013 we made the jump to entrepreneurship. It was tough, but it’s paid off so far.”
As the sport of cornhole has grown, West Georgia Cornhole, LLC, a pioneer in crafting high-quality, American-made cornhole boards in Villa Rica, Georgia, has grown right along with it.
“The actual board is pretty simple: it’s a 2-by-4-foot board with a 6-inch hole. I wanted to differentiate mine, so we started integrating a scoreboard to the back of the boards. People like to drink while they play so we made cupholders between the legs. We also added a bag storage compartment,” Greba said.
In the beginning, West Georgia Cornhole had just one cornhole build style. That has grown to five different models, and 75% of the business is custom orders.
The company has also added customized accessories to its boards like LED lights and Bluetooth speakers and expanded its product line to other yard games such as ladder toss, washer toss, and giant checkers.
In 2020, West Georgia Cornhole added Titan Bags to its portfolio, an online retailer featuring bean toss bags and top-level boards designed for advanced and professional level cornhole players and approved by the American Cornhole League (ACL). Through the Titan brand, the company sponsors professional ACL cornhole athletes as well as tournaments across the country.
Riding the wave of the sport’s popularity, West Georgia Cornhole has come a long way in a short time. Greba credits the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of West Georgia for direction, as well as the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, where he is now a board member. In 2020, the company was honored as the Douglas County Chamber’s Small Business of the Year and in 2024 it received the Carroll County Small Business of the Year award.
Eighty percent of the company’s business is direct-to-consumer through its websites and popular online marketplaces. West Georgia Cornhole products are also sold at Ace Hardware in the Southeast and nationally in independent sporting goods stores.
Greba says the company has an international presence and is constantly looking to open up new international markets.
“West Georgia is an advantageous location, making it easy to ship products around the country,” Greba said. “We can export through the Savannah ports, and we’re 30 minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. That makes it easy and cost-effective for our customers and vendors.”
The explosive growth of the business soon led Greba to in 2020 to buy an additional, state-of-the-art, 40,000 square-foot building, complete with a dedicated cornhole playing venue used for R&D, tournaments and local charity fundraisers.
As cornhole gains even more traction, Greba foresees continued growth for West Georgia Cornhole in sales, quality, product innovation, and licensing deals with universities. He plans to continue to further develop internal systems, invest in resource planning to drive efficiencies, and shorten production lead times so customers get their orders quickly and can keep tossing those bags.
Has Greba let running a business get in the way of tossing those bags himself? Absolutely not! He plays in a weekly league, at tailgates, during camping trips and – no surprise – for occasional stress relief during the day.
Every year in honor of Georgia Small Business Week, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) team up to present a few outstanding small businesses with the title of Small Business ROCK STARS. The awards salute the risks taken, innovations, outreach, and impact of the state’s small businesses. Each of this year’s winners has fewer than 300 full-time employees, makes a positive impact in their community, and was founded in the State of Georgia. Learn more about the program and the rest of the 2024 ROCK STARS .