Why Autonomous Clubs Matter

How do you turn a niche offline sports business into $3M in contracted ARR across 200 locations, while raising $8M and keeping pricing simple on a per-unit basis?

Ben Borton is the Co-Founder of PodPlay Technologies, a vertical SaaS platform powering pickleball and racquet sport venues. What started as internal software for his own ping pong spaces is now a $3M contracted ARR business serving 200 locations and roughly 2,000 courts, with ACVs ranging from $10k–$15k and an $8M Series A completed in 2025.

This business is interesting because it didn't start as software. Ben built PodPlay to solve utilization and operations inside his own physical venues, where courts generated $30 per hour at 70% utilization. The SaaS product is now growing faster than the brick-and-mortar business — proving that real-world operational pain can be the most durable GTM wedge in vertical software.

You'll learn:

— How Ben validated the SaaS by first using it inside a venue doing $100k–$400k in annual revenue

— The exact per-court pricing model and why ACVs land between $10k–$15k for larger operators

— How software-only contracts at $2k–$6k expand into $10k+ hardware-inclusive deals

— Why 70% court utilization at $30/hour created the margin profile to fund early product development

— How founder-led sales drove growth from first external customers in 2023 to $3M contracted ARR

— The GTM motion behind signing 200 locations without a traditional enterprise sales team

— How viral video sharing from players became an organic acquisition channel for physical venues

— Why vertical SaaS embedded in real-world workflows wins over generic booking tools

— How spinning out the software into a separate entity unlocked an $8M Series A

— What operators should consider before raising capital versus compounding through cash flow

Ben's background spans fintech, hedge funds managing $300M AUM, and early-stage investing before launching his own venues in 2020. He opened PingPod during COVID, optimized for utilization and unit economics, and then spun out the internal software into PodPlay once external demand became clear. The capital raise was deliberate: sell 13–18%, accelerate distribution, and double down on category leadership.

This episode is for founders building vertical SaaS, operators sitting on proprietary workflow data, and investors looking for software businesses born out of real revenue. If you're thinking about pricing per unit, founder-led GTM, or when to separate software from services, this is a masterclass in capital-efficient category creation.

• Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB8bmy8LylI

• Connect with Ben: https://podplay.app/

• Connect with Nathan: FounderPath.com