Building software for purely digital use cases has gotten easier over time. The combination of low code / no code solutions and AI “helpers” means that even an econ major like me can spin up a simple functional app in the course of a week. Once created, software for digital use cases can be replicated with near zero marginal cost, creating near infinite leverage for long term winners with durable moats. Unsurprisingly, low barriers to entry and near infinite leverage is also a recipe for fierce competition. 

Building digital tools for businesses that transact in physical spaces is more difficult. The world of atoms is less flexible than the world of bits. By definition, these businesses are subject to the limits of time and space in ways that the purely digital world is not. As a consequence, building digital tools for managing physical spaces requires deep empathy for both end customers and staff. Competition is likely less fierce because of the challenges presented by the physical world and the need for deep domain expertise. 

If you are building digital tools to manage physical spaces there is no better way to learn what to build than to manage physical spaces with technology.  It is not an accident that the founders of many of the most successful Vertical SaaS companies that serve four wall businesses have a deep history or connection to the domain they serve. 

The PodPlay team spent years and millions of dollars building a tech-enabled four-wall business as the basis for our Vertical SaaS business. This path runs contrary to the pure software playbook - physical space just doesn’t scale like software. But if you look past the conventional view of software as purely digital, then experience operating physical locations is a source of durable advantage in an area that draws less competition than building tools for the purely digital world.

Digital versus Physical

Iconic examples of purely digital businesses include Facebook, Google, Salesforce, Figma, Canva and Stripe. Iconic examples of digital tools that serve the physical world include Amazon (Retail + Logistics), Toast, ServiceTitan, and AirBnB. 

Some of the elements that make digital tools for physical spaces difficult are the need for:

• Integration with hardware (cameras, QR code scanners, credit card terminals)
• Real time IRL interactions
• Coordination of people in time and space
• Support for multiple locations

Purely digital solutions tend towards horizontal software while solutions for the physical world tend towards vertical software. Horizontal software is broad and generalizable. Vertical software is deep and domain specific. The best vertical software is built to make the lives of a specific audience better. 

Who is PodPlay Building For?

PodPlay serves businesses whose product:

• Is delivered in a pysical space
• Requires a reservation
• Can be augmented by video and social capabilities
• Where a significant portion of the cost to deliver is labor 

We win the trust of these businesses if our technology can:

• Deliver a superior user experience. PodPlay creates modern, mobile-first, branded apps that are aesthetically pleasing and intuitive to use (for more on UX read: Your App is Your Front Door).
• Increase revenues. PodPlay Pro Monitors drive club differentiation and open up new lines of revenue (for more on monetization read: How to Monetize PodPlay Pro Monitors). The viral and social characteristics of short form video drive customer acquisition.
• Decrease costs. PodPlay’s software reduces staffing needs and autonomous mode serves as an outright labor replacement (for more on labor replacement read: What Businesses Become Possible if Labor Costs Are Reduced 66%?).

The PodPlay Advantage

PodPlay gives venue operators all the tools they need to digitally manage a physical space - integrating video replays, automated scoreboards, and autonomous functionality with a reservation engine, event management, coach connect, membership module, and payments. 

Originally built to power PingPod, the network of futuristic autonomous ping pong clubs, PodPlay is now being used to manage venues across pickleball, padel, ping pong, golf simulators, racing simulators, soccer and pool, with more experience verticals to come in the future.

If you’re interested in learning more, request a demo.