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Padel Smash TV is the media arm of Padel Smash - a platform dedicated to the people, stories, and innovation driving the growth of Padel worldwide.
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We really wanted to create this
experience where you can come here,
spend the day here, play paddle, maybe
take a work call, maybe do a little
witness workout, um, grab a beer.
One of the main things we wanted
to do with this indoor space
is still make it feel, uh, like
alive and green like a park.
Um, and so they really helped
us, uh, create some vision.
Hey everyone.
Welcome to another exciting
episode of Paddle Smash Academy.
Today we're doing a beautiful club review.
In Park Paddle in San Francisco.
Most, one of the most iconic paddle
clubs here in North California.
I mean, I've been in contact
with them for quite a few years
already, since they started.
And we're here with Katie Lampert,
one of the co-founders, co-owners,
co visionaries and multitasking.
Uh, do everything, uh, co-owner.
So Katie, welcome to the channel.
We walked into this place.
Wow, what a beautiful place you guys.
I came here and this, uh,
Neil showed me this place.
It was completely empty and
you guys created a, a, just a
beautiful, beautiful power club.
Congratulations.
Who designed it?
I gotta tell you, we visited a lot
of clubs and even your first walk
in the design, the details, the
layout, uh, I think is excellent.
It's perfect.
Six courts.
I mean, who, who, who designed it?
And you know, you have a designer.
We did, we worked with, um, an excellent
architect and they're called BBA studio.
Okay.
Um, and they, um, had created very
beautiful spaces that the three of us,
uh, myself and my other two co-founders,
Neil and Jessica, um, loved in the city.
Um, they, uh, did some bars, some
outdoor spaces that we really loved.
Um, and they were super excited
about doing this project with us.
Um, and you know, one of the things
that we, you know, we're Park Paddle,
our first location was outdoors.
One of the main things we wanted
to do with this indoor space is
still make it feel, um, uh, like
alive and green like a park.
Um, and so they really helped
us, uh, create that vision.
So the first one was that to kind of
see if there's a market, kind of build
your community before you go ahead and.
Yeah.
And, and, and you know, even think
about opening up another club.
Definitely.
Yeah.
So our first club, um, is,
was in downtown San Francisco.
Um, still there.
We started with two courts and
we added a third a year later.
Mm-hmm.
Um, it's sort of in an iconic spot.
Um, it's in em, marketer Plaza right
across from the ferry building, um,
which is, um, kinda a tourist hub,
but also a commuter hub as well.
Um, people coming in through the ferry.
Um, we're right in the middle
of downtown, so it was.
Um, also just kind of had built in
marketing for Yeah, for the sport.
Um, lot of traffic there.
A lot of traffic.
Um, people just, I mean, the first year
was mostly people coming up and being
like, oh, look at these pickleball courts
and us having to like run like this.
This is not pickleball.
Um, and now.
And even just like within a year,
people walking by no longer say that.
They're like, oh, I think this is
this sport paddle that I heard about.
Which is pretty cool.
Well, you got some motivation on those
shirts, like, yeah, not, yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That was are, so, uh, once you,
you saw that there's a demand,
then you had somewhat of a
market, what was your next step?
I mean, was it putting together business
plan, raising some funds, uh, you
bootstrapping this and then, uh, of
course real estate, finding location.
Yeah.
Talk to us about those things.
Yeah, definitely.
So our first, um, uh, essentially
a friends and family round helped
us, um, put up in Boca Arrow.
Um, and then when we realized
we wanted to start exploring our
second location, we did wanna
focus on finding an indoor space.
Okay.
Um, you know, it's, uh, San
Francisco can get a lot of rain,
which you guys experienced.
Yeah.
At least that's two days.
Um, and so we really wanted a place
that we could have, you know, open.
It's close to 365 days a year.
Um, and, um, you know, we, it's
actually, you know, ceiling
height is very important.
Obviously it's really hard to find,
um, buildings like this in San
Francisco proper, so we kind of had
to look around the surrounding areas.
South San Francisco, um, is a great, um,
kind of, it's an industrial town, but um,
has these great big warehouse buildings.
Um, and there's a lot, um.
I have transformation in the area as well.
A lot of, um, uh, tech companies
are actually moving down here
and opening up their headquarters
here, um, and things like that.
We're in, we're actually in the middle
of the biggest biotech hub in the world.
Wow.
Um, so Genentech is right here and
a lot of other biotech companies.
And so, um, the areas like driving,
um, we really wanted, um, uh, a
place that, um, had great amenities
like bathrooms, locker rooms.
Um, so this space was perfect
'cause we could fit, um, six
courts, um, which is also hard.
Oftentimes a lot the buildings
that we found, um, sometimes
the column spacing is weirded.
And so, um, we were really able
to utilize all of this space.
Um, get six Quas in here and
still have our, um, lounge space,
bathrooms, locker rooms, office
area, gym, um, and um, and work pods.
We really wanted to create this
experience where you can come here.
Spend the day here, play paddle, maybe
take a work call, maybe do a little
witness workout, um, grab a beer, um,
and really have it be a lifestyle.
Yeah.
Yeah.
A lifestyle.
And so you mentioned you had,
uh, two other partners, right?
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
So what are the responsibilities
of the t of each partner?
Yeah.
Um, so Jessica Talbert is our CEO,
um, Neil Ani is our CFO, um, and CTO.
Um, and then I am the COO.
Um, but we really all do everything.
And I know you and Jessica
are here full time.
Yes, we are here full time.
Good.
Yes.
Um, yeah, we, uh, left our jobs in
tech and haven't, haven't looked back.
So, so, so lemme ask, going back to
where you were saying about the biotech
companies here, are you guys getting any
traffic from all these big companies,
people who work there and all that?
Yeah.
So what's been really, um, great is I, I
think especially coming up off of COVID.
A lot of companies were trying
to find ways to bring their teams
back into the office, um, to do
things all together in person.
Um, and so we've found, yeah.
Um, a lot of companies
love hosting offsites here.
Um, you know, team building events.
Um, we get a lot of Yeah, corporate
interest, um, for, for events like that.
And we also have groups hosting
big birthday parties here.
And, um, we wanted to make sure we
had a setup in the lounge too, so
if people, you know, um, if, if.
For a corporate event, folks
wanted to do like a presentation
for their team and then get on
the court and do something active.
They could kind of have, uh, the
best of both of those worlds.
So, so now, when, when did you guys open?
Was there We opened in, uh, this
location in November 20, 23.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, 20.
Oh, I'm sorry, sorry.
This location 2024 Market Arrow.
2023. Okay.
So a little over a year.
Yeah, a little over a year.
Yeah.
So let's go back a little bit
in history because I think for
our viewers and listeners, they
love to hear those stories.
Yeah.
So let's go back in time.
I know y uh, Neil and Jessica
went to Spain on a vacation.
They saw paddle, they play a little bit.
They fell in love with it.
Yes.
Right.
Yeah.
So they came back and they said, okay,
let's put a paddle club in San Francisco.
So why don't you tell us?
That happens a lot too.
You know?
Tell us a little bit that process,
how, how it went from falling in
love with the sport to, uh, the
challenges of en Barreto and then this
one, and how did you get involved?
How, how was, were you, yeah.
How did you come into that equation?
Were you, were you in Spain with them?
I was in Europe and at the same time.
Okay.
And so, um, it's funny, um.
We were all, yeah, we were all traveling.
Um, I had just, yeah, I was
taking some time off of work.
They were, you know, um, working US
hours, but traveling in, in Europe, so
we all, we saw paddle everywhere there.
Okay, okay.
Um, and, um, what part of Europe were you?
You, uh, um, I was in France,
Italy mostly sought there then.
Yeah, I fought there.
Um, in Spain.
Um, we.
So Jessica and I are friends from college.
We played rugby together.
Oh.
So sports have always connected us.
Um, we've always, yeah.
Um, sort of been interested
in doing something that
promotes an active lifestyle.
Um, always talked about
starting a company together.
Um, and so when we saw this sport, um, and
just how, um, like addicting it was to, we
saw like people just staying on the court
for hours and then how, how interesting
it was to also watch as a spectator.
Um.
We were just super interested in,
in, you know, that dynamic and what
made that, um, what made that product
like just very addicting and sticky.
And we all come from tech, so
we were like, this, there's
a great opportunity here.
Um, it looks like a great
user experience Yeah.
For, for everybody involved.
And so, um, we, uh, and when we came
back we realized there's nowhere to play.
Um, so we spent a week in Miami.
Actually.
I remember that my first,
that's when we met.
Yeah.
My first lesson was with Julian,
um, and, which was super, super fun.
And we spent some time at
all of the clubs there.
Yeah.
Um, and just saw what a great, um, you
know, community was getting formed, um,
around the sport, which, which club?
I'm curious, which club inspired you
the, the most when you were in Miami?
Well, Jillian was at Wynwood and
that, I mean, that was a boy.
Wow.
That was a while ago.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, that, I mean, Wynwood was great
and at the time there wasn't that
many collects No, there weren't no.
That many cls Maybe there was.
We we were able, it was right also when
Reserve opened and we were able to,
I don't think we reserve sea plane.
Yes.
The first one.
I don't, don't think we were able
to, uh, I don't think they were.
Um, open to the public.
Yep.
Yeah.
They let us like go in and walk
around and look nice, like look at the
space and it was so beautiful and we
were like, oh, this is what this is.
You know, the feel that we wanna recreate.
Yeah.
Um, and open paddle.
I think that was open.
That was indoor.
I think the first indoor
club I did you see that one?
I don't think we saw that one.
You saw, um, uh, rail paddle.
Rail Paddle.
Yeah.
Rail paddle.
Um, and, and then he also saw Ultra.
Yeah.
Um.
I think it's expanded since then.
Yeah.
Ultra was a small, a smaller ultra.
Yeah.
Um, ultra had just opened around that
time too, so that was, um, yeah, we
just saw like the, um, excitement, um,
starting around the sport and just,
um, our initial conversations with
folks in Miami were like, this is, this
is gonna like to off in California.
Yeah.
So, um, yeah, we started
looking for resource.
So how, how is the community here?
I mean, you opened up,
uh, the, the one outdoors.
Start building community.
You opened up your indoor
one now it's been a year.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, how are you doing?
Is there, there is a return on
investment there yet for your investors?
Uh, you know, how, how are you doing?
How is the community?
Yeah.
Uh, do you have people coming?
Are you filling, you know, spots
in prime time and how are you doing
with the non prime time hours?
Yeah.
Um, also open, because this is kind of
here open, this is, you're still kind
of new in this, in, in here, definitely.
Yes.
And we opened our third location actually
in April of this year in West Sacramento.
Um, which is Four Courts outdoors, um,
in a really beautiful spot, um, called
the Bridge District right on the river.
So, um, oh, guys look fast, huh?
Yeah.
So yeah, we're, we're three locations
in, um, I think Embarcadero, uh,
like you guys pointed out, sort of
had its own, uh, I mean, it w it.
Just had its own marketing built
in so people just were able to see
it as they were going to work or,
you know, going to the farmer's
market exposure area building.
And so we got just a lot of, um,
interest from people just seeing it.
Um, here it was a little bit
more challenging to like, let
people know that we were here.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and so we had to, um, yeah, just
do, um, a ton more, just put a ton
more effort into marketing this place,
going around to these businesses.
Firing like good old fashioned.
Yep.
Good old fashioned marketing.
Um, and we also, one thing that
um, really sort of was the unlock
for us was we ex uh, originally
our memberships were per location.
So, you know, you would either
have a membership from ERO
or have a membership here.
Um, a couple months in, we actually
opened it up so that if you had
a membership, um, purchase a
membership with us, and we didn't
actually increase the price, we just.
Um, said, you now have
access to both clubs.
We got so many people from
San Francisco in here.
Really?
Wow.
Very interesting.
So, the other marketing that you did,
like going to these corporate places
and or, you know, social media, what,
what seemed to work for you guys?
I think that I, I mean like, so
bringing like the, the community
from San San Francisco here
was a great sort of catalyst.
Um, because they, what you need
is, you need people who, um, are
new to the sport, don't have their
group that they, you know, yeah.
Know who to play with.
So what we do is we, we build
programming around socials and
Americanos where you can come as a single
player or maybe come with a friend.
We rotate you through different
partners, and then you find your crew.
Then you find the group
that you love to play with.
Um, and so you really need sort of
that volume to start the flywheel.
And so.
Bringing those, some of the San Francisco,
um, uh, community here, um, started help,
helped that flywheel to, to get going.
So people would drive from
San Francisco to here to play.
Mm-hmm.
And we even noticed people were
like the, you know, if, if people
didn't have cars, like someone
would carpool everyone down here.
That's beautiful.
That's great.
And yeah.
So I mean, it's addictive.
Yeah.
So, so why don't you tell us a little bit
about, I know, and I know you guys have.
S had some challenges on, on embargo.
What were the challenges to
have a, uh, in a public place?
What were the challenges there?
And then what, what were the challenges
here when you, when you opened?
Yeah.
I mean, I think, um, it's,
it's funny because like the,
the great thing about being.
Um, out in the open in downtown San
Francisco also means you're very exposed.
Yeah.
Um, so, uh, you know, there's a
lot more that goes into securing
that location, um, and making sure.
Um, yeah, I mean it's, it's, it's,
we're, we're operating in downtown San
Francisco, so we have to have, you know,
someone there sort of at all times.
And, um, we've had great, we've had just
excellent staff who have just taken care
of that place and made sure that it.
Um, you know, stays like
a warm, welcoming, safe
environment for everyone there.
Um, it's beautiful and amazing on a, on
a sunny day, but it's also, you know,
it, it can get really, it can, you know,
especially with the rain and things like
that sometimes, um, it's, it's difficult.
Um, but we've had really great
staff who have just maintained
the space and kept it, um, right.
Just writing, uh, really.
Um, and then down here, I think
it the, like I said, the challenge
is just making sure people knowing
know that we are, we're here.
Yeah.
And, uh, you know, the, again, I, you
know, I think we're now a year, a little
over a year in, um, people know, and
people are starting to share it with
their friends and, you know, the, the
corporate events that we have, we're
getting people who, you know, come here
now right after work to come play and.
Um, it's, yeah, it's,
it's really been building.
Yeah, that's a great idea.
A reserve does that a lot
with the corporate, you know,
events, which is a great idea.
Okay, I'm gonna give you a tough question.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so it's been a little over a year.
So are you guys in the black yet?
Look at that.
Laugh, answer that question.
Yeah.
It's a tough one.
You know, understand in,
in a location that Yeah.
You know, people don't know about at,
and there you're still educating them.
Yeah.
It, it, it could take
12, 14, 16, 18 months.
Yeah.
But you guys had.
Another location prior.
So you already creating your community
and you're following your network.
Yeah.
So did that help shorten that
time or are you almost there?
We're almost there.
You're almost okay.
But are you happy where
you are, where you at?
What was that, the projection?
Yeah.
Um, you know, we were, we were super
excited to see, um, just like the growth
of this place over the last few months.
Oh great.
What do you think contributed to that?
Yeah, um.
Okay.
One factor was actually the range.
Okay.
Because a lot of people that
helps, you know, um, they couldn't
play at their, their outdoor
location, so they, they came here.
You think there's any retention from that?
Once they come in it's like, oh,
you know, I haven't been here.
So, definitely, and I mean, it's like
those people will on a beautiful sunny
day, go play at in bar Guero if it's a
little cold and Chi Chili come play here.
Um, and we're just excited
to have that option for, um.
We also, um, you know, have
started building the community.
We're, we're on the peninsula,
and so we're actually getting a
lot of, um, volume from folks,
um, who live not, not in the city.
So driving up, um, from the peninsula.
Um, and we're seeing a ton of
crossover from, um, other rocket
sports, obviously like tennis.
Um, there's a huge tennis community, um,
Burlingame and, and in the peninsula.
And we're seeing a lot of those folks
also come here, um, and start to, so
how did you penetrate into those areas?
Into those networks?
Um, so we had, or is this just a,
you know, they just heard about
it and they just wanna try it out?
How did you I think a lot of
tennis players are now, like,
I think are all starting to,
it's on the, it's on the radar.
It's on the radar.
Yeah.
Sure.
Um, and so we do get just a lot of, um.
You know, organic interests that way.
Um, we had actually a couple
people in the training Yeah.
Who are really experienced
tennis coaches in the Bay Area.
So they you think people just Google
Paddle in my community and Oh, yeah, yeah.
You guys have website, SEO
and they, that comes up and
Yeah, you get some from, okay.
Um, and then the, the folks who are,
um, you know, there, there are sort of
like nodes in our community who then.
Share this with their network.
Yeah, that's true.
So our, like, you know, tennis coaches
who are part of our community are,
you know, talk to their students about
checking this out and, and that's another
way that we've kind of spread the word.
So.
Great.
So what would you, uh.
You've been now a paddle entrepreneur
here in the United States.
West Coast.
What would you tell, um, to the ones
that are listening that they, they're
looking, they're, they're exploring
the possibility to open a paddle club.
What will be your recommendations?
What will be your advice to those?
This is my space.
Get,
oh my God.
I, I would say don't do it alone.
Um, it's just been so, um,
rewarding having partners,
um, working on this together.
Um, and, you know, find someone who
you work really well with, um, and, um,
has, has a different skillset than you.
Yeah.
Right.
Um, you know, so adds value to the team.
Yeah, definitely.
Um, and so I've, you know, I have
that with my co-founders, which is
extremely, um, I think it's actually
a little rare, so like, you know Yeah.
Make sure you, um, are.
Solid in your, um, assessment of
the relationship and, and, and
are ready to move forward into,
you know, a business relationship.
That's key.
That's key.
Yeah.
We might use both.
Yes, exactly.
Exactly.
Which is not good.
Um, and then I would say like you are, um,
you are like the community manager Yeah.
Um, as a club owner, right?
So you.
Are here.
You're the face of the club.
Yes.
And you're getting on the court,
um, playing with people, show, like
telling, you know, you know, while if
we don't have a coach here, someone
walks in, you're getting them on
the court, showing them the basics.
Yeah.
You know, uh, you're, uh, running
events where you're, you know, bringing
people together saying, oh, you're this
level, you like playing at this time.
Um, you should meet this person.
And then you, you're, you're
really kind of building the
community that way and sort of a
matchmaker in some, in some senses.
Um, so, um, yeah, I think just you
are a crucial part of the, of the
community as a club owner and making
sure that you're, um, yeah, just.
You're, you're here, you're,
you're interacting with all of
the customers, um, and helping.
Yeah.
Helping.
Okay.
So now let's talk about the club.
Uh, you have six quarts here, right?
Mm-hmm.
Um, what brand did you go with?
Uh, when it comes to the ports?
We did Paddle Dallas.
Paddle Dallas.
Okay, great.
And you guys have, I could
see a pro shop there.
Yeah.
On different types of record.
Are you specific to one?
We are, um, uh, Wilson and Bobot are two.
Yeah.
Do you see the people here leaning
towards those brands that they're,
they recognize from tennis.
Yes, definitely.
Mostly right, right.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
And then you guys have,
uh, bathrooms and showers.
And showers?
Yes.
Oh, that's great.
Yeah.
I mean, that is, that is excellent.
Did you guys try, try them out or?
No, but I mean, we saw them and I
love the, we always say with says,
it's all about the little details.
Yeah.
You know, the moment you step
through the door, how, what is
your feeling that, again, we know
the, the sensory marketing there.
Yeah.
You know, and, and design the,
the look and feel, the warmness
of the place, the furniture, you
don't feel it in other places.
Yeah.
The furniture, you know, and the
little details, you know, the
water fountains all over the, all
over, you know, all over the club.
Uh, the coffee maker, the, the tea that
you can make yourself, the refrigerator
for you to have your drinks, that those.
It makes you feel like
you're in your home.
This is my home welcoming you.
Welcome.
You know, you're welcome.
I wanna stay here longer.
It's so great to hear and,
and, and that, that's true.
But that really makes a difference.
You know, I mean, the coffee in the
mornings, the beer in the afternoons,
you just wanna stay here and you have
places to see they're comfortable.
Yeah.
So that makes, and and I want to
congratulate you because I haven't
seen the club finish and, you know,
the Lambs, I mean, it's, you guys
did such an amazing and amazing job.
The, the life plans.
It, it's, it's just fantastic.
I mean, I, I really, really.
Love this, the space and, and,
uh, and what you did with it.
It is fantastic.
So why don't we talk a
little bit now about.
The programs you offer, who are
the coaches and all these things.
So right before that, I also saw
there's a workout area, right?
Yes.
Okay.
So do you have, uh, what type of
equipment do you have there and do
you see that expanding a little bit?
Yeah.
I mean, so we have like two
Pelotons, um, Scott Rock, uh, an er.
Um, and just dumbbells and,
um, you know, TheraBands and we
also have hyper ice recovery.
Yeah.
Um, so we have one station over there
and then one over here in the lounge.
So you can, and a pair
of NormaTec for you.
I, I gotta tell you that yesterday, some
of the players, they finished playing.
They were stretching over there,
cooling down before they came.
They came to play.
They were, uh, you know,
warming up and all that.
I think that's a, that's a great, great.
That that's what makes a difference.
Yeah.
Between, you know, a great club and
just a, a paddle club, you know.
Now do you see, uh, anything
else, uh, uh, you adding to this?
I see you have the volume machine.
Yeah, the volume machine,
which has been incredible.
Um, our, our customers love it.
Um.
We, we got these two, um, kind of work
pods so that people can take calls.
Oh.
Um, oh, those were, I thought they were
like, sort of like a Oh, that's cool.
Red light, uh, uh, sauna or something.
I was gonna go, oh, they, to go
back to the future, I thought I
had a flux capacitor in there and I
wanted to go back 10 years at least.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Um, so yeah.
Do people use those?
Yeah, definitely.
That's good.
Um, especially when it gets like really.
You know, loud, loud and lively in here.
It's a great spot for people, very smart.
If need to, you know, take a call
and don't a professional call.
Go outside in the parking lot.
Right.
Professional call.
You hear the thinging to the, the
Yeah, that's, that's beautiful.
I mean, a large part of our
community does work from home.
And so, um, to have them be
able to, like we, we also have
a member's office right there.
Oh, really?
Yep.
So they can, um, you know, and
just put the sign on the, on the
door that just says like, in use.
Mm-hmm.
They go, can take a call in there
or, or have a meeting in there.
Um, we really wanted people to not have to
like, leave the space to go do something.
Like you said, we wanted to make it feel
like everything is here for you Yeah.
That you need throughout the day.
And so you have coffee and beer, right.
Um, and tea.
And tea.
And so do you guys have a, a
license for the beer and wine
for beer, stomach, beer and wine.
Okay.
That's, that's great.
Yep.
Uh, how about, um, well let,
let's talk about the programs.
Sure.
What are the programs that you
offer and, and the prices too.
Yeah.
Core time play and, and, and
all clinics and, and lessons.
Yeah.
Um, so we, um, for our programming
we have, um, intro to Paddle, um,
and then beginner through advanced
programming, like coaching clinics.
Um, so those will be an hour.
Um, $55 for me member, sorry.
Non-members, $35 for members.
Okay.
Our intro to paddle sessions
are all at just $35.
Um, you don't need a membership for that.
Um, you don't need a
membership for anything.
Um, it just discounts the price.
Um, and then we offer socials,
um, which is Ron Robin style play.
Um, we, with socials, we have, um,
basically rotations on and off the court.
So there you spend some time off of
the court, um, resting or socializing.
And then Americanos are actually where
you're on the court, the whole Okay.
Um, and so those are two hours.
Um, our socials are 20 for
members, 30 for non-members.
Our Americanos are 30 for
members, 40 for non-members.
Okay.
Two hours.
So how much is a membership per year?
So we have a couple different tiers.
Okay.
Um, so we have our main tier
is just premier, our premier
membership, which is one 20 a month.
Okay.
Access to both locations.
Okay.
Okay.
Um, we do offer an
unlimited membership here.
Whoa.
That's 300 a month.
And you get unlimited court time and
unlimited social and prime time too.
Yeah.
Wow.
Wow.
That's a, that's great deal, man.
That's a great deal.
You see people leading to that.
Oh yeah.
And then when we threw in unlimited
volleys during, during off peak times,
really, we actually out leadership.
That's another question is how
many of those members do you have?
Um, so we across both locations right
now, we have, well across both the area
locations, we have around 300 members.
300 members.
And how many of each tier do you have?
Uh, um, the, the full access one?
How many do you have?
Yeah.
That's gonna be popular.
Yes.
300 is very reasonable.
We have one more tier, which is
actually our most popular tier.
Okay.
Um, it's a squad membership.
Squad.
Squad.
So essentially, um, you could
stay here overnight because
it's actually our cheapest here.
And it's essentially if you come in
with a group of five friends, you
get half off of your membership fee.
Oh.
So it's only $60 a month.
That's good.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
It's, it's, repeat it again?
Yeah.
It's called a squad membership.
Okay.
Um, and so you can have five to
seven, um, members of your squad.
But if you all sign up together, and
this is just, again, we're trying
to, you know, promote the, um, kind
of community aspect of the sport.
Um, you always have
something I love that way.
I gotta tell you.
That's so smart.
I know him.
I always wanna join something and he's so
cheap he never wants to join because in,
so if you do a group and make it less.
That's great.
Somebody like Jules would then join.
I mean, I love that.
So, so how much is that?
So everybody pays 50% up, but you,
you are, somebody's a leader and
brings the other four people, right?
Yes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So how much, how much is that?
So, so it's just, it's $60 a month
for all, every member of the squad.
How many do you have?
What's the minimum group?
Five.
Five?
Okay.
Yeah, man, that is great because
you know what, that's what happens.
You want to, you feel more comfortable
coming with friends that you know.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying?
But.
But it's like, oh, some people make too
expensive, but six, that's a great deal.
And that gives you
access just to the club.
And what are the perks for that?
Discounts?
Right, so it's the same, essentially
the same perks as our premier
membership, which is, um, 50% off
booking, just court reservation.
Wow.
So a regular court reservation for
non-members is $40 per person per hour.
This makes it 20.
Um, and then, like I said,
the discounts on clinics.
So 35 instead of 55.
Um, discounts on tournaments,
league and all of that.
So what's your goal?
We're members, uh, where do you wanna be?
You say you have 300 members.
Where do you guys wanna be when
it comes to your memberships?
Oh my gosh.
Uh, what's your goal?
I mean, uh, we've already gotten,
uh, you know, uh, just with January,
everyone wanting to lose the extra
five pounds during the Christmas.
Uh, we've had a huge,
yeah, huge three days.
It's, uh, we, I mean, gosh, ideally we,
and I think with the growth of this place.
Um, too, just over the last couple months.
I mean, ideally we double that by.
Wow.
Okay.
So lemme a, a complaint that, that we
get and, and you know, we talk withs
about this, you know, now the members.
You got too many members and they
always, all of them wanna play at
the same time, at the same peak hour.
Mm-hmm.
Are you getting to that level where
they complain that, Hey, I'm playing
unlimited, uh, so it's 600 where that is,
that you, you don't wanna go past that
because you're gonna have that situation?
Or do you feel like it
could be sooner than that?
So we actually have an unlimited
membership in Embarcadero.
Um, and we had to cap that.
We only have three courts there.
It was very popular.
And so we've capped that now up to how
many, we've capped that at, um, 25.
Just 25 members.
Mm-hmm.
So this is six courts?
Yeah.
And you're at 300 and you're gonna go six.
I think a lot of that will be
squad members and from members.
Okay.
Yeah.
So not unlimited.
And the limited, the
limited is for both clubs.
It's, it's only for your home club.
You get five unlimited
uses at the other club.
Okay, cool.
Per month.
And, uh, I also see you
guys have cameras here.
Yes.
Um, which, which company
do you guys go with?
Clutch.
Oh, that's clu.
We interviewed them.
Great, great company.
Yeah.
I see they put the audio there too, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, they have some great.
You know, AI stuff that they're,
they're putting together, it's
proprietary, which is, which is great.
Yeah.
So let, let me ask you do, what do
you see the usage of the AI cameras?
Are people using it or plays are using it?
Yeah, I mean, so we actually
just installed these.
We had one, um, on our court for,
um, that did like a live stream
for, we hosted the USPA 2000 there.
Yeah.
Um, USP 2000.
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah, it was, it was 2000.
Wow.
That's great.
Yeah, it was an amazing,
Jessica complained that she
needed sleep for like two days.
Yeah, she did an excellent job.
She's our junior director.
It was, yeah, it was incredible.
Um, but we had so many of our members
who, I mean a lot of them came out
to watch like the finals and stuff,
but we, for those who couldn't
get here, they were watching our
live stream, which is super cool.
Wow.
Um.
And, you know, they, they
were commenting on there too.
And it's funny, after that tournament,
the uptick in like bookings and,
and like, um, clinics and stuff.
'cause you see like players, you know, who
are great, you're like, I wanna do that.
Um, that was, it was a great, um, uh,
yeah, just promotion for our club as well.
Um, so the livestream was very popular
and then we realized people, um, yeah,
just, you know, like filming their
matches and, um, we've even had a couple.
Um, of our coaches do like video sessions.
Um, great.
Right.
With, um, with our players and, um,
especially, you know, obviously you
can get on the court and, um, do
a clinic that or private lesson.
That's awesome.
Um, but being able to like review
video of yourself is also Yeah, very.
So what, what is, what is in the future
plans for Park Paddle future plans?
I mean, we would.
Um, definitely like to
expand across the Bay Area.
We're looking at a couple
different locations.
Wow.
You guys are going fast, huh?
Um, and yeah, I mean we just, we're
really focused on, um, building
the community here and just seeing
those, you know, numbers go up.
And then also in, in
US Sacramento as well.
Who are your coaches here?
That's usually Jules a question.
Yes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So we, um, well we just, um, had an
amazing certification here for three days.
Yes.
Uh, with Pal Smash Academy.
Um, so we have, um, three coaches coming
out of that, um, that are gonna help,
um, do some assistant coaching here.
And then we have our head coach
ready and waiting to come from Spain.
Oh.
Um, we're just waiting on
his, uh, visa approval.
Visa.
Wow.
Excellent.
Yep.
And then, um, Ana Comas who's been
with us since the beginning, um,
she was here yesterday, right?
Yep.
Yeah.
Okay, great.
Um, so she, um, you know, was
our head coach at Embarcadero.
Um, and has now moved up to be our
associate Rocket Sport director.
Um, and so she is also still, you
know, taking lessons and, um, helps
coach both here and in the market area.
Beautiful as well.
Now with the coaches, I'm gonna
ask you as a, as a club owner, what
are your expectations from a coach?
You know, um, you know, I talked to a
lot of club owners and, and they vary.
You know, some people are just, okay,
I, I'm bring, I'm, I'm bringing the,
the, the players in and I need a coach.
And some are, I need help
soliciting more players to the club.
Mm-hmm.
What are your expectations
when it comes to, uh, a coach?
Um, I, I mean all of that.
Um, we really, well, we want someone
who, um, obviously is excellent on court.
Um, and then someone who can build
just a really, um, robust programming
schedule and manage that schedule
and, um, make adjustments based
on, you know, customer feedback
and, um, kind of, uh, just the new.
Flex of customers coming in and
making sure we have, um, a space for
everyone to learn at their level.
Um, so that's really important.
And, you know, um, programming
does change as the club grows and
the, you know, community grows.
Right.
Um, you know, we had a ton of our, um.
You know, intro to intro to Paddle
beginner clinics at the beginning
because, um, you know, as, as the
sport was, as people were becoming
more familiar with the sport and now
we, um, you know, have to, uh, offer
a lot more intermediate and like low
advanced clinics, um, which we didn't
actually have to do in the beginning.
'cause Yeah.
You know, our players
weren't, weren't there yet.
Um, and we did, uh, some adjustments
to our programming also with, um, we,
we used to just do socials and we got
the feedback that, you know, people,
especially at the intermediate to advanced
level, don't like, you know, cooling down.
Yeah.
They want more.
Keep them blank, you know?
So, and we, um, adjusted our programming
to, but still include socials for some of
our beginners who actually like the, you
know, rest in between, in between play.
Um, but adjusted that to offer Americana.
So.
Essentially we, we want our coach
to be taking all of that feedback
in from our customers and adjusting,
um, uh, our offering as needed.
Um, and then someone Yeah, who, who goes
out and, and drives bus finds business.
Yeah.
Um, and, um, you know, is for, uh, and our
coaches do an amazing job with this, but,
um, for leagues or tournaments, we lean on
them to fill those, um, oh, that's great.
Uh, and so they're messaging their.
Um, and network their
clients and their network.
Mm-hmm.
And to make sure that, um, yeah,
we're, we're filling our program.
So which, which platform
do you guys go with?
Um, when it comes to scheduling and
processing of, of, we are now on Platonic.
Platonic, yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
Have you always been platonic or?
We started with play by point.
Okay.
Um, switched over to platonic.
Um, we really, um, liked sort of
the, um, the rating system with
play and how it updates, um, you
know, with competitive matches.
Um.
Platonic also does a great
job, um, with open matches.
So a, you're essentially
able to post your.
Post your match through the app, um,
and anyone in the area who is searching
for where they wanna play and, you know,
do you guys see a lot of usage of that?
Yeah, we do.
Yeah.
Really interesting.
And especially folks who are
coming, um, obviously the,
the, um, app is huge in Europe.
Um, so a lot of our international
players like know the app already
and they're on there and they.
Definitely a hundred percent.
Yeah.
We're right next to SFO.
And so we've even had people, like
they land at their, at the, at the
airport, you know, they're visiting
San Francisco and they, um, you know,
open Playtonic and they find us great.
Yeah, that's what I do
when I go to Europe.
Playtonic.
Yeah.
Be what they use.
Is that so, you know, if, uh, you're
interested in, in playing here, you
can find them at Platonic or where
else can they find you If they're
in about, where else can they find,
get more information about the club.
More information about the club.
Um, so yes, we're on play to, and then our
website, which is just park paddle.com.
Beautiful.
Um, and all of our, um, schedule
is there and our different
offerings and ways to play.
Great.
Is there anything else, Katie, uh, you
wanna talk about before we close this out?
Um, thank you guys for heating the
certification here and just, you know,
get, even just getting the feedback
from a couple, um, of the attendees.
It just sounds like there was, um, yeah,
so much, so much great learning and, and,
um, a they got a lot out of it, so yeah,
this the a, a big stepping stone for them.
I mean, there's much more to, but
you know, we have our online platform
where they have access to it for
the next six months to really.
K, keep on feeding them good information.
So, and you got a good group there.
Yeah.
You got, you got a good group there.
Uh, we have a second level.
I think they can, you know,
um, definitely, uh, use.
Um, but you have some, we have a few
people there that have experience already.
Yeah.
In, in the racket, uh, sports.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
Great.
We're excited about this curve, so yeah.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much, Katie.
Congratulations.
Thank you everyone.
Katie.
Congratulations.
Good job.
It it, it looks great.
Good.
Come back soon.
Yeah, we'll for sure.