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padelnomics/research/product_ideas.md
Deeman 625c089284 fix: post-flatten dev scripts, lead form validation, copy improvements
- Fix dev_run.sh and dev_setup.sh cd path (../.. after repo flatten)
- Quote form: re-render step 9 inline on validation error instead of
  flash + redirect to step 1; phone/email errors now show field-level
- Supplier FAQ: move differentiation Q to top, fix Q10 email to
  hello@ (was leads@), rename Q1 to "How do I get listed?"
- Replace Innenhalle → Indoorhalle throughout DE locale and seed script

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-22 10:29:59 +01:00

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Product Ideas & Future Work

Second Directory: Padel Venue Finder (player-facing)

Current directory = B2B supplier directory (for project owners finding vendors). Future directory = consumer-facing venue finder (for players finding courts near them).

Inspiration: thepadeldirectory.co.uk runs BOTH:

  • /padel-court-construction → B2B supplier directory (like our current one)
  • /find-padel-courts → consumer venue finder with map + filters (court type, facilities: parking, changing rooms, bar, equipment shop, online booking; distance radius 5/10/25/50/100 miles; sort by name/court count)

Our B2B directory (suppliers) is already built. The venue finder would be a separate section — venues/ — targeting players. Monetisation: venue operators pay a listing fee (similar to Basic tier for suppliers). Could cross-sell: padel court builders list in B2B directory, their completed venues list in the venue finder.

Schema additions needed: venues table (name, address, lat/lng, court_count, indoor/outdoor, facilities_json, booking_url, claimed_by), geocoding, map embed.

Supplier Reviews

  • Gate review submission behind verified lead completion (avoid gaming)
  • After lead forwarded + 60 days → send entrepreneur an email with 15 star + short text form
  • Store aggregate on lead_forwards or a new supplier_reviews table
  • Display on directory card; only visible for paid-tier suppliers (Growth/Pro)

Getting Actual Quotes (closing the loop post-match)

Three options in ascending build effort:

  1. Email only (current) — supplier emails entrepreneur directly, platform never sees the quote
  2. Quote upload (low effort, high signal) — prompt supplier to upload PDF quote in dashboard; entrepreneur confirms receipt; platform shows "X quotes received" on their dashboard
  3. In-platform messaging thread — full messaging between entrepreneur + supplier through padelnomics; data-rich but complex

→ Start with option 2 (upload prompt in dashboard, confirmation from entrepreneur side)

Claim Verification (currently open to anyone)

Options by friction/reliability:

Method Friction Reliability
Email domain must match company website Low Medium
DNS TXT record Medium High
Document upload (trade reg, VAT cert) High High — manual review
Subscription (credit card) alone Very low Low

Recommended path:

  • Email domain check as a soft gate (warn but don't block)
  • Manual review queue in admin panel for first-time claims (add "mark verified" button to admin user/supplier detail)
  • Pro-tier upgrade requires document upload

Pricing Tier Restructure

Tier Name Price What it includes
Free Auto-imported unclaimed listing, no contact info
New Listed ~€299/yr (annual) Verified badge, logo, full description, website link; no leads
Current Growth Growth €149/mo Everything + 30 lead credits/mo
Current Pro Pro €399/mo Everything + 100 lead credits/mo; direct quote from listing page

Annual "Listed" tier = low-friction entry for suppliers who want visibility without monthly credit commitment. Mirrors competitor €600/yr Basic tier.

Direct Quote from Listing Page (premium feature)

  • Currently: "Request Quote" button on supplier detail goes to general wizard (country pre-filled)
  • For free/unclaimed suppliers: button is greyed out + popover (implemented 2026-02-19)
  • Future premium feature: route quote directly and exclusively to that specific supplier
  • Make it Pro-only as a built-in perk (headline differentiator for Pro upgrade)
  • Possibly also available as a paid add-on boost for Growth tier

Company Registry Intelligence (Data / Programmatic SEO)

Use public company registries to extract data on padel businesses — financials from annual filings, geocoded addresses, incorporation dates — and build:

  • Padel Industry Profitability Index — aggregate revenue/profit/assets across all filed padel companies, updated annually. Unique linkable asset; journalists and investors will cite it.
  • Company directory with financial health signals — one page per company with location, incorporation date, filed accounts summary, directors. Programmatic SEO at scale.
  • Regional profitability map — geocoded addresses + aggregated financials per region. "Which UK regions have the most profitable padel clubs?"
  • Growth timeline articles — incorporation dates chart padel's rise. "UK padel company formations: 3 in 2018 → 47 in 2023 → 120+ in 2024"
  • Cross-country comparison — once multi-country data is collected: "Where is padel most commercially mature?"

Data sources

Country Registry API Cost Has Financials
UK Companies House REST API Free (600 req/5min) Yes — turnover, P&L, assets
Germany Handelsregister No official API Northdata (freemium) Limited
Netherlands KVK Paid API Monthly sub Some
France INSEE Sirene Bulk download Free No (accounts at INPI)
Spain Registro Mercantil No free API Commercialised Paywall since 2011
Sweden Bolagsverket Good API Free Yes

Start with UK

  • API key: developer.company-information.service.gov.uk (~5 min to get, free)
  • GET /search/companies?q=padel — full-text search works
  • SIC codes: 93110 (operation of sports facilities), 93130 (fitness facilities)
  • GET /company/{number}/filing-history?category=accounts → parse iXBRL for: Turnover, ProfitLoss, TotalAssets, NetAssets, AverageNumberEmployees
  • Geocode postcodes via free OS Postcode API

Caveats

  • ~60% of small UK companies file abridged accounts (balance sheet only, no turnover)
  • Many padel clubs don't have "padel" in company name — cross-ref with existing venue DB
  • Holding structures can obscure revenue (rolls up to parent)
  • Germany: use northdata.de (no free official API)
  • Spain: genuinely closed since 2011

Technical sketch

companies_house_fetch.py  → search + paginate all padel companies
filings_fetch.py          → download + parse iXBRL accounts per company
geocode.py                → postcode → lat/lng (OS Postcode API)
aggregate.py              → SQL: profitability index, regional groupings, YoY growth
page_generator.py         → one page per company + index pages per region

Stack: requests, lxml (XBRL parsing), sqlite3. No heavy dependencies.

Supplier Reviews (implementation sketch)

  • New table: supplier_reviews (id, lead_forward_id, supplier_id, rating INT 1-5, body TEXT, created_at)
  • Email trigger: worker job checks lead_forwards created 60+ days ago with no review → enqueue review request email
  • Submit endpoint: POST /suppliers/<id>/review (tokenised link in email, no login required)
  • Display: aggregate on directory card (star rating + count), full list on supplier detail page (Pro only)