The Business Model Was Hiding in Plain Sight

What happens when the business you built is not the business your customers actually want? PlayYourCourt started as a way to make tennis lessons easier to find and book. But as the company grew, the data told a different story. Customers were using the platform, getting what they needed, and leaving. That churn forced the company to look closer at what people were really paying attention to. In this episode of Fervent Four, PlayYourCourt founder Scott Baxter shares how the company evolved from a tennis lessons marketplace into a broader education platform after customer behavior revealed the real opportunity. We get into the grind of building a two-sided marketplace, what churn can teach a founder, how YouTube and content became a major part of the business, and why focus mattered more than chasing the pickleball boom. Scott also talks about raising money the hard way, learning from early fundraising mistakes, building in Virginia Beach, and the long path from side hustle to a business that can last. For more information on PlayYourCourt, visit: https://www.playyourcourt.com/ 00:00 The pitch that changed everything 00:29 What is PlayYourCourt? 03:12 Why tennis can feel expensive 05:01 From country club coach to founder 07:08 Why marketplaces are hard 09:01 Chasing professional tennis 14:02 How tennis prepared him for business 16:01 Why PlayYourCourse didn't work 17:27 Failure, coaching and business advisors 18:19 Growing up around work and entrepreneurship 21:07 Choosing tennis after college 24:24 The first big PlayYourCourt pivot 27:12 From lessons to practice partners 29:20 The problem with marketplace churn 30:23 How YouTube became the real business 36:40 Building the education platform 39:03 The funnel behind tennis content 40:04 Why PlayYourCourt said no to pickleball 43:26 Raising money the hard way 47:26 The accelerator pitch that changed the round 49:34 Why EO matters for CEOs 51:12 Shrinking the team and simplifying the model 53:18 The real-life impact of tennis community 55:07 What's next for PlayYourCourt 56:11 Local food, recovery and routines 57:02 Fundraising lessons founders should know