The Playbook for Building Vertical SaaS (10 Years of Hard Lessons) | Andres Robelo

This business started with a simple frustration. Waiting an hour… just to play tennis. No booking system. No software. Just pen and paper in 2016. Most people would complain and move on, but Andres Robelo decided to build something. In this episode of Verticals, Luke and Nic sit down with Andres Robelo, Founder and CEO of Play By Point, to break down how a simple idea turned into a global vertical SaaS company powering over 1,000 racket sports clubs across 37 countries. Andres shares how he made every mistake early, from choosing the hardest possible first customer (government contracts) to picking the wrong initial wedge, and how those lessons shaped the product into a true end-to-end operating system for clubs. They also explore the deeper shift happening in vertical SaaS today: -Why your product can be rebuilt overnight in the AI era -Why trust and customer relationships are the real moat -How small, overlooked industries can become massive opportunities If you are building, investing, or thinking about vertical SaaS, this is a real look at what it actually takes (over years, not months).   TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:00 From booking courts to building a full OS 03:09 9 months to land the first customer (and why it mattered) 05:00 Scaling to 1,000 clubs across 37 countries 12:38 Why small product details make or break vertical SaaS 16:33 Why trust is the real moat in AI 23:11 The 10-Year Playbook (No shortcuts) 37:58 What Most Founders Get Wrong About Monetization 52:31 Andres’ Advice to founders If you enjoyed this episode, drop a comment and hit subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next!