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Sep 3, 2022 · 15m · top-founders

His software does $15k/mo helping you rent empty tennis courts (and 22 other sports)

Sham Rajamani · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, SharePlay co-founder and CEO Sham Rajamani explains how his startup monetizes vacant school athletic courts in India, generating $10k to $20k monthly while expanding from a managed marketplace into an automated SaaS platform.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 35% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 1.8
05100:0010:000:52–6:10 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Founder Background and the Genesis of SharePlay Nathan digs into the business mechanics and performs live revenue math based on hourly rates and court utilization. Sham politely explains the Indian sports infrastructure and confirms Nathan's revenue estimation.6:11–8:15 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Navigating COVID Lockdowns and Seed Fundraising Nathan inquires about equity splits and seed fundraising numbers. Sham clarifies a misunderstanding about whether the round was $750k or $70k in a straightforward manner.8:18–11:09 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Promotion Following an ad read, Nathan questions why SharePlay needs to provide staff for facilities rather than using existing venue workers. Sham explains school security concerns and the transition toward a self-managed SaaS model.11:10–13:59 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Seed Valuation Dynamics and School Referral Growth Nathan probes the valuation negotiations and customer acquisition difficulty before enthusiastically synthesizing the business model. Sham outlines referral dynamics and plans for recurring software subscriptions.14:00–14:57 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A quick and cooperative Famous Five section where Sham answers standard biographical and operational questions without friction.0:52–6:10 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founder Background and the Genesis of SharePlay Nathan digs into the business mechanics and performs live revenue math based on hourly rates and court utilization. Sham politely explains the Indian sports infrastructure and confirms Nathan's revenue estimation.6:11–8:15 · Guest teaching 2/10 Navigating COVID Lockdowns and Seed Fundraising Nathan inquires about equity splits and seed fundraising numbers. Sham clarifies a misunderstanding about whether the round was $750k or $70k in a straightforward manner.8:18–11:09 · Guest teaching 3/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Promotion Following an ad read, Nathan questions why SharePlay needs to provide staff for facilities rather than using existing venue workers. Sham explains school security concerns and the transition toward a self-managed SaaS model.11:10–13:59 · Guest teaching 2/10 Seed Valuation Dynamics and School Referral Growth Nathan probes the valuation negotiations and customer acquisition difficulty before enthusiastically synthesizing the business model. Sham outlines referral dynamics and plans for recurring software subscriptions.14:00–14:57 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A quick and cooperative Famous Five section where Sham answers standard biographical and operational questions without friction.0:52–6:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founder Background and the Genesis of SharePlay Nathan digs into the business mechanics and performs live revenue math based on hourly rates and court utilization. Sham politely explains the Indian sports infrastructure and confirms Nathan's revenue estimation.6:11–8:15 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Navigating COVID Lockdowns and Seed Fundraising Nathan inquires about equity splits and seed fundraising numbers. Sham clarifies a misunderstanding about whether the round was $750k or $70k in a straightforward manner.8:18–11:09 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Promotion Following an ad read, Nathan questions why SharePlay needs to provide staff for facilities rather than using existing venue workers. Sham explains school security concerns and the transition toward a self-managed SaaS model.11:10–13:59 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Seed Valuation Dynamics and School Referral Growth Nathan probes the valuation negotiations and customer acquisition difficulty before enthusiastically synthesizing the business model. Sham outlines referral dynamics and plans for recurring software subscriptions.14:00–14:57 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A quick and cooperative Famous Five section where Sham answers standard biographical and operational questions without friction.0:52–6:10 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Founder Background and the Genesis of SharePlay Nathan digs into the business mechanics and performs live revenue math based on hourly rates and court utilization. Sham politely explains the Indian sports infrastructure and confirms Nathan's revenue estimation.6:11–8:15 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Navigating COVID Lockdowns and Seed Fundraising Nathan inquires about equity splits and seed fundraising numbers. Sham clarifies a misunderstanding about whether the round was $750k or $70k in a straightforward manner.8:18–11:09 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Promotion Following an ad read, Nathan questions why SharePlay needs to provide staff for facilities rather than using existing venue workers. Sham explains school security concerns and the transition toward a self-managed SaaS model.11:10–13:59 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Seed Valuation Dynamics and School Referral Growth Nathan probes the valuation negotiations and customer acquisition difficulty before enthusiastically synthesizing the business model. Sham outlines referral dynamics and plans for recurring software subscriptions.14:00–14:57 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A quick and cooperative Famous Five section where Sham answers standard biographical and operational questions without friction.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 46.7% · guest 53.3%0:00 · Nathan 46.7% · guest 53.3%3:00 · Nathan 24.5% · guest 75.5%3:00 · Nathan 24.5% · guest 75.5%6:00 · Nathan 45% · guest 55%6:00 · Nathan 45% · guest 55%9:00 · Nathan 21% · guest 79%9:00 · Nathan 21% · guest 79%12:00 · Nathan 27.4% · guest 72.6%12:00 · Nathan 27.4% · guest 72.6%15:00 · Nathan 94.9% · guest 5.1%15:00 · Nathan 94.9% · guest 5.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:47 Correcting the seed round figure

Sham directly interrupts Nathan's assumption of a $750k seed round to clarify it was only $70k.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 9:27 Questioning on-site staff overhead

Nathan challenges SharePlay's cost structure by asking why they supply their own staff instead of utilizing the venue's existing employees.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:10 Explaining school sports real estate in India

Sham educates Nathan on the massive scale of private and public schools in India that leave sports facilities idle after school hours.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:52 Deducing monthly revenue on the fly

Nathan breaks down booking duration and average hourly pricing to accurately estimate SharePlay's monthly gross revenue range.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Founder Background and the Genesis of SharePlay 5212 Nathan digs into the business mechanics and performs live revenue math based on hourly rates and court utilization. Sham politely explains the Indian sports infrastructure and confirms Nathan's revenue estimation.
Navigating COVID Lockdowns and Seed Fundraising 4212 Nathan inquires about equity splits and seed fundraising numbers. Sham clarifies a misunderstanding about whether the round was $750k or $70k in a straightforward manner.
Founderpath Valuation Tool Promotion 4313 Following an ad read, Nathan questions why SharePlay needs to provide staff for facilities rather than using existing venue workers. Sham explains school security concerns and the transition toward a self-managed SaaS model.
Seed Valuation Dynamics and School Referral Growth 5212 Nathan probes the valuation negotiations and customer acquisition difficulty before enthusiastically synthesizing the business model. Sham outlines referral dynamics and plans for recurring software subscriptions.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3000 A quick and cooperative Famous Five section where Sham answers standard biographical and operational questions without friction.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Partly supported
Rajamani: India has 100,000 private schools and up to 1M public schools
“India has got about a 100,000 private schools and maybe five or 10 times that in terms of public schools.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 2:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Rajamani: 60% of SharePlay users are aged 16 to 21
“60% of our customers are between the age of about 16 to 21 where they come in and they book out the sports facilities with their friends, with their neighbors, and they come in and use it.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 3:11
Assertion Supported
Rajamani: SharePlay offers 22 sports across 15 venues
“You'll choose, you'll be able to choose from about 22 different sports from about 15 different venues at the moment.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 3:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Rajamani: SharePlay saw 500 to 600 bookings in July 2022
“We would have had about 500 to 600 individual bookings. Each group would have been anywhere between eight to 15 people would come in and play.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 4:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Rajamani: SharePlay generates $10k to $20k monthly revenue
“Oh, 10 and 20 grand. Yeah, that's pretty much right.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 6:07
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Rajamani: SharePlay will reach 25 to 30 centers in 4 to 6 weeks
“We should be at about 25 to 30 centers over the next four to six weeks.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 6:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Rajamani: SharePlay is operationally profitable while pivoting to subscription model
“We didn't want to raise too much money at this point of time because operationally we are profitable, but we needed money more to build our tech so that we're moving out of a completely man operated service to a subscription based model.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 7:55
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SharePlay counts 1,500 total customers and 500 to 600 monthly repeat users
“Customer database is about 1500. You need customers who have come and played with us over time. About 500 to 600 would be repeat customers who keep coming back every month who are regulars at our centers.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 10:33
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Rajamani: SharePlay will reach 80 to 100 schools by December
“And we see us getting to about 80 to a hundred schools by the end of December.”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 12:03
Disclosure
Rajamani: SharePlay plans to charge schools $30 monthly for venue software
“As we're moving where schools and private centers or even clubs can start buying our software and use it at a probably as low as 2500 rupees, which will be about 30 dollars a month per school”
Sham Rajamani Sep 3, 2022 ▶ 13:09
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