Apex Pickleball Club had outgrown PodPlay.
The challenge.
The club was growing, and its next phase called for more than taking bookings. Coaches needed a way to sell their time. Promotions needed real rules. Popular sessions needed a waitlist that could fill itself. Members expected a modern app, and staff needed to work with members and with each other without juggling a stack of separate tools.
Apex needed a platform built for the club it was becoming, not just the one it had been.
“We weren’t looking for different software. We were looking for room to grow, and Fluid felt like a platform that could keep up with where we’re going.”Bill Parodi, Owner, Apex Pickleball Club
A move with zero downtime.
Switching platforms is usually the part club owners dread most. And Apex wasn’t moving a slice of its operation. It was moving everything.
Every user and member. Memberships and recurring subscriptions. Payments and saved payment methods, balances and credits. Bookings, programs and coaches. And the club’s full history, all the way back to its first day. All of it had to land in the right place, without a single weekend where nobody could book a court.
Fluid had Apex’s data moved within a week. But Apex wanted to choose its own launch date rather than have one forced on it. So instead of a single high-stakes cutover, Fluid ran daily partial migrations, keeping the new platform in step with the live club every single day until launch.
When Apex went live on August 1, everything in Fluid was already current. There was no downtime and no last-minute scramble to reconcile what had changed since the data was moved.
That flexibility is part of how Fluid approaches every move. Here’s how a migration to Fluid works.
A record month, early.
Most clubs need a few months after a platform change before the results show up. Staff are learning new tools, members are finding their way around, and the numbers often dip before they climb.
Apex didn’t have to wait. Soon after launch, the club posted a record month. The growth came from three places, and each one traces back to something Fluid made easy to do.
Coaches sell more than one lesson at a time.
Coaches at Apex can now sell prepaid lesson packages directly. A member buys a package, it turns into lesson credits with that coach, and the coach is notified right away. Packages carry their own member and guest prices. Coaches have something to sell beyond a single lesson, and players have a reason to commit to more.
Turning first visits into memberships.
Fluid’s promotions let Apex build offers with real rules: who is eligible, special pricing for first-time visitors, and percentage or fixed-amount discounts. That made it simple to turn a first visit into a membership, instead of hoping a guest would come back on their own.
A waitlist that runs itself.
Open Play at a busy club lives and dies on the waitlist. On Fluid, when a spot opens, the next player in line is offered the seat by text or email and given a set amount of time to claim it. They tap to accept and pay in the app. If they pass or the time runs out, the seat moves to the next person.
Nobody at the front desk has to manage any of it. Sessions fill and stay full.
“We expected a few slow months while everyone got used to the new system. Instead, we had our best month ever.”Bill Parodi, Owner, Apex Pickleball Club
Automations that do the follow-up.
Fluid’s team helped Apex set up automations from the start, so the follow-up that usually falls through the cracks happens on its own.
Each one runs on a schedule or a trigger, with no one on staff remembering to send it.
Built for members.
A club you can explore before you arrive.
Fluid built a 3D model of Apex’s facility right into the club’s booking site. Players can look around the space and find their court before they ever walk in the door.
A new app built around the moments that matter.
Apex members got a new mobile app designed for how people actually use a club.
“Members noticed the new app right away. Checking in just happens now, and people are finding programs they never would have looked for.”Brandon Nsekpong, GM, Apex Pickleball Club
Built for staff.
On the staff side, Fluid gave the Apex team better ways to see and run the business.
- Reporting and visibility. A clearer view of the club’s data than ever, with signals that point to what needs attention and the ability to ask questions about the club in plain English.
- Schedule optimization. Fluid reads the day and rebalances courts, clearing waitlists with courts that would otherwise sit empty.
- A shared inbox. Members and staff talk in an inbox that works like Gmail, with text and email in one thread.
- Staff notes. The team leaves context for each other in one place, with attachments, instead of on sticky notes.
What’s next.
The hardware on the courts didn’t go to waste.
The court hardware already in place at Apex became the first home of Fluid Rewind, which brings instant replay, full session recording and a lesson editor for coaches, with unlimited replays and recordings for members. More on Rewind soon.
FAQ
What platform did Apex Pickleball Club use before Fluid?
Apex ran on PodPlay before moving to Fluid. The club had outgrown its setup and wanted a platform that could support its next phase of growth.
What did Fluid migrate from PodPlay?
Everything: users and members, memberships and recurring subscriptions, payments and saved payment methods, balances and credits, bookings, programs, coaches, and the club's full history back to its first day.
Did Apex have any downtime when it switched to Fluid?
No. Fluid moved Apex's data within a week, then ran daily partial migrations to keep everything in sync until the club's chosen launch date of August 1. The club switched over with zero downtime.
What drove Apex's record month on Fluid?
Growth came from three areas: coach lesson packages, new subscriptions driven by Fluid's promotions, and Open Play sessions filled by a waitlist that offers open spots to the next player automatically.
What does the Apex member app include?
Members get automatic check-in when they arrive at the club, a membership pass in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, and personalized recommendations for programs, tournaments and coaches.
Outgrowing your platform? Move without the downtime.
Apex moved on its own schedule and never stopped taking bookings. We agree on your club’s scope, provider coordination and timeline before any work starts.