Headquartered in Florida and Europe, Wedoo.golf is a start-up founded by French people who have set themselves an objective as clear as expected: to relaunch the pleasure of golf and help clubs to develop a dynamic and modern animation thanks to powerful digital technology. platform.
The objective is thus to highlight the basis of the pleasure of golf: having a good time with more and more friends.
And so that the clubs obtain more income…
No advertising but contests, forums and invitations to expand your circle of acquaintances, meetings on a set, a calendar to organize quickly…
Everything that the golfer and the golfer expect from their passion and that the lack of tools did not allow them to achieve until Wedoo.golf!
At the initiative of this application, Gaetan Mauguinrecently incorporated by 2 partners who did not hesitate to set foot in St-Petersburg in Florida and participate, in January, in the great annual fair of the Orlando PGA.
For Golf Planète, Gaëtan tells us all about this tool that can quickly become as essential for golfers as it is for golf clubs.
A real small revolution in the world of golf.
Very favorable reception at the PGA show in Orlando
and first signatures
You have just arrived from the great commercial fair that every year brings together all the golfers of Orlando. You decided to take a stand there and go head-to-head with the market when your product is not yet fully open to the public. How do you feel and to what extent do you return with guarantees and illusions?
We return full of illusion and above all full of guarantees. On the occasion of this show, we partially opened the platform to the public, which allowed us to test the feelings of golf directors and the American press. The reception and feedback are very enthusiastic, both from the 200 golf course owners we met and who had access to Wedoo.golf, as well as from representatives of the American press. They have also contacted us since then to be interviewed in a TV documentary. “Advancing the game of golf through innovation and technology” : the report will be broadcast on US channels in the second half of 2022)
We already signed our first contract in the US last week and are in talks about another ten!
In France, the reception is just as good from the directors and players of the golf industry that we have met.
We already have 3 partners (in the process of signing), several requests to participate in golf events and the agenda for the next few weeks is very busy in France.
Fun for golfers, income for golf courses
How to characterize, in a few words, Wedoo.golf? What expectations do you want to meet?
In short, Wedoo.golf is a private digital platform, which aims to put “fun” in golf games where there are golf facilities, search golf games, participate in contests and small tournaments between members.
To do this, we send premium members upon registration a package containing different items, some of which will be put into play in certain unique features of wedoo.golf such as challenges (a member throws a fun challenge at another member and puts at stake a snack in the clubhouse or one of its received items) or during small tournaments based on the concept of the Ryder Cup and Solheim…
Our members can also organize and/or search for golf games anywhere in France and the US, manage their golf calendar, etc. Wedoo golf allows you to search for other members using criteria other than the index; allows you to meet new people.
Wedoo.golf also offers its premium members all the modern communication tools (chat, group creation, post publishing, etc.), as well as a very nice sponsorship program!
Isn’t this new tool part of the same philosophy as Top Golf, which triumphs everywhere and whose leitmotif is fun, friendly and sporting challenges and new encounters?
Absolutely, we have the same spirit as Top Golf, who we met at the PGA Show. And that is much appreciated by young and old: giving the means to have fun beyond technical performance (good or less good ;-).
The idea is to support the golf infrastructure with land, which allows you to have fun close to what you can have with a first class golf course.
We are convinced that a good game of golf is not only based on our individual performance or our level of play, but also on its progress (coordinated and adapted rhythm), the “alchemy” of the playing partners (friendship, good understanding… ), and above all fun…
First paid subscription from only 4 euros per month!
Why Wedoo.golf did not exist until today?
In France, we believe that some features have existed for a long time, but not in this complete and unified form. They were spread over different existing platforms. I am thinking of the various Facebook groups, in particular the WhatsApp groups and others that did not really exist (challenges, for example).
As for the North American market, we are competing with 2 other startups… This means that the demand is real.
We just had the idea of bringing everything together in one place, in the palm of the player’s hand. And continually enrich the platform with feedback from our members.
How much will Wedoo.golf cost interested golfers? to the clubs? to partners? And how does your business intend to make money if you don’t want to make room for advertising?
Our business model is based on the “freemium” model, so a first level of free access and the possibility through subscription for an annual cost lower than the cost of a green fee, have more features and receive Wedoo packs. Golf. This subscription system allows us not to use the data for advertising purposes, unlike our US competitors.
We have 4 subscription levels: Free, Silver, Gold and soon Diamond. The first level (free) allows you to discover wedoo.golf and be able to test certain features for 30 days. You don’t need to upgrade to a premium tier to use basic features.
The premium levels go in crescendo in the functionalities and content of the packs sent (from the cap to the softshell, passing through the belt…).
The starting price of 48 euros per year for the silver level (ie 4 euros per month).
Since wedoo.golf opened to the public on January 23rd, Gold subscriptions (without pack) have been offered for any registration. On March 5, we will switch to the full freemium model.
For golf courses, the model varies according to their status (associative or not), as well as their model (private, semi-private, public) and the level of involvement with their partners. Generally, the cost is zero for golf courses except for some green fees that we put at stake in competitions. That is why we contact them one by one.
We also have a model for PROs who can include a premium subscription in their courses, for example.
Three digital international business relationship partners and the establishment of golf shops
You are three partners at the beginning of this start-up: what is your respective background?
Personally, I come from the digital world, where for 25 years I held various positions and responsibilities such as Senior Manager in a large consulting firm, or even recently within Microsoft in Digital Advisor, Product marketing manager or sales specialist positions.
So Michel joined the team last year. For the last 10 years he has been torn between the USA and France in the import/export world. Michel manages purchasing as well as support for the development of the North American market.
The experience of the first two partners was reinforced by the arrival of Sébastien at the beginning of the year with his (professional) experience in the development and establishment of golf chain stores. Sébastien is in charge of the European market (including the UK)
We recruited our North America manager (John) at the Orlando show. John is in charge of this market and his international experience (he has lived in France and Japan) is a real asset in our structure.
Our strength is that everyone comes from different backgrounds and cultures. I wanted to find partners who were also sources of different ideas and capable of proposing new points of view, considering the existing situation in the golf industry.
a busy schedule
Have you chosen to launch together in France and the US? What is your timeline and next steps?
Absolutely, we are launching both countries simultaneously. We asked ourselves the question “which first and which countries/areas in what order” and the only obvious answer was France and the United States in parallel.
The reason is simple: the North American market is more competitive and forces us to be more innovative, more agile and more reactive. If we don’t establish ourselves quickly in the US, our competitors will do it for us… And then it will be difficult to take market share. This is beneficial for France and Europe, insofar as it forces us to enrich the platform more quickly in order to maintain our leadership.
The agenda is very busy with the two simultaneous launches, the marketing campaigns… and on a technical level, we are opening the remaining 10% of the platform in the next 2 weeks (essentially the functions linked to the tournaments) and thus be able to offer “Diamond” subscriptions!
As for the prospects, we are preparing for the opening at the end of the year of the United Kingdom, then Germany and the “Nordics”, then Spain (although many players like to do some winter stays in the Iberian Peninsula).
In short, our agenda is very full!
Information and contacts: https://wedoo.golf – Contact Gaétan: 07 49 99 75 47 or [email protected]
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