Podcast Guest Marketplace & Booking Hub

Problem and target customer

Why this exists

Customer problem

Podcast hosts spend hours coordinating guest outreach across email, spreadsheets, and scheduling tools, with no centralized way to vet experts, confirm bookings, or prepare interview questions before recording.

Who pays

Independent podcast hosts and small podcast production teams who book 4-20 guest interviews per month and need a repeatable discovery-to-prep workflow.

Business model

Two-sided marketplace where hosts subscribe monthly for booking access and the platform takes a transaction fee on confirmed bookings.

Editorial note

Podcast hosts lose hours coordinating guest outreach across disconnected tools. This marketplace consolidates discovery, booking, and prep into one workflow so a host can find a vetted expert, confirm a time slot, and receive a generated prep kit without leaving the platform.

The MVP focuses on a single host workflow: search guests, request a booking, get confirmation, and receive a prep kit. Episode publishing, audio editing, and guest payments are explicitly excluded to keep the first version shippable and testable with real hosts.

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What do you need next?

Evaluate the operating tradeoffs quickly, or inspect how to build the MVP.

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Review MVP scope, workflow, states, data rules, architecture, and acceptance criteria.

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Evaluation preview

What would it take to run?

Directional infrastructure estimates for the current 250 content jobs assumption. Open the full calculator when you are ready to change it.

Open full cost and deployment

ManagedSelected

$30-$120/ month

Managed app hosting, database, backups, and basic observability for the content workflow.

Lowest operating effort

Lean self-hosted

$13-$83/ month

One small VPS running the app, database, media volume, and backup job.

Lowest baseline cost

More control

$50-$180/ month

Separate app, data, storage, and worker capacity for cleaner operations.

Most separation and control

Build blueprint

Build the first paid use case

Product goal

Who it serves and what it must change

Target user: Independent podcast host booking 4-20 guest interviews per month
Problem: Guest discovery, outreach, scheduling, and interview prep are scattered across email, spreadsheets, and calendar tools with no vetting or prep automation.
Measurable outcome: Host finds a vetted guest, sends a booking request, receives confirmation, and gets a prep kit in under 5 minutes per booking.

MVP scope

What ships now and what waits

Included

Guest profile discovery with search and category filtering
Booking request with time slot proposals and host message
Guest confirmation or decline flow
Auto-generated prep kit from guest profile and episode topic
Host booking timeline dashboard

Excluded

Audio recording or editing
Episode publishing and RSS distribution
Guest payment or honorarium processing
Team collaboration and role permissions
Public guest reviews and ratings

UX and user flow

Screens, actions, and states

Guest Discovery

Host searches and browses vetted expert guest profiles by category

Search by expertiseFilter by categoryView guest profile cardSelect guest for booking

Booking Request

Host submits episode topic, proposed time slots, and message to guest

Enter episode topicSelect two time slotsWrite host messageSubmit request

Guest Confirmation

Guest reviews request and confirms or declines the booking

Review host show detailsSelect a time slotConfirm or declineAdd optional note

Prep Kit View

Host reviews generated interview questions and talking points

Read guest background summaryReview suggested questionsDownload prep kitLink to episode

Booking Timeline

Host tracks all pending and confirmed bookings with prep kit status

View upcoming bookingsCheck prep kit statusNavigate to booking detailsCancel pending request

Primary flow

Guest Discovery
Booking Request
Guest Confirmation
Prep Kit View
Booking Timeline

Loading, empty, and error states

Draft request
Request sent
Guest confirmed
Guest declined
Prep kit generated
Prep kit failed
Cancelled

Core entity outline

Entities and business rules

GuestProfile

Stores vetted expert guest information for marketplace discovery

Fields: id, name, bio, expertise_tags, headshot_url, show_relevance_score, created_at
Relations: Has many BookingRequests, Has many PrepKits

BookingRequest

Tracks the host-to-guest booking lifecycle from request to confirmation

Fields: id, host_id, guest_id, episode_topic, proposed_slots, host_message, status, confirmed_slot, created_at
Relations: Belongs to GuestProfile, Belongs to User (host), Has one PrepKit

PrepKit

Stores LLM-generated interview questions and talking points for a confirmed booking

Fields: id, booking_request_id, guest_summary, suggested_questions, talking_points, generated_at
Relations: Belongs to BookingRequest, Has one Episode

Episode

Links a confirmed booking to a podcast episode record

Fields: id, booking_request_id, title, recording_date, status
Relations: Belongs to PrepKit, Belongs to BookingRequest

User

Represents podcast hosts and guests with role-based profile data

Fields: id, email, role, display_name, show_name
Relations: Has many BookingRequests as host, Has many GuestProfiles as guest

Business rules

A booking request must include at least two proposed time slots and an episode topic.
Prep kit generation triggers only when booking status transitions to guest confirmed.
A guest cannot confirm a booking request that has already been declined or cancelled.
Hosts can have a maximum of 5 pending booking requests at one time to prevent spam.
Prep kit generation failure sets status to prep_kit_failed and allows manual retry.

Architecture and data flow

Components, integrations, and controls

Marketplace Frontend

Renders guest discovery, booking request, confirmation, prep kit, and timeline screens

Booking Service

Validates booking requests, manages status transitions, and enforces business rules

Prep Kit Generator

Calls LLM API with guest profile and episode topic to produce structured interview prep content

Notification Dispatcher

Sends booking request and confirmation notifications to hosts and guests

Integrations

OpenAI API for prep kit question and talking point generation
Calendar API for sending confirmed booking invites to host and guest
Payment processor for monthly host subscription and per-booking transaction fees
Supabase Storage for guest headshots and prep kit document storage

Data flow

Host searches GuestProfile table filtered by expertise_tags
Host submits BookingRequest with proposed slots and episode topic
Guest receives notification and confirms or declines via Guest Confirmation screen
On confirmation, Make scenario triggers LLM API call with guest profile and episode topic
Generated prep kit is stored in PrepKit table and linked to BookingRequest and Episode

Failure handling

If LLM API call fails, booking remains confirmed but prep kit status sets to prep_kit_failed with retry option
If Calendar API fails, booking confirmation still succeeds and calendar invite is queued for retry
If payment processing fails on subscription renewal, host loses booking access after a 7-day grace period

Security

Row-level security on BookingRequest so hosts see only their own requests
Guest profiles are publicly readable but writable only by admins or the guest user
Prep kits are visible only to the host who owns the booking request

Rate limits

LLM API calls limited to one per booking confirmation with exponential backoff on failure
Hosts limited to 5 pending booking requests simultaneously
Guests limited to 10 booking requests received per day to prevent marketplace spam

Deliverables and acceptance

Definition of done for the MVP

Deliverables

Deployed marketplace web app with guest discovery, booking, confirmation, prep kit, and timeline screens
Supabase schema with GuestProfile, BookingRequest, PrepKit, Episode, and User tables
Make scenario for prep kit generation and calendar invite automation
Two-tone white and deep teal UI matching the specified design language

Acceptance criteria

Host can search guest profiles by expertise tag and view at least 20 vetted profiles in the card grid
Host can submit a booking request with two time slots and an episode topic in under 2 minutes
Guest can confirm a booking request and both parties receive a calendar invite within 5 minutes
Confirmed booking triggers prep kit generation with at least 5 suggested interview questions within 60 seconds
Host can view all bookings on a timeline dashboard with status badges for pending, confirmed, declined, and prep kit generated

Recommended stack

Enough technology for the first version

Frontend

Lovable

Rapid build of the two-tone card grid, search bar, and booking timeline UI with Supabase auth and data bindings.

Backend and database

Supabase on Railway

Relational storage for guest profiles, booking requests, and prep kits with row-level security for host vs guest data access.

Automation glue

Make

Orchestrates calendar invite creation and prep kit generation triggers on booking confirmation without custom backend workers.

LLM

OpenAI API

Generates interview prep kits from guest profile data and episode topic, producing structured questions and talking points.

Object storage

Supabase Storage

Stores guest headshots, show logos, and generated prep kit PDFs alongside the relational records.

Why this is sufficient

Lovable handles the visual marketplace UI with deep teal theme and card grid. Supabase provides relational integrity for booking state machines. Make bridges calendar and LLM calls on confirmation events. OpenAI powers prep kit generation, the core differentiator from generic scheduling tools.

Not required for the MVP

Custom audio hosting infrastructurePodcast distribution or RSS feed managementAdvanced analytics and reporting dashboardsTeam collaboration and role-based access control

Next stepTurn the blueprint into an execution plan

Copy the build prompt, model the operating cost, and choose where to deploy.

Build and ship

Execution

Build, price, and deploy the MVP

Once the blueprint is clear, use the prompt, cost model, and deployment options to start building.

Build prompt

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Cost calculator

Model the MVP operating cost

A technical run-cost estimate for the first production version. Team, acquisition, payment fees, and business COGS are excluded.

Estimated monthly total$30-$120

$15-$60 per 125 content jobs

Content jobs / month250 content jobs

Selected pathEasiest

Pricing checkedAug 2, 2026

Cost breakdown

$30-$120 per month

Low and high values allow for usage variance and plan headroom.

Managed infrastructure

Managed app hosting, database, backups, and basic observability for the content workflow.

50K content jobs included, then $8-$20 per 100K content jobs

$25-$65

Payment processor

Payment processor is implied by the source workflow or feature list.

100 included, then $0-$5 per 100 content jobs

$0-$10

Calendar API

Calendar API is implied by the source workflow or feature list.

Monthly allowance from this idea's operating profile

$0-$20

Object storage

Object storage is implied by the source workflow or feature list.

Monthly allowance from this idea's operating profile

$5-$25

Included

Application hosting
Relational database
Basic backups
appointments, availability, and intake details state
Payment processor
Calendar API
Object storage

Not included

Paid acquisition
Founder or team time
Tax or legal review
Custom enterprise procurement

Pricing basis

The estimate combines the selected infrastructure path, required operating modules, selected optional modules, and usage above included monthly allowances. Taxes and regional uplifts are excluded.

Managed app baseline Stripe pricing Google Calendar API documentation Amazon S3 pricing

Deployment options

Pick the operational tradeoff

Choose based on operating preference, not only the headline price.

EasiestRecommended

Railway

Fast Docker deployment for the app, database, worker, and preview workflow without managing a VPS.

$15-90/month before usage-heavy add-ons

Good fit

Fast setup
Low starting cost
Good preview workflow

Limitation

Usage billing needs active monitoring as traffic and jobs grow.

Open Railway

Cheapest

Vultr

Run the app, worker, and database on one small Vultr VPS with Docker Compose and explicit backups.

$8-60/month before managed add-ons

Good fit

Predictable baseline
Portable setup
Room for workers

Limitation

You own patching, backups, monitoring, and incident response.

Deploy on Vultr View the lean VPS guide

More control

DigitalOcean

Separate application, worker, data, storage, and backup responsibilities as the workload grows.

$10-120/month before managed add-ons

Good fit

Cloud VPS control
Global regions
Room for workers

Limitation

You own server setup, patching, backups, and operational monitoring.

Explore DigitalOcean View the separated cloud guide

Start building

Prototype, automate, then deploy

Recommended route

01Vibe-coding builderBuild marketplace UI and booking flows

Create the two-tone white and deep teal interface with guest card grid, search bar, booking request form, guest confirmation page, and host timeline dashboard. Wire all screens to Supabase tables.

Open Lovable 02AutomationAutomate confirmation and prep kit triggers

Set up a Make scenario that listens for booking confirmation status changes, calls the LLM API to generate a prep kit, stores the result, and sends calendar invites via the Calendar API.

Open Make 03DeployDeploy backend and database

Host Supabase or a Postgres instance on Railway with tables for guest profiles, booking requests, prep kits, and episodes. Configure row-level security policies for host and guest access.

Open Railway

Podcast Guest Marketplace & Booking Hub

Is this worth validating?

Build this if

Avoid this if

Validate first

Why this exists

Customer problem

Who pays

Business model

What do you need next?

What would it take to run?

Build the first paid use case

Who it serves and what it must change

What ships now and what waits

Included

Excluded

Screens, actions, and states

Primary flow

Loading, empty, and error states

Entities and business rules

Business rules

Components, integrations, and controls

Integrations

Data flow

Failure handling

Security

Rate limits

Definition of done for the MVP

Deliverables

Acceptance criteria

Enough technology for the first version

Lovable

Supabase on Railway

Make

OpenAI API

Supabase Storage

Why this is sufficient

Not required for the MVP

Build, price, and deploy the MVP

Copy this into a builder

Your build prompt is ready

Model the MVP operating cost

Usage assumptions

$30-$120 per month

Included

Not included

Pricing basis

Pick the operational tradeoff

Railway

Good fit

Limitation

Vultr

Good fit

Limitation

DigitalOcean

Good fit

Limitation

Prototype, automate, then deploy

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