The Betting Startups Podcast
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Interviews and conversations with the founders & CEOs of the most promising startups competing for a piece of the multi-billion dollar betting, fantasy sports, and iGaming industry
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1 day ago
The Gamble & The Glory: Ep. 3 - Omer Sattar, Sightline Payments
We're back with Ep. 3 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry.
In this one, we speak with Omer Sattar, co-founder & CEO of Sightline Payments.
Hear him discuss:
* The importance of putting in the work, and why “10,000 hours is not enough” to become an expert in your domain
* A crash course (and masterclass) on how payment networks function
* The challenges he had establishing credibility in Sightline’s early days, and the role that his grit and tenacity played in helping it to break through
* Sightline’s major innovation of building a bidirectional payments network for the gambling industry, which is now connected to 95% of all slot devices in the US
* His major lessons learned from raising over $400 million in capital to fuel Sightline’s growth to become a unicorn company
Learn more:
➡️ Sightline Payments website
➡️ Omer Sattar on Linkedin
The Gamble & The Glory is made possible by Segev LLP, a full solutions law firm purpose built for the gaming and betting industry. To learn more, visit: www.segev.ca
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6 days ago
Ep. 92: Innovating in season-long fantasy sports w/ Ty Masterson & Dan Gentile from Bettle Fantasy Sport
Ep. 92 features Ty Masterson and Dan Gentile from Bettle Fantasy Sports, which is the future of social sports gaming.
Hear them discuss:
* The stickiness of the season-long format, as evidenced by their 20+ years playing in the same fantasy league
* How Bettle is enhancing the season-long player experience by introducing DFS-style mechanics to it
* The growth potential of season-long fantasy despite wider trends towards instant gratification and declining sports viewership amongst Gen-Z audiences
* Their take on what the launch of ESPN Bet means for ESPN’s season-long fantasy product
* What the current regulatory scrutiny on pick ‘em-style DFS means for Bettle
* Their current efforts to raise $1.5 million, and what types of investors they are looking to reach
* Their predictions for the NFL playoffs :)
Learn more👇
➡️ Bettle Fantasy Sports website
➡️ Ty Masterson Linkedin
➡️ Dan Gentile Linkedin
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This episode is brought to you by InPlay.ai, the leaders in AI powered sports gaming technology.
Discover how they're using advanced AI to build the ultimate second screen experience, powered by the only full stack solution for micro same-game parlays, uninterrupted in-play markets, and fully-automated risk management.
To learn more about the future of sports gaming, visit www.inplay.ai
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Nov 22, 2023
Ep. 91: Creating purpose-built betable content w/ Mike Salvaris from Pro League Network
Ep. 91 features Mike Salvaris from Pro League Network, which is betable live sports.
Hear him discuss:
* How thoroughbred racing inspired the idea for Pro League Network by creating betable content during off-peak times
* What it looks like to launch and operate a “portfolio of leagues” like the World Putting League, Carjitsu, and Slapfight Championship
* The revenue potential of owing everything “soup to nuts”, including IP rights, production, distribution, and wagering
* Where PLN’s leagues fit within the wider landscape, and whether he thinks any of them have mainstream potential
* The safeguards that PLN is putting in place to ensure that the integrity of its leagues are ensured at all times
* Building a world-class roster of investors and advisors like Eberg Capital, Kevin Garnett, and Chris Grove
Learn more👇
➡️ Pro League Network website
➡️ Mike Salvaris on Linkedin
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This episode is brought to you by InPlay.ai, the leaders in AI powered sports gaming technology.
Discover how they're using advanced AI to build the ultimate second screen experience, powered by the only full stack solution for micro same-game parlays, uninterrupted in-play markets, and fully-automated risk management.
To learn more about the future of sports gaming, visit www.inplay.ai
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Nov 15, 2023
Ep. 90: Bringing social responsibility to bookmaking w/ Malcolm & Steve from We The Bookie
Ep. 90 features Malcolm Wilkinson and Steve Steck from We The Bookie, which is Ireland’s only truly socially-responsible bookmaker.
Hear them discuss:
* Integrating social impact into stigmatized industries, including gambling
* Their unique model that sees We The Bookie share its profits with customers that have a losing month
* Why they picked Ireland as their go-to-market jurisdiction to prove out the model before expanding internationally
* Their experience going through the process of selecting a platform vendor, and the challenges associated with it
* Why We The Bookie "won't ever have online slots"
* Gaining experience pitching at industry conferences and events, including this week at SiGMA Malta
Learn more 👇
➡️ We The Bookie website
➡️ Malcolm Wilkinson on Linkedin
➡️ Steve Steck on Linkedin
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This episode is brought to you by InPlay Innovation, the leaders in AI-powered sports gaming technology.
Discover how they’re using advanced AI to build the ultimate second screen experience, powered by the only full-stack solution for micro same-game parlays, uninterrupted in-play markets, and fully automated risk management.
To learn more about the future of sports gaming, visit inplayinnovation.com.
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Nov 9, 2023
Ep. 89: Modernizing the ‘office pools’ category w/ TJ Ross from Splash Sports
Ep. 89 features TJ Ross from Splash Sports, which is the leading sports gaming platform for peer-to-peer contests.
Hear him discuss:
* His background working in tech in the Bay area, including as founder of a startup in the 500 Startups accelerator
* Seeing opportunity in real-money gaming, and the “tremendously underserved” category of office pools
* Why advice received from Joe Montana’s son compelled them to enter the space with a buy-versus-build strategy
* The insane story of how they acquired RunYourPool.com and OfficeFootballPool.com
* Their decision to operate in stealth mode for the first 2 years, and why they are now ready to operate more publicly
* How they plan to grow the existing combined userbase of 86,000 commissioners and 2.3 million players
* Where he sees the office pools category fitting into the wider real-money gaming landscape
* The advantages and opportunities created through leveraging your network
Learn more 👇
➡️ Splash Sports website
➡️ TJ Ross on Linkedin
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This episode is brought to you by InPlay Innovation, the leaders in AI-powered sports gaming technology.
Discover how they’re using advanced AI to build the ultimate second screen experience, powered by the only full-stack solution for micro same-game parlays, uninterrupted in-play markets, and fully automated risk management.
To learn more about the future of sports gaming, visit inplayinnovation.com.
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Nov 2, 2023
The Gamble & The Glory: Ep. 2 - Jason Trost, Smarkets
We're back with Ep. 2 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry.
In this one, we speak with Jason Trost, founder & CEO of Smarkets.
Hear him discuss:
* His 16+ year journey starting and growing Smarkets, which has grown to become a £20m per year business
* How his background in financial trading gave him the idea to launch Smarkets in 2007 to compete with Betfair in the UK
* Taking 7 years before Smarkets "turned the corner" as a business, which required "the right combination of extreme hubris with extreme work ethic"
* How his passion for politics led Smarkets to become one of the largest global prediction markets for politics
* Why he thinks "with the benefit of hindsight, [he] really screwed up the strategy in the US"
* Why the current state of the betting industry makes him "quite sad" and "bums [him] out"
* Taking over as host of The Business of Betting podcast, and why he thinks about podcasting as "the next generation of AM radio"
Learn more
➡️ Smarkets website
➡️ Jason Trost on Linkedin
➡️ Jason Trost on Twitter
The Gamble & The Glory is made possible by Segev LLP, a full solutions law firm purpose built for the gaming and betting industry. To learn more, visit: www.segev.ca
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Oct 30, 2023
Ep. 88: Making a game of fantasy sports w/ Rourke Struthers from GameBlazers
Ep. 88 features Rourke Struthers from GameBlazers, which is empowering sports fans to create and manage their own experiences.
Hear him discuss:
* The origins of GameBlazers as the ‘NFT League’, and the eventual pivot away from being a web3 product
* GameBlazers’ unique concept as a hybrid between fantasy sports and non-fantasy game, which brings together “the best of two worlds”
* Bringing the thrill of pack opening to a digital experience, and the need to ensure that it remained “very engaging and… tactile”
* How the product gameplay was designed to allow users aged 13+ to access it in a compliant manner
* The iterative process of designing a game from the ground up, and how they decided which mechanics to incorporate into the game
* The importance of having a long-term time horizon and the ability to iterate and adapt within it
* His experience raising capital from a single angel investor, and the trade-offs he sees with that strategy compared to raising from institutional investors
Learn more👇
➡️ GameBlazers website
➡️ Rourke Struthers on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by the much anticipated NEXT Summit New York event, which returns March 6-7 2024 in a new state-of the-art venue in Manhattans financial district.
With 1,000 senior delegates expected, the summit is focused on connecting startups with investors, and operators with suppliers, which makes it THE conference where serious business gets done.
Tickets are now available at www.next.io
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Oct 19, 2023
Ep. 87: Adding narrative and storytelling to DFS w/ Torey Korsunsky from Units
Ep. 87 features Torey Korsunsky from Units, which is daily fantasy sports for the curious fan.
Hear him discuss:
* His recent experience as a first-time attendee of G2E in Las Vegas
* Always having the itch to start something of his own, but why he decided to “get a bit of professional experience under [his] belt” before founding a company
* How Units is combining DFS with “helping fans focus in on the narratives that are most interesting”
* His take on the current regulatory scrutiny being placed on DFS platforms, and what that means for his ambitions with Units
* What he sees as “the 3 most important things in raising money” that led to him closing a pre-seed round for Units
* Why he puts so much time and effort into investor updates, which are “some of the best investor updates” that his stakeholders have seen
Learn more 👇
➡️ Units website
➡️ Torey Korsunsky on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by the much anticipated NEXT Summit New York event, which returns March 6-7 2024 in a new state-of the-art venue in Manhattans financial district.
With 1,000 senior delegates expected, the summit is focused on connecting startups with investors, and operators with suppliers, which makes it THE conference where serious business gets done.
Tickets are now available at www.next.io
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Oct 16, 2023
Ep. 86: Investor vibe check for Q3!
Ep. 86 is our quarterly Investor Vibe Check, where we chat with 3 industry investors to get their perspective on the landscape from their side of the table.
The vibe check for Q3 features Dave VanEgmond (Bettor Capital), Jon Von Deylen (Drive by DraftKings), and Lloyd Danzig (Sharp Alpha Advisors).
The discussion goes deep on the shifting operator landscape in Q3, the increasing role of AI and what excites them about it, and some actionable advice for founders looking to raise in a challenging environment
As always, if you're building within the space, the Investor Vibe Check is a must-listen episode.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Dave VanEgmond on Linkedin
➡️ Jon Von Deylan on Linkedin
➡️ Lloyd Danzig on Linkedin
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsletter, which is the easiest way to keep up with the betting industry's early stage companies.
It's a free weekly publication that gives you all the headlines around new fundings, partnerships, and product launches. It also includes the extremely popular deal corner, where we share investment opportunities in industry startups that are looking to change the game.
Take 10 seconds and subscribe now.
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Oct 8, 2023
Ep. 85: Bringing old-school bookmaking to America w/ Joe Brennan & Adam Bjorn from Prime Sports
Ep. 85 features Joe Brennan and Adam Bjorn from Prime Sports, which is bringing an old-school bookmaking approach to the US market.
Hear them discuss:
* Being at the forefront of the lobbing effort that eventually led to PASPA’s repeal in 2018
* Why they see big opportunity in bringing an old-school bookmaking approach to the US
* “Doing a really crazy thing ahead of launching” and talking directly to customers that felt underserved by incumbent operators
* The non-obvious reason why cutting into the existing operator market share isn’t their primary objective
* Their long-term approach to Prime Sports, and why they won’t begin to think about it as a success or failure until after World Cup 2026
* Why they see the current market leaders as being “the McDonald's and Burger King of betting”
* Their #1 piece of advice for new entrants coming into the betting industry
* The most surprising thing to each of them about how the regulated US market has unfolded
Learn more 👇
➡️ Prime Sports website
➡️ Prime Sports on Twitter
➡️ Joe Brennan on Linkedin
➡️ Adam Bjorn on Linkedin
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsletter, which is the easiest way to keep up with the betting industry’s early-stage companies.
It’s a free weekly publication that gives you all the headlines around new fundings, partnerships, and product launches. It also includes the extremely popular Deal Corner, where we share investment opportunities in industry startups that are looking to change the game.
Take 10 seconds and subscribe now at news.bettingstartups.com
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Oct 2, 2023
Ep. 84: Tracking over $1 billion in bets w/ Ricky Gold from Juice Reel
Ep. 84 features Ricky Gold from Juice Reel, which is optimizing the sports betting industry and enriching the sports betting experience.
Hear him discuss:
* His experience bootstrapping Juice Reel for the first two years while working full-time at his day job
* How Juice Reel is helping people on their path to becoming sharper bettors
* Reaching the milestone of over $1bn in bets tracked on the platform
* His ideas for how data generated by the JuiceReel platform can be productized for adjacent use cases
* The challenges of B2B sales cycles, which was the biggest surprise to him as a founder
* The camaraderie that gets developed with other founders in the space that got started around the same time
* Which other industry startups and founders have impressed him the most
Learn more 👇
➡️ Juice Reel website
➡️ Ricky Gold on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity.
Going to G2E Las Vegas? Claim your free expo hall pass ($269 value) by using promo code BSP when you register using this link.
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Sep 22, 2023
The Gamble & The Glory: Ep. 1 - David Briggs, GeoComply
BettingStartups.com presents its newest sub-series, The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry.
In this debut episode, we speak with David Briggs, co-founder & Director of GeoComply.
Hear him discuss:
* His start in the industry launching Ladbrokes' first digital offering in 1999
* Launching GeoComply to support New Jersey's iGaming rollout in 2013, which was "the most stressful time in [his] career"
* The "very difficult, hard yards" of GeoComply's first 5 years, and "grinding out the smallest incremental bits of growth" during those years
* How GeoComply prepared for PASPA's repeal in 2018, and David's thoughts on the first five years of regulated online gaming in the US
* The importance of being committed in business and in life, and why "commitment is its own reward"
* How he thinks about work-life balance, and why having it "isn't the same as being half-assed…
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Sep 20, 2023
Ep. 83: Building a modern sports talk network w/ Matt Deutsch from Bettor Sports Network
Ep. 83 features Matt Deutsch from Bettor Sports Network, which is Sports Talk 3.0.
Hear him discuss:
* His 17-year career as a professional sports broadcaster, and starting “the first ever radio channel dedicated to fantasy sports” on Sirius XM in 2010
* How Bettor Sports Network is bringing more innovative ways for sports fans to engage
* Acquiring the Fantasy Alarm app earlier this year, and the role of gamified experiences in content
* Why he thinks the content space isn’t yet saturated - even though it’s crowded
* The importance of “leaving on a good note” when you make career changes, and how that’s paid off for him
* Current efforts to raise a $1.25m round, and the type of investors he is looking for to join the cap table
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ Bettor Sports Network website
➡️ Matt Deutsch on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud…
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Sep 14, 2023
Ep. 82: Building a peer-to-peer social betting platform w/ Sim Harmon from Kutt
Ep. 82 features Sim Harmon from Kutt, which is the social betting platform.
Hear him discuss:
* The issues he sees with the current state of sports betting, and how he’s addressing it with Kutt’s peer-to-peer model
* Why he believes that focusing on social and community features will help Kutt to differentiate
* The opportunity he sees with bets on politics, entertainment, and other non-sports markets
* Bootstrapping Kutt “until he couldn’t anymore”, and the challenges associated with fundraising
* The personal sacrifices required to take an idea from zero-to-one
* His predictions for the Superbowl - which might have been compromised after week 1!
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ Kutt website
➡️ Sim Harmon on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity.
Going to G2E Las Vegas? Claim your free expo hall pas…
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Sep 5, 2023
Ep. 81: Making predictive analytics accessible to all w/ Megan Lanham from Rithmm
Ep. 81 features Megan Lanham from Rithmm, which is a personalized predictive analytics tool for sports betting.
Hear her discuss:
* Her 10-year career as a Division 1 basketball coach, and how that experience prepared her for competing in business
* How she came up with the original idea for Rithmm while studying at MIT
* The opportunity she sees in “providing access to incredibly complex analytical models” in an intuitive user experience
* Competing as a subscription-based B2C product in the ‘betting tools’ category, and the B2B opportunities she sees for Rithmm
* Her experience raising $3.75m over the last year from investors that include Boston Seed
* The importance of being “targeted and disciplined with staying the course” as an early-stage startup
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ Rithmm website
➡️ Megan Lanham on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect locat…
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Aug 29, 2023
Ep. 80: 20 years of launching businesses in the US online gambling industry w/ Cal Spears from RotoGrinders
Ep. 80 features Cal Spears, serial industry entrepreneur who joins to take us through his history in the US online gambling industry before PASPA’s repeal in 2018.
Hear him discuss:
* The online poker boom in the early 2000’s, which led him to co-found PocketFives.com in 2005
* The passage of UIGEA in 2007, which prompted him to sell PocketFives and relocate to Costa Rica with his co-founders
* Launching RotoGrinders 2010 after observing the emergence of daily fantasy sports tournaments from startup companies such as DraftKings and Fanduel
* The pivotal moment known as Black Friday in 2011, which led to him re-acquiring PocketFives, and pivoting it from an affiliate to a subscription-based business
* Negotiating a revenue share deal with Jason Robins during DraftKings’ first year in business, which “was the best financial decision [he’s] ever made”
* The 2015 DFS scandal that involved a former RotoGrinders employee, which led to the US government trying to reg…
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Aug 22, 2023
Ep. 79: Building a commission-free betting exchange w/ Jacob Fortinsky from Novig
Ep. 79 features Jacob Fortinsky, co-founder & CEO of Novig, a commission-free sports betting exchange.
Hear him discuss:
* Why he thinks “that the fundamental business model of this industry is broken and untenable.”
* Why he believes that a commission-free exchange is the future of betting
* Learnings from Novig’s recent beta product rollout, which will launch in CO this fall
* His experience taking Novig through YCombinator last year (which remains the only betting company to go through YC!)
* Today’s announcement about raising $6.4m from Lux Capital and a who’s-who of Silicon Valley investors
* His contrarian decision to not raise capital from industry investors
* Why he has a "chip on his shoulder", and how he deals with skeptics
Learn more 👇
➡️ Novig website
➡️ Novig on Twitter
➡️ Jacob Fortinsky on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect…
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Aug 15, 2023
Ep. 78: Using AI to bring personalization to sports betting w/ Chris Reynolds from Epoxy.ai
Ep. 78 features Chris Reynolds from Epoxy.ai, which is a personalization technology company providing tools to develop new forms of customer acquisition, engagement, and retention.
Hear him discuss:
* His experience building fan engagement technology products at his last startup, which was acquired by Comcast
* How he believes artificial intelligence and machine learning will be leveraged by the betting industry
* How personalization helps operators reduce customer acquisition costs, drive retention, and lower churn
* Why he thinks Epoxy is “onto something” when it comes to the “holy grail” of converting sportsbook customers to iCasino
* The strategic investor that wasn’t included in the PR for Epoxy.ai’s recent $3m fundraise
* The challenges of recruiting top-level AI/ML engineers, and why his engineering team is their “secret sauce”
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ Epoxy.ai website
➡️ Epoxy.ai on Linkedin
➡️ Chris Reynolds on Linkedin
This episode i…
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Aug 9, 2023
Ep. 77: The matched betting opportunity w/ Jack Taylor from ProfitDuel
Ep. 77 features Jack Taylor from ProfitDuel, which is bringing matched betting to the US market.
Hear him discuss:
* Matched betting as a ‘side hustle’ to generate side income
* The role and prominence of matched betting within the UK gambling ecosystem
* His main learnings from the mature UK market as ProfitDuel launches in the US
* Why he does’t believe that free bet offers from US operators will “dry up”
* The lack of focus on player harm reduction in the US, which “could really, really cause a massive problem” in that market
This episode was guest hosted by Dean Sisun, co-founder of Prophet Exchange, which you can learn more about in Ep. 34 from last August.
Learn more 👇
➡️ ProfitDuel website
➡️ Jack Taylor on Linkedin
Episode host:
➡️ Dean Sisun on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true dig…
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Jul 31, 2023
Ep. 76: Mastering the customer conversion funnel w/ Sam Factor from WalterPicks
Ep. 76 features Sam Factor, founder & CEO of WalterPicks, which is a next-generation fantasy insights app.
Hear him discuss:
* Starting his career as a math teacher before pivoting into tech entrepreneurship and content creation
* How WalterPicks is helping fantasy players make decisions using AI “powered by millions of advanced historical player stats”
* The importance of top-of-funnel for subscription-based consumer products
* How WalterPicks social accounts attracted over 1 million followers and 1 billion impressions, resulting in 20,000 paying subscribers
* Reaching profitability with less than $1m raised, and how he thinks about the role of growth capital
* Why he isn’t pursuing B2B opportunities for WalterPicks’ technology, even though “there definitely is opportunity for WalterPicks in the B2B market.”
* Building a “task-oriented work culture rather than a time-oriented or meeting-oriented culture”
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ WalterPicks website…
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Jul 20, 2023
Ep. 75: Investor vibe check for Q2!
Ep. 75 is our first quarterly Investor Vibe Check, where we chat with 3 industry investors to get their perspective on the landscape from their side of the table.
This debut vibe check for Q2 features Chris Grove (Acies Investments), Davis Catlin (Discerning Capital), and Wayne Kimmel (SeventySix Capital) - and it’s a banger, if we may say so!
The discussion explores where we’re at today, opportunities and challenges for companies in the space, and what lies ahead. If you're building within the space, this episode is a must-listen.
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This episode is brought to you by the much anticipated iGaming NEXT: New York event, which returns March 6-7 2024 in a new state-of the-art venue in Manhattan's financial district.
With 1,000+ senior delegates expected, the summit is focused on connecting startups with investors, and operators with suppliers, which makes it the conference where serious business gets done.
Limited tickets are available at super early bird rates starting on A…
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Jul 18, 2023
Ep. 74: Innovating in pricing technology w/ Steve Gray from ZeroFlucs
Ep. 74 features Steve Gray, founder of ZeroFlucs, which provides pricing technology for sportsbook operators.
Hear him discuss:
* His background building sportsbook trading solutions at Entain
* How ZeroFlucs is helping operators expand the appeal of same game parlays
* The challenges of being a B2B supplier on an operator’s integration roadmap
* Why he thinks that consolidation amongst operators creates opportunity for ZeroFlucs
* His decision to bootstrap the company thus far, and how he thinks about the role of growth capital
* Getting “torn to shreds” by an advisor, and why having honest mentorship is so important
* Building organizational culture as a globally distributed team
Learn more ⤵️
➡️ ZeroFlucs website
➡️ Steve Gray on Linkedin
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Jul 10, 2023
Ep. 73: Streamlining the process for gambling affordability checks w/ Martin Burt from ClearStake
Ep. 73 features Martin Burt from ClearStake, which provides accurate, real-time customer risk profiling.
Hear him discuss:
* ClearStake’s origins as a payments business, which it pivoted after “seeing operators try to figure out what to do with affordability”
* The impact of the UK government white paper to reform gambling regulations, and the increased emphasis it has placed on affordability checks
* How ClearStake is riding the ‘open banking’ wave in the UK to streamline the process for both operators and bettors alike
* Solving the problem of a 90% churn rate for customers that are asked to provide financial data
* His view of how the US market will eventually address affordability based on the UK market
* The importance of having engaged and supportive investors on the cap table - especially as a first-time founder
Learn more ⤵️
👉 ClearStake website
👉 Martin Burt on Linkedin
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Jun 30, 2023
Ep. 72: Improving sports data feed accessibility w/ Stefano Vaccarino from FTN Network
Ep. 72 features Stefano Vaccarino from FTN Network, a multi-site data and media company focused on sports betting, fantasy, DFS.
Hear him discuss:
* How the origins of FTN can be traced back to a burner Twitter account that Stefano created to share his NBA picks
* Building the initial version of FTN during the pandemic, and encountering challenges finding affordable data feeds to power their network of sites
* How solving their own data problems for their B2C business led them to a B2B opportunity reselling their solution
* How they are allocating and prioritizing resources between both B2C and B2B businesses
* Their current efforts “to raise $2.25m at around a $15m to 17m valuation”
Learn more ⤵️
👉 FTN Data website
👉 FTN Network on Linkedin
👉 Stefano Vaccarino on Linkedin
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Jun 22, 2023
Ep. 71: Making bets using food and drinks as currency w/ Filip & Troy from FoodFight
Ep. 71 features Filip Pacyna and Troy Lenihan from FoodFight, where winners eat, losers pay, and restaurants win.
Hear them discuss:
* Validating their idea in Chicago-area bars with a “least viable product”
* How FoodFight is enhancing the restaurant patron experience by enabling bets using food and drinks as the currency
* Their vision for FoodFight to grow from an events business into a productized SaaS offering
* Drawing inspiration from Mattress Mack as an example of how sports betting is converging with other industries
* Why they’re focusing on angel investors instead of VC’s for their 500k angel round
* How they are giving back and helping to combat food insecurity through #FoodFight4Charity
Learn more ⤵️
👉 FoodFight website
👉 Troy Lenihan on Linkedin
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Jun 13, 2023
Ep. 70: Swinging for the fences as a third-time founder w/ Justin Park from Betty
Ep. 70 features Justin Park from Betty, which is innovating at the intersection of real money online casino and casual mobile gaming.
Hear him discuss:
* The story of his first two startups prior to co-founding Betty, both of which he successfully exited
* Why he views his first two startups as “singles and doubles” that have now prepared him to “go for a home run” with Betty
* How being an affiliate in his previous business helped him see the scale of the opportunity in becoming an operator and monetizing the customer directly
* The “insanely quick execution” to build Betty’s proprietary gaming platform that was certified, licensed, and launched inside of 8 months
* What drove his decision to lead Betty’s $1.8m seed round himself, personally contributing half of the proceeds
* Why he advises first-time founders to not necessarily optimize for getting the highest valuation
Learn more 👇
➡️ Betty website
➡️ Justin Park on Linkedin
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Jun 9, 2023
Ep. 69: Overcoming adversity when you bomb your big pitch w/ Geoff Doyle from Bettor Vision
Ep. 69 features Geoff Doyle from Bettor Vision, which is the first all-in-one sports betting and fantasy sports aggregator.
Hear him discuss:
* Why being a product owner as an employee lacked the satisfaction that being a founder brings
* Overcoming adversity when you bomb a pitch on a public and high-profile stage
* How BettorVision is helping to unify the user experience across fantasy sports and betting
* Their current journey to raise a $2m round, and how they’ve been able to close $1.3m of it so far
* The importance of having a strong personal support network when you’re an entrepreneur
* How his love for movies helps him keep perspective in his life
Learn more 👇
➡️ Bettor Vision website
➡️ Geoff Doyle on Linkedin
=================
This episode is brought to you by the Canadian Gaming Summit, which returns to Toronto June 13-15.
To learn more and secure your ticket for the Canadian Gaming Summit, visit www.sbcevents.com, and make sure to use prom…
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Jun 8, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E8: Drew & Sahil pitch BetsBooster to an expert investor panel (Season 1 finale!)
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In the Season 1 finale, Drew and Sahil pitch BetsBooster to 3 industry investors, who share their feedback and perspectives on the opportunity.
The subsequent Q&A leads to some excellent discussion, including:
* The potential challenges of offering different types of arbitrage bets in a gamified experience
* Aligning the pricing model with value to the users
* The technical complexity of seamless arbitrage in a mobile form factor
* The use of gamification to drive user retention
* Product positioning, and "what it wants to become when it grows up"
📹 Episode video clips (opens in YouTube):
* Sahil takes the investors through the pitch deck (5:52)
* Drew gives the investors a demo of the new BetsBooster app (3:12)
👤 Investor profiles:
* Lloyd Danzig, Managing Partner of Sharp Alpha…
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May 30, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E7: Building a marketing blueprint w/ James McLoughlin
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In this episode, Drew and Sahil from BetsBooster are joined by James McLoughlin from Stirling Mac, who shares a ton of practical, actionable marketing advice.
They discuss:
* The basic set of 'marketing musts' for any B2C mobile app
* App store optimization, and which specific tactics help drive organic downloads using ASO
* Why and how to use storytelling in content and creative to build brand awareness
* How to leverage influencers to promote products, and best practices for engaging with them
* Launching and running an affiliate program
* Driving virality through incentivized user referrals
Betting On It is made possible by GeoComply, which provides fraud prevention and cybersecurity solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity. To learn more, visit:…
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May 26, 2023
Ep. 68: Using gamification to drive betting customer loyalty w/ Dan Taren from Scrimmage
Ep. 68 features Dan Taren from Scrimmage, a retention tool for sports betting operators.
Hear him discuss:
* His experience winning the SBC First Pitch competition, and what he thinks is a recipe for a successful pitch
* Scrimmage’s origins as a sports betting hedge fund based out of Gibraltar
* How going through the Techstars accelerator program led to a pivot into the current incarnation of Scrimmage
* Using gamification techniques to help drive customer loyalty for sports betting operators
* How he thinks about where web3 and NFT’s fit into the landscape for loyalty-based rewards
* Why doing something he doesn’t love is “far worse than the anxiety of a company failing”
Learn more 👇
➡️ Scrimmage website
➡️ Dan Taren on Linkedin
=================
This episode is brought to you by the Canadian Gaming Summit, which returns to Toronto June 13-15.
To learn more and secure your ticket for the Canadian Gaming Summit, visit www.sbcevents.com, and make…
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May 22, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E6: Financial modeling for startups w/ Kenneth Giles from Forecastr.co
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In this episode, Drew and Sahil from BetsBooster are joined by Kenneth Giles from Forecastr.co, who drops a ton of knowledge on everything related to financial modeling for early-stage companies.
They discuss:
* Different broad approaches to fundraising strategy, and the pros and cons to each
* The importance of doing bottoms-up customer modeling, and how to get started with that process
* Understanding which metrics matter most for early-stage companies, especially when there isn't always a lot of available data
* How to think about and approach valuation in discussions with investors
* Using SAFE agreements for investment, and why they are a popular option for startups
Betting On It is made possible by GeoComply, which provides fraud prevention and cybersecurity solutions that detect location f…
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May 16, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E5: Running a successful crowdfunding campaign w/ Aaron Basch from Sparket
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In this episode, Drew and Sahil from BetsBooster are joined by Aaron Basch from Sparket, who shares his experience running a successful crowdfunding campaign.
They discuss:
* How to prepare to launch a public fundraising campaign in a compliant way
* Determining what incentives to offer backers of a crowdfunding campaign
* Where to market and promote your crowdfunding campaign based on what worked well for Sparket
* What Aaron sees as the relative pros and cons of crowdfunding versus more traditional funding options
* How VCs view crowdfunding, and whether they see it as a positive signal
Betting On It is made possible by GeoComply, which provides fraud prevention and cybersecurity solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity. To learn more, visit: www.geo…
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May 5, 2023
Ep. 67: Building a free-to-play content aggregation platform w/ Hussain Naqi from Inside The Pocket
Ep. 67 features Hussain Naqi from Inside The Pocket, a free-to-play content aggregation platform, and WonderWins, a DFS product for cricket and soccer fans in emerging markets.
Hear him discuss:
* His background working for professional sports leagues, including the NFL, MLB, NCAA - plus a long tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars
* The current state of the free-to-play landscape
* Why he thinks that operators shouldn't "tie up their marketing and acquisition strategy in one product"
* Raising a Series A in the current funding environment, and what he's hearing from investors
* Partnering with ESPN to develop and launch a DFS product for India, called WonderWins
* His observations of the market in India after launching WonderWins there, and how he sees that market evolving
* What it means to have Inside The Pocket selected as one of five finalists at the 2023 SBC First Pitch competition
Learn more 👇
➡️ Inside The Pocket website
➡️ WonderWins website
➡…
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May 4, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E4: Embracing the entrepreneurial grind
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In this episode, Drew from BetsBooster is joined by Colin Davy from Betscope, who discuss their respective entrepreneurial journeys from a number of perspectives.
They discuss:
* What motivated them to take the leap from corporate jobs to entrepreneurship
* How they think about the word "sacrifice" within the context of their startups
* Why they have chosen to bootstrap their companies to this point, and the relative pros/cons of that decision
* Living with a minimalist mindset, and how that extends into the world of business and entrepreneurship
* Developing the self-confidence needed to become the best in the world at something
Betting On It is made possible by GeoComply, which provides fraud prevention and cybersecurity solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digit…
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Apr 28, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E3: A masterclass in gamification w/ Yu-Kai Chou
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In this episode, Drew and Sahil from BetsBooster are joined by the world's top gamification guru, Yu-Kai Chou.
This episode was an absolute masterclass in game mechanics, which is especially relevant to B2C products.
They discuss:
* The Octalysis Framework for Gamification & Behavioral Design
* Which game mechanics best align to sports fans' passion for their teams
* How to think about designing the optimal user referral program
Betting On It is made possible by GeoComply, which provides fraud prevention and cybersecurity solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity. To learn more, visit: www.geocomply.com
Btw: did you know we have a newsletter? The Betting Startups Newsletter is the easiest way to keep your finger on the pulse of the betting industry's rapi…
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Apr 25, 2023
Ep. 66: Pivoting towards a profitable business model w/ Evan Kirkham from Outlier
Ep. 66 features Evan Kirkham from Outlier, where sports fans can browse, analyze, and execute bets with confidence.
Hear him discuss:
* Outlier's origins as a social sports talk app before pivoting the product
* Why he and his cofounders decided to execute on the pivot, despite having over 10,000 MAUs
* How the current Outlier product is creating a one-stop-shop for all stages of the sports bettors' journey
* Why he thinks "the most successful partnerships are ones where there's actually no exchange of dollars"
* How they are using product-led growth tactics to acquire and retain users
* Why he is committed to building a B2C business, despite seeing potential in B2B opportunities
Learn more 👇
➡️ Outlier website
➡️ Evan Kirkham on Linkedin
➡️ Outlier on Linkedin
=================
This episode is brought to you by SBC Summit North America, the biggest dedicated igaming and sports betting event in North America, which returns to New Jersey May 9-11.
To…
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Apr 20, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E2: Learnings from the UK market w/ John Gordon from Incentive Games
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In this episode, Drew and Sahil from BetsBooster are joined by guest John Gordon, co-founder & CEO of Incentive Games. They discuss:
* Learnings from the mature UK betting market as the guys look at the US opportunity for BetsBooster
* John's thoughts on launching a B2C betting product in the current environment, and why having an intuitive UX is critical
* Fundraising tips based on John's experience raising capital for Incentive Games
* The 2 things that John would be thinking about if he was in Drew and Sahil's shoes right now
Betting On It is made possible by GeoComply, which provides fraud prevention and cybersecurity solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity. To learn more, visit: www.geocomply.com
Btw: did you know we have a newsletter? The Betting…
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Apr 17, 2023
Ep. 65 (Part 2) - Disrupting the iCasino industry w/ Karolina Pelc from BeyondPlay
On Part 2 of Ep. 65, we welcome back Karolina Pelc from BeyondPlay, which is transforming solitary game sessions into engaging multiplayer, entertainment experiences.
Hear her discuss:
* What investors saw in the BeyondPlay opportunity that led to their just-announced $5m+ oversubscribed funding round
* Her advice for other startups that are fundraising in the current economic environment, and why “you have to be adaptive” as a founder
* Building workplace culture as a fully-remote team, and how she is thinking about maintaining culture as the company and team size grows
* Her experience facing imposter syndrome as an entrepreneur, which inspired a tattoo as a permanent reminder to herself
* Her work to champion women in leadership roles within the industry, including her assessment on how the industry is doing with gender diversity
* How she thinks about and defines success, both for BeyondPlay, and for herself personally as an entrepreneur
Learn more 👇
➡️ B…
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Apr 14, 2023
Betting On It, S1 E1: Exploring key assumptions
BettingStartups.com brings you Season 1 of Betting On It, an 8-episode series that follows one betting industry startup as it gets investor-ready ahead of its seed funding round.
In Episode 1, Jesse introduces the startup and its founders that will be featured in season 1.
They walk through the current status of the company, and explore some of the key assumptions that are being used in their business plan as they get investor-ready. To do this, they use the lean canvas framework, which is a quick and easy way to think through and validate new business ideas.
Betting On It is made possible by GeoComply, which provides fraud prevention and cybersecurity solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity. To learn more, visit: www.geocomply.com
**********
Btw: did you know we have a newsletter? The Betting Startups Newsletter is the easiest way to keep your finger on the pulse of the betting industry's rapidly evolving early-stage ecosystem. New is…
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Apr 13, 2023
Ep. 65 (Part 1) - Disrupting the iCasino industry w/ Karolina Pelc from BeyondPlay
Ep. 65 features Karolina Pelc from BeyondPlay, which is transforming solitary game sessions into engaging multiplayer, entertainment experiences.
Hear her discuss:
* The arc of her 21-year career in the industry, starting as a casino dealer and working her way to the top levels of the global iGaming industry
* How she leveraged her reputation and credibility within the industry to generate initial support from advisors and investors in the early days of BeyondPlay
* How BeyondPlay is innovating in the casino vertical through the introduction of multi-player slot experiences
* Why she has invested heavily in building the BeyondPlay brand prior to launching the product, and how that has benefitted the company
* Successfully closing initial commercial deals, and why she thinks this has been possible despite the product being pre-launch
* The recent awarding of a UK supplier license, and how she is thinking about tackling multiple markets in parallel
Learn more 👇
➡️…
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Apr 6, 2023
Ep. 64: Getting 25k organic app downloads w/ Caleb Dykema from Vault
Ep. 64 features Caleb Dykema from Vault, which is the Mint of sports betting.
Hear him discuss:
* His background as a Mechanical Engineer and creating physical products before getting into software (including one that he patented!)
* How the initial version of Vault as a simulation engine led to the discovery of new user problems, resulting in an early pivot
* Why he focuses so much of his time on customer development, and how interviewing hundreds of people has helped shape the product
* Generating 25,000+ app downloads organically last NFL season, and how he is planning to reach his goal of 80,000 MAU next NFL season
* Why he thinks “personalization is gonna be the name of the game over the 3-5 years”
* How he thinks about the affiliate business model, and why he “doesn't think that anybody's really mastered revenue generation quite yet”
Learn more 👇
➡️ Vault website
➡️ Caleb Dykema on Linkedin
➡️ Vault on Linkedin
=================
This epi…
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Apr 3, 2023
Ep. 63: Joining the NBA Launchpad w/ Kelly Pracht and Jeremy Jones from nVenue
Ep. 63 is our first follow-up episode, featuring Kelly Pracht and Jeremy Jones from nVenue, which leverages the power of machine learning & AI to predict every possible outcome of each play.
Hear them discuss:
* How life has changed at nVenue since their first appearance on the podcast in March 2022
* Their takeaways and insights as attendees and panelists at the recent iGaming NEXT NYC event
* The recent announcement of being accepted as one of seven startups in the NBA Launchpad program - and the only one focused on betting
* The proliferation of mainstream attention on AI technology and tools, and how that’s influenced their approach as an AI-focused company
* How getting the backing of Apple, MLB Network, and now the NBA has helped advance other B2B opportunities and commercialization of their technology
Learn more 👇
➡️ nVenue website
➡️ nVenue on Linkedin
➡️ Kelly Pracht on Linkedin
➡️ Jeremy Jones on Linkedin
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Mar 14, 2023
Ep. 62 - Jaymee Messler, The Gaming Society
Ep. 62 introduces you to Jaymee Messler, co-founder of The Gaming Society, which is a betting education company on a mission to build an inclusive community that ignites the sports fan in us all.
Hear her discuss:
* Her background in sports management, representing professional athletes like Pete Sampras, Paul Pierce, and Lamar Odom
* How her and Derek Jeter connected on the idea empowering athletes to own their story and narrative, which led to them co-founding The Player’s Tribune
* The work her team at The Gaming Society is doing to drive interest and engagement in women’s sports through their “Bet on Women” campaign in partnership with the WNBA
* The importance of storytelling to make sports betting more accessible to different demographics
* Building an all-star advisory board of professional athletes, and how she believes their involvement will help drive the company forward
* Why she believes that “having conviction over consensus when you have an idea”…
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Mar 1, 2023
Ep. 61 - Alex Monahan, OddsJam
Ep. 61 introduces you to Alex Monahan, co-founder of OddsJam, which is the home page of sports betting.
Hear him discuss:
* How his background as a quant trader helped him see sports betting from a market and data perspective
* The growing ‘betting tools’ category, and why he thinks that OddsJam is uniquely positioned within it
* Why OddsJam emphasizes education through content, and why audience growth of that content is their biggest focus
* Last year’s acquisition of Odds Boom, how the deal came together, and why it made sense for both parties
* The B2B opportunity for OddsJam, and how he views it versus the core B2C business model that it launched with
* How being profitable provides optionality with fundraising, and how he is thinking about that for OddsJam
Learn more:
➡️ OddsJam website
➡️ OddsJam on Twitter
➡️ Alex Monahan on Linkedin
➡️ Alex Monahan on Twitter
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This episode is brought to you by iGaming Next Valetta 2023, which is se…
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Feb 16, 2023
Ep. 60 - Pierre Lindh, iGaming NEXT
Ep. 60 introduces you to Pierre Lindh, founder and Managing Director of iGaming NEXT, which is a content-driven conference company that focuses on both in-person and online events.
Hear him discuss:
* His career in the iGaming industry, which started at the age of 15 when he was organizing poker games at school - much to the annoyance of his teachers
* The crazy story of how the cancelation of live events in the early days of the pandemic almost killed iGaming NEXT, and the sacrifices that he and his team made to persevere through it
* What he and the team at iGaming NEXT are doing to differentiate their live events from others, and why he thinks they have a recipe for success and longevity
* Why he thinks the oligopoly of operators in the US market makes it more challenging for startups when compared to the more competitive European markets
* How he stays inspired and motivated each day through the ups and downs of growing a business in such a competitive landscape
* How…
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Feb 8, 2023
Ep. 59 - Matthew Berry
Ep. 59 brings you the face of fantasy football himself, Matthew Berry.
Hear him discuss:
* How he encouraged a fan engagement app to go all in on sports betting in Dallas after a “terrible” pitch contest
* His journey from writing jokes in Hollywood to becoming the face of fantasy football
* How he monetized a passion and hobby by leveraging his expertise and reach through strategic channels
* Beyond being a girl dad, Matthew shares what he most proud of and why he prefers his title of “writer” above his other credentials
* How the NFL has acknowledged the impact and important of Matthew’s part in fantasy football
* How Matthew used his NYT best selling book to ultimately launch a fan engagement community that was sold in 2021
* His tactics to brush off criticism and to persevere
* Matthew’s picks for the upcoming Super Bowl on Sunday, his ride or die Fantasy player Jalen Hurts or Patrick Mahomes
This episode was guest hosted by Christiana Yebra, CMO of n…
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Feb 6, 2023
Ep. 58 - Andy Westmeyer, UBetOhio
Ep. 58 introduces you to Andy Westmeyer, CEO of UBetOhio, which is a licensed Type-C operator in the state of Ohio.
Learn more 👇
➡️ UBetOhio website
➡️ Andy Westmeyer on Linkedin
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Jan 26, 2023
Ep. 57 - Bart Stein, Mojo
Ep. 57 introduces you to Bart Stein, co-founder & COO of Mojo, which is the stock market for sports.
Hear him discuss:
* How the four-person founding team of Mojo came together, which includes Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lore
* Mojo’s unique concept of a ‘sports stock market’, which allows people to bet on the career statistics of professional athletes
* The story of raising $100m for Mojo, including why they decided to raise so much so early
* Why he’s “amped” by the idea of the Mojo price becoming part of the national sports culture conversation.
* Early learnings from the four months since launching in NJ in September 2022
* His assessment on the state of product innovation within betting
Learn more 👇
➡️ Mojo website
➡️ Bart Stein on Linkedin
➡️ Bart Stein on Twitter
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Jan 19, 2023
Ep. 56 - Drew Tabor, BetsBooster
Ep. 56 introduces you to Drew Tabor, co-founder & CEO of BetsBooster, which is taking the gambling out of betting.
Hear him discuss:
* Being the former #1 Guitar Hero player in the world on four different titles
* Using gamification to build a matched betting product for the US market that is seen as “an entertainment product instead of a financial product”
* Early adopter success using BetsBooster, including some power users who are “up at about $20,000”
* How books like Antifragile and The Millionaire Fastlane helped shift his mindset to take the leap into entrepreneurship
* Drawing inspiration from Tim Ferriss’ “real world MBA” concept and applying it to his situation when he left the comfort and stability of his corporate job to start BetsBooster
* How he thinks about the advantages and disadvantages of being a team of technical co-founders
Learn more:
➡️ BetsBooster website
➡️ BetsBooster Discord
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Jan 12, 2023
Ep. 55 - Cameron Conn, OneComply
Ep. 55 introduces you to Cameron Conn, CEO of OneComply.
Hear him discuss:
* Growing up in Las Vegas and being “literally born and raised in this industry” with his family’s deep roots in the gaming and casino industry
* How his career in the industry has allowed him to experience the pains and challenges of getting and maintaining gaming licenses
* What OneComply is doing to make life easier for both licensees and regulators
* How he thinks about product-market fit, and whether OneComply has found it
* Why he is looking at bricks-and-mortar casinos to drive OneComply’s growth in the US
* His advice to industry entrepreneurs on avoiding the pitfalls of accruing regulatory debt
Learn more:
➡️ OneComply website
➡️ Cameron Conn on Linkedin
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Jan 4, 2023
Ep. 54 - Joey Levy, Betr
Ep. 54 introduces you to Joey Levy, founder and CEO of betr.
Hear him discuss:
* Launching Draftpot in 2015 to simplify the fantasy sports product experience, which “was an incredible learning experience” for him
* How his experience with Draftpot helped him realize that “the traditional sports betting user experience was even worse” than it was for fantasy sports
* The story of how he and his cofounders at Simplebet decided to focus on micro markets, and how an unexpected insight influenced an early pivot from B2C operator to B2B supplier
* Why he believes that “the product experience is still not simple and intuitive enough for your average mass market sports fan to pick up and intuitively interact with it”
* The story of how he came to partner with Jake Paul on betr, allowing him to realize his original vision for Simplebet as an intuitive B2C product
* The type of culture he is developing at betr, and how his 20-person team was able to "be a day one operat…
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Dec 30, 2022
Ep. 53 - Alex Dubin, BettorOff
Ep. 53 introduces you to Alex Dubin, founder of BettorOff, which is a platform for verified sports wagering tips and information.
Hear Alex discuss:
* His past experience working in the betting space, including as co-founder of an esports data company that was acquired by SportsGrid
* His view of the pick-selling landscape, and “the incongruence between sports betting tips on the consumer side and on the producer side”
* Why he has decided to position BettorOff against Twitter, and why he thinks that pick tracking is “not something Twitter is gonna be doing”
* The importance of building community into the BettorOff product, and what he sees as the hallmarks of a strong user community
* How BettorOff was able to acquire its first 12,000 users with a $0 marketing budget
* His top prediction for the regulated sports betting industry in 2023
Learn more 👇
➡️ BettorOff website
➡️ Alex Dubin on Linkedin
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Dec 22, 2022
Ep. 52 - WagerWire - Zach Doctor, Guy Dotan, and Travis Geiger
Ep. 52 introduces you to the cofounders of WagerWire, the marketplace for sports bets.
Zach Doctor, Guy Dotan, and Travis Geiger join to discuss:
* How the idea of “a marketplace for active sports bets” pulled the 3 friends away from their respective careers to co-found WagerWire
* Their vision for how WagerWire will change betting from something that “was once a risk class now becoming an asset class”
* Why they decided on a B2B2C go-to-market strategy, and how they’re driving consumer awareness of the marketplace concept
* Why being a B2B technology supplier is both “the biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge” of their business
* Their journey raising a $3m seed round, and how they got Miami Marlins co-owner Roger Ehrenberg as their lead investor
* The dynamic of their co-founder relationship, and the advantages they see as friends who started a company together
Learn more 👇
➡️ WagerWire website
➡️ WagerWire on Twitter
➡️ Zach Doc…
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Dec 13, 2022
Ep. 51 - Jason Tauriello, Gambl.io
Ep. 51 introduced you to Jason Tauriello, co-founder and COO of Gambl.io, which is gaming 3.0.
Hear him discuss:
* His 20+ year background working in the betting industry, including his first job working for a former runner of Billy Walters
* How he sees blockchain technology driving innovation in betting, and the specific problems with the status quo that blockchain solves
* His experience building a blockchain betting product during the 2017 crypto bull run, launching an ICO, and the main lessons he took from that project as he builds out Gambl.io
* How the UFC’s regulatory strategy is the inspiration for Gambl’s approach to blockchain-based betting in the regulated US market
* His outlook on the current state of the crypto and blockchain industry in light of recent high-profile collapses
* How he’s thinking about the current bear market, and why he thinks “the next big bull run and peak in the market is going to be about real world use cases”
Learn more 👇…
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Dec 11, 2022
Ep. 50 - Bo Grey, Wager Score
Ep. 50 introduces you to Bo Grey from Wager Score, which puts responsible gaming in the hands of bettors.
Hear him discuss:
* Why as a parent, he didn’t think there were sufficient consumer protections for children in a regulated US betting market, which drove him to found Wager Score
* His vision for creating “a uniform risk score for gaming that consumers can understand”, akin to a credit score
* Why he believes that the Wager Score concept is perfectly positioned to appeal to the Gen Z demographic
* The challenges of being dependent on operators to access the data needed to develop an accurate Wager Score, and what he’s doing to overcome that
* Why he thinks that smaller operators fighting for market share “see affordability as a key component to sustainability” and “can actually use responsible gambling as a powerful marketing tool”
* The pending launch of Wager Score with BetFred in Ohio next month
Learn more 👇
Episode guest:
➡️ Wager Score…
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Dec 2, 2022
Ep. 49 - Matt Peterson, Tallysight
Ep. 49 introduces you to Matt Peterson, co-founder & CEO of Tallysight, which is the all-in-one audience monetization platform for sports gaming.
Hear him discuss:
* How he became interested in entrepreneurship and found his way into the tech industry after reading ‘Zero to One’ by Peter Thiel
* How Tallysight’s ‘business in a box’ is helping sports betting content creators to distribute and monetize content using its no-code tools
* How he validated the gap in the market through cold outreach to independent creators
* Why “not having pressure from outside VCs” has allowed Tallysight to iterate the product at its own pace
* Recently reaching the milestone of break-even, which he believes gives them “a lot of flexibility and options moving forward” with fundraising
* The no-code space, and how Tallysight is using no-code tools to help quickly and efficiently scale its business
Learn more 👇
➡️ Tallysight website
➡️ Matt Peterson on Linkedin
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Nov 23, 2022
Ep. 48 - Jamie Mitchell, Low6
Ep. 48 introduces you to Jamie MItchell, co-founder & CEO of Low6, which is an award-winning free-to-play games supplier.
Hear him discuss:
* How Low6 is differentiating in the free-to-play category, including through the use of web3 technologies
* His background bootstrapping his previous business, and how that experience influenced his decision to raise capital for Low6 to “grow more aggressively”
* How he sees the esports opportunity for operators, and why “it is not going anywhere”
* Pivoting plans for an IPO earlier this year in response to cooling market conditions, and their recent strategic investment from BlueBet
* Why he decided to ban meetings within the company, and how embracing a remote-first culture has increased both productivity and work-life balance
* How he thinks about product-market fit, and his assessment on whether Low6 has found it
Learn more 👇
➡️ Low6 website
➡️ Jamie Mitchell on Linkedin
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Nov 4, 2022
Ep. 47 - Aaron Basch & Evan Fisher, Sparket
Ep. 47 introduces you to Aaron Basch and Evan Fisher from Sparket, which is the Social Betwork.
Hear them discuss:
* Their history as high-school friends leading the math club, and how fantasy football kept them connected after high school until they reunited to start Sparket in 2019
* How their parimutuel social betting platform allows operators to offer "different markets without taking exposure”
* Why they are trying to build experiences for "demographics that have traditionally not participated” in sports betting, and how that is translating into traction
* The 12+ month process of getting the Sparket platform GLI certified, and how holding that certification benefits them despite it being “a huge effort up front”
* Why they chose to raise their current round of funding publicly via crowdfunding campaign, and how it’s going for them so far
Learn more 👇
➡️ Sparket website
➡️ Aaron Basch on Linkedin
➡️ Evan Fisher on Linkedin
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Oct 27, 2022
Ep. 46 - Brian Kipp, OwnersBox
Ep. 46 introduces you to Brian Kipp from OwnersBox, which is the home of SuperFlex DFS & Lightning Lineups.
Hear him discuss:
* Launching a sports information product in 2012 and growing it to 50,000 users before pivoting to fantasy sports in 2018
* Why he thinks that fantasy sports “produces the most loyal user base” of all categories within the wider betting and gaming ecosystem
* How OwnersBox is innovating within fantasy sports, including its unique ‘Lightning Lineups’ which aims to simplify the experience with slot-like mechanics
* Why OwnersBox has invested heavily in content creation over the last two years, and why it now sees content as a profit center rather than a cost center
* How Brian is thinking about scaling OwnersBox now that it has found product-market fit, including his plans to raise a Series A in 2023
Learn more 👇
Episode guest:
➡️ OwnersBox website
➡️ Brian Kipp on Linkedin
➡️ Brian Kipp on Twitter
Episode host:
➡️ Dan…
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Oct 25, 2022
Ep. 45 - Colin Davy, Betscope
Ep. 45 introduces you to Colin Davy, founder of Betscope, which provides betting intelligence for intelligent bettors.
Hear him discuss:
* Being selected as one of 5 finalists to pitch live at the recent G2E Innovation Challenge, and what it meant to be named winner by the judging panel
* The story of being a contestant on Jeopardy, and how he used his data science background to prepare for it - which ultimately led to him winning
* The importance of “incorporating a price discovery routine” when betting, and how Betscope is helping bettors with its unique tools
* Why he thinks the betting tools ecosystem has now entered a second wave, and the characteristics that make it different from the “first wave gold rush”
* The thinking behind his decision to intentionally avoid taking outside capital at this stage in favor of remaining bootstrapped for as long as possible
Learn more 👇
➡️ Betscope website
➡️ Colin Davy on Twitter
➡️ Colin Davy on Linkedin…
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Oct 20, 2022
Ep. 44 - Alexander Kane, Sporttrade
Ep. 44 introduces you to Alexander Kane, founder and CEO of Sporttrade, which is America’s most dynamic sports betting platform where sports betting meets stock trading.
Hear him discuss:
* Their highly anticipated launch last month in New Jersey, and what the most surprising thing has been so far since going live
* Why he decided not to use traditional odds display formats on Sporttrade, and why he believes that the “Sporttrade format” are the most intuitive odds for people to understand
* The importance of educating customers on the Sporttrade product, which he thinks will “be one of [their] defining challenges”
* The role that partnerships will play in driving customer awareness around the Sporttrade value proposition, such as the current partnership with Unabated
* Why he prioritizes engaging on Twitter when so many other things compete for his time and most other industry CEOs eschew this
* Drawing inspiration from Airbnb by focusing on “doing things that…
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Oct 18, 2022
Ep. 43 - Todd Ballard, ALT Sports Data
Ep. 43 introduces you to Todd Ballard, co-founder and CMO of ALT Sports Data, which provides proprietary trading solutions focused on alternative sports.
Hear him discuss:
* His experience as an early employee at GoPro, and the journey of going from startup through to IPO
* The world of alternative sports, and what makes their billion-plus fans “a highly engaged, passionate audience group”
* How he and his co-founder validated the idea for ALT Sports Data, which included some brief consideration to the idea of becoming a sportsbook (which an advisor said was “the worst idea”)
* How leagues and data rights holders within alternative sports are looking at the betting opportunity, and why they believe they can bring new audiences to operators
* Following your passion and why keeping “the least amount of daylight between your personal life and your professional life is a good key to success”
Learn more 👇
➡️ ALT Sports Data website
➡️ Todd Ballard on Li…
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Oct 5, 2022
Ep. 42 - Leigh Nissim, Future Anthem
Ep. 42 introduces you to Leigh Nissim, founder and CEO of Future Anthem, which uses data and AI to personalise the player experience for everyone.
Hear him discuss:
* How he saw the opportunity for personalization during his time leading the digital businesses of both IGT and Scientific Games
* Why most companies struggle with personalization despite it being high on their agendas
* Raising a multi-million dollar Series A round for Future Anthem, and why he considers that milestone to be “the end of the beginning”
* The challenges of being a B2B supplier to operators, and how early-stage suppliers can shortcut some of the sales process
* His 3 top pieces of fundraising advice for other founders
Learn more 👇
➡️ Future Anthem website
➡️ Leigh Nissim on Linkedin
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Sep 29, 2022
Ep. 41 - Rob Klages & Kevin Kamto, AthleteX
Ep. 41 introduces you to Rob Klages and Kevin Kamto from AthleteX.
Hear them discuss:
* Some of the core ideological concepts behind crypto and blockchain technology
* Their philosophical principles of transparency, openness, and fairness, and why only blockchain technology could enable those within the AthleteX platform
* Why "tokenized fantasy sports was always an intuitive idea", and how a hackathon initially gave them the opportunity to explore it
* The challenges of UX in web3, and what needs to be done to widen the appeal of crypto to the mass market
* "Hunkering down and building" during the bear market, and why they are confident that crypto prices will rebound
Learn more:
➡️ AthleteX website
➡️ AthleteX Discord server
➡️ AthleteX on Twitter
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Sep 21, 2022
Ep. 40 - Nik Bonaddio, BigBrain Games
Ep. 40 is guest hosted by Lloyd Danzig from Sharp Alpha Advisors, who introduces you to Nik Bonaddio, founder and CEO of BigBrain.
Hear Nik discuss:
* Appearing as a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, winning $100,000, and quitting his job the next day to pursue his first startup
* Launching Numberfire as Moneyball for fantasy sports, and scaling it to $2m in revenue before exiting to Fanduel in 2015
* His experience working as Fanduel’s Chief Product Officer, and why after 4+ years he “wanted to kind of get back to the craziness of startups”
* Why it was “kind of obvious” to him that the DFS model could be applied to the brain games category, which was the catalyst for BigBrain
* His strategy to build a cap table with both betting industry investors and industry-agnostic VC firms including First Round Capital, BoxGroup, Ludlow, and Golden Ventures
* His long-term plan to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates, and why his first move as owner will be to reduce tic…
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Sep 14, 2022
Ep. 39 - Rob Pizzola, The Hammer Betting Network
Ep. 39 introduces you to Rob Pizzola, co-founder of The Hammer Betting Network, which is the industry leader in providing trusted sports betting content.
Hear him discuss:
* His journey as a longtime betting content creator, and one of “the OG’s of Gambling Twitter”
* The grind of betting professionally at scale over several years, and why he “would give up sports betting in a second” if he could
* Why he believes in being price sensitive when betting on sports, and how that belief led him to become co-owner of Bet Stamp
* The problem he has with betting content creators that misrepresent themselves, and how he is bringing transparency to all content published on thehammer.bet
* How he was able to onboard dozens of top creators to build the network in only a few weeks, and how he plans to scale content creation on the platform
* His advice for people who aspire to become sports betting content creators
Learn more 👇
➡️ Hammer Betting Network website
➡…
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Sep 8, 2022
Ep. 38 - Michael Zavagno, TopProp Fantasy
Ep. 38 introduces you to Michael Zavagno, co-founder and CEO of TopProp Fantasy, which is the next generation of daily fantasy sports.
Hear him discuss:
* Why he believes that TopProp’s head-to-head fantasy contests will “bring that competitiveness” back to fantasy sports
* The learnings from launching last NFL season as a web-only product, and how that helped shape the recently-launched TopProp mobile app
* The importance of intuitive UX, and how the app’s swipe-based mechanic has helped TopProp attract a younger demographic than the industry average
* What he’s hearing from investors as he raises a $1.5m round, which is currently half subscribed
* Which NFL player he thinks will win the MVP title this season
Learn more:
➡️ Michael Zavagno on Linkedin
➡️ TopProp Fantasy website
➡️ TopProp Fantasy on Twitter
(Host note: this episode had some minor audio issues that unfortunately couldn't be improved. It's still 100% worth listening to, but we want…
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Sep 2, 2022
Ep. 37 - Kenneth Giles, SimBull
Ep. 37 introduces you to Kenneth Giles, co-founder and CEO of SimBull, which is the stock market for sports.
Hear him discuss:
* Leaving his “very stable nine to five job” as an actuary and why he decided to follow in his family’s path of entrepreneurship
* How he came up with the concept of a sports stock market, which he believes can grow into a standalone category alongside betting and fantasy
* Taking a contrarian approach by focusing on longer-term markets at a time when microbetting is attracting a large amount of attention and investment
* His experience going through the Techstars Sports Accelerator, and how “it makes you think about all aspects of your business”
* How he views the fundraising environment as SimBull finalizes plans to raise a $1.5m seed round this fall
Learn more:
➡️ SimBull website
➡️ SimBull Twitter
➡️ SimBull in Apple app store
➡️ Kenneth Giles on Linkedin
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Aug 26, 2022
Ep. 36 - Ross Fruin, GridRival
Ep. 36 introduces you to Ross Fruin, co-founder and CEO of GridRival, which is the home screen for race fans.
Hear him discuss:
* How GridRival acquired 22,000 users within the first 5 days after launching, and how product virality helped it scale it to over 180,000 users in the first year
* GridRival’s progression from season-long fantasy into DFS, and what he’s thinking about as the next step in his long-term plan
* The challenges of the quickly changing data landscape within motorsports, and why he thinks it’s possible that data collection “may be a problem we end up solving internally”
* Being dismissed by investors as a niche operator before successfully raising $3m from investors who saw the motorsports audience as on that could drive venture-scale returns
* How he built an all-star advisory board at GridRival, and his advice for other entrepreneurs on what they should consider when looking for advisors
Learn more:
➡️ GridRival website
➡️ Ross Fru…
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Aug 18, 2022
Ep. 35 - Cooper Lycan, SoBet
Ep. 35 introduces you to Cooper Lycan from SoBet, a sports betting media platform that publishes sports betting content from independent experts.
Hear him discuss:
* SoBet’s origins as a peer-to-peer betting product, which he pivoted into a premium content platform after learning about the challenges of “the liquidity issue”
* His take on the creator economy and why it’s important to build a platform that allows creators to remain independent
* His experience raising money in the current environment, and why it was the “hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life”
* How serving in the military helped has helped make him a more resilient entrepreneur and leader
Learn more👇
➡️ SoBet website
➡️ Cooper Lycan on Linkedin
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Aug 11, 2022
Ep. 34 - Dean Sisun & Jake Benzaquen, Prophet Exchange
Ep. 34 introduces you to Dean Sisun and Jake Benzaquen from Prophet Exchange, which is the US sports betting exchange.
Hear them discuss:
* Moving to the UK to build experience in a regulated market where betting exchanges are a mature product category
* Their impending product launch in New Jersey, and what it means to each of them to reach this milestone after four years of effort
* The need to educate US customers on the benefits of using an exchange, and their focus on “building the most simple product possible”
* What they are doing to ensure there is liquidity on the platform on launch day
* Their experience raising money from investors against a plan that carried regulatory uncertainty, and why theirs was “not the sexy pitch, but the right one"
Learn more 👇
➡️ Prophet Exchange website
➡️ Dean Sisun on Linkedin
➡️ Jake Benzaquen on Linkedin
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Aug 4, 2022
Ep. 33 - Brent Winston, BetSwap
Ep. 33 introduces you to Brent Winston, co-founder and CEO of BetSwap, which is the most efficient, fully integrated, secondary marketplace technology for sportsbooks and platform providers.
Hear him discuss:
* His recent experience winning the First Pitch competition at the SBC Summit North America event
* How BetSwap’s secondary marketplace for sports bets complements existing cashout features to the benefit of both bettors and operators
* Being met with skepticism by trading teams during the B2B sales process, and how he’s overcome that to sign several partnerships for the upcoming NFL season
* The importance of getting validation by “having the right people backing you”
* His perspective of the newly regulated Ontario betting market as a resident of Toronto
Learn more 👇
➡️ BetSwap website
➡️ Brent Winston on Linkedin
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Aug 2, 2022
Ep. 32 - Will Armitage & Philipp Stritzke, BestOdds.com
Ep. 32 introduces you to Will Armitage and Phillip Stritzke from BestOdds.com, the destination for US bettors.
Hear them discuss:
* The advantage it provides to build a new brand with a category-defining domain name that “is part of the vernacular”
* Their views on the affiliate landscape in the US market, and why the trend towards consolidation of affiliates “does make sense”
* The advice they have for new aspiring affiliates to best navigate the compliance path in the regulated US market
* The main cultural differences they see between UK and US bettors, and how those differences are helping influence their strategy for BestOdds.com
* What sectors and industries (outside of betting!) Will is currently making angel investments into both personally and through his VC funds
Learn more 👇
➡️ BestOdds.com website
➡️ Will Armitage on Linkedin
➡️ Philipp Stritzke on Linkedin
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Jul 20, 2022
Ep. 31 - Ben Cary, CapWize
Ep. 31 introduces you to Ben Cary, co-founder and CEO of CapWize, which combines expert human opinion with cutting-edge simulation models to help bettors make smarter picks.
Hear him discuss:
* His 2 key takeaways from the SBC Summit North America event, and what those might mean for the future of the North American betting and iGaming industry
* Being selected as one of five finalists to present at the SBC First Pitch competition, and how that platform helped him make valuable new connections
* How he leveraged platforms like Twitch and TikTok to build an audience using educational content first while he developed the CapWize product
* The importance of simplifying the complex math behind simulations to deliver insightful and actionable insights to bettors
* The opportunity he sees for CapWize to help bettors make smarter same-game parlays with a new analysis tool that will be launched later this year
Learn more 👇
➡️ CapWize website
➡️ CapWize Twitter
➡️…
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Jul 7, 2022
Ep. 30 - Sanjay Thakur, Verdict MMA
Ep. 30 introduces you to Sanjay Thakur, co-founder & CEO of Verdict MMA, which is the engagement platform for Mixed Martial Arts.
Hear him discuss:
* How a controversial judge’s decision in a UFC fight sparked the idea for Verdict, which started as a passion project with his high school friends
* Why MMA as a sport is known for its passionate fans, and how Verdict was able to tap into that passion to acquire over 100k users
* Verdict’s recent launch of real-money fantasy sports, and why it made sense for them now despite the relative maturation of the DFS space
* Being a niche operator focusing on a single sport, and resisting the temptation to expand horizontally to other sports
* Getting ex-UFC fighter Ben Askren involved as an investor, who he “spoke to on a Monday… by Friday we had a wire transfer”
* His vote for MMA GOAT (spoiler alert: Sanjay is Canadian and the episode was recorded on Canada Day!)
Learn more:
➡️ Verdict MMA website
➡️ Sanjay Th…
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Jun 30, 2022
Ep. 29 - Brady Sharp, BroThrow
Ep. 29 introduces you to Brady Sharp, co-founder & CEO of BroThrow, a patent-pending, social sports betting network.
Hear him discuss:
* The importance of establishing trust amongst users, and the need to build constraints in the product to enforce social accountability
* Why the peer-to-peer model used by BroThrow makes it exempt from sports betting regulations, despite the fact that users are betting real money
* The marketing channel that allowed BroThrow to successfully acquire its users, which they are doubling down on for the upcoming NFL season
* When he knew the time was right to leave the comfort of his corporate finance job to pursue BroThrow full-time
* How he pitched the idea for BroThrow to a former boss, who liked the idea so much that his boss gifted him the domain name BroThrow.com
Learn more:
➡️ BroThrow website
➡️ Brady Sharp on Linkedin
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Jun 23, 2022
Ep. 28 - Zac Litwack, Savage Sports
Ep. 28 introduces you to Zac Litwack, partner at Savage Ventures which is a venture operator that invests in, acquires, and operates high growth digital-first businesses.
Hear him discuss:
* Savage Ventures’ unique model being a “venture operator”, and how it is differentiated from more traditional venture investment firms
* The opportunity they saw to apply their growth marketing expertise to the sports betting vertical, which led to them being Fanduel’s #1 affiliate during the 2020 NFL season
* How they proved the venture operator concept through a partnership with Clay Travis and Outkick, which was acquired by Fox in 2021
* What types of companies and products that they are looking to add to the Savage Sports portfolio as they go deeper into the sports betting vertical
* Why a bear market is the best time to build, and the advice that Zac has for people that are thinking about taking the leap into entrepreneurship
Learn more:
➡️ Savage Ventures website
➡…
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Jun 17, 2022
Ep. 27 - Thomas Willomitzer, SnapOdds
Ep. 27 introduces you to Thomas Willomitzer, founder and CEO of SnapOdds, "the Shazam for sports betting" that makes it easier for people to find and place bets while watching games live.
Hear him discuss:
* His past startup experiences as co-founder of Last.fm (acquired for $280m) and identity verification platform Jumio
* How he got the idea for creating 'the Shazam for sports' while watching the Superbowl with friends, which catalyzed the journey of developing the underlying computer vision technology that powers Snap Odds
* Why investors in Snap Odds saw it as a “rare combination” of a product that improved UX, provided utility, and had a clear path to monetization
* Why he decided to participate in the TechStars accelerator despite his past successes, network, and credibility, and how he benefitted from that experience
* The importance of having passion as an entrepreneur, and why money cannot be the sole motivation to start a business
Learn More:
➡️ Thomas W…
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Jun 10, 2022
Ep. 26 - Robin MacDonald, Rubik Talent
Ep. 26 introduces you to Robin MacDonald, co-founder and managing partner of Rubik Talent, which cultivates smart, diverse talent for global iGaming, PayTech & FinTech enterprises.
Hear him discuss:
* The unique way that Rubik is developing talent with specialized skills specific to the iGaming industry, and how it is helping to deploy that talent into partner organizations
* Why Rubik prefers to work with industry employers that “have a long-term view of the skills” they want to develop within their organizations, and why stakeholder buy-in is so important
* What he thinks about the iGaming industry’s effort to market and position itself as it competes to attract talent with other fast-growing sectors
* Why he decided to focus on the iGaming industry despite the fact that it’s not the only industry that is struggling to develop digital talent
* Why he thinks the current market contraction “is a very short term one”, and why macroeconomic headwinds will not decr…
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Jun 9, 2022
Ep. 25 - Pete Smaluck, props.cash
Ep. 25 introduces you to Pete Smaluck, founder and CEO of props.cash, which is the most comprehensive and effective player prop research tool on the market.
Hear him discuss:
* His former career as an elementary school math teacher, and how his passion for finding intuitive ways to teach math has influenced the props.cash product
* How he developed math learning software using NBA data, and how he pivoted that software from education to become a props research tool that ultimately became props.cash
* Why he decided that props.cash would be a subscription-based business model, and the challenges of scaling a subscription-based B2C product
* How his experience working at VC-funded startups has informed his decision to bootstrap props.cash and focus on organic growth
* His perception of the newly regulated Ontario gaming market as a resident of that province, and why "there's a huge culture of sports betting" in Ontario
Learn More:
➡️ Pete Smaluck on Linkedin
➡️ pr…
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May 25, 2022
Ep. 24 - Benjie Cherniak, Avenue H Capital
Ep. 24 introduces you to Benjie Cherniak, principal at Avenue H Capital, which invests in some of the most promising betting industry startups.
Hear him discuss:
* His transition from operating businesses to investing in them, and what he misses most about his days at Don Best
* The importance of having founder/investor alignment of vision and ensuring both are "rowing the boat in the same direction"
* How he's thinking about the current macroeconomic headwinds, and what downstream impact he sees for earlier-stage companies
* His assessment on the current state of the betting industry, and where he sees opportunity for startups entering it
As well, Benjie and Jesse take a little trip down memory lane together in the last few minutes of the episode!
Learn More:
➡️ Benjie Cherniak on Linkedin
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May 18, 2022
Ep. 23 - Ted Mauze, Chalkboard
Ep. 23 introduces you to Ted Mauze, co-founder and CEO of Chalkboard, which is a mobile app that offers messaging and synced bet tracking for sports bettors and fans.
Hear him discuss:
* How discussing sports betting in group messages with his college friends sparked the idea for building Chalkboard
* Why he pushed back on the traditional advice of "launch early" in favor of staying in stealth mode while developing the core technology
* How Chalkboard is tapping into the creator economy to help fuel its growth, which has resulted in 25% week-over-week growth
* How he is adjusting to the changing macroeconomic environment ahead of raising a seed round, and why he believes it's "a good thing" that valuations are coming down in response
Learn More:
➡️ Chalkboard website
➡️ Ted Mauze on Linkedin
➡️ Ted Mauze on Twitter
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May 11, 2022
Ep. 22 - John Latella & Grady Toombs, Legacy Fantasy Sports
Ep. 22 introduces you to John Latella and Grady Toombs, cofounders of Legacy Fantasy Sports, which is fantasy sports platform that includes both current and historical legacy athletes.
Hear them discuss:
* How a father/son debate about sports helped spark the idea for incorporating retired athletes into modern fantasy sports
* Why their game is "pandemic proof" and how it can be played during gaps in the live sporting calendar
* The story of how they got four-time Pro Bowler and Detroit Lions legend Herman Moore to join as a co-founder
* Why their subscription-based model allows them to fall outside of DFS and sports betting regulations, allowing them to offer the game to players of all ages
* Their thoughts on the economics of the traditional fantasy sports and betting business models, and why theirs is a more sustainable model
Learn More:
➡️ Legacy Fantasy Sports website
➡️ John Latella on Linkedin
➡️ Grady Toombs on Linkedin
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May 4, 2022
Ep. 21 - Dan Healy, PickUp
Ep. 21 introduces you to Dan Healy, co-founder and CEO of PickUp, which is an incentivized fan engagement platform.
Hear him discuss:
* How starting an online food delivery service during college in 2005 launched his career in consumer tech, which included developing mobile apps for brands such as lululemon, SoulCycle, American Express, and more
* The unique way that PickUp is engaging the 80% of sports fans that have an opinion on sports, but aren't yet betting on sports
* How his partners at NASCAR are leveraging betting to drive interest in the sport, and how PickUp is helping make that possible
* Why he believes that "NFTs will play a massive part in the sports landscape going forward", and the role that utility will play in the fan experience
Learn More:
➡️ PickUp website
➡️ Dan Healy on Linkedin
➡️ Dan Healy on Twitter
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Apr 21, 2022
Ep. 20 - Ryan Murphy, SharpSports
Ep. 20 introduces you to Ryan Murphy, co-founder of SharpSports, which is building infrastructure for sports betting developers.
Hear him discuss:
* How his experience working at Google and Stripe helped him to become "enamored" with the API economy, which helped spark the idea for SharpSports
* Some examples of apps and products that developers are building with their APIs and tools
* Why sportsbooks allow SharpSports to integrate with their platforms, and why some (such as BetMGM) have signed even deeper marketing partnership agreements
* Why being the Plaid for sports betting made "perfect sense" to his existing investors, and his plans to raise a new round of funding later this year
Learn More:
➡️ SharpSports website
➡️ Ryan Murphy on Linkedin
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Mar 31, 2022
Ep. 19 - Eric Frank, Odds on Compliance
Ep. 19 introduces you to Eric Frank, co-founder and CEO of Odds on Compliance, which helps gaming companies navigate the rapidly changing regulatory compliance landscape.
Hear him discuss:
* His experience as Group Compliance Officer for Poker Stars where he responsible for over 25 of the group's international gaming licenses
* How his career as a lawyer and at Poker Stars revealed the operational inefficiencies of compliance management, which he saw as the opportunity for Odds on Compliance
* How Odds on Compliance is innovating with its AI-driven technology that automates many aspects of compliance management
* Why he wanted to partner with strategic investors like SeventySix Capital and Tekkorp Capital who are "at the pulse of the US sports betting industry"
* His biggest surprise in the transition going from corporate executive to startup founder
Learn More:
➡️ Odds on Compliance website
➡️ Eric Frank on Linkedin
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Mar 24, 2022
Ep. 18 - Jason Mezrahi, Sharp App
Ep. 18 introduces you to Jason Mezrahi, co-founder of Sharp App, a sports media and bet tracking platform that makes sharp betting easy.
Hear him discuss:
* His career as a professional DFS player, and how the ups and downs of high-level DFS competition prepared him for business and life
* Stepping out of his comfort zone to write a book, and how he was able to convince Pete Rose to write the foreword for it
* How he built what has become one of the largest and most engaged DFS communities at Win Daily Sports
* Why he believes "the opportunity is massive" for Sharp App to innovate with new types of betting tools for every day bettors
* How having passion for your business is the key to getting through the challenges and hurdles of entrepreneurship
Learn More:
➡️ Sharp App website
➡️ Jason Mezrahi on Linkedin
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Mar 16, 2022
Ep. 17 - Jonathan Bierig, Ultimate Odds
Ep. 17 introduces you to Jonathan Bierig, co-founder and co-CEO of Ultimate Odds, a next generation fantasy sports platform that combines sports betting lines and odds with fantasy players into one experience.
Hear him discuss:
* Their unique concept of creating fantasy matchups using betting odds instead of players, and where this type of product sits within the ecosystem
* "Betting on himself" and making the decision to drop out of college to start Ultimate Odds
* How asking for help and advice led to investment in his company from some of the betting industry's top names
* Opening up and being vulnerable enough to embrace his failures as part of his own story and journey
* The importance of focusing on mental health, and his advocacy work with Same Here Global
Learn More:
➡️ Ultimate Odds website
➡️ Jonathan Bierig on Linkedin
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Mar 10, 2022
Ep. 16 - Kelly Pracht & Drew Williams, nVenue
Ep. 16 introduces you to Kelly Pracht & Drew Williams of nVenue, which is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to quickly and accurately generate probabilities for every outcome of a play.
Hear them discuss:
* How they solved the technical challenges to deliver a zero latency micro betting feed that is perfectly synchronized to live sports broadcasts
* Being selected as one of 10 startups (out of over 1,000 applicants) for the inaugural cohort of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator
* How facing major obstacles and adversity led them to the "aha moment" that resulted in a successful pivot from B2C to B2B
* Their recently announced $3.5M round of funding, and addition of industry advisors including ESPN's Matthew Berry
Learn More:
➡️ nVenue website
➡️ Kelly Pracht on Linkedin
➡️ Drew Williams on Linkedin
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Mar 2, 2022
Ep. 15 - Brandon Stakenborg, Underdog Fantasy
Ep. 15 introduces you to Brandon Stakenborg, co-founder and CEO of Underdog Fantasy, which is bringing fun, approachable contests and games to the masses.
Hear him discuss:
* The story of his former company Draft, which was acquired by Paddy Power Betfair for $48 million
* Why "getting the band back together" from Draft was a no-brainer, and how that has helped them accelerate progress with Underdog
* The buy-versus-build decision that led to Underdog's acquisition of sports betting platform provider GOAT Gaming in September 2021
* How Underdog is thinking about being "like a game studio" that continuously innovates and incubates new product concepts
* The experience raising their Series A from investors such as Mark Cuban and Kevin Durant, and what they are hearing from investors now as they raise a Series B
* His experience transitioning from iOS developer to CEO, and stepping up from an individual contributor to a manager
Learn More:
➡️ Underdog Fantasy website…
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Feb 24, 2022
Ep. 14 - Greg Kajewski & James Seils, BettorEdge
Ep. 14 introduces you to Greg Kajewski & James Seils of BettorEdge, a no-fee social betting marketplace that is on a mission to democratize sports betting by giving the edge back to the bettor.
Hear them discuss:
* How BettorEdge is fundamentally different from other betting products, and why they prefer to be compared to social fintech platforms like Venmo or Robinhood
* Why their social betting marketplace is able to operate in 45 states when traditional betting exchanges cannot
* Their focus on educating consumers about the "hidden fees" within fixed-odds sportsbooks and betting exchanges
* How localizing the product and marketing has enabled them to seed the marketplace and overcome the cold start problem
* Why they have made charitable giving a priority, and what it meant to donate $10,000 to Chad Greenway's 'Lead the Way Foundation'
Learn More:
➡️ BettorEdge website
➡️ Greg Kajewski on Linkedin
➡️ James Seils on Linkedin
This episode is presented by…
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Feb 16, 2022
Ep. 13: Tomash Devenishek, Kero Sports
Ep. 13 introduces you to Tomash Devenishek, founder and CEO of Kero Sports, a curated in-game betting engine that powers the apps of major teams, leagues, and sportsbook operators.
Hear Tomash discuss:
* The changing relationship between fans and live sports in an age of shortening attention spans
* Why delivering continuous entertainment through algorithmic curation is the "north star" for his company
* How designing a user experience with accessibility and immersiveness in mind has helped differentiate Kero Sports from other fan engagement products
* Why he is relocating from San Francisco to Miami and how he expects the move to benefit his company
Learn More:
➡️ Kero Sports website
➡️ Tomash Devenishek on Linkedin
This episode is presented by OneComply, which is changing the game for licensing and compliance management.
Its innovative platform enables companies large and small to organize all their licensing related data in one central repository and automate…
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Feb 9, 2022
Ep. 12: Marvin Sanderson, Xpoint
Ep. 12 introduces you to Marvin Sanderson, co-founder and CEO of Xpoint, which provides an essential geo compliance solution to the sports betting and gaming industries globally.
Hear Marvin discuss:
* How Xpoint sees geolocation compliance as a business opportunity for partners instead of a utility or "a box to be checked"
* The importance of getting market validation as a new B2B supplier, and how the deal came together with Sporttrade as the first customer
* The biggest differences he sees between the US regulated market and other non-US markets
* Why investors were very excited about the opportunity that Xpoint is pursuing, what made Bettor Capital the ideal investor partner for Xpoint, and a teaser about further funding announcements coming soon
Learn More:
➡️ Xpoint website
➡️ Marvin Sanderson on Linkedin
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsletter, a monthly Roundup of key developments from the betting industry's most promising startup comp…
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Feb 2, 2022
Ep. 11: Martina Åkerlund, Triggy
Ep. 11 introduces you to Martina Åkerlund, CEO of Triggy, which develops products that connect sports data, live odds, and user insights to increase customer engagement, acquisitions, and lifetime value.
Hear Martina discuss:
* How Triggy has been able to secure partnerships with international betting operators, while also expanding to work with leagues and teams in the US market
* Why the founders of Triggy decided to bring in an external CEO at this stage of its growth, and how that transition has been going
* The feedback she is hearing from investors about the 'customer engagement' category as Triggy currently works to secure a new round of growth capital
* Why she thinks that entrepreneurs will be a leading force in helping to bring more diversity to the betting industry
* What has been the biggest surprise to her about the betting industry since she joined it in October 2020
Learn More:
➡️ Triggy website
➡️ Martina Åkerlund on Linkedin
This episode is pr…
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Jan 26, 2022
Ep. 10: Daniel Kustelski, Chalkline
Ep. 10 introduces you to Daniel Kustelski, co-founder and CEO of Chalkline, the leading independent provider of free play and real money games for operators and media companies
Hear Dan discuss:
* How the experience of founding and operating an online sportsbook in South Africa gave him the insights that led to Chalkline
* Why Chalkline is focused on developing sports betting products that help drive the "education and acclimation" of the US market
* The importance of tapping into local fan bases to help convert sports fans into sports bettors in the US market
* How the process of raising a $2.7 million Series A highlighted the importance of working with investors that understand the unit economics of the sports betting business
* What has been the most surprising thing about the US regulated market that he didn't expect before PASPA was repealed
Learn More:
➡️ Chalkline website
➡️ Daniel Kustelski Linkedin
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsl…
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Jan 19, 2022
Ep. 9: Kelly Brooks & Danijela Covic, Quarter4
Ep. 9 introduces you to Kelly Brooks and Danijela Covic, co-founders of Quarter4.io, an AI-driven predictive sports data and analytics provider.
Hear them discuss:
* The opportunity they see in the current "landscape of convergence" with media and leagues entering the regulated betting ecosystem
* How their prediction platform is being leveraged by B2B customers to engage users and audiences with AI-driven content
* How they responded to adversity when their planned launch in March 2020 was postponed due to Covid's arrival, and how they used that time to their advantage
* The value of having a co-founder that you've worked with before, and how that has benefitted them with Quarter4
Learn More:
➡️ Quarter4 website
➡️ Kelly Brooks on Linkedin
➡️ Danijela Covic on Linkedin
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsletter, a monthly Roundup of key developments from the betting industry's most promising startup companies. Keep your finger on the pulse…
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Jan 12, 2022
Ep. 8: Lloyd Danzig, Sharp Alpha Advisors
Ep. 8 introduces you to Lloyd Danzig, Managing Partner at Sharp Alpha Advisors, a venture capital firm specializing in sports betting & online gaming.
Hear Lloyd discuss:
* Why he thinks "there is a massive innovation gap" in the betting industry today, and how that underpins his firm's investment thesis
* How he views sports betting as part of a broader category he calls "competitive entertainment", which includes several betting-adjacent business types
* How founders should determine whether their business is a suitable candidate to receive venture capital funding
* The 4 core questions he asks to determine if a startup is one that meets his investment decision criteria
* What types of companies he is looking to invest in with his firm's $10 million fund
Learn More:
➡️ Lloyd Danzig on Linkedin
➡️ Sharp Alpha Advisors website
This episode is presented by The Betting Startups Newsletter, a monthly Roundup of key developments from the betting industry's most prom…
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Jan 5, 2022
Ep. 7 - Spencer Marell & David Mason, The Handle
Ep. 7 introduces you to Spencer Marell and David Mason, authors of The Handle, a weekly betting industry newsletter aimed at the Gen Z audience.
Hear Spencer & David discuss:
* How they got into the betting industry while studying full-time in their junior year of college
* Why they were unable to launch HmmrBet, their odds comparison tool, and how that led them to create The Handle
* How they grade the US regulated betting industry at appealing to Gen Z consumers from both a product and marketing perspective
* Whether they think that sports betting products with more immediate gratification (such as micro markets) are the answer for operators to acquire more Gen Z customers
* The role they see NFTs and web3 playing in the growth of the total addressable market of sports betting
Learn More:
➡️ The Handle Newsletter
➡️ Spencer Marell on Twitter
➡️ David Mason on Twitter
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Dec 22, 2021
Ep. 6 - Dan Fabrizio, Unabated Sports
Ep. 6 introduces you to Dan Fabrizio, co-founder and President of Unabated Sports.
Hear Dan discuss:
* Getting his start in the industry in the late 90's when he moved to the Caribbean to help a friend launch one of the first online sportsbooks
* Starting his first company (Sports Insights/Fantasy Labs) as a side hustle, and choosing to bootstrap it and grow organically versus raising outside capital
* Selling his company to The Action Network, and his experience transitioning into a more corporate environment following the acquisition
* Why he chooses to not focus on monetizing his businesses as an affiliate, even though it would likely mean a quicker path to revenue
* His advice for other founders and entrepreneurs that are getting their start within the betting industry
Learn more:
➡️ Unabated Sports website
➡️ Dan Fabrizio on Linkedin
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Dec 16, 2021
Ep. 5 - Mark Silver & Steve McAllister, Parleh Media Group
Ep. 5 introduces you to Mark Silver & Steve McAllister, two of the cofounders of Parleh Media Group.
Hear them discuss:
* How they've quickly built The Parleh into an integrated media company through experimentation and iteration
* Why they find the betting industry to be "refreshing" compared to the traditional sports media business that they came from
* The importance of finding investors that can add value to your startup beyond the check they are writing
* What makes The Parleh uniquely positioned to succeed in Canada as sports betting regulation is adopted by provinces
Learn more:
➡️ The Parleh Website
➡️ Mark Silver on LinkedIn
➡️ Steve McAllister on LinkedIn
This episode of the Betting Startups podcast is brought to you by HPL Digital Sport, a specialist agency that understands the sports betting, fantasy sports, and gaming markets like no other. To learn more, visit https://www.hpldigitalsport.com/
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