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 i...
May 18, 2022•25 min•Ep. 23
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 H...
May 11, 2022•26 min•Ep. 22
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 ...
May 04, 2022•25 min•Ep. 21
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 d...
Apr 21, 2022•21 min•Ep. 20
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 Odd...
Mar 31, 2022•23 min•Ep. 19
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 Dail...
Mar 24, 2022•37 min•Ep. 18
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 ...
Mar 16, 2022•29 min•Ep. 17
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...
Mar 10, 2022•24 min•Ep. 16
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 ...
Mar 02, 2022•37 min•Ep. 15
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...
Feb 24, 2022•25 min•Ep. 14
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 differenti...
Feb 16, 2022•29 min•Ep. 13
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 ...
Feb 09, 2022•22 min•Ep. 12
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...
Feb 02, 2022•25 min•Ep. 11
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 h...
Jan 26, 2022•30 min•Ep. 10
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 ...
Jan 20, 2022•24 min•Ep. 9
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 the...
Jan 12, 2022•39 min•Ep. 8
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...
Jan 05, 2022•29 min•Ep. 7
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 en...
Dec 22, 2021•30 min•Ep. 6
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 position...
Dec 16, 2021•38 min•Ep. 5
Ep. 4 introduces you to Chris Adams, founder and CEO of SharpRank. Hear Chris discuss: The role that SharpRank is playing to increase the total addressable market of the betting industry How SharpRank is using advanced technology and data science to create independent ratings for sports betting Why he believes there "is a day of reckoning coming for those snake oil salesman" that are selling unverified picks to the public The advice he received from his parents that prompted him to quit his job ...
Dec 08, 2021•25 min•Ep. 4
Ep. 3 introduces you to Omer Dor, founder and CEO of Sports IQ. Hear Omer discuss: Why he thinks the regulated US sports betting industry is still early when it comes to productization How innovations in data are enabling new types of models and sports betting product How he thinks about product-market fit, and whether he thinks that Sports IQ has found it His journey raising $7m in funding this year from leading sports execs, including the Kraft Group, Fenway Sports Group, and Theo Epstein Lear...
Nov 08, 2021•28 min•Ep. 3
Ep. 2 introduces you to Adam Weinstein, founder and CEO of ThriveFantasy. Hear Adam discuss: How ThriveFantasy is differentiated from the DFS incumbents, and what opportunity he sees Making the decision to quit his job with the New York Yankees in order to start ThriveFantasy How ThriveFantasy is capturing the fast-growing esports market through partnerships with streamers and in-stream product integration The long and difficult journey getting to "yes" with investors, who recently backed Thrive...
Nov 08, 2021•41 min•Ep. 2
The Betting Startups podcast is live! 🚀 Ep. 1 introduces you to John Gordon, co-founder and CEO of Incentive Games. Hear John discuss: What he learned competing against DraftKings and Fanduel in the UK and European markets Why he decided to pivot from a B2C to B2B business model How taking a scientific approach to gamification has helped Incentive Games become a leading developer of free-to-play games His strategy for taking Incentive Games into the regulated USA sports betting market Learn mor...
Nov 07, 2021•24 min•Ep. 1
