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Episodes
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
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 rapidly evolving early-stage ecosystem. New issues weekly. ⚡Subscribe Now⚡
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
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
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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 learn more and secure your ticket for SBC Summit North America visit www.sbcevents.com, and make sure to use promo code BSP23 for $200 of your pass.
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
Thursday Apr 20, 2023
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 Startups Newsletter is the easiest way to keep your finger on the pulse of the betting industry's rapidly evolving early-stage ecosystem. New issues weekly. ⚡Subscribe Now⚡
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
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 👇
➡️ BeyondPlay website
➡️ BeyondPlay on Linkedin
➡️ Karolina Pelc on Linkedin
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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 learn more and secure your ticket for SBC Summit North America visit www.sbcevents.com, and make sure to use promo code BSP23 for $200 of your pass.
Friday Apr 14, 2023
Friday Apr 14, 2023
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
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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 issues weekly. ⚡Subscribe Now⚡
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
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 👇
➡️ BeyondPlay website
➡️ BeyondPlay on Linkedin
➡️ Karolina Pelc 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 learn more and secure your ticket for SBC Summit North America visit www.sbcevents.com, and make sure to use promo code BSP23 for $200 of your pass.
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
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 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 learn more and secure your ticket for SBC Summit North America visit www.sbcevents.com, and make sure to use promo code BSP23 for $200 of your pass.
Monday Apr 03, 2023
Monday Apr 03, 2023
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
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
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” is so important for entrepreneurs
Learn more 👇
➡️ The Gaming Society website
➡️ The Gaming Society on Twitter
➡️ Jaymee Messler on Linkedin
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
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 set to be the biggest and best yet with over 4,000 industry leaders from around the world attending on the 21-22nd of June.
The event will also host a week-long festival schedule packed with exciting activities such as bowling, poker, golf, and the highly anticipated 10 year anniversary celebration of the legendary, 2000 guest pool party 'Showers'.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to network, learn, and have fun with the biggest names in iGaming, web3, marketing, investments and beyond. Register now at iGamingNEXT.com!