The Betting Startups Podcast

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 Thakur on Twitter and Linkedin
 

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

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
➡️  Zac Litwack on Linkedin

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 Willomitzer on Linkedin
➡️  SnapOdds website

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 decrease the demand for people with digital skills
Learn More:
➡️  Robin MacDonald on Linkedin
➡️  Rubik Talent website

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
➡️  props.cash website

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

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

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

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