The Betting Startups Podcast

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

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” is so important for entrepreneurs
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ The Gaming Society website
➡️ The Gaming Society on Twitter
➡️ Jaymee Messler on Linkedin

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 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!
 

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 he thinks about his role as a leader to his team, and why he thinks about them as “part of his extended family”
His one big prediction for the industry in 2023, which is an M&A transaction between two industry behemoths
Learn more 👇
➡️ iGaming NEXT website
➡️ iGaming NEXT on Twitter
➡️ Pierre Lindh on Linkedin

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 nVenue, which you can learn more about in Ep. 16 from last year.
 
Learn more: 👇
 
➡️ Matthew Berry on Twitter
➡️ Matthew Berry on Wikipedia
➡️ Betsperts website
 
Episode host: 
➡️ nVenue website
➡️ Christiana Yebra on Linkedin

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
 

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

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

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
 

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 operator in one of the nation's most important states before some multi-billion dollar companies that have tens of thousands of employees”
Co-founding 305 Ventures to invest in other startups, and his advice to other industry founders who are currently looking to raise capital
 
Learn more 👇
 
➡️ Betr website 
➡️ Joey Levy on Twitter
➡️ Joey Levy on Linkedin