The Betting Startups Podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
➡️  Brandon Stakenborg on Linkedin