The Betting Startups Podcast

Ep. 103: Bootstrapping to 100k app downloads w/ Calvin Konya from Linemate

Ep. 103 features Calvin Konya from Linemate, which is sports analytics for everyone.
 
Hear him discuss:
His vision for how Linemate will become “the Expedia of sports betting”
Iterating the Linemate product from its origins as a “research and analysis” tool to now helping users with “the discovery aspect” of betting
How they generated 100,000+ organic app downloads in the last year, half of which has come in the last 60 days
Using customer feedback loops to continually iterate and improve the product
Co-founding Linemate with his brother, and how they’ve been able to manage that dynamic as business partners
Bootstrapping Linemate through its first two years, and how he’s now thinking about capitalizing the next stage of growth
Which other companies and products in the space he finds most impressive
His best restaurant recommendations in Montreal
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Linemate website
➡️ Calvin Konya on Linkedin
 
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.

The Gamble & The Glory: Ep. 05 - Charles Gillespie & Kevin McCrystle, Gambling.com

We're back with Ep. 5 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry.
 
In this one, we speak with Charles Gillespie & Kevin McCrystle, CEO & COO of Gambling.com Group.
 
Hear them discuss:
The go-to-market plan for launching the business in 2006, which involved moving to Shanghai to launch a sports betting information site focusing on the Chinese market
Abandoning the China strategy after 4 years to "make two really key pivots" that better leveraged their SEO expertise
The story of acquiring the Gambling.com domain name for $2.5m in 2011, and why that helped them achieve product-market fit
How the repeal of PASPA derailed their plans to list the company in Sweden, and instead led them to list on the NASDAQ in 2021
Whether the perception of affiliates as "a necessary evil" by operators aligns to their experience as one of the industry's largest performance marketing companies
Gambling.com's role as a founding member of the Responsible Gambling Affiliate Association, and what the trade association serves to achieve
How they've maintained their strong co-founder relationship over the almost 20 years since starting the company
Advice to other entrepreneurs based on their main lessons learned from building Gambling.com to a nine-figure market cap
Their perspective on ambition, and what continues to drive them as entrepreneurs despite all the success they've achieved to date
 
Learn more: 
➡️ Gambling.com Group website
➡️ Charles Gillespie on Linkedin
➡️ Kevin McCrystle on Linkedin
 
The Gamble & The Glory is made possible by Segev LLP, a full solutions law firm purpose built for the gaming and betting industry. To learn more, visit: www.segev.ca 

Ep. 102: Building a family business investing in betting startups w/ Andrew & Ethan Ehrenberg from Eberg Capital

Ep. 102 features Andrew & Ethan Ehrenberg from Eberg Capital, which help creators and their fans develop closer, more authentic relationships across sports, gaming and the arts.
 
Hear them discuss:
The origins of Eberg Capital, which they started alongside their father after graduating from university
Their thesis on the betting industry, and why they decided to align their investing activity to opportunities within the space
The inner workings of how their firm evaluates deals and makes investment decisions
Navigating the dynamics of investing together as a family, and how that might potentially evolve in the future
How being relatively young in age allows them to be “the voice of the user” and “really understand what consumers in that demo are looking for”
The role they play within their portfolio companies, and what they’re doing to support their founders
What project they would pursue as founders if they weren’t focused on investing through Eberg Capital
Which companies they are most excited about and keeping a close eye on
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Eberg Capital website
➡️ Andrew Ehrenberg on Linkedin
➡️ Ethan Ehrenberg on Linkedin
 
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.

Ep. 101: Helping bettors win more and lose less w/ Chris Spagnuolo from Probly

Ep. 101 features Chris Spagnuolo from Probly, which helps bettors win more and lose less.
 
Hear him discuss:
His background in content and helping to grow Barstool “from a regionalized sports blog to a national powerhouse”
Learning to use data to become a successful DFS player while working at Stokastic
How Probly is using data to help people make educated bets in a simplified mobile UX
The importance of user feedback during the journey towards finding product-market fit
The role that he sees content playing in the betting ecosystem, and how he plans to leverage it with Probly
How he’s monetizing Probly, and why they “don’t do CPAs for sportsbooks”
His experience bootstrapping Probly thus far, and how he’s thinking about capital within the current fundraising environment
 
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Probly website
➡️ Chris Spagnuolo on Linkedin
 
 
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.

Ep. 100: Celebrating 100 episodes w/ John Gordon from Incentive Games

Ep. 100 features John Gordon from Incentive Games, which is the leading free-to-play games provider.
 
Hear him discuss:
The progress that Incentive Games has made since John appeared on Ep. 1 of the podcast, which includes partnerships with tier-1 operators like Fanduel and bet365
Why focusing heavily on player retention has helped Incentive Games position itself as the leading free-to-play games provider
How the culture he’s built at Incentive Games has driven employee retention and earned them recognition as a top UK employer
His thoughts on how the US market has evolved over the last two years since Ep. 1
Mentoring and advising other startups, and what qualities he looks for in the founders
His thoughts on how to improve the podcast over the next 100 episodes
His suggestion for a new standard closing question to this podcast!
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Incentive Games website
➡️ John Gordon on Linkedin
 
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.

Ep. 99: Automating risk management for in-play DFS w/ Greg Dean & Gianni Settino from HotStreak

Ep. 99 features Greg Dean & Gianni Settino from HotStreak, which is AI-powered sports gaming technology.
 
Hear them discuss:
Their backgrounds at other startups, including Gianni’s time as the first engineer at Draft before its acquisition by Paddy Power Betfair
The origins of HotStreak as an NFT-based collectibles game that they pivoted into the current in-play DFS product
The challenges of building scalable in-play microbetting technology, and why “risk management became the dominant problem”
The opportunities they see in B2B despite the fact they’ll “probably stay direct to consumer”
Automating risk management, any why “taking humans out of risk management is the end goal”
Why they “remain long-term bullish” on web3 technologies despite their early pivot away from NFTs
How poor risk management and correlated pricing has contributed to challenges for other DFS operators
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ HotStreak website
➡️ Greg Dean on Linkedin
➡️ Gianni Settino on Linkedin
 
 
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.

Ep. 98: Embracing the grind w/ Pierre Lindh from Next.io

Ep. 98 features Pierre Lindh from Next.io, which is a content-driven conference company that focuses on both in-person and online events.
 
Hear him discuss:
His reflections on 2023, which included new investment, a major re-brand, and a doubling of the headcount of the NEXT.io team
Rising up to meet the new challenges that come with being on a growth trajectory
His assessment on the state of the industry’s startup ecosystem, and why he thinks it’s important to look at North America and Europe differently
Why it’s important for early-stage companies “to fire bullets, not cannons”
Creating room for experimentation and trying new things
His view on the state of industry trade media, and what trends he expects will shape its future
The big shift he’s seen with industry events, and how that’s influencing NEXT.io’s strategy with its events business
If he was to start a new business within the industry, what would it be focused on
His one bold prediction for 2024
 
Learn more👇
➡️ Next.io website
➡️ Pierre Lindh on Linkedin
 
 
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.

Ep. 97: Investor Vibe Check - Q4 2023

Ep. 97 is our quarterly Investor Vibe Check, where we chat with 3 industry investors to get their perspective on the landscape from their side of the table.  
 
The vibe check for Q3 features Jeffrey Haas (Dreamcraft Ventures), Quinton Singleton (Zero Labs) and Tom Waterhouse (Waterhouse VC).  
 
The investors reflect back on a Q4 that saw more funding announcements, but also saw some evidence of early-stage companies struggling. They also discussed the importance of implementing sound governance at the early stage, what areas they’re looking at investing in this year, and their top book recommendations for founders’ reading lists.
 
As always, if you're building within the space, the Investor Vibe Check is a must-listen episode.  
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Jeffrey Haas on Linkedin
➡️ Quinton Singleton on Linkedin
➡️ Tom Waterhouse on Linkedin
 
The Betting Startups Podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming market. If you’re attending ICE, visit the Optimove stand and mention you listened to this episode to receive an Amazon gift card!

The Gamble & The Glory: Ep. 4 - Pini Yakuel, Optimove

We're back with Ep. 4 of The Gamble & The Glory, where we meet founders that have built their companies to become stalwarts of the sports betting, fantasy, and iGaming industry.
In this one, we speak with Pini Yakuel, Founder & CEO of Optimove.
 
Hear him discuss:
Life in Israel right now, and how the Optimove organization is adapting to the realities of being based in Tel Aviv
His background in math and data science, and how "it was mostly instincts" that led him to discover the opportunity for Optimove
The journey towards product/market fit for Optimove, and how he knew when they had found it
How technology and AI tools are enabling marketers to become "positionless" 
His thoughts on the trend towards retention-led marketing by operators in the regulated US market
How to find success in B2B sales, and the concept of "investing in lines instead of dots"
Why he turned down a VC term sheet in the early days of Optimove, and why "you're insanely lucid" when you choose to bootstrap a business
His ambition to "give companies like Adobe and Salesforce a run for their money" over the next 10 years
 
Learn more: 
➡️ Optimove website
➡️ Pini Yakuel on Linkedin
 
The Gamble & The Glory is made possible by Segev LLP, a full solutions law firm purpose built for the gaming and betting industry. To learn more, visit: www.segev.ca 

Ep. 96: Crowdtesting for the iGaming industry w/ Kyle Wiltshire from Testa

Ep. 96 features Kyle Wiltshire from Testa, which is crowdsourced quality testing built for the iGaming industry.
 
Hear him discuss:
His 10+ year background in the industry, and how that experience led him to discover the problem that Testa is now solving
The challenges faced by operators to localize the customer experience, and the role that crowdsourced testing plays in that
How his experience raising VC money for his last startup informed his decision to self-fund Testa
Why he decided to stop angel investing, and instead decided to invest in launching Testa
Why Vancouver has become a quiet hotbed for talent within the iGaming industry
His experience moving back to Canada after living in Asia for almost 10 years
His best new parent tips for Jesse :)
 
Learn more 👇
➡️ Testa website
➡️ Kyle Wiltshire on Linkedin