The Betting Startups Podcast

Ep. 112 is the official First Pitch preview episode, where we will meet the 5 startups selected to present at SBC Summit North America on May 9.   In this episode, you will hear from: John Goehrke and Steven Astrachan from 916 Gaming John Pereira and Ben Howard from EdgeSports Calvin Konya from Linemate Shawn Tucker from StatX Sports Desiree Dickerson from THNDR   These startups will be competing for a prize package valued at over $40,000 on May 9 at SBC Summit North America.   If you don't have a ticket for the event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for $300 off your pass.     -- This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming market. 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. Visit Optimove at SBC North Americas in NY  on May 5 to May 7.

Ep. 111 features Andrew Pace from inplayLIVE, which is the #1 in-play sports investing platform.   Hear him discuss: His background earning a living betting on sports, and how that journey has evolved over the years The “aha” moment he had during Covid to build a community of people dedicated to in-play betting How inplayLIVE has applied an e-learning framework to sports betting to educate people through a masterclass-style curriculum The success that their teachings have created, including 20+ people that have become millionaires through sports betting Why inplayLIVE is focused on strategies on in-play betting only, and not pregame betting The dynamics he sees with US sportsbooks more aggressively limiting and restricting player accounts The longterm viability of betting on sports for profit, and whether people can still generate meaningful income from it The business challenges of working with offshore sportsbooks and grey market jurisdictions   Learn more 👇 ➡️ inplayLIVE website ➡️ Andrew Pace on Linkedin     -- This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming market. 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. Visit Optimove at SBC North Americas in NY  on May 5 to May 7.

Ep. 110 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 Q1 features Connor Williams (Velo Partners), Andrew Ehrenberg (Eberg Capital) and Robin Reed (HappyHour.io).     Hear them discuss: What they make of the uptick in 2024 Q1 funding announcements, and whether they expect to see that pace persist Why Q1 saw several notable strategic investments into B2B startups by industry incumbents DraftKings’ and Fanduels’ Q1 acquisitions of Jackpocket and BeyondPlay, respectively, and the future outlook for more operator M&A at the earlier stage The state of integration roadmaps with operators, and whether frustrations expressed by some B2B startups are overblown The disconnect between early-stage funding and revenue generation from funded companies, as cited in the recent Game Changers report (Download here Free!) What continued consolidation at the operator level means for startups, and to best prepare for future shifts in the landscape Rapid fire predictions for notable M&A deals to watch for in 2024   Learn more 👇 ➡️ Connor Williams on Linkedin ➡️ Andrew Ehrenberg on Linkedin ➡️ Robin Reed on Linkedin   -- 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. 109 features John Leekley & Paul Dorian from Home Run Forecast, which is an index rating that measures the favorability of conditions for ball fight.   Hear them discuss: How Paul fused his background as a meteorologist with his passion for baseball to develop the Home Run Index What goes into developing a model like the Home Run Index, which is “about 60-65% accurate” How the Home Run Index helps bettors with over/under markets, and fantasy players with start/sit decisions Their go-to-market strategy, and the different ways they are thinking about further commercializing the product How recent changes to MLB rules have improved the game from a fan perspective Their thoughts on baseball’s future   Learn more 👇 ➡️ Home Run Forecast website ➡️ John Leekley on Linkedin     -- 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. 108 features Chris Shreeve from Locker Room Labs, which are sports app development specialists.   Hear him discuss: His background owning a marketing services agency, and the lessons he learned running a services-based business How Locker Room Labs is taking a different approach as a services business by “providing value first before aggressively selling” The value of building in public for startups, and developing your personal brand as an entrepreneur Why focusing on a niche and “a specific vertical and sticking to it is incredibly powerful” How he views innovation within the sports betting industry through his first year in the space Why he thinks “it's never too early to create, scalable enterprise level processes” for startups   Learn more 👇 ➡️ Locker Room Labs website ➡️ Chris Shreeve on Linkedin     -- 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.

We're back with Ep. 6 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 Rasmus Sojmark, CEO & Founder of SBC.   Hear him discuss: How his interest in the psychology of sports betting led him to study it in university, which included writing a 175 page dissertation on the topic His early days working in the industry, which led him to move from Copenhagen to London in 2007 to be closer to operators The origins of SBC as an industry meetup group in London that ran quarterly meetups of 150-200 people His decision to go all-in with SBC in 2012 to build an events and media business focused on the betting and gaming industry How he validated he was on the right path with SBC, and how he knew he had found product/market fit Why he’s “not looking for an exit” for SBC, despite generating “tens of millions” in revenue The importance of building a strong network and reputation, and why “being helpful and nice to people certainly helps” How he thinks about success, and why appreciating the journey is more important to him “Being a perfectionist”, the art of delegation, and putting trust in your people Why prioritizing his health has made him a better entrepreneur   Learn more 👇 ➡️ SBC website ➡️ Rasmus Sojmark 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. 107 features Johnny Coetzer from BetLabs, which is reinvigorating the sports betting experience for bettors while helping operators elevate their game.   Hear him discuss: The lessons he learned playing chess and tennis growing up, and how they prepared him for life as an entrepreneur How his idea for Boost Bets was derived from the spread betting concept (except it provides the downside protection for players that spread betting doesn’t) Why he’s prioritizing working with platform providers as his primary distribution strategy B2B sales and the challenges of getting a product prioritized on an operator or platform provider’s roadmap Winning the pitch competition at last week’s SiGMA Africa event in Cape Town The insights from the recently published ‘Game Changers’ report published by BettingStartups.com, which included data from 68 industry startups (Free download at Next.io!)   Learn more 👇 ➡️ BetLabs website ➡️ Johnny Coetzer on Linkedin     -- 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. 106 features Noah Bernstein from Locker, which is getting fans off the bench and in the game.   Hear him discuss: The million dollar offer he received to drop out of college to start his first company - which he didn’t take on the advice of his Mom How Locker is blending mechanics from HQ Trivia and traditional fantasy sports to create a live second screen experience The ideation process he followed to develop the Locker concept and ensure it was sufficiently differentiated in a crowded DFS market His vision for building Locker into “a game studio for watching experiences of sports” The increased regulatory scrutiny on the DFS space right now, and why he is confident that Locker’s game format is compliant How building a team of experienced mentors and advisors has helped him to grow as a younger entrepreneur Opening a new round of funding around the Superbowl, which became oversubscribed within two weeks   Learn more 👇 ➡️ Locker website ➡️ Noah Bernstein on Linkedin     -- 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. 105 features Trevis Waters from PlayerProps.ai, which is a new app fully powered by AI for all things player props research.   Hear him discuss: How his passion for fantasy sports led him to write an ebook in 2011, which was the catalyst for him focusing his career on producing educational content within the space His journey as co-founder and COO of DFS Karma and Bet Karma, which were both acquired just last week Why he has focused on building an audience through Facebook groups, which now represent over 100,000 engaged users How he is leveraging Discord, and why he’s “a million percent confident” that he has “the largest pre-product, pre-revenue Discord group in the industry” How he is leveraging his audience to launch PlayerProps.ai with a goal of generating “$100,000 in subscription revenue in the first 24 hours” after launching Where he sees PlayerProps.ai fitting into the ‘betting tools’ ecosystem, and how he is differentiating it from the many other tools in the market How he thinks about the sports betting education, and whether people want to put the work in to actually learn core concepts   Learn more 👇 ➡️ PlayerProps.ai website ➡️ Trevis Waters on Linkedin   -- 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. 104 features Matt Rum from LoopGolf, which is golf’s premium betting app.   Hear him discuss: How Matt and his co-founder conceived the LoopGolf concept while working together at Square How LoopGolf is streamlining the competitive nature of golf by facilitating popular game formats with integrated payments The regulatory complexity of the payments domain, and why payments are LoopGolf’s “single biggest moat” How Matt thinks about team structure as he builds out the LoopGolf organization Feature prioritization and developing product roadmaps The marketing channels and tactics that LoopGolf is leveraging to drive product awareness and user acquisition Why onboarding is so important with consumer apps, and how Matt is thinking about optimizing it for LoopGolf   Learn more 👇 ➡️ LoopGolf website ➡️ Matt Rum on Linkedin     -- 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. 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   --- 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.

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 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   --- 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 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     --- 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 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   --- 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 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     --- 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 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     --- 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 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!

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 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