Raising money for a sports betting startup is not an easy task to do, though many put themselves up to the challenge. More than startup companies need to bring in hires or purchase equipment, they need to grow.
Each year, a plethora of startups attempt to become successful in the world of online betting. A few manage to gather investors, typically friends and family, but not nearly as many are able to advance to the next step of funding, called a seed round.
A seed round involves various investors who “seed” a startup company with a certain amount of money, typically anywhere from $50,000 to five million. This money is then used to fund the initial developments needed for a startup to take off fully. Investors are often rewarded with equity, a certain percentage of ownership in the company.
Be brave enough to take the leap
Merging technology with betting and gambling, if done right, has proven to be successful, which is the case with many currently popular online services, from online sportsbooks to advanced online casino games like live baccarat, all of which have some serious tech behind that keeps them running. The online sports gaming scene has recently gained two new startups, both of which have proven successful. From gathering friends and family as investors to making it past the seed round, these startups have made a leap of faith.
Firstly, we have BetSperts. This company is a social platform that can be used by the sports betting community. Each BetSpert account is public and breaks down the user’s sport, type of bet, conference, and even league.
Reid Rooney, CEO of BetSperts, had plenty of experience in similar businesses before successfully launching his very own sports betting startup. Rooney attended and graduated with a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship from Central Michigan University. After he graduated, Rooney was the national account manager at Stanley Black and Decker.
Secondly, we have Ownersbox which is an up and coming developer for sports technology, and they are preparing to launch their front-runner product: Weekly Fantasy Sports for the 2020 NFL season.
Brian Kipp is the CEO of Ownersbox. Kipp has a background in being an entrepreneur, along with experience in informational technology and fantasy sports.
The two startups begin on different routes. Betspert got started and made their name known mostly through Linkedin and DM’s. Ownersbox, on the other hand, obtained a significant investor early on. This investor had close ties to some influences who helped the company advance to seed funding.
Challenges ahead
Although sports industry, and therefore sportsbook industry, had it’s problems this year, things are starting to look better. Kipp owes this to the fact that investors are eager to make up for the time that has already been lost. In order to get returns, investors need to continue investing and distribute their capital. Kipp reports that he is now taking calls every single week, which is definitely a good sign.
Rooney was fortunate enough to close out his seed deals, which only took three months.The two CEOs with technology-based startups and still in early stages are both ready to tackle the 2020 NFL season head-on. Now that they have gained enough traffic, the next task is to become sustainable. From raising money to fully operating the company, Rooney and Kipp have successfully made their betting startups stand out from the rest.
About Carson Derrow
