Earnings+More - Move fast and break down barriers
Move fast and break down barriersFemale founders makes their move, Wagr’s no cash sale, startup survey, inside the raise – Prophet Exchange +MoreGood morning. In this month’s edition of the Startup Month we look at the difficulties faced by female founders in the sector.
Female founders riseThe difficulties for startup founders in the betting and gaming sector are compounded when it comes to gender. Out with the old: Old attitudes to women in gaming die hard but according to high-profile female founders, funders and well-known executives, the more obvious objectification and sexualization from the recent past have now been confined to the dustbin.
First the good news: There is optimism over what can be achieved by female founders in a sector that at a wider level has often been viewed as struggling with innovation. “I actually think there are amazing opportunities for women,” says Karolina Pelc, CEO and founder at BeyondPlay.
More to do: The problem is effectively one of tradition and history. “This space was born and bred by men,” says Kelly Brooks, CEO at Quarter4. “It is a playground where men bet on men’s sport and where men who love sport and lucrative industry, facilitate their careers.”
The networking effect: An in-built advantage for men comes from the extent to which startup founders generally have to rely on their network for initial funding. “If you’re not creating that from the very start, from when you’re in the working world before you even have a startup idea, then it’s very difficult,” she says.
The extra hurdle: Imposter syndrome is one aspect of being a founder that is arguably amplified if you are a woman. Pelc says she still suffers from it, despite the great strides made by her personally and the business she helms.
Role models: Kehn points out that she and others in the All-In Diversity project that she helps run also face the questions of what it means to be a role model. “I think that's a really tough one,” she says.
The other side of the coin: To an extent, the very fact that being a female founder in the betting and gaming space is seen as being so remarkable comes with its benefits as well as its downsides.
The diversity push: This also works when it comes to investment, says Pelc. “I feel that I had advantages when it comes to being considered, catching the interest of people because it's no secret that VCs want to have diverse portfolios,” she says.
The prize: Sansbury makes the valid point that it is hard to know what the sector would look like if there were greater levels of diversity “as we haven’t seen that yet”. “I have read the studies and believe better decisions are made when there is a diverse pool of perspectives and opinions around the table,” she says.
Strength: Pelc says that for all her evident imposter syndrome, he never for one moment believed she only got funding because she was a woman.
EveryMatrix delivers iGaming software, solutions, content and services for casino, sports betting, payments, and affiliate/agent management to 200+ global Tier-1 operators and newer brands. The platform is modular, scalable, and compliant, allowing operators to choose the optimal solution depending on their needs. EveryMatrix empowers clients to unleash bold ideas and deliver outstanding player experiences in regulated markets. A shot to nothingA key element was missing from the news about Yahoo's acquisition of Wagr – the price. The hole story: The deal announced last week for Yahoo to buy up the Wagr business was light on key details including the price as well as the current status of the Wgr business. As was noted in coverage of the deal, Wagr has been effectively non-operational for a while now.
Nothing wagered: Wagr’s backers included the Kraft Group, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Greycroft and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six. Happyhour startup surveyA survey of founders has found that their own network is the preferred source for funding. Go to: A new survey of founders within the betting and gaming space finds that nearly half of all founders rely on their own network for funding. Another 20% source funding via referrals, 18% go via searching on the internet and 6% have found funding via contacts made at industry events.
Areas where founders would like help:
The survey can be sourced via this link. Inside the raise – Prophet ExchangeThe New Jersey-based betting exchange raised over $10m at the start of April. Over the line: Prophet CEO Dean Sisum acknowledged that “it’s not secret forms are hesitant to write checks” right now. “They know it’s a buyers’ market and valuations are reflective of this,” he added with a higher number of investors than usual being in “wait-and-see mode”.
Liquid: Prophet Exchange has subsequently announced the addition of the first of two liquidity providers, the matched betting site ProfitDuel, and Sisun said the focus for his company from this point was to focus on providing users with a ”complete, viable product”.
Full tilt: The addition of the liquidity providers will aid the process. “We have been scaling up their number of markets and liquidity at a solid pace, but there are a lot of little things to go through before both sides are comfortable being at full capacity,” Sisun says. ** SPONSOR’S MESSAGE ** The Huddle Journal The NBA Playoffs' initial five games are a wrap, and Huddle's got some slammin' stats to share!
Huddle is bringing their A-game this season! Learn more and check the Huddle Blog here: https://huddle.tech/huddle-announces-impressive-performance-during-nba-playoffs-2023-games-1-5/ Growth company gazetteSports betting and iGaming developer the Unit will become the front-end development partner for sports betting risk-management supplier 10star. The Unit will feature as a startup focus in next Monday’s Cheat Sheet. Sports-betting platform Amelco is set to integrate Simplebet’s micro-betting products as part of a supply agreement between the two groups. SportsGrid has released its first D2C app, incorporating news, statistics and real-time odds for use by bettors and fantasy sports customers. ALT Sports Data has partnered with the World Surf League as its official data distribution partner, leveraging its proprietary simulation trading platform to enable sports betting on WSL's Championship Tour events. Recent startup focuses
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