46 min
Ep. 80: 20 years of launching businesses in the US online gambling industry w/ Cal Spears from RotoGrinders The Betting Startups Podcast
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- Entrepreneurship
Ep. 80 features Cal Spears, serial industry entrepreneur who joins to take us through his history in the US online gambling industry before PASPA’s repeal in 2018.
Hear him discuss:
The online poker boom in the early 2000’s, which led him to co-found PocketFives.com in 2005
The passage of UIGEA in 2007, which prompted him to sell PocketFives and relocate to Costa Rica with his co-founders
Launching RotoGrinders 2010 after observing the emergence of daily fantasy sports tournaments from startup companies such as DraftKings and Fanduel
The pivotal moment known as Black Friday in 2011, which led to him re-acquiring PocketFives, and pivoting it from an affiliate to a subscription-based business
Negotiating a revenue share deal with Jason Robins during DraftKings’ first year in business, which “was the best financial decision [he’s] ever made”
The 2015 DFS scandal that involved a former RotoGrinders employee, which led to the US government trying to regulate the DFS industry
The repeal of PASPA in 2018, which paved the way for RotoGrinders’ sale to Better Collective in 2019
Cal’s advice for younger entrepreneurs entering the space today
This episode was guest hosted by Cooper Lycan, founder of Sobet, which you can learn more about in Ep. 35 from last August.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Cal Spears on Twitter
Episode host:
➡️ Cooper Lycan on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity.
Ep. 80 features Cal Spears, serial industry entrepreneur who joins to take us through his history in the US online gambling industry before PASPA’s repeal in 2018.
Hear him discuss:
The online poker boom in the early 2000’s, which led him to co-found PocketFives.com in 2005
The passage of UIGEA in 2007, which prompted him to sell PocketFives and relocate to Costa Rica with his co-founders
Launching RotoGrinders 2010 after observing the emergence of daily fantasy sports tournaments from startup companies such as DraftKings and Fanduel
The pivotal moment known as Black Friday in 2011, which led to him re-acquiring PocketFives, and pivoting it from an affiliate to a subscription-based business
Negotiating a revenue share deal with Jason Robins during DraftKings’ first year in business, which “was the best financial decision [he’s] ever made”
The 2015 DFS scandal that involved a former RotoGrinders employee, which led to the US government trying to regulate the DFS industry
The repeal of PASPA in 2018, which paved the way for RotoGrinders’ sale to Better Collective in 2019
Cal’s advice for younger entrepreneurs entering the space today
This episode was guest hosted by Cooper Lycan, founder of Sobet, which you can learn more about in Ep. 35 from last August.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Cal Spears on Twitter
Episode host:
➡️ Cooper Lycan on Linkedin
This episode is brought to you by GeoComply, a leading provider of cutting-edge anti-fraud and geolocation solutions that detect location fraud and help verify a user’s true digital identity.
46 min