B
ookit Sports is set to become the first sports betting social media platform that will allow users to engage with the global gambling community in one central hub. The first version of the app is set to launch on September 1, 2020, right before NFL season kickoff.
The startup company was recently created by Trent Attyah, a sports broadcasting major and journalism minor at Texas Christian University (TCU), graduating in May of 2020. He had internships in NFL Network’s original content team, Fox Sports Southwest, TCU Athletics and the Dallas Rattlers.
In an interview with Yogonet, Attyah says Bookit Sports will set new standards in the sports betting industry “by providing a simplified and socially acceptable platform to get educated, stay informed, actively engage, and ultimately become a well rounded sports bettor.”
Could you walk us through the whole process leading to the creation of Bookit Sports, the current situation and next steps for the startup?
I came up with the idea during finals week of my Junior year at TCU when I was watching an NBA game with my roommates who love to bet. They ended up loosing their bets on a full court shot at the buzzer, and I got their full reaction on video which was hilarious, but I didn’t know which social media platform I could post the video to where it would be socially acceptable. My roommate said to me: “I have made separate Twitter and Instagram accounts specifically to post and follow sports betting content.” I thought to myself, “Why would you make a separate social media account just for betting? How isn’t there a platform already doing this?” It was at that moment when the idea for Bookit Sports jumped into my head, and I felt the need to capitalize on the opportunity immediately. My degree at TCU was in sports broadcasting with a minor in journalism, with hopes of becoming the voice of an NBA or MLB team. I had no prior experience with anything related to starting a business before this venture.
Our current situation in 2020 has been a roller coaster ride. I was able to land our first angel investment in February which allowed me to start acquiring a solid team and get moving forward with app development. In March I had several very promising leads for my seed round of funding, but everything fell through once Covid-19 came in and shook the world. During the months of March and April, I really had no idea what the future for Bookit Sports looked like and was very uncertain of my chances to land an investment during a global pandemic. I spent all of my free time in quarantine on LinkedIn just trying to find my next lead and keep this thing afloat. I was losing hope and felt like I was out of luck at this point. Luckily, one day I came across a diamond in the rough after I was contacted by a new startup accelerator called RNOX based in Reno, NV. They told me that they specialize in gaming innovation and have a strong interest in Bookit Sports. After several rounds of interviews, I was given an offer to join their first cohort of startups in August and I will be relocating to Reno, Nevada for 6 months on top of receiving a seed investment from a combination of investors within and outside of the accelerator program.
Now that we have raised our seed capital to launch our initial MVP (Minimum Viable Product) version of our product, we are currently in full development mode. At first, I assumed that Covid-19 would be the end for Bookit Sports, but it actually turned out to be the best possible situation that could have occurred. Since the global pandemic, we have scaled the team drastically by adding 8 new developers, 3 co-founders and 2 board of directors. We will be launching our first version of the app on September 1st, 2020 right before NFL season kickoff, and we are excited to provide our finished product that will pioneer the next generation of sports betting.
How will you be able to fund and keep the platform running and competitive? What resources are you or will you be drawing on? What kind of partnerships are you after?
We officially closed our seed round a few weeks ago, but we are already starting to pursue potential Series A leads from venture capital firms that will take us to the next level with product development, marketing strategies and acquiring new talent. We have also begun introductions with potential new partnerships once our app launches. It has been incredible to see the strong interest from large corporations and high influence individuals in the sports betting industry that I never imagined I would be talking to just a few months ago. We have just signed a partnership agreement with a respected sports betting data provider called sportsdata.io who will be providing the Bookit Sports app with advanced data and real time analytics to enhance the user experience on our platform.
Why have you chosen the sports betting industry, specially considering the current major sporting leagues/events shutdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic; and why have you taken the angle of a social media platform for your startup?
I came up with the idea for a sports betting social media platform in May of 2019. When sports betting became legal in May of 2018, I knew it was going to spark a phenomenon in sports. I started to see my peers become heavily engaged with betting on sports, and my mind was constantly thinking about ways to revolutionize this rapidly emerging industry. I was already in the early stages of ideation for Bookit Sports almost a year before Covid-19 came into play, so I can’t say the pandemic had any influence on how I created this idea. I can say though that Covid-19 has done nothing but validate my concept even more and showing how important it is to sports fans and sports bettors to stay connected and engage with the community.
Which specific challenges, opportunities and potential threats do you foresee, and what are your short and long term expectations and goals for Bookit Sports?
A challenge I foresee in the future is actually integrating legal betting into our platform. This challenge could be a massive breakthrough for Bookit Sports if we are able to partner with an existing sportsbook that could provide legal gambling. But in the short term, our expectation is to validate the initial concept of a sports betting social media platform and handicapper marketplace. Our main goal for our MVP launch is to build a community around sports betting, and to provide handicappers with various avenues to monetize off their expertise.
What are your target audiences and who would you identify as business rivals? Why?
The target audience for Bookit Sports is a male sports fan from 18-30 who is active on social media and familiar with the sports betting industry. Although that is our biggest target market, it is our goal to appeal to all types of audiences who associate themselves with sports or gambling. We want to target users from all skill levels, even if they are uncertain about betting on sports but want to learn more. We also want to target the female audience by proving a user-friendly app that will provide them with educational tools and resources for making informed betting decisions. Sports betting is a concept that appeals to everyone and makes the game more exciting, and if more people understood the outdated slang and terminology of the industry they might be more inclined to participate. We are really trying to simplify traditional methods of sports betting to invite the next generation of sports bettors.
Since PASPA’s repeal in the US, several media companies have been entering the sports betting market. What’s your outlook for this new landscape, and what learnings have you acquired from any of the stakeholders in your business areas?
I have been preaching the idea of sports betting becoming a socially engaging concept for over a year now, and at the beginning, I was getting so frustrated hearing investors tell me that they don’t think the industry is headed in this direction because they are unaware of where the industry is headed and where the younger generation is going to take it. The older demographic of sports bettors believe that the traditional way of sports betting is the only way it will ever work. When Barstool was acquired by Penn National Gaming earlier this year, I couldn’t help but think about the investors who told me that sports betting will never be socially engaging experience. Now we are seeing some of the biggest casinos in the gaming industry partner with media companies to create digital content to appeal to younger audiences and acquire users to an inviting platform that will enhance their betting experience.
Why do you think Bookit Sports will be successful, and bring significant innovations or new standards to the sports betting industry?
Bookit Sports will become the epicenter of sports betting engagement and content consumption by attracting users to an inviting platform where they feel comfortable to actively engage with the community. I have been on a mission to build a dream team of dedicated and passionate individuals to serve as my cofounders, employees, and directors of my advisory board. In October of 2019, I was a college student with a pitch deck. Fast forward to June 2020, I have 10 developers, 4 co-founders and 2 board of directors with a fully funded seed round. It wasn’t until I started to surround myself with a dream team when I began to see the dominoes fall in my favor, and my confidence continues to grow for Bookit Sports as we are rapidly scaling the team. Bookit Sports will set new standards in the sports betting industry by providing a simplified and socially acceptable platform to get educated, stay informed, actively engage, and ultimately become a well rounded sports bettor.
source https://casinonewsblogger.com/bookit-sports-will-set-new-standards-in-the-sports-betting-industry/
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