SuperDraft Looking to Cash In Amid Growing Sports Betting Competition
Daily fantasy upstart SuperDraft is seeking its first round of outside funding a year after launching. Created by entrepreneur Steve Wang, the company has registered 80,000 users since September 2019, with roughly 15,000 of those being active paying users. Headquartered in Salem, N.H., SuperDraft currently has around 20 employees.
The app features a unique gameplay system, replacing the traditional salary cap with a multiplier mechanic that weights players so that each is projected to score the same number of points, which allows for more roster flexibility. SuperDraft currently offers contests in 37 states and seven sports, with a large portion of users coming from California, Texas and Florida. SuperDraft says it has paid out $10 million on $13 million in entry fees since launch.
Wang said the company is seeking investment at a $50 million valuation, due in part to the fierce competition for new users in the growing legal sports betting market. “The reason why FanDuel and DraftKings have been so successful in the space is because they had 10 million players they could crossover,” he said. “The cross-selling there is a very powerful tool. That’s why we think we’re in a good position for someone to put some money in.”
DraftKings stock rose roughly 20 percent last week as voters passed sports betting measures in Louisiana, South Dakota and Maryland.
Wang, who also runs an ergonomic electronics company, said he started building SuperDraft three years ago, bringing in former DraftKings senior product manager Nate Hunter to be his CTO. “I was an avid fantasy player and also enjoyed sports betting,” Wang said. “Unfortunately I was more on the losing side for many years. The fact I could develop a software product and become the house instead of the player just fascinated me.”
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