Ep. 174: Managing the grind of going from starting to scaling w/ Evan Fisher from Sparket

Ep. 174 features Evan Fisher from Sparket, which is a B2B platform helping operators reach new demographics through alternative betting markets and gamified slots. Hear him discuss: - How he and co-founder Aaron built Sparket after work hours while still at Google and in finance - Why Sparket is doubling down on alternative markets like pop culture and reality TV to attract underserved bettors - New partnerships with Penn Entertainment and Wondr Nation, and what they signal about Sparket’s momentum - Their soon-to-be-granted patent for AI-powered market creation, filed back in 2020 - How Sparket raised ~$2.5M through angel investors while avoiding institutional capital (so far) - What winning “Startup of the Year” at The Starties meant to him and why it felt different from other industry awards - His honest take on the mental toll of founding a startup, and how he manages the grind - Why gratitude, yoga, and stepping away from the screen help him stay sane while building - How Sparket is preparing for NFL season with Swift-Kelce-themed contests and slot-credit tie-ins Catch the video version of this episode here. Learn more 👇 ➡️ Sparket website ➡️ Evan Fisher on Linkedin ➡️ Check out Evan's article here. 📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/ -- This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.