Ep. 216: Childhood games with adult stakes w/ Jackson Erminio from Spina

Ep. 216 features Jackson Erminio, Founder of Spina, joining Jesse Learmonth to discuss building a skill-based gaming startup, solving the liquidity challenge, and creating a marketplace where players can compete head-to-head in games they already know and love.

Hear them discuss:

• How Jackson went from selling sneakers and running a marketing agency to founding Spina, a real-money skill gaming platform built around familiar games like Connect 4, 8-Ball Pool, and Tic-Tac-Toe
• Why Spina pivoted from betting on anything between friends to live, head-to-head skill games with matchmaking and optional voice chat
• The startup's dual go-to-market strategy, combining a direct-to-consumer app with B2B partnerships for casinos, gaming platforms, and influencers
• The liquidity challenge facing all multiplayer gaming marketplaces and the creative tactics Spina is using to ensure players can find opponents quickly
• Early traction metrics, including strong repeat-play rates, growing organic app downloads, and surprising demand for Connect 4 compared to other games
• Partnerships with companies like BetOpenly and Hub88, plus opportunities to power custom gaming experiences for influencers and content creators
• Finding a technical co-founder through TikTok, and validating the concept before investing heavily in development
• Why Jackson believes skill gaming is one of the industry's most overlooked categories and how it may benefit from a more favorable regulatory landscape than other gaming verticals
• Lessons learned from bootstrapping, moving quickly, testing ideas in public, and focusing relentlessly on solving the most important problem first
• Spina's vision for the future, including cross-platform liquidity, expanded distribution, and becoming the leading marketplace for real-money skill-based competition

Learn more 👇

➡️ Spina website

➡️ Jackson Erminior on Linkedin