Some background
Wagr started with a love of sports. We love playing them, watching them, debating them, and above all, we love the way they bring people together.
But, when it came to sports betting, my co-founder Mario and I had the same reaction: it wasn’t built for us.
Every available sports betting avenue we surveyed was either sketchy (👋 bookies), overly complicated (👋 sportsbooks), hacky (👋 Venmo), or intimidating for new users (👋 sports betting in general). We weren’t seeking a better or more sophisticated gambling experience — we just wanted an excuse to engage with our friends, family, and co-workers!
So, in 2018, as a class project at Harvard Business School, we set out on a journey to built a social sports betting product that would be accessible to all sports fans. We were Off To The Races.
👉 We spent our second and final year in business school doing market research, running tests, and validating ideas. We did over 100 customer interviews and built a very beta MVP app
👉 We incorporated Wagr in April 2020 (the beginning of Covid when sports shut down!)
👉 We joined Pear VC for their 2020 summer accelerator program
👉 We raised $16M from top tier investors and industry angels
👉 We built up the team, got licensed in Tennessee (first social betting license in the COUNTRY!), and launched an app that gave users a recurring touchpoint with friends, and a way to engage in sports with their broader community
👉 We became the Official Sports Betting Partner of the Nashville Soccer Club
👉 Mario & I were honored with Forbes30U30
👉 We were celebrated as finalists in the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s NEXT Awards
👉 We experimented with leadership styles, social media launches, marketing & branding techniques, and so much more