

My YC Startup Enters Private Beta - mattmaroon
http://www.draftmix.com/
What do you think? We're still twiddling with the design, so any notes there would be greatly appreciated.
======
Alex3917
I love how you incorporated online poker design idioms into your interface.
Did you talk about that in your initial pitch to YC or is that something you
decided on later?

~~~
mattmaroon
Yes, we did. We're definitely incorporating a lot of what made online poker so
successful.

~~~
muerdeme
Will I be able to multi-table drafts? What's the official stance on bots? Just
kidding. Halfway. This is a great idea and I hope you guys do well. Is there a
friendly rivalry with Chris Fargis going on?

~~~
mattmaroon
Yes, you can multi-table. Bots aren't really a worry in this, since you can
already set a draft queue, and soon we'll have customizable rankings. We (and
all other FS sites) basically have a bot built in for you.

------
Caligula
A lot of the sports leagues demand royalty from fantasy sports leagues. There
have even been lawsuits over this as they believe it to be proprietary data.
Are you guys paying them royalty?

Real good concept. Add a real money feature and i'd play.

~~~
JRM
There is a recent case against the MLB which says that the data is public
domain. The MLB has already lost an appeal on this matter as well (see
[http://www.draftmix.com/news/index.php/2007/10/17/draftmix-n...](http://www.draftmix.com/news/index.php/2007/10/17/draftmix-
news/cbc-vs-mlb/)) for details

~~~
Caligula
Good to hear.

another note , in your about us you say "We're currently the only site
offering live drafts all day every day throughout each sport's season. We
offer short term, hands off leagues, so you won't be penalized if you can't
login five times a day to manage teams. And we offer guaranteed cash prizes
with a simple, easy to understand structure"

A quick google search showed <https://www.fantasysportslive.com>

Im sure there are other sites. I think your game lobby is better than yours. I
look forward to trying it when other players are on and its real $. cheers.

~~~
mattmaroon
FSL doesn't do live drafts. They do some goofy version of salary cap pick'ems.

------
ced
I had to look up what a Fantasy Sport was. Perhaps a one-liner in your FAQ
could help.

~~~
Tichy
I looked it up when the first information about the Summer YCs was available.
Nevertheless, it seems very difficult to get into, so maybe a tutorial would
be called for. I am really not the target audience, though, as I don't care
one iota for spectator sports. Although I am interested in game theory and
gambling, so who knows.

~~~
mattmaroon
You would be surprised how little sports you need to know to compete.

~~~
Tichy
I suppose I'll be able to find some tutorials somewhere on the web, once I
have some spare time. It certainly has several interesting aspects.

~~~
mattmaroon
I'll definitely work on explaining it to people better.

One of my cofounders is absolutely crushing at fantasy football and rarely
ever watches a game. It's more than anything looking at statistics and
learning how they apply.

------
garbowza
I really like the design and the concept is quite clever. I think there's a
definite niche here. However, I too am annoyed by the scrolling feedback bar,
and my browser won't let me close it once it's opened.

~~~
mattmaroon
You can't hit cancel and close it? What browser/OS do you use?

~~~
garbowza
Windows XP & Firefox 2. The Cancel button jumps in and out of view, but
doesn't stay available long enough to click it. It works fine for me in IE
though.

~~~
mattmaroon
Wow, that's unusual. Going to have to check into that. Thanks.

~~~
garbowza
Actually it turns out it only occurs when I change my browser size away from
maximized. It never allows me to scroll down far enough to see the buttons...

------
mikesabat
Cool idea - I was definitely looking for this two months back. I'm excited to
see the type of stuff that you guys are adding to fantasy sports.

Maybe you could add some cool, weekly pickems, at least for football. I don't
know anyone that plays basketball or hockey. I'd imagine football is way ahead
for fantasy sports, and I don't think people will start fantasy football now.

~~~
JRM
The site is based on short season leagues. So playing fantasy football right
now is actually exactly what people will be doing :D

------
brett
"register in seconds" and the huge "play free now" button did a really good
job of funneling me to the register page that I couldn't use because I don't
have an invite code. I realized that I needed to request an invitation only
after I had filled out 2/3rds of the registration form.

~~~
mattmaroon
Oh, sorry. That button will have some much more exciting functionality in the
near future, but we should fix that for now.

------
mattmaroon
We're still twiddling with the design, so any notes there would be
appreciated.

~~~
nickb
Design looks great to me! You've nailed the sports theme! Signed up for beta.

PS: Another cool Rails startup!

~~~
mattmaroon
I'll send you an invite.

------
Mistone
congrats on the launch - maybe its just me - but it took me a while to figure
out what the site does - I don't think that info belongs in the FAQ section.

Design is clean - well done.

Again I'm not a big Fantasy player or online gamer but there are terms and
language on the site (Draft lobby) that I simply did not know what they are
referring to.

a short demo video, or "new to fantasy sports?" tab would be helpful. I guess
I felt like I wanted to use the site but did not know what to do.

------
utnick
cool design

Have you consulted with a lawyer about the legality of running a league with
an entry fee and a prize pool?

I have a feeling that is not legal in all 50 states.

~~~
JRM
Yes we have. It is legal in most states. We will post this info in our terms
of service once the lawyers finish them up. States where it is not legal are
still able to play in free games.

------
goofygrin
Request Invite requires a name with a space in it? I just put my first name in
and got a generic error message.

It looks like you're using Flex? How'd that work for you?

~~~
russ
Hm..I put in a name without a space and it worked fine..? What error msg did
you get?

------
kyro
Like most have said, the design seems very appropriate for this type of site.
Signed up for beta as well. I'm curious to see what's inside.

------
herdrick
Love the new silhouette front page. I can smell the Ohio loam.

I can only register for a Freeroll within 60 minutes of start time?

~~~
mattmaroon
Yes. Otherwise it would fill up 4 days in advance and nobody would actually
play.

------
r7000
I like the preseason 'beta' label. Very waggish.

------
fleaflicker
is the request invite feature broken?

~~~
JRM
I dont think it is. What problem did you have?

------
muriithi
Good design but I have to keep scrolling to see everything on my poor man's
800*600 res.

~~~
russ
Sorry man...didn't know those existed anymore! jk :P

------
daniel-cussen
Are you the soldiers for fortune guys?

------
brianr
i like the design a lot.

can you make the 'FEEDBACK' link look clickable? (hand cursor)

~~~
mattmaroon
Thanks, we will.

