
The Deals That Made Daily Fantasy Take Off - prostoalex
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-deals-that-made-daily-fantasy-take-off-1445043328
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mhartl
I cofounded a daily fantasy sports site in 2004, so it's funny to see
FanDuel's 2009 launch date described as "early to market". But the environment
for fantasy sports in 2004–2005 was incredibly different, with the major
leagues often showing overt hostility (including the NFL Players Association
suing a company for using the players' names without permission). It's yet
another example of how big a factor timing can be in the startup game.

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pcprincipal
We all would've been robbed of the best RoR book of all time had your timing
been right...

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mhartl
Thanks! I suppose I could have consoled myself with the millions and millions
of dollars, but then maybe that just wouldn't have been the same…

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1123581321
Interesting that the revenue share of winnings is projected to remain 10%.
This suggests players don't value playing on a site that takes a smaller
percentage of the game - or that the sites collude. Do any of the companies
that occupy the 5% of the market not Fanduel/Draftkings try to differentiate
based on cost?

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pcprincipal
So it's perfectly kosher to list big-time "investors" when your company gives
them free equity? I was always under the impression that MLB, NFL, etc.
voluntarily ponied up to invest in DraftKings.

