Ep. 220: Solving the pain of manual marketing compliance w/ Neil Dillon from Solas Compliance

Ep. 220: Solving the pain of manual marketing compliance w/ Neil Dillon from Solas Compliance

Ep. 220 features Neil Dillon, Founder of Solas Compliance, to discuss how AI is transforming marketing compliance for regulated industries. Neil shares his journey from Betfair and Flutter to launching Solas, explains why compliance remains one of the biggest bottlenecks for operators, and offers practical insights into building enterprise-grade AI products for the betting industry. Hear them discuss:  * Neil's career journey from Betfair and Flutter to founding Solas Compliance after identifying a long-standing pain point in marketing and legal workflows. * How Solas Compliance uses AI to review marketing assets before they go live, helping operators reduce risk while dramatically speeding up compliance reviews. * Why enterprise AI requires far more than a simple ChatGPT wrapper, including the importance of consistency, audit trails, security, and regulatory readiness. * Early traction with tier-one operators, solving real-world compliance challenges during major events like the FIFA World Cup, and expanding across multiple regulated markets. * The realities of enterprise software sales, aligning legal, compliance, and marketing teams, and driving adoption across large organizations. * Neil's fundraising journey, securing early venture backing, raising £670,000, and preparing for the company's next investment round. * Common misconceptions about AI, why bigger models aren't always better, and the value of specialized models built for specific enterprise tasks. * Balancing life as a first-time founder and new father, and how both experiences have shaped his perspective on building a business. * Solas Compliance's vision to become the global standard for AI-powered marketing compliance across betting, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and other regulated industries. * Neil's advice for founders embracing AI, building customer trust, and creating products that solve real operational problems in highly regulated markets   Applications for the 2026 Affiliate Draft are now open until August 1. Eligible startups are encouraged to apply here: https://www.alphahub.tech/programmes/affiliate-draft-2026/ [https://www.alphahub.tech/programmes/affiliate-draft-2026/]   Learn more 👇 ➡️ Solas Compliance website [https://solascompliance.com/] ➡️ Neil Dillon on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-dillon-6a2a0554/]   📩 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/ [https://news.bettingstartups.com/]

Ep. 219: How the world's #1 sports betting operator accelerates startup partnerships w/ Edward & Robert from Flutter

Ep. 219 features Edward Lyttel and Rob Fulforth from Flutter to discuss the company's AlphaHub innovation program and the 2026 Affiliate Draft. They explore how Flutter collaborates with startups, what they're looking for in this year's applicants, and why community, AI-powered fan tools, and betting innovation are shaping the future of sports betting.   Hear them discuss: * How Flutter's AlphaHub helps startups build partnerships with leading brands like FanDuel, Betfair, Paddy Power, and Sky Bet * The goals of the 2026 Affiliate Draft and what startups can expect from the application process * Why community-driven products continue to be one of the biggest opportunities in sports betting * How AI-powered fan tools can improve the betting experience through better insights, visualization, and personalization * Why Flutter believes betting is evolving into a broader entertainment experience beyond traditional sportsbooks * Lessons from last year's Affiliate Draft and what made Verdict the winning startup * The importance of building products that solve real fan problems before focusing on monetization * Why niche audiences and passionate communities often create stronger startup opportunities than broad, general-purpose products * What founders can expect from the two-day Dublin event, including mentorship, investor access, networking, and pitch coaching * Advice for startups looking to partner with major operators and how Flutter evaluates innovation across the betting ecosystem   Applications for the 2026 Affiliate Draft are now open until August 1. Eligible startups are encouraged to apply here: https://www.alphahub.tech/programmes/affiliate-draft-2026/ [https://www.alphahub.tech/programmes/affiliate-draft-2026/]   Learn more 👇 ➡️ Flutter website [https://flutter.com/] ➡️ Edward Lyttel on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-lyttel-b0354537/] ➡️ Rob Fulforth on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-fulforth-38647571/]   📩 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/ [https://news.bettingstartups.com/]

Ep. 218: AI-first sports intelligence infrastructure w/ Devon & Tejas from Blitz

Ep. 218 features Devon and Tejas, Co-founders of Blitz, an AI-powered sports intelligence platform transforming how broadcasters, analysts, content creators, and sports organizations access and utilize sports data.    Hear them discuss: * How two Duke graduates turned sports betting profits into a sports data startup * The PrizePicks strategy that grew a small bankroll into tens of thousands of dollars * Why they spent countless hours building and validating their own sports data infrastructure * The challenges of cleaning, normalizing, and connecting fragmented sports datasets * How Blitz evolved from a betting-focused product into a B2B sports intelligence platform * Building a “ChatGPT for sports” used by broadcasters, analysts, and content creators * The power of combining historical sports data with betting market information * Creating real-time insights and automated content generation across multiple sports * Why sports data remains one of the biggest challenges in AI-powered sports products * The importance of “deterministic data, generative voice” in AI applications * Lessons learned selling to broadcasters and media professionals * How AI is enabling small teams to build sophisticated sports technology companies * Why deep sports knowledge remains critical when building sports-focused AI products * The current state of betting edges, prediction markets, and automated trading * Blitz’s vision for becoming the intelligence layer powering the future of sports media and fan engagement   Learn more 👇 ➡️ Blitz website [https://blitzanalytics.live/] ➡️ Devon Sinha on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonsinha/] ➡️ Tejas Srinivasan on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tejassrinivasan/]   📩 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/ [https://news.bettingstartups.com/]

Ep. 217: Turning sports narratives into "momentum markets" w/ Nick Meader from SpeedLabs

Ep. 217 features Nick Meader, Co-Founder & CEO of SpeedLabs, joining Jesse Learmonth to discuss the company's $6.5 million seed round, the creation of "Momentum Markets," and why he believes the next generation of sports betting products will be built around live narratives rather than traditional betting markets.   Hear them discuss: * Nick’s journey from college bookmaker and betting entrepreneur to venture capital investor and founder of SpeedLabs * How a conversation with poker legend Phil Hellmuth and industry veteran David Woodley helped spark the creation of SpeedLabs * The concept behind Momentum Markets and why SpeedLabs is building live, narrative-driven betting products instead of traditional microbetting markets * How AI, proprietary modeling, and real-time game analysis power dynamic markets based on the storylines unfolding within each game * Why prediction markets may be better positioned than traditional sportsbooks to adopt innovative betting products and experiences * SpeedLabs’ dual go-to-market strategy, including B2B partnerships and a new consumer-facing gaming product set to launch later this year * The company’s $6.5 million seed round, led by gaming-focused investors with deep ties to companies like FanDuel and PrizePicks * Nick’s fundraising lessons, including why team quality, humility, and founder likability matter more than spreadsheets at the earliest stages * His perspective on the evolving relationship between sportsbooks and prediction markets, and why he believes the two are already converging at the user-experience level * The roadmap ahead for SpeedLabs, including launch partners, NFL season plans, and the long-term vision of making Momentum Markets a mainstream betting product   Learn more 👇 ➡️ SpeedLabs website [https://speedlabs.dev/] ➡️ Nick Meader on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-meader/]   📩 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/ [https://news.bettingstartups.com/]

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 [https://spina.app/] ➡️ Jackson Erminior on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonerminio/]   📩 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/ [https://news.bettingstartups.com/]