Startup Focus – Lucra Sports
Worth a Luc: The company’s two founders Dylan Robbins, CEO, and Michael Madding, COO, met 10 years ago when they both worked at Goldman Sachs. They spent their free time together watching and playing sports, keeping a running note on their phones of their friendly side bets.
But, says Madding, “we wanted instant settlement of our bets, we wanted complete control to customize the odds and spreads, and we wanted a lifelong scoreboard (to see who had ultimate bragging rights on and off the [golf] course).”
So, in 2019, they started Lucra, which now employs 15 people remotely across the US.
“Lucra is a social-gaming product where friends can challenge friends on the professional sports they watch and the recreational games they play,” explains Madding.
They launched the product in 2021 and achieved 50k active customers and ~$15m in handle.
Everything on Lucra is user-generated. “Pick the player or game to compete on and set the terms of the wager.”
As a skill-based game, Lucra can operate in 44 states, covering 95% of the US population.
“Last summer, we evolved the business from B2C to B2B2C, and built a SDK (software development kit) that allows enterprise clients to integrate our technology and offer natively it to their customers inside their existing platform,” Madding adds.
Lucrative: In Mar22, they raised $10m via a Series A, led by Raptor Group, SeventySix Capital and Victress Capital, as well as Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, professional tennis player John Isner and NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
Luc out: “There is a unique market opportunity in the B2B software space within the wagering ecosystem,” Madding claims. With the “intense focus” from the market leaders on D2C, it “leaves an open door for Lucra to differentiate itself from the competition.”
There has been “overwhelming positivity and interest in the B2B vertical”, he says. with seven deals signed in three months, including with Major League Pickeball and TennisONE (see below); six-figure to multi-million-dollar upfront fees; massive market demand for what we are building; and a pipeline of 600 names and growing.
“Each deal will generate $1m+ of revenue over their 2-3-year deal length,” he adds.
Luc to the future: The company says revenue last year increased 5x to $500k. Over the next 1-2 years Lucra’s goals include becoming “ubiquitous as the white-label software provider for real-money gamification”.
Growth company news
Acing it: The TennisONE app has added real-money contests to its offering in time for the 2024 Australian Open, which got underway yesterday. Thanks to a new partnership with Lucra (see above), fans will be able to bet against each other without the need for a bookie.
“It will be a game changer for tennis fans,” said Lucra investor and former tennis pro John Isner.