Do you love sports? I mean, do you REALLY love sports? Do you play in fantasy leagues and spend your weekends on the computer chasing down stats and replays? Then Lay Opinion has found the ultimate website for you!
Launched in late November, Houston based Sports Tradex is quickly gaining popularity in the fantasy sports world. The site provides entertaining, skill-based competitions for users to make predictions about sporting events and fantasy sports, and allows for real-time activity, including during games. ”The long term goal is to define a new segment of social sports games by reaching millions of users and becoming a successful, legal hybrid of Intrade and fantasy sports,” says Founder and CEO Benjamin Lipson. “We think big!”
SportsTradex CEO and Co-Founder Ben Lipson
Signing up is easy – Users either create an account using their email address, or sign in with their Twitter or Facebook credentials. After creating an account, the user can choose to join contests, such as the “NFL Playoffs Predictor.” The user also has the option to create his own leagues, which makes it easier to play against friends and co-workers.
“Over the next 12 months [the site] will expand to have more contests and stock market games on the site. We are [also] working on a phase of development that will feed live stats [directly] into the site.” There is no risk to signing up, as many of the contests are free to enter. And if you want to play for bigger cash prizes, you have the option to “buy in” to more advanced competitions.
Lay Opinion sports writer Ron Foreman also experimented with the site. “It shows promise in becoming a different type of fantasy sports play. The monetary units used in the trading game [are reflective of] how confident you are in what you’re purchasing shares in,” said Foreman. “It is very reminiscent of trading stocks in high school.”
Sports Tradex also caught the eye of angel investors, who provided funding for the concept. “We completed a round of Angel funding in September 2012. We would be looking for more capital in the summer [of 2013],” says Lipson. “The company’s biggest challenge to this point is attracting users to the site, but the feedback from existing users is very positive.” Sports Tradex was also invited to participate among a select group of startups at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, a forum for industry professionals and students to discuss the increasing role of analytics in the global sports industry.
For more information on Sports Tradex, you can visit their website at http://www.sportstradex.com, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. You can also catch a more in-depth interview with CEO Ben Lipson below:
