It only took fantasy sports startup SportsLock two months from initial release of its mobile application to closing on a $5 million Series A round of financing. The Series A round officially closed in early May, but has not been announced until today. Co-founder Todd Heyden says there was no need to “scream from the mountain and let everyone know. ” However, now the word is out and SportsLock admits that it is already working on raising eight figures in a Series B round. The goal is for Heyden and his team to accelerate SportsLock’s growth and positioning as the best place for friends to take action on sports.
The Series A $5 million raise was led by Chicago-based Wicklow Capital with involvement from several other participants, including Robert Dupuy, the former Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball. A real differentiation between SportsLock and existing fantasy-related offerings is what truly piqued Dupuy’s interest in the opportunity to invest.
“From my time at MLB and after, I saw a massive number of pitches blending technology and sports, ” said Dupuy. “When I saw SportsLock in Chicago at a tech fair, I knew immediately that they had a unique product that would have universal appeal. ”
MLB recently extended its exclusive partnership with daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings. The multi-year extension makes DraftKings MLB’s “Official Daily Fantasy Game. ” Information surrounding the extension revealed that MLB has an investment in the fantasy sports operator as well. Now SportsLock has one of MLB’s former executives involved and a carefree attitude concerning the rise of daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel.
The unique product comes in the form of a mobile application that is a first-of-its-kind fantasy sports brackets experience. It allows users to compete against friends or public opponents in “survive and advance ” style bracket tournaments (similar to the structure of the annual NCAA Tournament) for money. The app currently incorporates game-play for NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball competition, with PGA and NHL formats currently being developed. Users draft their players in real-time and winners advance to the next round until there is one winner.
Forbes
Fantasy Sports Startup SportsLock Secures $5 Million
By Darren Heitner