SXSW Pitch Finalist: Betmarkets
The Forrest Four-Cast: February 10, 2020
Did you win big on the Super Bowl? Are you already planning your NCAA March Madness bracket? Or maybe you can’t wait to make your picks for Euro 2020.
If you’re interested in sports betting (or adding a fresh element to your investment portfolio), Betmarkets thinks it knows how you can boost your profits.
One of the 50 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020, the Porto, Portugal-based startup is nearing its full launch date, and already has had more than 12,000 beta users sign up to choose from a selection of renowned professional bettors to copy. All users have to do is fund their accounts, pick their preferred bettors, and decide how much to invest in each. Then each time one of them places a bet, the same bet is placed for the Betmarkets client. It’s that simple!
See Betmarkets talk about their business model in the category Innovative World Technology between 5 and 6 pm Saturday, March 14, before a live audience and a panel of expert judges.
Winners in each of the 10 categories will be announced at the Pitch Awards Ceremony, at 6:30 pm Sunday, March 15. SXSW attendees are also invited to Meet the Finalists from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Monday, March 16. All SXSW Pitch events take place at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
André Flórido, Betmarkets’ Co-Founder & COO, answered questions about his company, shared some book recommendations, and explained why he thinks obedience is overrated.
What is your top goal for Betmarkets for 2020?
2020 is the year when we finally launch our official version and kickstart our growth. Attaining $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue and securing a business partner in the United States are major goals.
With the exception of Betmarkets, what tech trend is your team most excited about?
We are very enthusiastic about the rise of multi-experience development (e.g. multi-channel and multi-sensory interfaces) and are completely aligned with the focus on building “people-literate technology” to reshape the interactions between businesses and consumers and increase the satisfaction of the latter.
If you weren’t working for Betmarkets, what would you be doing?
If I had not accepted this amazing challenge, I would still be working as an investment banker in London. The pay was excellent, don’t get me wrong, but there must be more than that if you’re going to devote to it 80+ hours a week of your time. Both professionally and personally, I’m growing a lot more by being exposed to the hurdles of lifting a company from the ground up.
Tell us your favorite thing about being in Porto, Portugal.
One of the things I enjoy the most about Porto is the way everyone is ready to help you when in need. Looking lost? Someone will point you in the right direction. The elderly lady helping you doesn’t speak English? No problem at all! She will talk to you in Portuguese as loudly and slowly as needed, until you nod in “understanding.” We’re warm, selfless and accommodating, something that a few other places in the world are starting to miss.
What has the startup experience taught you about life?
That you are the sum of all failures you have experienced, since those are the events where you learn and grow the most. So, expose yourself to uncertainty and seize the opportunities, even if that means increasing the chances of a resounding blunder in your record. Every overnight success took a few years (or decades) of tough learning.
What do you think is the most overrated virtue?
Obedience. The status quo is there to be challenged and torn apart, in search for more efficient and effective solutions, while always striving for meritocracy. I’m always dumbfounded when someone does something without questioning it before just because X or Y told them to do so.
What motto or quote do you live by?
I’m a firm believer in the exponential power of cooperation, so, although slightly paraphrased, “a man never stands as tall as when (s)he is kneeling to help [another],” poses as a great inspiration.
Tell us about something you love.
As someone who is passionate about finance and automated decision-making, I had a great time reading “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman. “Homo Deus” by Yuval Noah Harari also deserves a highlight, given the comprehensive perspective it allows one to form when reflecting upon the upcoming decades.
What do you do when you are low on energy?
Playing tennis after work is my drug to overcome difficult days. There is something incredibly relaxing about hitting a ball as hard as you can and just seeing it flying over the net towards your opponent’s side.
If you were offered the opportunity to colonize Mars (but with no guarantee that you would ever return to Earth), would you go?
Absolutely, the lower gravity over there might give rise to some interesting sports! And, by the look of things, we might even get a (not-a-) flamethrower from Elon’s hands by taking part in the endeavor…
Look for more interviews with other finalists in this space between now and the start of SXSW Pitch on Saturday, March 14. Visit this page to see all previous interviews in this series as well as a list of all finalists.
If you are an entrepreneur, check out the SXSW 2020 Startups Track, which runs March 13–17. This track brings together founders and funders and showcases exciting new companies, products, services, and business models across different verticals and industries.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
