Founder Stories: Sean Green On Building The Sports Gambling Podcast Network
In today’s Founder Story, we feature Sean Green, co-founder and CEO of The Sports Gambling Podcast Network.
Read on for lessons he has learned from launching and marketing his business.
1. Please introduce your business and share your role.
I’m the co-founder and CEO of SGPN a.k.a. The Sports Gambling Podcast Network™. The company began when I started hosting The Sports Gambling Podcast™ with my co-host Ryan Kramer back in 2011.
Over the years as our podcast grew in popularity, we decided to parlay it into an entire network, launching SGPN in 2017. My role at SGPN is co-hosting the flagship show and working with my business partner Kramer to make sure the network continues to give our listeners the kind of content they enjoy.
2. What’s your backstory, what kind of challenges did you face, and how did you come up with your business idea?
I’ve been podcasting since 2007 and the decision to launch The Sports Gambling Podcast™ came naturally as both myself and my co-host love betting on sports. The business idea and business itself evolved naturally as the show continued to grow.
The challenges we faced in the beginning are the same we face today, coming up with compelling content that can compete in a competitive marketplace that is cost-effective and remains true to our #DegensOnly brand.
3. How did you prepare for, and go about your launch?
This was the first company I was involved in launching and quite honestly did nothing to prepare. We just continued to do what we love and just increased it gradually over the years. We’ve tried a variety of marketing strategies during the course of our company’s history, but word of mouth remains the most effective.
4. Since launching, what types of marketing campaigns and designs have worked best to attract and retain customers?
Besides word of mouth, contests have been particularly successful for us in driving brand awareness. If you’re listening to The Sports Gambling Podcast Network™ you enjoy winning sports bets and creating free-to-play contests have been a great way to attract new listeners and viewers.
5. What have been the most influential brands for your business? Whose branding and marketing do you aspire to and why?
The flagship show Sports Gambling Podcast™ continues to be our bread and butter product, that being said The College Experience brand is our most successful and fastest-growing brand. Their college basketball show in particular has seen huge growth with their live shows on YouTube.
6. What are your favorite marketing platforms/tools?
YouTube has been the greatest marketing tool for The Sports Gambling Podcast Network™. YouTube is growing in popularity for people’s choice for podcasts and their search aspect is particularly beneficial for a company like ours that is tuned into SEO.
7. Who or what inspires and motivates you?
Honestly, the fans are the biggest inspiration and motivation. Hearing fans reach out and say how much they enjoy the show and what we do really keeps me going. Even though are show is light-hearted I’ve had so many listeners reach out over the years with touching stories about how our show was a great respite from a particularly tough time. I love talking about sports gambling and would do it for nothing, but knowing it’s making someone’s day a little easier is a really cool reward.
8. What are some lessons you’ve learned along the way that you would share with entrepreneurs hoping to launch or who have just launched?
The most important lessons I’ve learned along the way is to surround yourself with people who are there for the right reasons. Early on when money is tight, you need to surround yourself with some hungry dogs. If people are there just for a paycheck and not also the experience of growing a business, they won’t be a good team member.
9. What do you believe are the qualities of a good entrepreneur? And what makes a team successful?
I think a successful entrepreneur is similar to a CB in football, the best ones have a short memory. You can’t beat yourself up for mistakes you made in the past, you need to view those as learning experiences. Like a great CB in the NFL, you need to line up every day with supreme confidence that your company is the company for the job.
10. Let us know where we can go to learn more!
Subscribe to the Sports Gambling Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
- Website
- YouTube
- X(formerly Twitter)