Why Pete Smaluck, an aspiring math teacher, bet on himself in the sports gambling world

Pete Smaluck is the founder and CEO of props.cash, a research platform that gives sports fans and gamblers an edge in the sector, which has grown exponentially since the 2021 legalization of single-game bets in Canada. A trained teacher, Pete originally developed his software to teach middle-schoolers math through NBA stats. But he couldn’t convince school boards in Ontario to pay for the software, so he found a new approach to make his tool valuable. Three years in, props.cash now has tens of thousands of users across 30 countries. It’s also one of the highest-grossing sports apps on the Apple App Store. In this episode, Pete discusses how he was able to redirect his user base from kids to adults, why simple design is so difficult to achieve, and what he thinks about the stigma around sports gambling.

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People love to share their wins, but shy away from telling us about their losses. Our society rewards success. And yet, the best business leaders and entrepreneurs know that failure is a big part of making something worthwhile. Introducing Better For It, a brand-new business podcast from The Globe and Mail, which explores how our mistakes shape us. Join host Temur Durrani, as he speaks to noteworthy Canadian entrepreneurs who failed, learned from their mistakes and built back better.