David VanEgmond’s investment vehicle to raise $100m for industry VC fund
Ex-FanDuel and Barstool Sports exec invests in more than 10 early stage companies via Bettor Capital
Former FanDuel and Barstool Sports head of strategy David VanEgmond is aiming to raise a £100m+ venture capital fund by taking his industry investment vehicle to market in May.
Bettor Capital has currently invested in more than 10 early stage companies within the online gaming supply chain with a focus on the digitalization of gambling.
This includes FanDuel-partnered technology platform and media distribution provider SportsGrid and digital sports media outlet The Athletic, which VanEgmond helped to secure a deal with BetMGM, and DataSkrive, which is a SaaS tool leveraged by sports betting partners.
“We’re about a month away from going out to market to raise formally for our first fund,” VanEgmond told EGR North America.
“I’ve just been investing my own capital from the FanDuel and Barstool Sports exits to date but we’re looking to raise an over $100m venture fund, and we’ll be out in the market with that soon,” he added.
Since launching Bettor Capital in June last year, VanEgmond has brought in an associate, an analyst, and an investment partner to support its growth.
Jake Kleiner joined as VanEgmond’s partner from US Bank, where he was head of FinTech acceleration. Prior to that, Kleiner was a senior associate at Vista Equity Partners and a technology M&A analyst at Barclays Capital.
“He comes from an area not in the gaming space but from more fintech and software investing,” VanEgmond said of Kleiner.
“That was an area [of expertise] I was excited to add because he’s been more of a professional investor over the last decade.
“He has deep software domain expertise, which plays into our supply chain theory about this market opportunity,” VanEgmond added.
Bettor Capital is aiming to invest in additional startups that link to the online gaming and betting sector, with a specific focus on B2B technology providers.
“I think I’m sitting at a nice intersection between the traditional sports ecosystem, the online gaming ecosystem, and being an investor focused on the convergence of those sectors with a unique focus and investment thesis,” VanEgmond said.