In the 12th episode of iGaming Accent, host Vakho Mdivani welcomes Imeda Imedashvili, co-founder of Heropicks Games, for a candid conversation about startup life, the challenges of building a B2B fantasy sports platform, and the ever-changing landscape of daily fantasy sports.
Imeda’s journey into iGaming was, as he puts it, “pure chance.” A lifelong sports fan, he recalls, “One of my friends suggested me for a job where they were looking for somebody with sports knowledge… My pure love for sports and not being able to become a professional player in any capacity made this the closest thing to sports for me.”
After years in marketing, Imeda transitioned from the operator side to co-founding a startup in the daily fantasy sports vertical. “Startup life is very interesting… You realize that if you’re not going to do it, nobody else is going to do it for you.”
He describes the early days as “stepping into unknown territory,” with long hours, sleepless nights, and constant self-doubt. “The biggest challenge was just telling myself, ‘You are on the right track. Keep going.’”
Securing the first client was, as Imeda says, “the hardest one.” He credits a mix of luck and leveraging personal contacts: “In the beginning, you are nobody. Nobody wants to listen to you… We got lucky that our first client was very keen on innovation.”
That first client remains with Heropicks to this day, helping shape the product through feedback and collaboration.
Discussing the state of the fantasy sports industry, Imeda observes a global surge in interest: “Fantasy was considered a purely North American product a couple of years ago. Now it’s becoming popular everywhere in the world.”
One of the biggest operational challenges is data accuracy. “Fantasy is a data-driven game. If your data is wrong, everything is wrong.” Imeda shares that Heropicks had to switch data providers to ensure integrity and granularity, even going so far as to track stats during games to verify accuracy manually.
“We watched games, took notes, and double-checked the stats with our provider. That’s how we arrived at our current scoring system.”
When it comes to KPIs for fantasy games, Imeda highlights acquisition and retention: “We always suggest to our clients to leverage this product as an acquisition and retention tool. If done correctly, customer lifetime values and engagement rates go through the roof.”
He also notes the potential for cross-selling between sportsbook and casino products, and the importance of making fantasy accessible with tools like AI-powered virtual assistants.
Imeda responded to a question from SBC’s Dennis Algreen and posed one of his own for the next guest.
To hear the full conversation and gain even deeper insights, listen to the complete podcast episode of iGaming Accent.
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