Welcome back to the Knup Sports Show! In episode 226, Ryan shares his excitement for preseason football and reminds listeners to use the special promo code “New Partner VIP” for a discount on SBC Summit tickets. He also mentions that this episode will feature a special guest from the fantasy sports world.
Our guest today is Tara Kovatch from Fantasy Sports Evo. Tara talks about her journey from working in a family bar to becoming a key player in the fantasy sports industry. She introduces Fantasy Sports Evo, a unique fantasy sports platform where you pick teams instead of players, making it easier and less time-consuming. Tara also discusses the challenges of player acquisition and shares some exciting plans for the future of Fantasy Sports Evo. Don’t miss this informative and fun episode!
Ryan Knuppel
What’s going on, everybody? Ryan Knuppel here, Knup Sports Show, episode 226. Hope you’re all doing well today. Welcome to the show. Thanks for giving us a little attention today. We really appreciate that. Football’s going well. We are just a few days from preseason football. I cannot wait. There’s a game this Thursday, then we got preseason next week. Preseason, eh, give or take. But that just means the regular season’s right around the corner. Summer’s flown by. I can’t wait for football season. I can’t wait to talk to our guest today. probably a little bit about fantasy football as well, so I can’t wait to dive into that.
First off, a little housekeeping. Hey, if you are going to the SBC Summit in Lisbon, September 24th to 26th, if you’re planning on going to this event, it’s going to be amazing. One of the biggest iGaming events ever. If you do plan on going and you don’t have tickets yet, use New Partner VIP. That’ll get you an amazing discount to that show. It’s going to be an amazing one. Lisbon, first year there. SBC puts on an amazing show, so hope you’re able to go to that. Wanted to make sure to mention that here from the very beginning.
All right, enough housekeeping. Let’s jump right into our guest today. Today we have Tara Kovatch with Fantasy Sports Evo. Tara, how are you?
Tara Kovatch
Hey Ryan, nice to meet you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Ryan Knuppel
Absolutely, been itching to have you on. I know this one’s been on my calendar for quite some time and I’ve been like, oh I can’t wait to talk to Tara and see what’s up. We’re at a perfect time in the sports schedule to really talk to you and hear what you have going on. But before we dive in, how are you doing up there in New Jersey? You hanging in there through the summer months?
Tara Kovatch
Yeah, yeah, we’re doing good. Summer’s been good. New Jersey weather’s not too bad. It’s been a little hot, but we’ve had some breaks, so it’s not too bad.
Ryan Knuppel
Absolutely. Tara, we always like to start with getting to know you a little bit and what makes you tick. In my brain, I’m like, how did this person start this product or start this site? How are they doing what they’re doing today? Give me that backstory that leads you up to where you are today with your Fantasy Sports Evo.
Tara Kovatch
Yeah, absolutely. I just want to say that, you know, thanks for having me on here. I’ve been listening to some of your previous episodes and I’ve learned a lot by listening to your guests. I’ve even made some connections on LinkedIn with some of them. So, so it’s been great. So I really appreciate you doing what you’re doing.
So I’ll get started. So my name is Tara Kovatch. I was born in Jersey, raised in Maryland, went to school in North Carolina and made my way back up to New Jersey. Um, love sports all my life always knew I was going to work in sports and somehow but that path or what it looked like changed over the years you know it started with gymnastics I was going to be the next nadia komanish but clearly I’m not in the olympics right now so that didn’t work out you know then it moved to soccer and basketball where I thought it was going to be the female version of michael jordan but That didn’t work out either. Cheryl swooped to beat me to it, and she did an amazing job at it. So I’ve always had that athlete mindset that if I’m going to do something, I’m going to give 110%, and I want to be the best at it. Anything less was never going to be acceptable.
So I played soccer and basketball through high school, read all the great coaches’ books, Dean Smith. even though I’m a diehard Duke fan, Coach K, Pat Summitt, Coach Wooten, all those books, just learning how they built their empire and was such a great leader. So I always wanted to be the best at what I was gonna do, even if it wasn’t the norm. So after college, I landed a job at Full Locker Corporate Headquarters, where I had some amazing experiences working at some of the events, but I also learned a lot about what it takes to succeed in a male dominated industry.
So after about 10 years, I got tired of corporate America and I asked my mom and my aunt to hire me at the family bar. They owned a bar in Hoboken that their parents had started. They laughed, thought I was joking and said, sure, we’ll hire you. So the next day I went in, quit my job and showed up for work at the bar. So I ended up turning that that small little local neighborhood bar into one of the top bar nightclubs in northern New Jersey and a multimillion dollar business. It’s still after 62 years in business, though, we decided to sell it so that my mom could live her life. And I wanted to retire to spend some more time at home with my daughter, who was six at the time, and my wife. So I did that, and I spent my days volunteering at her elementary school, becoming the PTO president for a couple of years. That was a blast.
Fast forward, about three years ago, we found out we were getting new neighbors, and they had triplets. And those triplets were about three years older than my daughter. So we said, well, this could be either really good or really bad. Turns out it was really good because that is how I met Mark. Mark is the founder of Fantasy Sports Evo. So one day we were talking and Mark knew that I love sports. And he had heard that my wife and I got married in Atlantic City. We made a couple trips to the casino. So he knew we loved gambling also. So he started telling me about his daily fantasy sports app that he was working on. And I was like, oh, no, I don’t do daily fantasy sports. And he’s like, wait, wait, hear me out, hear me out. He’s like, why don’t you do it? I said, because I don’t have time to know all the players, their stats, like my brain, my brain doesn’t operate that way, right? So he’s like, okay, hear me out. And then you can say if you’re going to, if you don’t like it anymore.
So he tells me all about Fantasy Sports Evo and how it was different from every other fantasy sports platform that I’ve ever heard of. He explained the team-based concept and how he envisioned the company. And then I immediately got excited, and I was like, oh, my God, this is something I would totally play, and I wanted to be a part of it. So here we go. I’m running the daily operations, and Mark is our head tech guy, always working with the developers to improve the player experience.
Ryan Knuppel
That’s quite a story. That’s quite a path to get you there.
Tara Kovatch
It is, right?
Ryan Knuppel
And I love that because it’s a common thing. It is a common story for guests on this show, you know, going from the athlete mindset to the business mindset within sports, you know, we all have come the same way, right? I played college basketball and just, I think college athletes just have that itch to continue competing. And in business, we compete. In business, we compete. Whether we think of it like that or not, we are, right? We’re competing for customers. We’re competing for whatever. And so it’s a perfect segue, and it gives us a lot of the skills. I’m sure you’ve learned a lot of the skills that you’re using today through athletics back in the day. So I love that story. It certainly puts you in a position to succeed in what you’re doing today. So thank you for sharing that entire journey with us.
Tara Kovatch
Yeah, of course. Sorry. Like I said, I ramble.
Ryan Knuppel
That’s good. That’s good. Very good. So cool. So you kind of mentioned this. Let’s segue into Fantasy Sports Evo. I mean, you kind of surfacely told us what it is. Why don’t you again repeat kind of what Fantasy Sports Evo is, what it’s meant for, maybe what some of the key differences are in other fantasy products and things of the nature. Why don’t you give us that elevator pitch real quick?
Tara Kovatch
Yeah, yeah, sure. So Fantasy Sports Evo is not just like another daily fantasy sports app. We’re totally unique. With Evo, you pick teams instead of the players to build your lineup. This simplified platform is less intimidating and less time consuming. You just don’t need to know all the players, their positions, their stats, and their playing status. I mean, just saying all that hurts my head. Right. EVO opens up fantasy sports to a whole new audience of sports fans that, like myself, find traditional fantasy sports or sports betting too overwhelming.
EVO is appealing to traditional fantasy sports players as an add-on to their current platform of choice. We’re not a direct competition of the DraftKings or FanDuels of the world. We’re in addition to. What also makes this a little unique is there’s a guaranteed winner for every contest. Meaning there isn’t a house to play against or odds that you have to beat. You just have to have more points than the other players in that particular contest. So like right now we have smaller three or four, three or five player contests. But even when we get bigger and we have 100 player, 200 player contests, you still have a chance to win that contest because we’re limiting the number of entries per user, right? So at most we would have three entries permitted per user. So that eliminates the sharks with these huge bankrolls that come in and just, you know, put 25 entries in there and hope, you know, they’re probably going to win. And it also doesn’t allow for any bots to enter multiple entries with different lineups, you know. So it really levels the playing field for all sports fans.
Ryan Knuppel
I’ll stop you right there because I love that feature right there in itself because I do personally. I felt like that’s what really started to hurt you know the fan duels and the draft kings back in the old DFS days, you know back where you went from it was a fun experience to all of a sudden now these people have 300 entries in one contest and you’re just like oh my gosh I see the same people like everywhere with 100 entries and if you’re not willing to put a huge bankroll or just put in like massive amounts of time or have robots doing it you can’t compete and so that right there I think is a feature that you guys can be proud of and it’s something that makes it better for the ordinary person.
Tara Kovatch
Yeah, exactly. And that was one of the sticking points that Mark is really going to stick with is because, you know, because he had that experience. He was a fantasy sports player. Like I said, I never really was, but he was. And, you know, you get those bots, you get those sharks. Let me back up real quick and just tell you the story about how Mark created the app. Back in the day, it was years ago, he put in his lineup before leaving work. And he got in his car, started driving home, and while he was in traffic, he heard one of the players got pulled from the game because of a stomach virus. Now, that’s something you’re not even going to have on your radar leading up to the game. And by the time he got home, it was too late to change the lineup. So he’s like, there’s got to be a better way. And this was before you could tell your phone to change your lineup for you while you’re driving. So you had to get home and fire up the laptop. So, so that’s when he was like, there’s gotta be a better way. And he came up with this team concept.
Ryan Knuppel
That’s awesome. Yeah. I’ve had very similar experiences in my day where I’m like something breaking happens and then you’re just so mad because you don’t get it changed in time and all of the above. Oh, the problems of the old, the DFS days. But yeah. Hey, all good products are born out of a problem. And so that’s a cool to see that he connected and, you know, experience he had to a solution and here we are today.
Tara Kovatch
Right. And it’s not just a solution just to those people that play the traditional way. Right. So he’s created a whole nother thing. It’s just a whole nother category of fantasy sports. Yeah. And that’s what that’s what we’re really excited about.
Ryan Knuppel
Yeah. So talk about who can play. So so what sports are you available for? I’m assuming this is a real money product. So then that opens up the next question of what areas can you play in? Because there’s probably regulations and all the above that are in play here. Right. Sports in the areas that people are able to play.
Tara Kovatch
Yeah, so we are real money gambling. It’s considered daily fantasy sports because it’s a game of skill. You have to have some knowledge, right? So we are licensed in the state of New Jersey. Since we’re based in New Jersey, we got the license there. And then we’re available in 27 other states. So in total, we’re available in 28 states plus Canada, excluding Ontario. Gotcha. And there’s a nice little map on our website that you’re showing right now.
You have to be 18 years of age or 21 in Massachusetts to play. You have to be located in one of those states. We have the geolocators to make sure that you are in an eligible state. And yeah, the minimum deposit is $10. And right now we’re currently offering a deposit match up to $100. And for anyone listening to this episode and wants to put in promo, wants to check us out, use promo code KNUP, K-N-U-P, and I’ll add an additional $10 bonus bet in addition to the deposit match.
Ryan Knuppel
I love promo codes. Cool. Awesome. That’s a cool little bonus for the listeners. Thank you. Appreciate that.
Tara Kovatch
Yep. So we currently offer NFL, which we’re excited to get started. We’re going to try and get some preseason action in so people can test the waters a little bit. So we’re looking at week three, probably preseason, we’re going to start offering contests. We currently offer NFL, NBA, MLB, which is currently in the lobby right now. That’s the only pro sport playing right now. NHL. And then this year we were super excited. We added the WNBA. So they’re on hiatus for the Olympics. So that will be back in the lobby back in August, mid-August when they come back.
Next year, we’re looking to possibly add soccer to our offerings. And we had a really successful season last NFL season. That was our first real public launch. That was really good. We learned a lot. We made some changes, some tweaks. And we are currently signing some brand ambassadors to help us get the word out and get our product in front of more people and more eyes. So we’re excited for NFL season to kick off and we can’t wait to see the growth that we get from that.
Ryan Knuppel
That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Kind of leads me right into what I was going to talk about next a little bit. As the VP of player accounts, you’re really focused on getting players and player accounts and getting more activity from a consumer side. Talk about that a little bit in this world of what feels like never-ending products and never-ending noise around sports. There’s just a lot going on, especially with the legalization of sports betting and all these new products that are popping up. Just talk a little bit now, a little bit from more of a business side or just a real talk side about the challenges that are acquiring players. Because I know that’s just that’s one of the big challenges a lot of companies have. And it sounds like you have some great ideas and it sounds like you’re grinding on several great ideas. But just shed some light on that side of things and, you know, the challenges around that. And I don’t know, whatever you want to say around that side.
Tara Kovatch
Yeah, yeah. I will admit, it’s a lot harder than I thought it was going to be originally. And I think one of those reasons is because we are so different, right? So if you’re playing one of the traditional, and I just use DraftKings FanDuel because they’re the biggest ones, right? So if you’re playing something like that, and you’re like, what do you mean it’s team? Like, I don’t know. So because we’re so different, we need to educate the user or the player. So we need to tell them a little bit more about us. And then there’s so many new DFS or sports betting platforms popping up, more so DFS, popping up and then going away so quickly. So there’s a lot of hesitation to give my money to a new startup. They’re like, well, why should I give you money? I’ve just lost my money on whatever the latest DFS company to fold. And you know, people don’t understand that in New Jersey, you have to have that player count balance. Right. So, but you know, you can’t explain that to someone, you know, in a, in a Facebook post or, you know, or Twitter, you know, but so it’s hard. Um, and then, you know, um, just trying to get our story out there, everything is pay to play these days, you know? So, I’ve been, I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of networking. And I’ve been able to speak to a lot of people in the industry or have been in the industry. And they’ve given me a lot of great advice. And the one thing they need, they say is you just need a ton of money. You know, you’re trying to compete. I’m like, we’re not trying to compete with, you know, those bigger guys, DraftKings and FanDuel because we’re in addition to, but you just need so much money to get your name out there these days. It’s really hard. So that’s why we’re trying to, you know, we’re 100% bootstrapped right now. And we’re open to investors. We’re trying to get our platform and everything ready so that we could, you know, seek an investment round or something like that. So we’re getting ready. So if anyone’s listening and interested, you know, hit me up on LinkedIn. I’m open to it. But yeah, the player acquisition is definitely a lot harder than I thought. So I’m just, you know, networking, talking to people. And a lot of people, you know, have the same answer as me originally. Oh, I don’t do that. And then, you know, I feel like I’m doing the mark. Like, wait, wait, wait, just hear me out. And then they’re like, oh, okay, I like that. So it’s an educational process. So we’ve been lucky we’ve been on four for four. Fantasy Pros did a little segment on us last year. We’ve had some good partners. You having me on here is fantastic. I’m just grinding every day, just reaching out constantly. Who wants to tell a story about this? Because when we are big, they’re going to regret not telling the story. I just got to get there first so that they can regret it.
Ryan Knuppel
That’s right. Thank you for sharing that for sure. What’s the future look like for you guys? I mean, Is it as simple as just continue to develop an amazing product? I guess one specific question around the future. You make it very clear that you guys are pick teams, not players. But I can see a progression into picking players as you guys grow. Is that like a no, we’re just never going down that route? Or is that more of a high-level strategy question that’s probably for another day? But I’m curious because that’s really the message around your product. So is that the long-term? That’s a side question. And then after that, maybe talk a little bit about the future, what you guys are up to, if there’s any cool, awesome things that you guys are doing, new sports, things of that nature.
Tara Kovatch
Yeah. So as of right now, you know, I would never say never, you know, but, um, as of right now, our plan is to stick to the, the pick teams, not players. Love it. Yeah. Yeah. That’s our niche and we want to stick to it. There’s plenty of people doing the pick players, you know, and there’s so much competition out there. It’s not necessary. There’s no need for that, but there is a need for what we have. And so we’re just gonna, you know, stick to it, grind on it and just keep growing.
I mentioned before, we’re looking to maybe add soccer. We get a lot of questions. Why don’t you add golf? Well, that’s an individual, you know, sport. Could we create a team, you know, but certain, you know, sponsors maybe, but you know, that’s just not something that we’re into. There’s plenty of platforms that you can bet on golf. But I think soccer, we have some cool ideas for soccer. I’m really excited about that. So that’s the next sport that we’re looking into. And, you know, you know, if, if, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the Olympics. Rugby sevens is amazing. If there becomes a rugby sevens league, we’ll look into that. But for now, we’re definitely going to keep the team-based concept.
Ryan Knuppel
Love it. Love it. Well, Tara, this has been amazing. Thank you so much for the transparency and kind of giving us all a deep look into what you’re up to with Fantasy Sports Evo. Anything I missed? Any last words before I let you go here? Anything you wanted to say before we let you go?
Tara Kovatch
No, I can’t think of anything. I just, you know, encourage people. If you, you want to give fantasy sports a shot, this is a great way to segue into, into, into the industry. It’s super easy. It’s a lot of fun. And right now, if you get in our free five-player contest, it’s easy. You get you and two friends, and one of you is going to win. So it’s a lot of fun. I encourage you to at least give it a shot. For $10, it doesn’t hurt.
Ryan Knuppel
Absolutely. And you use the knup promo code, get a little bonus on top. I mean, come on. What’s not to love about that? You’re on both app stores, right? Google and Apple?
Tara Kovatch
Yes, absolutely. Yep. And our website is mobile friendly, but you can also download the app if that’s your choice.
Ryan Knuppel
Oh, I love it. Love it. Choices, options. That’s good. We’ll make sure to put all those links in the show notes and the promo code and all the above. But yeah, I also encourage everybody to go check it out. I know my brother’s already checked it out. I’m planning on it after this show and diving in and just, I’m really more of a football fantasy guy and not a baseball fantasy guy, but that’s a common man. It’s like right here. It’s like right around the corner. Are you excited?
Tara Kovatch
There’s one guy that, diehard football guy. And we got them hooked on the basketball platform. So, you know, that’s what we started soon enough.
Ryan Knuppel
So you’re right. You’re right. So, personal question. Are you a football fan? First of all, and who’s your team? Do you have a team?
Tara Kovatch
I am a football fan. I grew up in Maryland. So, you know, Washington Redskins, I’m going to date myself again here, you know, John Riggins and the Hogs. But I moved up to Jersey and everyone was a Giants fan. So, you know, I like to be different. So I became a Jets fan and, you know, we all know how that’s working out.
Ryan Knuppel
There’s some upside there with that team, though. There’s still some upside.
Tara Kovatch
There is. There is. And if you were betting with Evo, it didn’t matter that Rodgers went down in the first quarter.
Ryan Knuppel
That’s right. That’s right. You don’t have to worry about the stresses of a player getting yanked or whatever.
Tara Kovatch
Right, right, because you still get points if someone comes in and whoever – It doesn’t matter who scores the touchdown or throws the pass or catches or runs. It’s the team.
Ryan Knuppel
That’s right. Awesome. Well, Tara, I’ll let you go. I know you’ve got a busy schedule and you’re doing a lot of amazing things. But thank you so much for this episode. Really appreciate it. And if I can help you in any way, please let me know how.
Tara Kovatch
All right. Sounds good. Thank you so much. Thanks again.
Ryan Knuppel
All right. Take care, Tara.
Tara Kovatch
All right. Have a good one.
Ryan Knuppel
All right, that was Tara Kovatch of Fantasy Sports Evo. Hope you enjoyed that show. Episode 226 in the books. That was an amazing one. We will put the links to Fantasy Sports Evo out in the show notes and that promo code as well. Make sure you use that. $10 to deposit. It’s a no-brainer. Give it a shot. Definitely plan on I always do this before every season. I end up loading up at all these different fantasy sites, so I’ll make sure this Fantasy Sports Evo is one of those this year that I’m a part of, and it’ll be a good time.
So hopefully you enjoyed that show. If you do have other guests you’d like to see on this show, I’m open to interviewing them, so please just let me know, and we can go from there. All right, until next time, I’m Ryan Knuppel at KNUP. You can find me all over on the Internet. Hope you’re doing well. Talk to you soon. Take care. Bye-bye.
Relevant Guest Links
- Learn more about Fantasy Sports EVO on their website.
- You can connect with Tara Kovatch on LinkedIn.
More Knup Sports Links
- I refer to Knup Sports often in my show. That’s our sports passion site. Check out KnupSports.com here.
- If you are looking for sports content services you can find more information on the Knup Solutions website.
- Listen to more episodes of the Knup Sports Show.
- Want to be a guest on our show? Setup a time that works here.
- Subscribe to the Knup Sports Show on iTunes here.
