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SoBet
Techstars '23Nashville, US · Founded 2020 · Delaware corporation · 15 employees on LinkedIn · 3 known investors
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SoBet is a competitive social betting platform where users follow expert sports bettors ("cappers"), make picks, and compete on a weekly-resetting leaderboard for cash prizes via a subscription model. It serves sports betting fans and bettors, positioning itself as a community for sharing and tracking picks.
Also known as Sobet Company · SoBet.io
Founders & leadership
SoBet was founded in 2020 by Ron Reeves.
Investors · 3
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
How we know: funding news · newswire.com · Not right? Tell us
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$3.5M disclosed across 1 of 3 rounds · 2023–2024
▶$3.5MraisedMay 2024 · 20 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Kelli TurnerDirector
- Ron ReevesDirector
- John Cooper LycanExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $3.5M
- Amount sold
- $3.5M
- First sale
- Dec 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2020
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Sep 2026SoBet is a Nashville, Tennessee-based sports betting and sports media platform that connects users with independent sports betting creators who publish picks, game analysis, and entertainment content. The platform aggregates content from more than 50 independent creators (described elsewhere as over 75 creators) and distributes close to 5,000 posts per month, spanning in-depth game breakdowns, transparent picks, and lighter entertainment formats. The company positions the creator-led model as an alternative to traditional sports media, with an emphasis on transparency, community, and responsible betting habits for younger audiences.
The consumer product is a mobile app, available on the App Store and Google Play, built around competitive social betting contests. Users subscribe and join a contest in which each participant receives an identical virtual bankroll and places bets across sports and other markets over a seven-day cycle; the participants with the highest ending virtual balances receive cash prizes. Because wagering inside a contest uses play money, users do not stake their own funds while competing. App features include weekly public tournaments and closed group challenges, real-time leaderboards and rankings, push notifications on odds changes and contest deadlines, and an analytics dashboard tracking historical ROI, win/loss ratio, and bet types. The app states it is available only in jurisdictions where permitted and operates a fair-play policy covering fraud and collusion.
The company was founded by Cooper Lycan, who serves as Founder and CEO and relocated to Nashville in January 2022. Sources place the platform's launch in June 2022 and the mobile app launch at the start of the 2023 football season.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Cooper Lycan moved to Nashville in January 2022 and launched the platform in June 2022, then spent the following months building local support. Through the Nashville Entrepreneur Center's Capital Connection program, run by Haley Zapolski, Lycan was introduced to investors, including the company's largest investor, a former Entrepreneur Center board member based in New York, which contributed to the seed round.
Business model
SoBet operates a consumer subscription model: a subscription is required to enter contests, and top finishers in each seven-day contest receive real cash prizes. The company has described multiple revenue streams, including partnerships with professional sports leagues, and a creator monetization layer that allows independent sports betting creators to earn from their communities on the platform.
Paid subscriptions for contest entry, supplemented by additional revenue streams including partnerships with professional sports leagues.
Traction
The company reported scaling to over $1 million in annual revenue, onboarding tens of thousands of paying customers, and enabling over 75 independent creators to monetize their communities, with thousands of daily active users and roughly 5,000 creator posts per month reaching an audience of more than 10 million. A separate account cites 5,500 paying users within two years of launch. The Google Play listing shows more than 10,000 downloads.
Latest developments
In May 2024 SoBet announced the close of $3.7 million in funding led by Third Kind Venture Capital, with participation from investors including professional team owners and gaming industry executives, earmarked for product development, UX design, and growth marketing hiring.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
SoBet presents itself as a creator-led alternative within sports media and betting content rather than a sportsbook, competing for attention against traditional sports media outlets and fragmented creator channels. Press coverage frames the company as part of an emerging sector of creator-led sports coverage.
Contests are decided by strategy rather than stake size, since every entrant begins with the same virtual bankroll and does not risk personal funds while wagering inside a contest, while winners still receive real cash. The company also emphasizes transparent, verifiable picks from independent creators and a stated focus on responsible, long-term betting behavior.
Technology
A mobile application for iOS and Android supporting contest management over seven-day cycles, virtual bankroll accounting, real-time leaderboards and rankings, push notifications tied to odds movement and contest deadlines, and an analytics dashboard reporting user ROI, win/loss ratio, and bet-type breakdowns, alongside fraud and collusion monitoring.
Go-to-market
Distribution is through consumer mobile app stores (Apple App Store and Google Play) combined with creator-led content marketing, where independent creators publish picks and analysis that reach an audience the company describes as over 10 million. The company said it would invest seed proceeds in marketing strategies and growth marketing hiring.
Sports betting fans and next-generation sports media consumers who enjoy competitive, social prediction environments, want a low-risk way to test wagering strategies, or want to compare performance against other bettors; independent sports betting content creators seeking to monetize their audiences form the supply side.
Geography
Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, with the app available only in jurisdictions where local laws and regulations permit.
History
SoBet launched its platform in June 2022 and released its mobile app at the start of the 2023 football season. It raised $1.7 million in a pre-seed round, followed by $2 million in seed funding, with a $3.7 million initial funding announcement made public on May 1, 2024. Proceeds were directed to hiring in product development, UX design, and growth marketing, including two engineers, and to marketing investment.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 2
Companies working in the same space as SoBet.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsSoBet announced the close of $3.7 million in seed funding led by Third Kind Venture Capital, with support from investors including professional team owners and gaming executives. Funds are earmarked for marketing and hiring in product development, UX design, and growth marketing.
$3.7M source ↗
SoBet launched its mobile app at the beginning of the 2023 football season; the app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Founder and CEO Cooper Lycan launched the SoBet platform in June 2022 after relocating to Nashville in January 2022.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- SoBet Raises $3.7 Million in Initial Funding to Accelerate Growth and Product Development | Newswirenewswire.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does SoBet do?
- Nashville-based sports betting creator platform where users follow independent cappers and compete in weekly cash-prize contests.
- Who founded SoBet?
- SoBet was founded by Ron Reeves in 2020.
- Who are SoBet's investors?
- SoBet's investors include Neer Venture Partners, Techstars, Third Kind Venture Capital.
- How much funding has SoBet raised?
- SoBet has disclosed $3.5M raised across 1 of its 3 known rounds.
- Where is SoBet headquartered?
- SoBet is headquartered in Nashville, US.