Student Venture Guest Post
By Chris Cherniakov ’24
Every entrepreneur is passionate about changing the world — the Geeckon team is no exception. Our dream is to revolutionize the betting industry by making it more accessible and engaging. Our vision is to create a social betting platform for people to bet on anything, from celebrity gossip to the results of their favorite reality show. With the help of a seed grant from TIA, we’ve been able to take a crucial step towards achieving our goals and making a difference in the world. Let us tell you more about our journey and the lessons that we have learned along the way.
Getting our Footing
Our adventure began in May 2022, when we realized that the current state of betting didn’t resonate with the Gen Z demographic: it was boring and unappealing. We believe that micro-betting events can be a fun and easy way to drastically improve user engagement within any topic. Initially, we planned to create a mobile game, but after several months, we realized that it would be too costly and time-consuming to test the theory in a fast and agile way.
In July 2022, we pivoted toward making betting akin to TikTok. However, we quickly realized that the real challenge would be solving the content generation problem. We aim to raise $720,000, and we don’t think it’s possible for a pre-seed start-up to both solve the problem of users and provide high-quality on-demand streaming.
Strategizing With TIA
After conversations with our TIA mentors — Reuben Hendell ’82 and Paul Wigdor P’23 — we came up with an idea of a betting engine. We’re using our proprietary tech solutions to create seamless betting integrations throughout all relevant online platforms. This engine will allow us to create various manifestations of betting opportunities, including TikTok for bets, website betting widgets, in-app integrations, and many more.
Choosing an Audience
Our immediate focus right now is on Twitch users, who are already familiar with betting mechanics and have the freedom to use products such as ours. Our goal is to refine our platform, scale our user base, and expand our reach into different markets. We’re using our funds to improve the betting engine, develop more betting opportunities, and create user-friendly interfaces. Our team’s key insight is that social media is an excellent platform to engage our audience, and we’re using this knowledge to create a personalized betting feed for our users.
A Work in Progress
We’re passionate about creating a betting platform that is accessible, engaging, and relevant to everyone.
The mentorship and seed grant funding we’ve received through the TIA Incubator has helped us take a crucial step toward achieving our goals, and we’re grateful for the support that we’ve received. We invite TIA alumni and supporters to follow our journey and offer feedback and advice to help us lead this revolution in the world of betting. If you want to learn more, reach out to us directly, and we’ll be happy to discuss our venture in more detail!
With Geeckon, your opinion matters — find out how much!
Additional members of Geeckon include Eden Aleksandrov and Sergey Kosyakov.