Welcome to GOAT
GOAT connects daily fantasy sports (DFS) players of similar skill levels and shared social networks. We provide all DFS players, existing and prospective, a greater opportunity to experience the thrills of daily fantasy.
Our mission is to dramatically improve the DFS player experience, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world’s largest social network of fantasy sports players.
No one delivers daily fantasy sports to a passionate community better than DraftKings and FanDuel. We get that. GOAT exists to help make the player experience on those sites better, both for current players and those who have not yet joined.
We believe that:
- it should be easier for players to find and compete against others of similar skill
- it should be easier for players to experience DFS with their social networks
- it should be easier for players to network, share, and be seen within the DFS community
At GOAT, everything we do is about building a better experience for DFS players.
In 2015, over 4mm DFS players spent roughly $3bn to play daily fantasy sports. By 2020, baseline projections take those numbers to 20mm players spending $13bn.
Projections are not guarantees.
DFS players, existing and prospective, complain of two primary issues.
- A “Skill Gap” — It’s hard for the vast majority of users to win at DFS. There are many reasons why this is so and there have been many articles on the topic. I won’t rehash those here. What I will say is that most players would appreciate an experience that provided increased opportunity to win while learning the game and refining their skill over time.
- A “Lack of Social” —It’s not easy to play DFS with members of your social networks. The most obvious of these networks is a players’ season-long fantasy league, people they’ve already identified as ones they love to compete against. In North America, 51mm people play traditional season-long fantasy for the opportunity to compete and/or be part of a social experience. Currently, social play is not a focus for DFS which partially explains why 32mm (63%) season-long players have yet to try DFS.
Together, these issues create customer acquisition and retention (lifetime value) problems for DFS operators, including DraftKings and FanDuel. For companies that are each valued at over a billion dollars, these are not good problems to have.
I founded GOAT to solve these problems.
Here’s how we are going to do it.
THE SKILL GAP
Measuring skill in fantasy sports is what I do.
I’m bringing that passion and experience to DFS with the GOAT Score.
The GOAT Score is daily fantasy’s premier player skill rating. Think of it as a “Madden Rating” for every daily fantasy player, for every sport they play.
Players will use the GOAT Score to share their fantasy legend.
We’ll use the GOAT Score to empower players to find and compete with others of similar skill. Through the GOAT Score, we will facilitate skill matched contests (both cash and GPP) on DraftKings.
Equipped with a trusted understanding that they are competing at the appropriate levels, DFS players will benefit by controlling their competition and experiencing the thrill of a good DFS “sweat” more often.
The GOAT Score stands alone from other ratings services in the industry. Here’s why:
- It works for all players. Unlike other rating sites who heavily favor the high volume and high bankroll players, the GOAT Score works well for all experience levels. You only need to have played in one contest to receive a fair GOAT Score and enjoy its benefits.
- It focuses on the right variables. We understand that DFS players have a wide-ranging set of personal characteristics (i.e. bankroll, risk tolerance, time). The GOAT Score removes those variables that speak more to player characteristics, and focuses only on those that best inform on player skill.
- It is comprehensive. Unlike other rating sites who only utilize winning lineups in select contests, the GOAT Score accounts for every lineup a player has ever entered into a contest.
- It understands game strategies. The GOAT Score isn’t biased to a particular contest type or slate preference. We know there are different ways to play and enjoy DFS. We cover them all and don’t discriminate based on your playing preferences.
- It is expertly constructed. To be the premier skill rating for DFS we knew it had to be sound in mathematical and statistical theory. As such, I worked alongside William M. Briggs, a PhD in Mathematical Statistics from Cornell University, to make it the most powerful skill rating in DFS.
The GOAT Score will do more than facilitate skill matched contests. It will also be used to feed the competitive fires that burn in nearly all fantasy sports players.
Below is an excerpt from a Rotogrinders content article written by Jordan, better known in the DFS community as “@JMToWin.” By most accounts, @JMToWin is one of the better DFS players in the world (after attending his session on NFLDFS in person at the 2015 DFS Player’s Conference, I don’t doubt it).
He certainly believes so:
“I genuinely believe that on an entry-per-entry basis, I am the best NFL DFS player there is. There — I said it…Because of the fact that I am a “one or two lineups per slate” guy, I’ll never have enough volume to be ranked among the top players in RotoGrinders’ rankings (though I will say that I am pretty proud of my top-200 ranking, given the small number of entries I put in play compared to my competition), and because I don’t chase Qualifiers aggressively, I may never take down a live final. But I am 10–3 in double-ups this year after going 14–3 last year, and I have cashed in tournaments at a rate of over 50% in my NFL career.
Due to critical limitations of existing rating/ranking offerings, one of the best DFS players in world can’t prove exactly how dominant he is at NFLDFS. He’s held back by a legitimate playing preference and is forced to speculate about his skill.
The GOAT Score solves Jordan’s problems. As a GOAT user, Jordan could prove his dominance. We’d focus on what matters, and help him see how he stacks up against cash game legends like @adamlevitan and @dinkpiece.
Jordan, come give it a try. Let us help you prove you’re the GOAT!
LACK OF SOCIAL
GOAT delivers a simple way to play and experience DFS with your social networks.
Daily fantasy is a great innovation on an already fun game. It offers the opportunity to start fresh, compete and win money every single night or week. That’s awesome. But the broader fantasy sports community, the 51mm playing season-long fantasy, still likes to play fantasy sports for a social experience.
This social experience is largely absent from DFS.
GOAT brings social to DFS by:
- giving every DFS player a profile that helps them tell their story. On that profile, we’ll supply players with their GOAT Score and interesting statistics about their play — for every sport.
- allowing players to easily explore the profiles of their friends, rivals, potential H2H competitors and notable industry analysts.
- providing players the ability to connect directly with other players of their choosing. Players will be able to follow and share their DFS experience with those that matter to them.
In addition to individual connections, GOAT allows daily fantasy players to form what we call “Squads.”
Squads are social groups that you either create or opt into. GOAT will facilitate a DFS experience for every Squad.
Players may choose to form Squads comprised of their:
- season-long fantasy leagues
- friends
- family members
- fellow alumni
- fraternity or sorority
- employer
- Facebook groups
- zip code
- favorite bar
Within each Squad, players can compete directly through facilitated contests and indirectly through the inherent ranking experience provided by the GOAT Score.
With all of this, GOAT delivers social to DFS in a way never seen before.
GOAT won’t be our complete vision out of the gates. Initially, we’re focusing on:
- delivering a GOAT Score to every user
- facilitating skill matched contests on DraftKings
- providing basic player profiles that facilitate networking and matchmaking
Because we are focused on player experience, we plan to engage our early adopters to help inform us what we build next.
DFS players are a passionate community. They make sacrifices with their time and entertainment dollars to play this game. They deserve an experience that is reciprocal of that passion and sacrifice.
We’re extremely excited to help grow this great game. Thanks for helping us provide an improved experience for all players, existing and prospective.
Welcome to GOAT!
glen@goatscore.com
