FanDuel was a scrappy daily fantasy startup. BetMGM didn't exist. I was there for both — a foundational leader helping build them into two of the largest brands in American sports betting and online casino, from ten employees to thousands, from zero to billions in revenue.
Most recently I served as CMO and effective GM at BetHog, a startup built by FanDuel's original founder — overseeing marketing, trading, risk, business development, and financial operations end-to-end. We got it to a Series A in under a year.
Today I advise founders, operators, and investors on commercial strategy, partnerships, and growth through Kyle Wachtel LLC. And I'm selectively open to executive leadership roles where I can own outcomes and build something meaningful again.
Strategic engagements for operators, founders, and investors — commercial strategy, go-to-market planning, partnership development, and organizational design through Kyle Wachtel LLC on a retainer or project basis.
Selectively open to full-time opportunities in gaming, sports, or consumer technology where I can own commercial strategy end-to-end, build a team, and have real accountability for the outcome.
Available for board advisory roles in gaming, sports, and consumer businesses — bringing an operator's perspective on commercial strategy, distribution, and organizational growth.
Paid consulting and expert network engagements across sports betting, gaming, and media. Partnership and go-to-market advisory for early-stage gaming and sports technology companies.
Nigel Eccles — FanDuel's original founder — asked me to help build something new from scratch. My title was CMO but the job was broader: I owned the P&L across marketing, trading, risk, vendor contracts, business development, and financial reporting. We reached Series A in under a year, built a real team, and scaled to significant international betting volume.
I joined BetMGM before it had a marketing team. The company was ten people. I built the partnerships function from zero — every league deal, every media partner, every influencer contract — and negotiated over $750M in total lifetime deal value across 50+ strategic partners. By the time I left, the company was doing $2B a year and had 1,500 employees. I also built things that had never been done before: integrating Marriott Bonvoy loyalty into a sportsbook, geotargeted promotions inside partner venues, branded online casino games using licensed IP.
I started in customer support when FanDuel was a startup nobody outside fantasy sports had heard of. Over six years I worked my way to leading partnerships across daily fantasy and sportsbook — $25M+ in annual spend, 250,000+ new customer activations, and foundational deals like Barstool Sports. FanDuel was where I learned the craft.
Built marketing and partnerships programs from scratch with annual budgets of $200M+, spanning performance marketing, brand, CRM, affiliates, social, SEO, and PR — scaling businesses from $0 to $2B+ in revenue.
Led end-to-end negotiation and activation of $750M+ in lifetime deal value across leagues, teams, media, talent, and brands — including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA Tour, McLaren, Borussia Dortmund, Marriott, and more.
Built and led 20+ person departments from scratch at multiple companies. Consistent track record of developing talent. "Best manager I've ever had" is the feedback I'm most proud of.
Expert in building MarTech stacks including attribution, CRM, and affiliate platforms. Built proprietary models for LTV, churn prediction, VIP detection, and sponsorship performance measurement from zero.
Please meet WearASL.
It's a project that I've been working on to support and raise awareness for American Sign Language and the Deaf community, who have been so welcoming to my family.
Our daughter was born with hearing loss and wears cute little pink hearing aids. And while she's currently ahead of all speech milestones, my wife and I are learning ASL and teaching her at the same time.
WearASL donates 100% of profits to Deaf charities — because language belongs to everyone.
Visit WearASL.com →
Available for advisory engagements, consulting projects, expert network calls, and select executive leadership opportunities.