In the Pantheon of Nigels (shut up, it exists), the undisputed king of all Nigels—the Nigel to whom all other Nigels in Nigel history are compared and inevitably fall short of his dominant Nigel-ness—is Nigel Tufnel.
Why? Well, he was the best character in my favorite movie, This is Spinal Tap; he has a renowned guitar collection including a legendary Sea Foam Green six-string Fender Bass VI (with the price tag still attached) that he’s kept in mint condition by not allowing it to be so much as pointed at; he’s written a classical piece mashing up Mozart and Bach—a “Mach piece”—played in D-minor, “the saddest of all keys”, tentatively titled “Lick My Love Pump”; he cranks amps up to 11; and he thought the Stonehenge triptychs were 18-inches high (and I, too, struggle with math); the list goes on.
But if I can’t interview that Nigel—Christopher Guest has an active restraining order against me; don’t ask—I’m happy to introduce you to the one whom I consider history’s second best Nigel: Nigel Eccles.
That’s because Eccles, 41, in 2009 first introduced the world to the concept of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), ushering in a new era of fantasy sports excitement, evolution and revolution that I never thought would happen in my lifetime . . . but I and millions of others are sure glad it did.
After all, since I started playing season-long fantasy football in 1998, wrote a book about it in 2004, and continued playing into 2009 and beyond, it was starting to get boring. Played out. Predictable. Chasing down league entry fees from deadbeat owners. Suffering bad luck of season-ending injuries to star players. Trying to maintain both league and personal energy and excitement over sixteen long weeks. BAH HUMBUG. So while I still enjoyed the hobby, my passion had waned, and I never believed that fantasy sports could or would ever evolve into something new and exciting.
And that, folks, is why I’m not a tech millionaire and guys like Eccles are.
But if you’re now expecting the Larry David-esque “Having said that…” disclaimer which tees up more finger-wagging and legal, political, fiscal, corporate oversight (or lack thereof) negatives about the industry that was created by New York-based FanDuel—and three years later, in 2012, exploded with an innovative new rival, Boston-based DraftKings, co-founded by CEO Jason Robins; think Coke vs. Pepsi, with a Yankees vs. Red Sox twist—sorry, but that’s not gonna happen here.
I’m not rehashing the controversy surrounding DFS over the past year-plus, catapulting the two category-dominating brands—if they merged, as has been rumored, they’d control 95% of the market—from virtual obscurity into billion-plus-dollar venture capital “unicorns”, cyber gaming disruptors and ubiquitous branding juggernauts with investors like KKR, Google, Comcast, Time Warner, and pro leagues, franchises and owners. That’s already been covered and covered well, most recently by ESPN “Outside the Lines” proclaiming the implosion of DFS or this Fortune Magazine rebuttal to said implosion.
Rather, I want this Man-to-Man to remind you (sports fan or not, DFS lover or hater) that Eccles, a married father of three who didn’t exactly grow up privileged on a dairy farm in Northern Ireland’s Ulster province, is not merely a “brand.” He’s not just a logo you might’ve seen everywhere in and out of professional stadiums, on TV, on web banners, and/or tattooed on babies’ foreheads. (I made that up, but would it have surprised you considering their advertising rampage of late 2015, when they spent more than Big Beer, Big Telecomm and Big Insurance combined?). He’s not just a Millennial-fueled business cyborg or just a name/face being grilled by Las Vegas Gaming Commission panels or 60 Minutes Sports.
No—he’s an actual, living person. A real, three-dimensional, brilliant, flawed, driven, flesh-and-blood human with employees, wives, kids, friends, parents, brains, hearts, aspirations, fears, likes, dislikes, and a life that existed long before 2009, when he invented something important enough for us to take notice.
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We can debate the past, present and future of DFS another time. But if we step back and look at the bigger business and cultural picture, we might at least concede that Eccles—and for that matter, DraftKings’ Robins—belongs right up there with, say, Uber’s Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp (also no strangers to political and legislative scrutiny), Dollar Shave Club’s Michael Dubin and Mark Levine, Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel, and other disruptors who took a stagnant, seemingly flat-lined category and re-invented it. Who identified a void in an existing market and gave the people what they want—how, where and when they wanted it. Who, basically, just Orville Redencacher’ed the shit out of fantasy sports: to paraphrase the late, great popcorn king, “doing one thing, and doing it better than anyone.”
So, as a new NFL season kicks off on Thursday, FanDuel, perhaps as a sign of growing up as a business and learning from the past—and clearly reacting to the ongoing state regulatory environment—now sports not only a fresh new logo but a new brand line, #SPORTSRICH, distancing itself from its previous hyper-focus on EASY MONEY MONEY MONEY!
It’s added more transparency, like beginner-only contests; identifying high-volume and highly experienced players; creating a fan’s Bill of Rights “to remind players that they can continue to expect a safe and secure game that meets the standards set by states that are throwing their support behind the games;” prohibiting third-party lineup software; and introducing “Friends Mode” which combines the best of DFS and season-long fantasy leagues with friends.
(And in “equal air time” fairness—I honestly have no dog in this fight; I’ve played on both sites and would recommend each—Robins has hired a respected, seasoned branding leader; has also introduced friends leagues [DraftKings Leagues] to heighten the social aspect; created Community Guidelines to address “the ethics of fairness and integrity of the leagues”; and like FanDuel, has wisely ditched the oversized checks/champagne-spraying, high-fiving bros in its 2016 branding favor of a lower key, more creative focus on the fun/competition/skill/camaraderie. Which, for me, is what fantasy sports has always been about, anyway.)
So go ahead, call me a DFS apologist. A Pollyanna. Or just a guy who likes fantasy sports, regardless of how it’s packaged. I honestly don’t care. Because it’s Eccles’ obvious ability to learn from past mistakes that means, moving forward, we’ll very likely be seeing more first-rate business moves from FanDuel . . . even if it’s led by history’s “second-best” Nigel.
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MARK ST. AMANT:
What two words describe your dad? How are you most like or unlike him?
NIGEL ECCLES:
My dad died when I was 5 years old so unfortunately I never really got to know him. He was a farmer and when he died my mum took on the job of running the farm, raising myself and my three older brothers while holding down a full time job. In 40 years I have never once have heard her complain, she loves her life and is an inspiration to me.
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MSA:
When was the last time you cried and why?
ECCLES:
Just there now as I wrote the answer to the previous question! I’m not normally a big crier. I may also have cried at the Notebook. And at the end of Batman versus Superman, but that was in relief it was finally over.
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MSA:
Ah, Gosling. He gets me weepy, too. What’s the worst decision you’ve ever made—professionally, personally or both—and how have you learned from it.
ECCLES:
I’ve made countless bad decisions but I struggle to think of the worst one. One of my old bosses used to say bad decisions means learning occurs. For me a lot of learning has occurred over the past few years.
Probably the most epic decision I’ve ever made is launching FanDuel in 2009. I’d never played fantasy sports and didn’t really know how it worked. I remember trying to sign up to a fantasy league in February and not understanding why I couldn’t. I don’t think I’d ever watched more than two NFL games and I didn’t understand that either. Oh, and I lived in the UK and none of my co-founders knew much about fantasy sports either. But that decision worked out pretty well. I guess the lesson from that is to be successful as an entrepreneur you need to be prepared to take a risk and make what looks like an epically dumb decision. (And then work like hell to make it work!)
MSA:
What’s the first word that comes to mind when you hear the following names: Jason Robins? Lesley Eccles? Eric Schneiderman? Roger Goodell?
ECCLES:
Wow, wouldn’t that be a party! One thing they all have in common is they all have really really tough jobs.
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MSA:
Did you really conceive FanDuel on a plane to SXSW while reading the UIGEA language—most people read the latest James Patterson or JK Rowling, but I’ll ignore that—and realizing, “Wait, this opens the door for Daily Fantasy Sports!”? Or was the genesis of FanDuel more methodical or “accidental” than that?
ECCLES:
Yes, I need that tough reading to get me over my aversion to flying. It did pretty much happen like that. I’d never played fantasy sports before we started FanDuel. When it was described to me I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just start playing fantasy basketball in like February or March. And why did it take 6 months to figure out who won? And how come there were 3 billion different scoring mechanisms? And why do I need to find 11 buddies in order to set up a league? And why does the whole experience completely suck on mobile? And why can’t I just swap out all my terrible draft picks? I guess because I hadn’t played it before I wasn’t really willing to accept it for what it was.
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MSA:
If you weren’t running FanDuel, what would you be doing with your life? i.e. What was your dream job as a kid? (And if the answer is, “Running FanDuel!” then you’re either lying or you were one weeeeiiiiird but clairvoyant little kid.)
ECCLES:
So I definitely wanted to join the Navy for a while. Which is a strange one because I get seasick and I don’t really like boats that much. I think I was keen on the opportunity to travel and meet interesting people. I definitely get the opportunity for a lot of that right now, but thankfully without the boats.
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MSA:
For those who aren’t in the weeds of the state-by-state legal issues surrounding DFS right now, what’s the best-case scenario outcome for FanDuel and the industry as a whole? And the worst?
ECCLES:
So I think it is now clear to all observers that we are heading towards having the laws regarding fantasy sports clarified and the industry regulated in over 40 States within a few years (up from around 10 today). I think the worst case is some states might take a bit longer but the destination remains the same.
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MSA:
Looking back on your company’s/brand’s history, is there anything you regret doing or would have done differently…i.e. your marketing strategy, your partnership strategy, or otherwise?
ECCLES:
So key decisions like partnering with the NBA, and NBA and NFL teams have worked out really well. They have been real supporters in getting the industry regulated. In terms of broader marketing strategy we’ve created a brand from nothing in less than 7 years, which is quite an achievement. However one mistake we did make is focus too much on winning money, and not enough on all the other reasons people play on FanDuel. We know our users love the research, the competition and live scoring but we really failed to get that into our advertising last year. We plan to fix that in 2016.
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MSA:
What advice would you give to someone daring to enter the DFS space? Do you even see a future where new entrants can be remotely successful against you and DraftKings?
ECCLES:
So even today only 10% of fantasy sports players play daily fantasy sports. The fantasy market is dominated by ESPN and Yahoo. Our future growth and success is going to be determined by our ability to get their users playing our product. My advice to any entrepreneur would be compete the way we do; which is by focusing on bringing something new to the market and execute better than anyone else.
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MSA:
Who are your role models in life, professionally and/or personally?
ECCLES:
So my mum, mentioned above. Another is my wife Lesley, who drove our acquisition marketing for seven years. In the early years acquiring two new users was a good day, and to be honest, most days weren’t good days. For a long time she was our entire marketing team and then as we started to scale she built out an awesome team. On a number of occasions it was only Lesley’s intense desire to win that saved us from disaster or mediocrity.
I’ve also been had some great advice and help over the years from my board members. Many of them are former entrepreneurs and all of them have worked closely with entrepreneurs so they know the challenges I’ve faced.
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MSA:
Okay, the dreaded “g” word that has plagued DFS over the past year-plus: Gambling. Please tell the layperson how playing a contest on FanDuel isn’t gambling but, rather, is a game of skill/fun?
ECCLES:
So there is a very clear distinction in US law between games of chance, which are commonly considered to be gambling, and contests of skill. A contest of skill is one were the game is played between the players (i.e. not against the house) for an entry fee to win a prize where the outcome is determined by the skill of the players. So fishing contests, spelling bees, road races, etc. are all contests of skill. Fantasy sports is the same.
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MSA:
Who is the best man you currently know and why?
ECCLES:
In the fantasy sports industry, Peter Schoenke of Rotowire. He’s toured the country appearing before congressional and legislative hearings making the case for regulating the fantasy sports industry. He isn’t paid to do it. He does it because he loves the industry and believes everyone should have the right to play. He’s definitely the industry’s unsung hero.
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MSA:
What is your most cherished ritual as a guy?
ECCLES:
The only one I can think of is to get 30 minutes on a Sunday uninterrupted to read the business section of the newspaper. I’ve three kids so I’d say I have about a 50% strike rate on that.
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MSA:
What advice would the adult Nigel give the teenage Nigel about life?
ECCLES:
Definitely worry less about the future, stop planning and live it more as it comes. Be a better son and regularly call your mum. Oh, and definitely don’t ever wear cutaway T-shirts in any circumstances.
Thanks to Nigel for taking the time! You can follow him on Twitter at @nigeleccles. Questions, comments, swears, start-bench advice? You can reach me at mark@markstamant.com.
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Photo Credit: Author
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