Underdog named in LinkedIn’s top 50 startups for second successive year
DFS and sports betting firm ranked as 15th best US-headquartered startup, according to LinkedIn, and the only sports gaming company to feature on the list
Underdog is the only sports gaming company to be recognized as part of LinkedIn’s 2024 edition of the top 50 startups for the second consecutive year.
Not only is Underdog, ranked 15th, the sole sports gaming company to feature this year, but it is also the only sports gaming outfit to make LinkedIn’s rankings since the operator was founded in 2020.
The methodology behind the rankings includes LinkedIn analyzing each firm based on four different criteria: employee growth, jobseeker interest, member engagement within the company and its employees, and incoming talent from LinkedIn’s top companies list.
Entry requirements for the rankings stipulate all companies must be fully independent and privately held, as well as have 50 or more full-time employees, be based in the US, and have been in existence for five years or less.
It’s been an impressive year for Underdog, with the Brooklyn-based DFS firm now active in 41 states as its US expansion continues to take shape. It also launched its first sports betting app in North Carolina, with more states expected to follow in the coming months.
Underdog’s media segment has also gone from strength to strength, with the company now behind the US’s fifth-biggest daily sports show across all platforms, largely thanks to the level of star power in its roster, including eight-time Super Bowl Champion coach Bill Belichick, who became a partner of the firm in July.
Reflecting on the company’s place in the rankings, Underdog founder and CEO Jeremy Levine said: “Underdog was founded with innovation at its core, and we have a relentless focus on one mission: build new products that make sports more fun for fans, and we are building faster and faster every day.
“We are seeing the results, and so are those in the industry who know and it’s why we’ve seen a flood of top talent from some of the biggest companies in our industry and beyond come to Underdog in the last year.
“We are extremely proud of what we have built and this recognition from LinkedIn is a testament to the work put in by everyone at Underdog.”
The news comes just days after EGR North America exclusively revealed that Underdog had named two former DraftKings heads as new additions to its engineering division.
Jon Nguyen and Manu Bhalla both joined the firm, with the former expected to oversee the development of the operator’s “next generation” player account management platform, while the latter will take the reins as senior director of engineering for sportsbook.
Nguyen previously spent seven years at DraftKings between July 2014 and April 2021, departing as director of engineering for casino, while Bhalla worked for the Boston-based operator from March 2015 until September 2023, when he departed as director of engineering for sportsbook and casino client apps.