Launched in 2012 by Justin and Zach Stanley, Star Fantasy Leagues has earned a strong reputation from observers in the DFS industry due to its focus on technology and legal/regulatory compliance. This week, we asked Zach Stanley about the history and direction of the company and what they have planned for the upcoming NFL season.
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I understand you founded SFL with your brother. How did you guys get started in DFS and when did you launch SFL?
It is my belief that any great business starts with passion. Without passion, it’s a struggle to build a successful business because you’ll inevitably find yourself up against someone that lives and breathes theirs. It is your job, but it is their purpose. That alone is an incredible disadvantage.
Sports has always been a focal point of my life. Growing up I spent nearly all of my free time watching or playing one sport or another. Fantasy sports was a natural and exciting addition. As it is for all of us that play, fantasy boosted my fan engagement and my knowledge of the players/teams in the various leagues. It seems like a long time ago, but in the early-mid 2000s, the ability to play season-long fantasy online for cash was nearly impossible. Even when the daily sites began popping up several years later, I was still looking for real money season-long leagues—particularly for other sports than football. I was covering some expenses playing daily games in college, but building a site that brought daily and season-long together was nothing more than a pipe dream at this time.
In June of 2011, we lost our father to a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Anybody that has lost a parent at a relatively early age can tell you how difficult it can be picking up the pieces. Many of them would also tell you that such a challenge drives a certain kind of strength that can only come through that kind of tragedy. You become fearless. What can be worse than what you dealt with during that experience? I reflected on this speaking in front of hundreds at the 2013 FSTA Winter Conference. How did this happen? How did I go from being a young college student learning some of the worst news imaginable to giving my thoughts in front of this accomplished group of peers? Overcoming those events changed who I was and how I approached all of life’s challenges. Star Fantasy Leagues launched in September of 2012.
You received a significant boost in funding last year with an investment from IIU. Anything new on that front to report?
We utilized the funds from our capital investment to build out our team—we now have 10 developers—and position ourselves at the top tier of the industry from a technology perspective. On top of that, we wanted an investor that would give us a strategic boost on the B2B side of our business. We feel very lucky to have a partner so supportive of the strategy and direction of our company.
You mentioned season-long fantasy football. You launched that format in 2013 and will be offering it again this season, right?
We run season-long leagues for NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Our NFL season-long leagues were posted a few weeks ago and we have had some early drafts run in both our paid and free games, in which you can win Star Points towards real cash games. Due to a strategic pivot within our company, we haven’t dedicated a significant amount of capital to marketing, which makes the organic growth of these leagues all the more pleasing.
Last fall was a time of huge growth for the DFS sector. What are you expecting as we head into a new NFL season, and what are you most excited about as it relates to SFL?
Growth in DFS has no signs of slowing and we anticipate to see last year’s records absolutely crushed for NFL. The plethora of new investors dedicating eye-popping amounts of capital to this growth makes for a very exciting time for the industry as a whole. We’ve dedicated a significant amount of our resources to a turnkey business-to-business fantasy sports solution—allowing our partners to tap into our network and benefit from mutual liquidity. This influx of capital has only helped to garner interest from media and gaming companies (both US and abroad) for a value-add integration with our suite of offerings.
A lot of sites are starting to offer new sports. What is SFL’s take on that topic?
We’re ecstatic that the addition of new sports has been so well received by the consumer. We are a couple weeks away from launching our API for 2-3 week rapid integration with partners and we have both a mobile site and a mobile app slated for release before November. While our system is very flexible for adding new stats feeds in a timely fashion, we’ve placed new sports on the back burner in favor of priorities that have a more positive impact on our user experience and that of our partners.
And finally, what is it about your site that you believe will help you stand out among a crowded field of competitors?
As I mentioned earlier, we utilized our strong technology base to gain an upper hand on the B2B side of the industry. Our suite of products, a robust and flexible backend, and our focus on legal and regulatory compliance has pushed us to the top of the list for any company looking to add fantasy sports to their current offerings. Moreover, any new products we launch at Star Fantasy Leagues will become immediately available to our partners through our API. We firmly believe the best days for SFL lie ahead and we couldn’t be more excited about it.