Wincast built SaaS and AdTech infrastructure for interactive live-sports fan engagement — the wedge was blockchain-native collectibles and in-broadcast branded gaming for rights holders and sponsors. Original pitch: a $5M seed extension at a $40M post to fund three anchor contracts (UEFA, McLaren, Dapper Labs/NBA) that the team said would take direct-contract revenue from a $750K 2023 base to $3M in 2024, tripling again in 2025.
StoryHouse wrote a $150K check into a Coinfund-led round alongside Draper Dragon, Avalanche, and Brickhouse Ventures. Josh's own read on the 2024-07-09 deal call was explicit that this was "not a big check but maybe a ~$200K check to be involved" and framed the thesis as a "quicker easier acquisition play" rather than a scaled outcome. That thesis did not hold: by the 2025-03-27 portfolio call the UEFA $1.5M contract had slipped from March to June and lost confidence, a $250K SAFE from a crypto fund had been pulled after a market crash, the founder and CTO had paused salaries, and the company engaged Sutter to run a 4–6 week M&A process. Per the Airtable Notes field, the company was closed in Q3 2025. This dossier is a frozen record of a portfolio write-off.
Sports fan engagement is a real and growing category — the underlying platform market is credibly ~$4.8B in 2025 at ~12% CAGR Web. Wincast's specific wedge — blockchain-native NFT collectibles bundled into live broadcasts and sponsor activations — sat inside a sub-segment that lost the timing bet. When the 2025 crypto correction pulled a $250K SAFE off the table (per the 2025-03-27 note), the funding vehicle for their most differentiated product also compressed at the worst moment.
| Player | Positioning | Funding / Stage | Edge vs. them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wincast | Interactive live-sports SaaS/AdTech with NFT-native collectibles for rights holders and sponsors | Seed extension, $40M post; ~$7.8M raised total Web | — |
| Monterosa | Interaction Cloud gamification for broadcasters, leagues, sportsbooks | Later-stage private (UK) | Broader broadcaster footprint; not crypto-tied Web |
| GameOn | Predictive gaming and fan engagement across leagues | Growth-stage | Direct league contracts, non-blockchain Web |
| Sqwad Sports | Sponsor activation + first-party data capture | Early/growth | Sponsorship monetization overlap without NFT baggage Web |
| Dapper Labs (partner & comp) | NBA Top Shot and licensed sports collectibles | Well-capitalized, direct league relationships | Wincast tried to sit alongside Dapper on a shared NBA league-pass project (per 2024-07-09 note); Dapper controls the branded IP Internal |
Moat: The intended moat was rights-holder integration and a first-party data pipe for sponsors, but the partnership pipeline (UEFA, McLaren, Dapper/NBA) never converted to durable multi-year revenue, and the crypto-native wedge became a liability rather than a differentiator by 2025.
The framing at investment was explicitly acquisition-oriented — Josh's own 2024-07-09 note called it "a quicker easier acquisition play." Sports tech M&A was in fact active in 2024 (~$68B disclosed value across 486 deals per Drake Star Web), but Wincast's specific asset — a small team with a blockchain-tinted product and slipping anchor contracts — did not find a buyer inside the Sutter-led process before cash ran out. Realized return on the $150K check is a write-off.
Noah asked for a catch-up call to walk investors through a materially worse position — a pulled SAFE, a slipping UEFA contract, and ~4 months of runway pushing the company into a Sutter-run M&A process.
NEXT STEPS: Stay in touch with Noah to get more frequent updates as they pursue M&A. Likely should write off if no good progress in the next month.
SUMMARY OF CALL: Not a good update from Noah. A few $1M+ contracts fell through that they were banking on and now have limited runway and are pursuing M&A options while making one last swing for UEFA deal.
RAW NOTES: Noah reached out over text last week and asked for a catchup call this week to share updates.
Company Updates: They had a SAFE investment of $250K from a crypto fund that was supposed to get wired last month that the investors are now refusing to pay because they had a 50% crash this month with the markets. Their UEFA $1.5M contract that was supposed to begin in March was now punted to June and Noah is less confident now that it is a sure thing given they are pushing it later and this is the second time they have delayed it. Their budget included this contract and the SAFE both of which have not happened so now they are limited runway with ~4 months.
Given limited runway they are engaging with Sutter to run a 4–6 week M&A process to explore what they could get in the market while focussing on attention on getting the UEFA contract to begin earlier. Noah and CTO are pausing salaries to extend runway. They are working with Coinfund and their board for the M&A options. He will send a formal update out soon to investors over email but calling folks this week to let them know.
Full diligence call with Noah covering founder background, the pivot to interactive SaaS/AdTech, the $5M/$40M-post round dynamics, the three anchor contracts (UEFA, McLaren, Dapper/NBA), and an explicitly acquisition-oriented exit framing.
DEAL STATUS: In Conversation. NEXT STEPS: Explore the data room; send him DD form / ask for call with Coinfund.
SUMMARY OF CALL: This is one to dig deeper on — not a big check but maybe a ~$200K check to be involved. Could be a quicker easier acquisition play. Understand the revenue better.
Team & Founders: Noah — Princeton econ grad. Been deep in web3 his whole career. Variety of biz dev and CRO roles. Founded Kilobyte Labs 9 years ago — startup incubator for distributive tech in emerging markets. Always been entrepreneurial and in interactive media, jumped around with many different jobs.
Company & Insight: Interactive platform for live sports and sports engagement. SaaS and AdTech software for sports organizations and sponsors. Started as streaming platform for bidding on livestream sports NFTs — last year focused strictly on interactive and partnered with Sony and Dapper Labs (longer watch times, in-game playable assets to make new avenues for revenue). Partnership with cricket. Money through ads.
Round Dynamics & Financials: Raising a $5M seed round at $40M post — $3.5M committed and two groups circling. Coinfund lead $1M; Draper Dragon $0.5M; Avalanche $1M. Aiming to close end of month.
Traction: Deals lined up with UEFA (3-year deal on Champions League, control 100% of revenue, no rev share); McLaren in racing; Dapper Labs/NBA (developing a platform for league pass). 3rd party they work with is paying the fee for the UEFA rights — Avalanche ($1M check).
Metrics: Made $750K last year from two partnerships — direct contract revenue. Moving forward — baseline integration fee / self-serve SaaS portal / rev share for ads and assets. Burn $175K per month. 18 months of runway.
Revenue Model: Focused mainly on the three contracts they right now as major levers — estimated pulling in $3M this year; next year looking to triple. GTM through agencies and focused on direct contract revenue.
Exits: PE firm trying to make a splash in sports and buys ownership of sports teams; acquisition is a major focus; could be an advertising platform. Thinks 3–5 years before a potential exit.
Lead Investor(s): Coinfund lead $1M; Draper Dragon $0.5M; Avalanche $1M. Round terms: $5M on $40M post.
Noah's reply to Josh's LinkedIn outreach — the first touchpoint. Flagged the seed round was wrapping and named the three anchor contracts he planned to walk through on a call.
Noah's response to Josh's outreach on LinkedIn.
"Hey Josh! Would love to chat. This is good timing — we're about to wrap up a $5M seed round that Coinfund is leading (participation from Draper Dragon, Blizzard, Cypher, and a few others) and we have new deals teed up with UEFA, McLaren, and Dapper Labs/NBA (secret project I'll tell you about on the call). Here's my Calendly to book time, I'd love to set something up for next week."