FANDUEL cofounder Lesley Eccles is gearing up to launch a new technology start-up that, like FanDuel, will have a presence on both sides of the Atlantic.
Though the business is still in its early stages and has not yet been incorporated, New York-based Ms Eccles said her plan is to hire a team of engineers in Scotland to build a product to sell into the US market.
“It’s focused on the mental health and relationships space, looking at how technology can enable us to be happier and more productive” she said.
“My plan is to hire engineers here in Scotland then do the marketing and content creation in the US, which is where we will launch it.
“We’ve launched our alpha product and have it in the market being tested at the moment with 100 users.”
Read more: FanDuel investors KKR and Shamrock take more control of company
Ms Eccles, who is launching the business with one other person, said the aim is to seek a first tranche of investment funding this autumn.
“For the angel round I will focus on raising money in Scotland because I want to hold that connection with Scotland,” she said.
“Anything I can do to help boost the economy I will do.”
Ms Eccles was speaking ahead of the Entrepreneurial Scotland annual conference, which takes place at Gleneagles Hotel today and where she will host a discussion between cyclist Mark Beaumont and neuroscientist and entrepreneur Vivienne Ming.
Ms Eccles joined the board of Entrepreneurial Scotland two years ago and said she is keen to use her role to help businesses to think internationally when scaling up.
Read more: FanDuel founder to tap into Scottish talent for eSports launch
“The thing I like about Entrepreneurial Scotland and the reason I joined the board is that it has a really big vision of making Scotland the most entrepreneurial society in the world,” she said.
“When I look back at when we started Hubdub, the ecosystem in Scotland has come on leaps and bounds but often when you talk to start-ups here they think they can build something small in Scotland then test it and scale it here.
“That scaling is the hard part because we’re in such a small market here – my advice is to not think of Scotland as the marketplace.
“If you’re in any kind of consumer company you need to be in the states or Asia or somewhere that has a bigger marketplace.
“I feel like FanDuel has proven that model.”
Daily fantasy sports business FanDuel, which was originally called Hubdub, launched in Edinburgh in 2009. While it still employs around 140 people in Scotland, it is now headquartered in the US, where all its revenues are generated.
Ms Eccles, who had been marketing director at FanDuel, and technology head Chris Stafford were the first of the firm’s co-founders to leave the business, with both stepping down from their roles in 2016.
Read more: Final FanDuel founder quits to join former CEO in eSports firm
Chief executive Nigel Eccles and chief product officer Tom Griffiths left at the end of last year followed by head of design Rob Jones earlier this year.
All three had been prompted to pursue other interests after FanDuel’s backers, led by private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, took control of the company after its planned merger with rival DraftKings fell apart. Mr Eccles and Mr Jones have teamed up to launch eSports firm Flick while Mr Griffiths is working on an artificial intelligence launch.
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