Matt Kalish is one of the co-founders and the president of DraftKings, a leading digital sports entertainment and gaming company that offers daily fantasy sports, sports betting, and online casino games to millions of users across the United States and Canada. Kalish is also a director of the company and oversees its operations, marketing, and customer experience departments. Kalish has been instrumental in growing DraftKings from a small Boston start-up to a publicly traded company with a market value of over $20 billion.
Background and Education
Kalish was born and raised in New Jersey, where he developed a passion for sports, analytics, and game design. He attended Columbia University, where he majored in computer science and economics. He graduated in 2006 and joined Capital One as a business analyst. He later moved to Vistaprint, an online marketing company, where he met Jason Robins and Paul Liberman, who would become his co-founders at DraftKings.
DraftKings Journey
Kalish, Robins, and Liberman were avid fantasy sports players who were dissatisfied with the traditional season-long format. They wanted to create a more exciting and engaging way to play fantasy sports that would allow users to draft new teams every day and compete for cash prizes. They quit their jobs at Vistaprint and launched DraftKings in 2012 with $1.4 million in seed funding.
DraftKings quickly gained popularity among fantasy sports enthusiasts and attracted investors such as Major League Baseball, The Walt Disney Company, and The Kraft Group. The company also expanded its product offerings to include sports betting and online casino games after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports gambling in 2018.
In 2020, DraftKings went public through a merger with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and SBTech, a sports betting technology provider. The deal valued DraftKings at $3.3 billion and gave it access to the public markets without going through the traditional initial public offering (IPO) process.
As the president of DraftKings North America, Kalish is responsible for the performance of the company’s core products: daily fantasy sports, sportsbook, iGaming, and marketplace. He also leads the company’s operations, marketing, and customer experience teams. Kalish focuses on developing and managing high-quality offerings and promotions that users love, and bringing them to market in order to drive user base growth and loyalty.
- Achievements and Recognition
Kalish has been recognized as one of the most influential and innovative leaders in the sports and gaming industry. He has received several awards and honors, such as:
- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Sports in 2016
- Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2017
- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year New England Award in 2019
- Sports Business Journal Power Players: Sports Betting in 2020
Kalish has also been featured in various media outlets, such as Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Fox Business, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and more.
Conclusion
Matt Kalish is one of the co-founders and the president of DraftKings, a leading digital sports entertainment and gaming company that offers daily fantasy sports, sports betting, and online casino games to millions of users across the United States and Canada. Kalish has been instrumental in growing DraftKings from a small Boston start-up to a publicly traded company with a market value of over $20 billion. Kalish has also been recognized as one of the most influential and innovative leaders in the sports and gaming industry. Kalish is passionate about sports, analytics, and game design, and aims to provide the best possible experience for DraftKings’ customers.
