Nigel Eccles, Co-Founder of FanDuel, Flick & StarStock – Work In Sports podcast

Summary: <br> Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and engaged Learning at Work in Sports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.<br> <br> <br> <br> I’m no psychiatrist, I barely understand why I do what I do, but I can tell you that fear is a pretty insane driving force. <br> <br> <br> <br> Chased by a bear, you’ll run faster than ever before. <br> <br> <br> <br> Have a big test tomorrow that determines the status of your scholarship - you’ll study harder than ever.<br> <br> <br> <br> Fear is a strong motivator. Well, scratch that, fear makes us uncomfortable, and we try our hardest to return to comfort, that is the human condition, get into comfortable spots and build a house there. So yes, fear contributes to the motivation, but really it’s the idea of staying in a fearful state that motivates us to get out of it. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> OK, let’s not get all nuanced and into the psycho-babble -- suffice it to say, if you are sitting on your couch doing nothing, and a racoon comes in through the window, after screaming, you’ll move, fast.<br> <br> <br> <br> The fact the remote was just out of reach, or you needed water, or the doritos on the countertop didn’t get you to move… but that damn racoon sure did. <br> <br> <br> <br> Fear works. <br> <br> <br> <br> I’ve interviewed many entrepreneurs over my career, and they are a different breed. <br> <br> <br> <br> You think their motivation comes from money - I’m going to make this thing and sell it to Apple for a billion dollars -- that’s not it. <br> <br> <br> <br> It’s not the money.<br> <br> <br> <br> Success is the goal. Legacy. Developing something completely new, disrupting a marketplace, changing the world. That is what entrepreneurs seek. <br> <br> <br> <br> Like an artist, they are consumed by their passion for their vision. And more importantly, to put a fine point on it, they are ruled by fear. <br> <br> <br> <br> What if this isn’t it? What if my idea doesn’t work? What if it doesn’t disrupt? What if i am not special?<br> <br> <br> <br> This fear drives Entrepreneurs to work harder and with more passion and focus than most others can reach. Failure is not an option. <br> <br> <br> <br> Because of this passion and focus many entrepreneurs aren’t willing to pivot. They stick to their vision with steadfast determination, determined to find success where they thoughtit would be. <br> <br> <br> <br> Today’s guest, Nigel Eccles co-founder of FanDuel, Flick and StarStock, is a serial, and successful, entrepreneur, but he’s also a pragmatist. <br> <br> <br> <br> FanDuel, the multi-billion dollar daily fantasy sports company, wasn’t a pure idea created on the cliche cocktail napkin during a discussion amongst friends over adult beverages.    <br> <br> <br> <br> FanDuel was HubDub - the original idea was an online political prediction market. It failed because as nigel himself said “HubDub didn’t really have a good business model”<br> <br> <br> <br> I can see where that would be a problem.<br> <br> <br> <br> But Nigel isn’t the type to just pack up and turn off the lights. He looked at what they had created, and how to pivot it into a new and different market. Sports.<br> <br> <br> <br> He and his HubDub team pivoted. <br> <br> <br> <br> I’m guessing, and he may not admit this, because his fear of failure drove him to see other options for his success. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> https://youtu.be/Qe-LqEodZFQ<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> And FanDuel has been successful. At the time Nigel sold his interest FanDuel had around a 450 million dollar valuation. A few years later, it is now valued at 11.2 billion.<br> <br> <br> <br>