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A personal update…

I’m in an exploratory phase of building Just Go Grind.

Since I’m also the only person working on this company, that inherently means I’m in an exploratory phase of my life. The two go hand in hand.

After being mostly heads down for more than a year since I started this newsletter and growing it to more than 20,000 subscribers I’ve been thinking… What’s next?

How does this business evolve?

What direction should I take it?

What do I want?

For the first time in a while, I’ve considered joining another company and working on Just Go Grind on the side. I’ve already had numerous conversations with some fascinating people.

Part of me misses working with a team. The bootstrapped solopreneur life can be tough and I’ve certainly had my share of struggles since quitting my job in May 2023.

Maybe I’d join a venture capital firm or a startup.

I’m not opposed to the idea, especially for a company that would benefit from what I’m building at Just Go Grind.

Alternatively, I’ve been contemplating what doubling down looks like - raising funding, building a team, and taking Just Go Grind to the next level.

As you may have seen recently, I’m also planning to host more events, regardless of my next move. Many people are craving in-person connection and I think I’m in a great position to help.

Why share all of this?

First, I’ve benefitted a lot from serendipity by putting my thoughts and ideas out into the world in the last decade. It’s a way to increase my luck surface area.

Second, building a company is hard, there are many ways to do it, and people aren’t typically candid about the uncertainty of it all and how your desires evolve as you build the company. Hopefully sharing a little of my thought process is helpful for at least one of you.

That said, reply to this email or send me a DM if you have any ideas for working together, the direction of Just Go Grind, or just want to say hello.

Onward.

Justin’s Picks

The best links I’ve found this week

✅ A strategic guide to conferences for startups (LINK)

✅ The evolution of Y Combinator since 2008 (LINK)

✅ A quick story of how everything is negotiable (LINK)

✅ The top AI investors in New York (LINK)

✅ Why you shouldn’t build “yelp but for friends” (LINK)

Denise Coates, Founder of Bet365

You probably don’t know who Denise Coates is.

I didn’t until a few months ago.

That’s intentional.

She’s one of the most under-the-radar billionaire founders.

Bet365, the British online gambling company she founded in 2000, made her the fourth richest self-made woman in the world.

But how’d she build it?

How’d she create a company with 7,000 employees and 90 million customers when competitors had jumped at the online gambling opportunity before her?

Let’s get to it.

Early Days

The rise of Denise Coates can be traced back to her father, Peter.

Growing up in poverty, but determined to climb out of it, Peter Coates started a catering business focused on sporting events after years of working at a chain restaurant.

Peter parlayed the success of his catering business into Provincial Racing.

Provincial Racing, which Denise later described as, “A small chain of pretty rubbish betting shops,” was where she worked during college at the University of Sheffield.

It provided the foundation upon which she’d build an empire.

But her start was far from glamorous.

Initially, she was only a cashier in several of Provincial Racing’s betting shops, but the experience was worthwhile:

By 1995, Denise rose to Managing Director after training as an accountant within the firm.

Under her direction, Provincial Racings’s chain of betting shops grew more and more profitable.

We also get a glimpse of Denise’s ambitions during this time.

Through a loan from Barclays, Denise essentially doubled the business overnight, acquiring another chain of betting shops.

She grew the business from 12 to 49 retail locations.

But she wasn’t about to stop there.

Denise could see the future and one thing was going to change everything for her industry: The internet.

Starting bet365

Evolving from retail betting shops to online gambling was a massive risk in 2000.

But Denise was convinced it was the right move, as her brother, who also worked in the business, later recalled:

While competitors like William Hill and Coral were tiptoeing into the world of online gambling, Denise was preparing to go all in.

But this venture was going to require some serious capital.

After failing to raise any money from venture capitalists in London, not surprising given the dotcom crash at the same time, Denise was eventually able to get a £15m loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland to get the business off the ground:

This was undoubtedly a risky move, but Denise couldn’t ignore the potential opportunity the internet provided:

After purchasing the bet365 domain for £10,000 from eBay, Denise built a team of 12 and created her online sportsbook in about 15 months, launching in March 2001 from a portable building in the parking lot of one of her family’s betting shops.

It was a modest beginning, to say the least.

Denise was 33 years old at the time and she was just getting started.

Growing bet365

At the time of bet365’s launch, only an estimated 36% of UK households had internet access.

You can imagine what this would mean for an online betting company.

Growth was slow.

Denise described the first few years of building bet365 as “extremely tough” but she kept going.

She also needed more funding to get the company to profitability, which she got from her father after he sold his catering business. The £3m she received certainly helped.

Then, in 2005, Denise made a huge move, deciding to sell Provincial Racing’s retail betting shops to Coral for £40m.

The move was strategic.

Not only was Denise able to pay off the RBS loan, but she was able to invest in new technology at a time when the growth of online gambling was skyrocketing.

This was key.

Yes, it was a huge advantage to have that kind of access to capital from the sale of her family’s business, but other competitors launched sports betting sites before Denise’s and they didn’t come out on top.

Why?

I think it all stems from Denise’s obsession with building the business, which can’t be understated, and her attention to detail, especially in the early days.

In an article from 2010, Matthew Glazier, who was the head of marketing from 2004 to 2010 said of Denise and her brother, John (co-CEO of bet365 today):

This obsession revealed itself in bet365’s product development, something Denise talked about in 2010:

Some of those products included:

• Live streaming in 2006

• A bingo website in 2008

• A mobile website in 2010

They were also the first company to broadcast live odds on TV ads.

Always pushing the envelope.

It worked wonders.

By year-end 2010, bet365 had £358m in revenue, £104m in operating profit, and 1,400 employees.

When asked about taking the company public in an interview around this time, Denise gives us a peak into her view of running a company:

We just want to get on with running our business.

That’s all Denise wants to do.

She reiterated that in another rare interview two years later:

In the same interview, she also elaborated on what it had taken to get the company to this point:

One other thing that stood out from that interview?

Denise’s view on being a woman in a male-dominated industry:

Making her business successful is exactly what Denise did and her 50.2% stake in the company made her unfathomably wealthy.

A decade later, she’s still leading the way.

Bet365 Today

It’s been more than 20 years since bet365 launched and today it’s a juggernaut in the industry, with annual revenue of more than $4 billion.

Denise still owns about half of the company and, according to Forbes, has a net worth of $8.5 billion.

Researching her was a struggle.

There are so many gaps in her story and how bet365 has grown because she gives so few interviews.

I could count on one hand the number of interviews I was able to find with her and most were at least a decade old.

A clear takeaway from her success though?

Focus.

Denise’s work ethic and focus were crucial to building bet365, but, of course, those alone don’t build an empire.

Mark Blandford, a pioneer of the online gambling industry, described an important advantage Denise possessed:

With that knowledge, Denise built bet365 on the premise of providing the best odds, a phenomenal user experience, and the best service in any market they enter.

One other thing?

They invested heavily in building a brand.

Not only have they utilized ads with famous actors, but they’ve also formed partnerships with sports franchises around the world, developing name recognition and trust among their users.

Combine it all with 20+ years of building and you have one of the world’s leading online gambling companies.

Please gamble responsibly. Gambling should always be approached with caution. If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling addiction, help is available. Contact your local or national gambling addiction helpline for support and assistance.

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Thanks for reading!

Best,

Justin

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P.P.S. Want to work with me 1 on 1?