Company: Mock Draft Central
Launched: 2002
Site: www.mockdraftcentral.com
Jason Pliml concedes right on his site’s about page that the growth rate has surprised even him.
“I guess I should have known that when you mix an addicting hobby, technical know-how, hyper-ambition and a cold beer,” he writes, “anything is possible.”
If you think about it, though, the rise of this particular company could be even more indicative of the place that fantasy sports has taken within the broader sports/entertainment culture than any of the other companies profiled on this site.
There are the fantasy games providers, those who actually host the leagues and present the contests, providing outlets for those fans looking to enjoy themselves. Then there are the myriad content providers, offering advice for those who want to enjoy themselves a bit more than the leaguemates they’re trying to beat.
Then there is Mock Draft Central. Although the site provides some content, it basically acts as the batting cage in which you work out before facing the live-game pitching that is your actual league draft. Of course, that is oversimplifying the venture.
Mock Draft Central is an ambitious software hub that is based at a site that focuses on delivering a multisport mock draft lobby. The idea generated from a fantasy player/software engineer who found his own draft preparation to be cumbersome.
“I used to endure a laborious preparation process for my upcoming fantasy drafts,” Pliml, the founder and president of MDC, tells FSB.com. “I would lay out several spreadsheets and predict which players would be selected by various teams. Not only was it boring and redundant, but it incorporated all of my own biases regarding the players. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could practice against people that knew what they were doing, but not in my actual league?’ The seed was thus planted.”
That seed was initially fed by funding from Pliml’s previous work as a software-engineering consultant. Beginning at age 21, he worked on a wide variety of projects in areas that ranged from real estate appraisal to nuclear power plant operation and a few others that most of us would need advanced degrees to even talk about. By 25, he had co-created a consulting firm that did nearly a million dollars worth of business over the first year and a half. It was after splitting with his initial consulting partner that Pliml eventually dreamed up and put together MDC.
By 2005, though, MDC was looking to move beyond what the early sources of funding could support. That led Pliml to the Grand Angels investment group of Western Michigan — where MDC is based — who liked his business model but reportedly liked the company leader more.
“The classic line is that investors bet on the jockey and not the horse,” Grand Angels president Jody Vanderwel told the Grand Rapids Business Journal at the time. “I think he has a great business model and a very robust technology, but behind that is a man who is not only very technologically able but a bright man who loves what he does. His passion for this business is so obvious.”
Plenty of small-business owners have entered their respective markets with passion, though, and Mock Draft Central would not have become successful in such a competitive field without delivering a strong product. The company won the 2007 Fantasy Sports Trade Association award for Best Draft Tool and carries an impressive list of licensing partners, which currently includes Rotowire, Open Sports, U-Sports, AFFL, NFFC/NFBC, RotoBowl, FFPC, Quest Fantasy Leagues and My Fantasy League.
In addition to licensing use of the MDC draft software and helping to integrate it into partner sites, Mock Draft Central has aided in software development for contest and content sites, provided content editing services and farmed out its average draft position statistics to what Pliml says is more than half of the fantasy magazines out there.
“In short, we are uniquely skilled and well-positioned to do a lot of different things,” Pliml says. “We’re always on the lookout for opportunities that maximize the utilization of our skills and our technology.”
In addition to football, the site has handled baseball, basketball and hockey drafts since its inception and has added college football and basketball, golf, NASCAR and arena football to the menu. Pliml says that the company is considering jumping into soccer and cricket as well, though no immediate plans have been made.
All of this comes from a company that employs just one other full-time staffer, Geoff Stein, as well as a regular rotation of two more part-time workers. Pliml says the part-time contingent can grow to four in the busiest times.
The continuing rate of rapid growth in the fantasy sports industry could produce more of those busier times for Mock Draft Central. After all, no matter what sport you wish to play, where you decide to host your league or whom you go to for advice, it all starts with the draft.
The Fantasy Sports Trade Association is holding an election for five three-year roles on its board of directors. The voting is open only to member companies, with each company only allowed a single ballot.
