Ep. 184: Fantasy football puzzles for the masses w/ Brian Birt from Griddy

Ep. 184 features Brian Birt, founder of Griddy, the fantasy football puzzle game bringing year-round engagement to sports fans.

Hear him discuss:

His journey from childhood sports fanatic to building products at Sleeper and launching Griddy

How Griddy turns fantasy football into a strategic, bite-sized mobile game playable 365 days a year

Solving the seasonality problem in fantasy sports with an innovative “chemistry” team-building mechanic

Why he intentionally built Griddy as a free-to-play game without real money components

How a community-driven approach led to 30,000 users and 3M+ games played with zero ad spend

The role of Reddit and storytelling in driving organic, founder-led growth

Lessons from Sleeper: building trust and community before monetization

Finding product–market fit through retention and user obsession, not growth hacks

Getting early believers on the cap table, including Joel Simkins from XST Capital, and why he seeks to preserve optionality for future capital needs

How psychological resilience and consistency fuel startup success

What’s next for Griddy, from new game modes and rewards to expansion into other sports and fandoms



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