OddsLogic founder Rick Allec is now building his third data business. Here’s what he’s learned in nearly 30 years

With less than a month until the NFL season kicks off, Rick Allec and his team at OddsLogic are putting the finishing touches on a product that’s been three years in the making. But for Allec—a three-time founder in the data space—the path isn’t about chasing buzzwords or investor hype. It’s about building with discipline, listening to users, and staying grounded in what actually works.

Allec’s first product dates back to the pre-internet era, when real-time odds were sent through into pagers. Since then, he’s helped build and sell multiple data businesses, including SportsOptions and a reformed Don Best. OddsLogic is his third time around, and while the market has changed, his philosophy hasn’t.

“I’ve always felt like this tool—no matter what was happening in the sports betting industry—was going to make you more money all the time,” he said on The BettingStartups podcast. “Full stop, without any bells and whistles, without any BS.”

That mindset bleeds into everything—from product decisions to how the business is financed. OddsLogic is entirely bootstrapped, and Allec wears that like a badge of honor. “I probably have left plenty of money on the table by not going out and getting capital,” he said. “But I’m able to build a product that I control. I have the team I want. And I don’t have to answer to anyone else.”

His advice to other founders? Know what you’re building and don’t overspend. “We sat down every single month and we went through every single expense,” Allec recalled of his time at SportsOptions. At the end of each quarter, the team would ask themselves whether or not those expenses were necessary. His point: “You have to manage every single penny that comes and goes.”

Allec’s approach to building products is also shaped by a clear view of who he’s building for, often taking feedback—good and bad—to continue steering OddsLogic in the right direction. “I’m not here to tell people what they want,” he said. “I’m here to build what they tell me they want.”

Feedback side, Allec has a good read on sports bettors and their habits after nearly three decades in the business. While much of the industry obsesses over new interfaces, formats, and features, he believes the fundamentals of a successful B2C product haven’t really changed.

“People are looking to have fun,” he said, adding that while “everybody wants to win,” the majority of users view betting as a hobby. That mindset shapes how OddsLogic thinks about product design and user experience, and specifically, keeping it simple. 

“Don't make it more work for people,” he said. “Don’t reinvent the wheel. Don’t assume that people are betting sports thinking, ‘I wish there was a different way to bet sports.”’ 

In the end, Allec’s takeaway for betting founders is this: instead of trying to change how people bet, try to improve on what already works.

Listen to the full podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.