Welcome to Episode 2 of Safary’s Revenue Series! 🦁
We interview the operators behind the companies that are actually making money in crypto. We break down their growth strategies, challenges, and tech stacks so you can grow your business in crypto and beyond.
In this episode, Justin sits down with Caleb, Marketing Lead at Football.Fun, a sports prediction platform for the world’s 3.5 billion football fans. The team crossed $3M in revenue in the first three weeks after launch, and they’re just getting started.
What Football.Fun Is and Who It Serves
Football.Fun is a trading and prediction platform where users buy sports players, build lineups, and earn rewards based on performance. It targets the existing global audience of football fans, not just fantasy diehards.
“We built for an established audience. There are 3.5 billion football fans. We do not need to create a community. We need to tap the one that already exists.”
How Football.Fun Makes Money
The business model is transaction fee–driven, similar to a DEX.
Users own the players they buy. No seasonal reselling to the same customers.
Revenue comes from volume and fees as users trade and play.
Owning young players creates multi-year utility, which keeps secondary activity flowing.
“We did not want to resell the product every season. If you buy a player now, you own them for years. We monetize through fees on activity.”
Metrics That Matter
Volume that reflects real behavior, for example sell-offs on injuries and buying based on form
Deposits and inflows as a health check for the economy
Unique users and daily actives to track momentum and breadth
From MVP to Launch
MVP with real users, no incentives. The team tested starting in February with friends, early power users, and a 2,000-person beta. No airdrops, no point farming. They focused on retention and product feedback.
Message fit for crypto. They learned that crypto natives react to two levers: status and number go up. Pricing and launch mechanics reflected that reality.
Targeted early access. They launched player cards at low prices to reward early believers and prime a network effect when Pro mode went live.
“We knew crypto would not care about a free-to-play beta. We built toward status and number go up for launch, while making sure the product actually delivered.”
A Growth Unlock: Streaming and Clipping
Threads and text posts are starting to feel inorganic on CT. Meanwhile, live streams with high-signal creators can show authentic gameplay and excitement. Short clips then pushed those moments across CT for new distribution.
“If your product is streamable, streaming is higher signal. People can see a creator they trust actually enjoying it. Clipping then breaks that content out of the streamer’s silo.”
Investor streams helped too. Many of FBF’s investors were among the platform’s best players. Interviews mixed why they invested with their personal playing strategies, creating credible validation and reach.
Capturing Attention with Simple Messaging
Simple promise: pick good football players, win rewards.
Nostalgia anchor: remind CT of NBA Top Shot and Sorare’s early rush, then explain how Football.Fun learned from those economic pitfalls.
Broad entry, deep mastery: easy to try for casuals, with depth for obsessives.
Engineered vs Organic Momentum
Pre-launch: targeted paid activations with a small, curated set of high-signal KOLs and streamers to cold start awareness.
Then the snowball: once the product and mechanics were visible, about 95 percent of coverage became organic during the next 48-hour surge.
Budget: mid five figures spent with a bias toward trusted voices over volume blasts
“Go for signal, not noise. Fifteen people the market truly listens to are better than a hundred mid-tiers. And make sure there is something exciting users can actually do the moment they see it.”
Retention, Not Just Hype
Sports trading & predictions tie to real-world events. Matches and injuries move prices and lineups, which brings users back.
Prize loops and utility. Winnings and ongoing contests create reasons to keep playing.
A new vertical for fans. This is not a replacement for degen trading. It is a football-native loop that merges hobby and on-chain activity.
Balancing Web3 and Web2
Short term: lean into crypto, where average revenue per user is higher and volatility is understood.
Next chapters: expand into Asia and LATAM, localize communities, and time web2 pushes when markets are steadier, on-ramps are smoother, and mainstream partners can validate the category.
Lessons from Electronic Arts (EA): respect cultural nuance. Football fans are not typical gamers. Meet them where football culture actually lives, and in the specific country context that they celebrate the sport in.
Advice for Revenue-First Founders
Build for fast-moving behavior. Web3 attention is short. Liquid markets that offer edge and action produce better revenue paths.
Charge sustainable fees from day one. Do not assume you can switch revenue on later.
Curate your creator roster. High-signal voices plus streamable product plus clips beats generic paid threads.
“Web3 is a seesaw. On the way up you are the best team in the world. On the way down they hate you. Learn to separate product feedback from emotions tied to price.”
FootballdotFun’s Future
Become one of the largest fantasy platforms in the world. Football first, then NFL and NBA. The company behind Football.Fun is Sports.Fun, and the goal is to dominate global fantasy, not just a niche inside crypto.
You won’t want to miss this episode!
Episode Timeline
00:00 Why revenue matters now, and Caleb’s background at EA
02:32 What Football.Fun is, and who it serves
03:27 Business model and why ownership beats seasonal reselling
04:42 MVP learnings and pre-launch playbook
06:46 Streaming and clipping as a non-obvious unlock
08:10 Investor streams and credibility
10:15 Simple messaging, nostalgia, and economic improvements
12:25 Growth roadmap across Web3 and new regions
15:09 Balancing growth and monetization across Web3 and Web2
17:30 Engineered launch vs organic snowball and KOL selection
21:56 Retention loops tied to real matches and prize mechanics
24:17 North-star metrics for a durable business
25:48 Advice for revenue-first founders
27:54 Culture, sentiment cycles, and community management
29:26 Future vision
