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Idea Of The Day- Sports betting is fun but it's 10x better with friends. And you can help with that.

Author

Needs To Exist
February 19, 2025

In partnership with

GM. This is Needs to Exist (aka NTE), today delivering a startup idea to make your betting 10x more fun (and social)

You can sign up for NTE Pro and look at 2k+ more ideas for just $99.

And check out free ones in our past newsletters.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today.

  • Daily Idea - Social sports betting.

  • Let’s make a landing page!

Social betting made seamless.

The One Liner

Social betting that feels like Venmo.

The 140 character tweet (or X) version

Betting solo is boring. See your friends’ bets in real-time, bet with one click, and compete. Feels like Venmo, but for sports betting.

The Longer Story Version

The Problem

Betting is way more fun with friends.

But right now? It’s stuck in the group chat.

You text your picks, get some emojis back, maybe a “lock” gif, and then… nothing. There’s no real-time excitement, no way to track bets together, and no easy way to actually bet with or against each other.

You can Venmo your buddy after the game, sure. But why isn’t there a way to just do it all in one place?

The Solution

What if betting felt like Venmo?

A clean, social feed where you:
✅ See your friends’ bets in real time
✅ Bet with one click to join them
✅ Compete head-to-head with custom wagers
✅ Create group parlays for bigger payouts

It’s 10x better than betting solo. No more screenshots, no more side texts—just tap, bet, and talk trash in real-time.

How We’d Build It

🚀 MVP in 60 Days

  • Frontend: React Native for cross-platform speed

  • Backend: Firebase + Supabase for real-time bet tracking

  • Social Feed: ActivityPub or a simple REST API

  • Betting Integration: DraftKings or FanDuel API (or build direct sportsbook connections)

  • Payments: Stripe or integration for peer-to-peer bets

  • Community & Competition: Leaderboards, private groups, and streak tracking

Why It Needs to Exist

Sports betting is a $76B market, and it’s growing fast.

But right now, it’s anti-social.

We’re building for the next generation of bettors—the ones who grew up splitting Ubers, Venmo’ing dinner, and sharing BeReals. The ones who don’t just want to bet on sports, but bet with their friends.

This isn’t just a betting app. It’s a game-changer for how people experience sports together.

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Let’s Talk About that Landing Page

So, you’ve got a new idea. Maybe it’s a product, a service, or just an experiment to see if people care. Either way, you need a landing page. Not a full-blown website, not a company blog—just a simple, high-converting page that does one job: turns visitors into leads.

But here’s the problem: most landing pages suck. They either try to do too much (turning into a homepage wannabe) or too little (leaving visitors confused about what to do next).

Let’s break down what makes a landing page work, the underrated tools that can help, and how to avoid common mistakes.

First, What Even Is a Landing Page?

A landing page is NOT:

  • Your homepage. That’s where people go to explore.

  • A sales page. That’s where people go when they’re already sold.

  • A product page. That’s where people go to compare specs and colors.

A landing page is a sniper shot. It has one goal—capture an email, get a sign-up, book a call, or sell a single thing. That’s it.

The difference is explained well in this article (go read it if you want a deep dive), but the key is simplicity. No distractions. No wandering. Just one CTA (call to action) that leads visitors exactly where you want them to go.

The Anatomy of a High-Converting Landing Page

Here’s what your landing page actually needs:

  1. A Killer Headline – This is the first thing people see. If it’s boring, they bounce. If it’s clear, relevant, and even a little bold, they stay. Example:

    • ❌ “Welcome to XYZ Platform” (boring)

    • ✅ “The Fastest Way to Get 100 New Customers” (specific + valuable)

  2. A Strong Hook – What makes your offer irresistible? Why should they care? Keep it short and punchy.

  3. A Single Call to Action – If you make people think, you lose. Make the next step obvious:

    • “Download the Free Guide”

    • “Get Early Access”

    • “Book a Demo”

  4. Social Proof – People don’t trust strangers on the internet. Add testimonials, logos, or numbers that show this isn’t just hype.

  5. Minimal Distractions – No random links. No clutter. No long-winded paragraphs. Every extra button is an exit door.

Secret Weapons: Underrated Tools for Landing Pages

Everyone knows about Unbounce, Leadpages, and Instapage. But let’s talk about the tools people don’t mention:

  1. Microsoft Clarity – Free heatmaps and session recordings. See where people are clicking (or getting stuck) on your page. If they keep bouncing from the headline, tweak it.

  2. Tally.so – Need a form that doesn’t feel like a tax audit? Tally lets you build simple, conversational forms that don’t scare users away.

  3. Typefully – Writing a strong landing page is mostly about writing a strong hook. Typefully helps you sharpen your messaging by testing variations as Twitter threads. If it works in a tweet, it'll work on a page.

  4. ThriveCart – If your landing page involves selling something, this lightweight checkout tool lets you add a “buy now” button without making users jump through hoops.

  5. Zag.ai – Generates instant content and angles for your landing page. If you’re stuck on copy, drop your product name in and get 10 angles in under 30 seconds.

  6. SparkToro – Not sure what language your audience responds to? This tool finds out where they hang out online and what messaging they already engage with.

  7. CrazyEgg – Old-school but still works. A/B test different versions of your page without needing an engineer.

What to Avoid (So You Don’t Waste Traffic)

  1. Too Many Choices – If you ask visitors to sign up, follow on Twitter, check out your blog, and watch your webinar, they’ll do none of them. One CTA. Period.

  2. Slow Load Times – If your page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, you’ve already lost half your visitors. Keep it light and fast. (Use PageSpeed Insights to check.)

  3. Long Forms – If your form looks like a tax document, nobody’s filling it out. Just ask for an email. You can get more details later.

Want Some Inspiration?

Some of the best landing pages do the basics really well:

  • Shopify – A simple form and a trust-building “1,000,000 businesses use this” line.

  • Yelp – Three bullet points, one CTA, and nothing else.

  • ActiveCampaign – Strong value prop in the header, minimal fluff.

(See more examples in the here.)

Final Thought: Just Launch It

Most people get stuck trying to make the perfect landing page. Don’t. Launch it, run some traffic, and tweak based on real data. If you get conversions, great—optimize from there. If you don’t, change one thing at a time and test again.

Because at the end of the day, the best landing page is the one that’s live, not the one that’s stuck in “almost ready” mode.

One More Meme