The fundamental idea behind Layup, a startup that identified an opportunity at the intersection of sports and personal finance, is a true case of “something for nothing.”
The concept came from two Irish founders who grew up with a financial product that we Yanks would find revolutionary: government-issued Prize Bonds.
“In Ireland we have a product that the average American would find to be, quite frankly, bonkers,” explains Owen Monagan, CEO and co-founder of Layup. “In every post office in Ireland, you can buy a bond that doesn’t earn any interest. Instead, it gives you a shot to win what used to be a million euros every single month and 60,000 euros basically every week as well, and much smaller prizes.”
The concept is simple but powerful: Instead of earning traditional interest, your savings gives you lottery-like opportunities to win cash prizes while your principal remains completely safe.
“There’s 5 billion euros saved in it and 400,000 people use it,” Monagan notes about the Irish version. “Premium Bonds in the UK, which is where Ireland got the idea from, has $157 billion saved in the program and a third of the British population uses it — 24 million people in Britain have one of these right now.”
Monagan and his co-founder Oisin Tiernan recognized an opportunity to bring this concept to America, specifically targeting the growing sports gambling market. Their insight was born from personal experience creating a fantasy Premier League application that attracted 20,000 users organically.
“It was this confluence of building a sports game just because we love sports, growing up with this product, and seeing the legalization of these types of products in America under the American Savings Promotion Act of 2014,” Monagan says. “We know how fun and commonly used this product is in Ireland. Can we use these same principles and this better legislation to create a sports game that is just as fun and exciting as everything else you see in a sportsbook, but with none of the downsides?”
Random picks, big money
Layup’s app works by giving users randomized sports picks daily, similar in appearance to popular multi-game selections but with a crucial difference — you can’t lose your money. Users deposit funds that go directly to NBKC Bank (member FDIC), and then receive the daily picks. No muss, no fuss.
“For every $50 you save with us, you get a shot to win an extra $1,000 every week,” Monagan said. “We use sportsdata.io to provide up-to-date lines from all of the sportsbooks. We randomly give you basically the over or the under — it’s like a coin flip — and we stack these things on top of each other until we get to the desired probabilistic outcome.”
The most counterintuitive aspect of Layup’s model is that users never lose their deposits. If your picks hit, you win cash prizes that can range from a few cents to potentially thousands of dollars. If they don’t hit, your money stays safely in your account.
“The magic that people can’t believe, it’s mind-blowing — when I don’t win, I don’t lose,” Monagan emphasizes. “There’s nothing like that anywhere.”
The company launched its full non-beta product last September, and while still early, Monagan has ambitious visions for the future.
Monagan also sees Layup’s approach as aligned with the positive aspects of sports.
“What is sports? It’s team, purpose, self-improvement, community,” he said. “I think that’s the energy we’re bringing. It’s a collaborative experience when you’re on the app that is contributing to the prizes and saving together. You’re improving your finances.”
The company faces unique challenges as a startup operating at the intersection of two industries often plagued by questionable actors.
“Let’s be real, we touch on some of the themes of gaming and we touch on some of the themes of finance. These are two industries riddled with fraudsters and bad actors over and over again,” Monagan acknowledges. “The first thing we have to do is become trusted and keep the app as simple as possible so you can understand the business model.”
For users accustomed to traditional sports gaming, Layup offers a compelling proposition.
“If you’re willing to lose $1,000 every year just for the excitement because everybody knows gambling is fun — it’s entertainment — what we basically say is, ‘Give us that $1,000 and you’ll get a shot to win $20,000 every week for the rest of your life, or until you withdraw. If it happens, that’s great. You have $1,000, now you have $20,000. We’re happy. And if it doesn’t happen, it’s all good because all you did was save money.'”
Layup’s full positioning and business model, as Monagan describes it, is “helping you have as much fun as possible while keeping as much of your money as possible.” In a landscape where most similar products are designed to separate users from their funds, that’s a refreshing change of pace.
