Fantasy sports are growing like wildfire. The interest has long-since spread beyond that of so-called nerds. Now if you’re not into fantasy sports, you just aren’t cool. We Jabberheads are most definitely cool, so when we see something new in fantasy sports, we’re on it. With that, we were pleased to connect with Gary Dollinger, CEO of the new Fantasy Player Exchange. Gary has graciously “stopped by” SJ to talk some fantasy sports with us and tell us more about his new site and its unique approach. Here’s Gary…
SJ: What is your background? Where are you from? Where have you been career-wise?
Gary: My background is in software development. I started as a programmer almost 16 years ago and progressively moved up in my career. Before starting Fantasy Player Exchange, I started a software development firm called Adalyze Technologies (www.adalyze.com) that provides development services to small businesses and startups. This gave me the talent pool to build out my application without the large costs.
SJ: How & when did you get involved with fantasy sports?
Gary: I started in fantasy sports when I was young – back in the last 80’s before computers were the way to go. Two of my friends and I had a small internal league and developed that into something bigger. Now, both of them work with me on Fantasy Player Exchange.
SJ: What is your favorite sport, and why?
Gary: I grew up as a baseball fan. While I do enjoy pretty much every sport, there is nothing more memorable than those young days at the ballpark with your dad. All of my young memories center around going to Shea Stadium.
SJ: Is your favorite sport the same as your favorite fantasy sport to play? If different, what is it?
Gary: Yes, without a doubt. This probably has a lot to do with my analytical side of my head. I am a numbers guy and Fantasy Baseball is all about the numbers. There is a lot more analysis to do to succeed in a 26 week Baseball season with the varying complexities of all the positions and attributes – and I do it well as I have placed in the money 3 of the last 4 years.
SJ: How & when did Fantasy Player Exchange get started?
Gary: I have had the idea for about 3 years now and have been toying with it ever since. It really became a reality in February when I put together the management and development team to build out the product.
SJ: Fantasy Player Exchange seems to be different than other fantasy sites. What is it and what makes it unique?
Gary: I looked at it as a great in between from the traditional and daily fantasy games. It is not as long and drawn out as a full season and it is not as quick as a day. Every month you start over. It doesn’t matter what sport you like, you can buy and sell from anything in one portfolio – and unlike most games you do not have to worry about setting lineups and juggling positions. I do not care if your team is made up of all kickers and punters – if you can have a good return on them then you can win.
SJ: I saw something on your site about a chance to win a trip to Vegas. Tell me more. What is it & how does that work?
Gary: Very simple – sign up and you are entered to win. Of course we know nothing is that simple (but actually it is). If you join one of the paid leagues (which also give you a better chance of winning more money from larger pools) then you get more entries. 1 entry for the free rookie league, 10 for the $10/month minor league and 25 entries for the $25/month major league. We are also giving extra entries for doing other activities like Following us on Twitter, Liking us on Facebook, getting friends to join, etc. When you sign up you will get an email with a list of other ways to get more entries.
SJ: What is the best way for our readers to learn more about Fantasy Player Exchange and/or get involved?
Gary: Very easy – sign up and try it out. You have nothing to lose since it is free to join. Even in the paid leagues, you get your first month free. We also have an extensive help section that will walk you through the game and what to do. If you need more tips, check out our blog where Nikki writes her daily idea to succeed.
SJ: I’m handing you the “open mic”…Please convey to our readers anything else that you want them to know about the exciting new Fantasy Player Exchange.
Gary: The key to it is that it can be as easy as you want or as complicated as you want. Since we model the game after a stock market environment, if you want to do financial analysis of players then you can. If you want to play the easy way, just look for players that seem low valued compared to how they should be playing. Find those rookies when they first come up (Anthony Rizzo was the first big buy through our site when he came up). There are always opportunities – you just need to find them.
SJ: Thanks a million for “stopping by”, Gary. Fantasy Player Exchange is definitely “a site we like” at SJ. We implore our many thousands of members, subscribers, friends, followers & readers to go check it out…NOW!
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