A techpreneur is building brands around fan fun.
Sandy Springs native Adam Wexler’s goal in life is to show people a good time. “From helping find your next favorite song to bringing you closer to the brands you love to getting more engaged with the games you’re watching, each of my companies have been focused on fan engagement,” says Wexler, a technology entrepreneur.
A 2007 graduate of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, Wexler’s interest in tech was awoken when he was in his sophomore year studying real estate. “I witnessed firsthand Facebook coming to the University of Georgia. Mark Zuckerberg was in the same fraternity that I was, but at Harvard, and was a year older than me. I said to myself, ‘If this guy can create this, I can, too,’” he says. Before he graduated, he decided real estate wasn’t for him, had come up with his first app concept and found an engineer to partner with and develop it.
Since then, Wexler has spent almost two decades building digital and mobile startups. His platforms have included GoRankem, a Wikipedia-like resource for music discovery; Insightpool, an analytics platform that was purchased by TrendKite (acquired by Cision) in 2018; and PrizePicks, the largest independent daily fantasy sports operator in the United States, which he founded in 2017 and continues to grow.
“As I like to say, I would have been a customer of everything I have created. It’s always easier when you can see yourself on both sides [of the business],” Wexler says.
Having played fantasy sports since he was in seventh grade, with PrizePicks, Wexler saw an opportunity to create a platform that had mainstream appeal. It offers compelling daily engagement and doesn’t require every user to know everything about every player. “Most people, like me, don’t have that time on their hands or would drop off as they got further into a season,” he says.
Recently, Wexler transitioned from CEO of PrizePicks to executive chairman, a role where he continues to be engaged in a full-time capacity as special advisor to the CEO. “We had a very light C-suite as we headed into our eighth season, so it was time to try to make the operation as efficient as we possibly could.”
A self-proclaimed contrarian, Wexler’s motto is “Doubt me, please do.” He gets fired up when people tell him certain things are not possible, and those challenges motivate him to figure out the solutions.
In his free time, Wexler enjoys playing basketball and supporting his alma maters’ teams. He proudly shares that Riverwood High School just won a state basketball championship, and the University of Georgia’s 20-year basketball slump is finally turning a corner. He became engaged with the latter’s program as a donor last summer.
“There’s a common thread between everything I’ve put my mind toward,” Wexler says. “I’m not trying to change the world, but I am trying to make it a more fun place to be.”
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