Credit Louiecards on the great find today. Here is an interesting article about how OenSeason came about straight from the CEO of OneSeason and E-Global SPorts Network CEO himself, Mike Sroka

I was daydreaming back in 1998 in high school economics class and thought a stock exchange for athletes would be a cool way for kids to learn about market dynamics. After graduating from college I worked for a private equity fund and then a hedge fund. I was playing fantasy sports with my friends, and I thought this would work. The CEO of the hedge fund had a lot of experience with venture-backed startups. I pitched this idea to him in July 2006 and he loved it. He provided some startup capital and by May 2007 we had a business plan and we launched the Web site in October of 2008.

You can see the article here yourself. Enjoy.

OSN’s own Dancenham and BP did a “Virtual” Interview with Mike Sroka, CEO of E-Global Sports Network, and CEO of OneSeason.com to discuss the market, Vinny, splits, and more. It’s basically a Q&A session, but we tried to make it fun for OSN. We hope you enjoy!

Bullpup: Mike! Thanks for virtually sitting down with us today! It’s been some time since we’ve talked to you, How have you been? How have things been going for you guys?

Mike:  Thanks for having me guys!  Well, the Cubs are not going to make the playoffs and the Bears looked brutal last weekend but otherwise things are good.  It is great to be back in the fall sports season!

Dancenham: Yep, Fantasy Football is in full swing. Speaking of that, we’ve seen an interview with Ronnie Lott and now know has his own Fantasy Football advice site, ronnielottfantasyfootball.com. Have you been in contact with him recently? Is he more than just a name on the advisory board? Is there any involvement between his new site, and OneSeason?

Mike:  Ronnie is on our Advisory Board which meets about every 6 weeks and he has been great.  As you may know, he has strong relationships with the big networks, leagues and player associations.  He has also been involved with a number of start-up’s and is very knowledgeable about operating early-stage companies.  I think that the site you mentioned is actually part of CBS Sports which is one of the big networks that Ronnie has been working with.  He has also done a lot of stuff with Fox Sports.  We do not currently have any announcements relating to OneSeason working with the other companies that Ronnie is associated with.

Bullpup: Mike, regarding the social networking aspect that seems to be the phenomea of the internet lately…Heck, that term has even been used in a new Fosters Beer commercial, and we now know how australians do social networking…Do you guys run your own OneSeason twitter pages The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and onseasoncom ones? How about MySpace and Facebook?

Mike:  Boy are you right about the social networks growing like crazy.  Facebook is nearing 300 Million users and the highest growth has been occurring in the core Fantasy Sports demographic (30 – 55 year old Males).  We are managing all of our social media including the Facebook and Twitter pages here in our San Francisco office.

Dancenham: Mike speaking of facebook and things of that nature.. I know that creating a community via Facebook is one of your strategies right now. the only on-line community that i have ever been apart of is OSN.. no Facebook, no MySpace, noMatch.com.. For users that have been looking for a straight up sports based stock market like myself, should we be concerned about the current state of OneSeason?

Mike:  No, I don’t think you should be concerned.  We view Social Networks, Mobile devices, etc. as access points and distribution channels which are in no way mutually exclusive with a destination site or other 3rd party communities.  What I mean by this is that there are a ton of folks on Facebook and it is really easy and comfortable for them to interact there.  Mobile devices allow people to access functionality where they want, when they want it.  We are trying to get OneSeason out to as many people as possible in an efficient way and allow folks to participate from whatever community/platform they feel most comfortable.  Now, I notice you included Match.com in the question and I would add that you should be concerned if OneSeason ever offers dating features!

Bullpup: Well Hammy is getting married in less than a month, so I don’t think he’d have a use for that feature. Rockman though? I think he’d definitely benefit from some dating features on OneSeason. He has been trying for months to hook up w/ Slubs32 via the OSN forums…But also, with regards to facebook, we’ve seen a LOT of attention and focus being put on Vinny’s Sports Book recently. Is Vinny’s Sports Book, to you guys, a sizeable piece of the makeup of E-Global Sports Network? Or is it just for fun? It seems to me that looking at the 19,000,000 users monthly applications on facebook such as Mafia Wars has…Vinny has a huge profit potential for e-Global Sports network from the little free offers people fill out to get more chips.

Mike:  We built Vinny’s to create distribution for ourselves (OneSeason) and because we want it to exist.  It is a great way for us to develop a relationship with tons of sports fans (very targeted audience coming to us) and make them aware of the OneSeason services.  As a free service on a large social network it can grow like crazy organically which we have encouraged our users to help us seed and is also a lot of fun.

Bullpup: I gotcha, that makes sense, and to follow that up…is CRV’s investment we heard about months back..was that an investment in E-Global Sports Network? Meaning CRV has ties to Vinny as well? Or is CRV’s involvement only with theOneSeason.com site?

Mike: CRV’s investment is in E-Global Sports Network which is the owner and operator of our branded destination websiteOneSeason.com.  CRV shares our excitement for the opportunity in building text-based social games for sports fans and specifically the concept of a real-time trading system.

Bullpup: Also on this point…some folks are spending calculating commissions for OneSeason and saying there is no way OneSeason can survive on the revenue they are generating. Is OneSeason.com itself, just a small piece of the puzzle that makes up the e-global sports network? Is that situation like analyzing Fruit of the Loom and upon seeing that it’s generating no revenue, proclaim that Berkshire Hathaway will be bankrupt in a matter of days?

Mike:  I really don’t think it is appropriate for private companies to discuss the details of their financial operations but since the whole world seems to spend every day speculating on the financial viability of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. I will try to answer as best I can.  OneSeason is not currently operating profitably or at break even.  Very few start-up’s are able to achieve this in the first few years of operation if ever.  Unlike some of the companies mentioned above, OneSeason has had a revenue model from day 1 which has proven to be effective, the question is if we can create something that is compelling for a broad audience (Model + Scale = Success).

Dancenham: Mike, with regards to Fantasy Tycoons…Do you have any changes planned for the NFL version of Tycoons besides implementing position spots (if that’s even in the works). Right now it seems to be a little dry and there’s no incentive for me to play. Legends - if ya have an answer cool, if not no need to respond. Are we any closer to a Legend Based Tycoon Game?

Mike: Yes, we are working on some additional features to Fantasy Tycoons and think that being able to see other rosters and having cross-sport leagues are high priority.  Incorporating Legends into Fantasy games is quite difficult because there cannot be pay to play options due to legal constraints related to skill-based gaming.

Bullpup: We definitely need something for Legends. And how about teams? You mentioned a few months ago that we could expect teams to be coming back as available SOIs. Any more news on this topics? Are teams coming? Or are they on hold again?

Mike: We are still waiting to get more depth before moving into Teams or additional sports.  It seems like having more, closely comparable things is the most interesting rather than spraying wide and shallow.

Dancenham: I have a problem spraying wide and shallow often, but going back to E-Global Sports Network Besides the projects that we are currently aware of (OS, Vinny, Tycoons), are there any others in the works that would spark interest for your current user base?

Mike:  We really can’t talk about any potential future functionality but are working hard to build this company the best way we know how.

Bullpup: Alright, and speaking of the company, and the centerpiece of it all, the trading platform.. What about the market itself? We have lots of folks who have just become disheartened watching their values of their sportfolios dwindle, day by day. Someone pointed out recently that If you bought $2500 in OS SOI’s on 1/1/09, you’d have $1327 in SOI’s right now. If you did it on 1/14/09, you’d have $415. January 1st is coming, and deposits will be reset and some are on the fence as to why they would put in more money, considering the numbers we just heard. Could you give us some thoughts behind the markets performance this year so far, and what users should be paying attention to, or learning from this right now?

Mike:  For clarity, OneSeason is the platform.  We do not have any involvement in the price or movements of SOI’s.  When users achieve gains or losses that comes from other users and the ability to navigate a dynamic marketplace.  Additionally, OneSeason is built for fun and entertainment.  It is a place for sports fans to interact and express themselves as well as display their allegiances and sports knowledge.  Our hope is that it provides a LOT of hours of excitement and enjoyment connecting people with similar interests.

Dancenham: Mike we’ve also seen a lot of posting about reverse splits and There has been some grumbling about what actually triggers a r/s. Can you either deny or confirm the rumors that the algorithm behind splits has changed recently.

Mike: Splits and Reverse Splits allow the system to scale up and down as necessary to be appropriate given recent trading activity.  In order to prevent attempts to force these actions in situations where they may not have occurred naturally we moved to a system based on a SOI weighted average for a period of time (not specified) prior to closing.  With wide variances in trading volume, spreads in open orders, trading activity and the related flags we created for suspicious activity, we are constantly looking to improve our systems to best achieve the goals.  Splits and Reverse Splits do not change the percentage of ownership or Total Value so I’m not sure why some folks get excited about this.  If something is trading outside of the specified range $0.75 - $20.00 then it may get split or reverse split.

Bullpup: Confirm or Deny! Reminds me of that new PS3 commercial. I think we have several people saying what you just said about splits not mattering Mike, and others saying that reduced supply will help stabilize the market and find a true bottom. We’ll have follow up discussion on this from OSN for sure. Mike, where are we with the site being almost exactly a year old. Where is it now, from where you envisioned it when you created it? We know you mentioned a long time ago that the site was 25% complete, and you’ve also said that it will never be 100% complete. Where are we with it today, in the grand scheme of things?

Mike: It is crazy thinking back to October last year when we launched the site.  It seems like so much has happened since then but the time has flown by.  Since last fall we have gotten the platform stabilized, the user interface is much more intuitive, we have some great new applications and there is a whole ecosystem of 3rd party sites built around our start-up.  We still have plenty of work to do but there is a solid foundation in place.  Most importantly, we really need to improve the social nature of participation on the system and keep opening it up so other developers can build on top of it.  Finding creative ways to make people aware of our services and community as well as facilitating a great experience for both old pros and newbie’s is also top of mind.  We have a very small team and have bitten off quite a bit but I could not be prouder of the job everyone is doing and am excited to continue the adventure.

Dancenham: Mike, I have one more question..how concerned are you about state of mind for your current user base? Is it more of juggling around ideas to keep both new users and current users happy? Would you be concerned if all your current users just up’d and left?

Mike:  We want more than anything to create something that a lot of people like.  We have benefited from and appreciate all the feedback that we get.  The end of your question goes without saying, our success is measured by sports fans having fun.

Bullpup: We definitely are into having fun. Mike, thanks for your time today in doing a virtual sitdown w/ OSN. We appreciate the time out of your busy day. Tell DJ and the rest of the team hi for us.

Mike:  Thanks guys!  DJ said something about the Seahawks which always comes out my other ear as blah, blah, blah.  Talk to you soon!

Bullpup: The Bears suck. Thanks Mike!

———————————————————————————

There will be plenty of follow up and discussion about this “virtual interview” in the forums, If you aren’t part of the forums, feel free to post follow ups or questions here, and we’ll get them to Mike for a future Q&A session.

We’re Baaaaaaaack! OSN Radio kicks off THIS Tuesday evening 9pm PST for a VERY special edition! We have Mike Sroka and DJ Burdick coming BACK on the show to discuss everything YOU want to know about OneSeason, Fantasy Tycoons (and the Market’s reaction), Fantasy Ratio, Future Plans, Fantasy Football kickoff, The OSN Fantasy Football 2009-2010 draft guide Best Buys, Worst Buys, and everything else under the sun about OneSeason! Tune in to hear valuable insight from our Fantasy Experts. This is one episode of OSN Radio you do NOT want to miss!

This was a question that hit the OSN community immediately. OSN contacted Mike Sroka, CEO of OneSeason for an answer. We also got clarification on a question brought up from someone about some of the legal language around what they can and can’t do. Here is the response. Enjoy!

Q: Why did you guys build Fantasy Tycoons?  I thought this was going to be left to 3rd Parties?

A:  We have been and continue building out OneSeason to the best of our ability.  The Fantasy framework (games, metrics, etc.) required having the platform stabilized and enough players available for participants to differentiate.  We have now accomplished those things and are able to move down the dev schedule which we have prioritized as we see logical based on your feedback and operational necessity.

OneSeason and users benefit from 3rd party application development and we remain committed to opening up our system more and more.  Account level integration is a big project that requires careful consideration of the many potential implications.  Operating data helps us understand usage patterns as we pursue these goals.

Q: Is this legal within the context of the UIGEA?

A:  Much of our research has been performed into the reported federal and state case law and criminal gambling statues.  This is a relatively new and rapidly evolving area.  There are many forms of skill based games including Fantasy Sports being operated legally in the United States.  The structures of participation, display and prizes vary among these.  To fall outside the prohibition of unlawful gambling in most states, the participation in a contest must “control or influence” the outcome of the competition.  Therefore, a key to the distinction between fantasy sports and sports wagering is that fantasy sports require the consistent and recognizable involvement of the contestants.  Success is related to knowledge, attentiveness, control and skill in assessing the landscape.  On September 29, 2006, the U.S. Congress passed UIGEA.  The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 prohibits the transfer of funds from financial institution to an Internet gambling site, with notable exception of fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing.  UIGEA applies to all unlawful Internet gambling activities. 5361 § 3(9) defines “unlawful Internet gambling” as “to place, receive, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by any means which involves the use, at least in part, of the Internet where such bet or wager is unlawful under any applicable Federal or State law in the state in which the bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made.”  The fantasy sports contests offered on the Fantasy Tycoons App through OneSeason.com are games of skill with a consistent and recognizable involvement by participants.  We will continue to review and monitor activity in the space and may adjust the display and/or structure if necessary or appropriate to maintain compliance.

Last Night’s episode was an amazing show for the guys who head up the OSN radio division. Jewcer and OneFour had the best ever episode of “Jewced Up” radio! OneSeason co-founders Mike Sroka and DJ Burdick were on the show, and answered all of the questions, talked to some callers, told us about a cool new commerical idea that involved the communty, and everyone learned a lot of cool stuff and had a lot of fun! This was DJ’s first appearance speaking live with the communtiy (other than his debut on OSNTV, and occasional posts to the OSN blog).We had some great callers, some great discussion around OneSeason. We learned of the first OneSeason community game where you can win CASH based on your SOIs on field performance! We had a hot college chick call in. And a lot more fun stuff. If you missed it, check out the replay!

www.OneSeasonNation.com/radio

Tonight is a very special edition of OSN’s “Jewced Up” Radio. The guys will have OneSeason co-founders Mike Sroka AND DJ Burdick on the air to talk about OneSeason. OneSeason Radio hosts Jewcer2k5 and SurfingOneFour will be joined by co-hosts and callers for this special episode tonight. Don’t miss it! Here is the official announcement straight from the mouths of the OSN Radio hosts themselves.

www.oneseasonnation.com/radio

Over the past few weeks I have spent many a night crying myself to sleep on my huge pillow feeling neglected.
But tonight the Jewcer is back hosting the show with myself (surfing)OneFour
So tune in tonight for our Greatest Duo Edition of Jewced Up Radio

Tonight on our our Greatest Duo Edition of Jewced Up Radio.
Lets talk about the happenings at Oneseason and the OneSeason Nation

- Live interview with Mike and DJ (another great duo)
We’ve all heard interviews with Mike where the questions he was asked they knew he could not answer.
So don’t waste his time, DJ’s time, and most importantly my time asking questions you know he cant answer.
Anyone in the know understands that Mike and DJ cannot answer certain questions.
So use the grey matter between your ears and ask questions that they can actually respond to.

- Dont ask about:
Potential future features (they can’t tell us plus why ruin the surprise)
Number of users or money on the site (really???, How about you tell me about your finances)
Future marketing strategies (you know they can’t tell us this info)
Use your brains
Don’t ask them 300 questions about hockey or Tiger Woods.

- Put away your crystal balls and lets talk about what happening in the current, the present, in the NOW!!!

Lets give our boys some feedback about the current system.
Ask about features that need improvement and what might help
Talk about features that you don’t think are needed at all
Pretty much we are here to help them create this amazing website with us.
And of course someone please call in and bitch about ghost orders so I can introduce you to a dial tone.

- Remember Mike and DJ are GUESTS on OUR show
They are donating their time to come on here to do our Radio show.
They wouldn’t be doing us this favor if they did not respect us.
So please treat them with respect, like guests should be treated, they are VIP on OUR show.
This should be really cool and alot of fun having them on tonight.
If you don’t treat them with respect you can STFU and get used to a dial tone cause Ima hang up on you.
I’m not messing around you are not coming on Jewced Up Radio to shit on my guests.

- Can we get a nOObie on the line (last week Nysanity blew it up)
Tell Mike and DJ your first impression of oneseason and why you joined?
What do you think this place all about? Did you learn that from oneseason.com?

- The IPO list (cause everyone loves IPOs)
Who’s been moving up the list?

Best Buy
Whats a radio show without talking about best buy?

- NBA Playoffs
Can the self proclaimed “Superman” take down the self proclaimed “Chosen One?”
Can Kobe get out of the REAL Supermans (Shaq) shadow or will Denver ruin his chances?

- NBA Draft and Draft Lottery Results
Who’s the best pick for your favorite team?
Who’s going to win Rookie Of the Year?
Who’s IPO/SOI are you looking forward to and why?

- Michael Vick (out from behind bars and back on the field?
What team do you think he’ll end up with?
What position do you think he’ll play?
Any Pitbull owners wanna chime in? (hint, hint)
What about his IPO/SOI? How will it fair? (Currently #41)

- Hockey
Its still playoff time (maybe someone knows and wants to talk about this)

You never know whats gonna happen on Jewced Up Radio

www.OneSeasonNation.com/radio

OSN Radio’s own “Jewced Up Radio” had another HUGELY successful show last night! OneSeason community members gathers to have a round table discussion about many topics, including…

• Ghost Orders
• IPO Reset
• NBA Playoffs
• Hockey
• Trading Strategies on OneSeason
• Fantasy Football
• Much More!

You can listen to the archive of this, and all the other episodes at www.OneSeasonNation.com/radio

OSN Radio is also proud to announce that on May 20th, Mike Sroka and DJ Burdick Co-Founders of OneSeason.com will be on the radio live with the crew hanging out, taking calls, and talking OneSeason! Be sure to tune in every Wednesday night 8pm PST, 11PM EST for OSN’s “Jewced Up Radio”.

www.OneSeasonNation.com/radio

Mike Sroka stopped by the OSN Chat room tonight to spend some time with the OSN and answer some questions and chat. He stayed for a half hour longer this time, than the first time, and chatted with OSN for an hour and a half! Some tremendous things were revealed to the Nation.

• We Learned that OneSeason will run a commercial during the closing bell of the market on CNBC in the near future.
• We learned about OneSeason’s stance on Market Manipulation.
• We learned about OneSeason’s favorable position on gifting shares to friends via facebook.
• We learned about OneSeason’s current status on fixing ghost orders.
• We learned that OneSeason likes the idea of major holders of players having access to additional functionality on the OneSeason site!

You can view the entire archive of the chat session here.

Thanks again to Mike Sroka for hanging out with OSN and answering questions! Look for Mike Sroka live on Jewced Up Radio in the very near future!

OneSeason CEO Mike Sroka is live in the OSN Chat Room tonight! We had a great time last time, and look forward to a fun time tonight. Bring all your questions OneSeason and/or not OneSeason related! 7pm PST! See you there! Go to the OSN Chat Room Here.

OneSeason CEO and Co-Founder Mike Sroka will be chatting again with the OneSeason Nation in the OSN Chat Room on Tuesday April 21 at 7pm PST. We had a LOT of fun with Mike the first time he came to chat with us, and no doubt this will be a fun time again! Bring all of your questions for Mike about OneSeason (or non OneSeason if you like! We heard that Mike hates Rex Grossman last time, lol) See you guys in the chat room on Tuesday night 4/21!

Mike Sroka will be live in the OSN Chatroom this evening at 7pm PST chatting and discussing OneSeason with the OneSeasonNation! if you aren’t registered, sign up for the forums, and get in the chatroom inside the forums to be part of the event!

Mike Sroka will be LIVE in the OSN Chat Room chatting with the OneSeason Nation, taking questions, and just hanging out with us on Wednesday March 25th at 10PM EST / 7PM PST. This is a OneSeason community FIRST! Bring your questions, comments, concerns, or anything else even NON OneSeason related you’d like to talk about!

Save the Date!
When: 3/25/09 10PM EST/ 7PM PST
Who: Mike Sroka OneSeason.com CEO
What: OneSeason community FIRST! LIVE CHAT with Mike!
Where: OSN Chat room

Mike Sroka, the CEO of OneSeason.com will be LIVE in the OneSeasonNation Chat Room at 7pm on Wednesday, March 25th taking questions and chatting with the OSN! Be sure to get there early, and bring your questions about OneSeason for Mike! Click Here to go to the Chat Room and Forums and get registered, if you haven’t done so already!

Mike Sroka will be LIVE in the OSN Chat Room chatting with the OneSeason Nation, taking questions, and just hanging out with us on Wednesday March 25th at 7pm PST. This is a OneSeason community FIRST! Bring your questions, comments, concerns, or anything else even NON OneSeason related you’d like to talk about!

Save the Date!

When 3/25/09 7pm.

Who Mike Sroka OneSeason.com CEO

What OneSeason community FIRST! LIVE CHAT with Mike!

Where OneSeasonNation.com Chat room (click to log in or register)

1) Will OS make any effort to inform users who deposited the $2,500 max in 2008 that they can deposit more money for calendar year 2009 if they so desire, before their 1yr. anniversary date? Perhaps send out a monthly news letter telling people the state of the site, what improvements have been made, etc? The folks who are part of the OneSeason Nation are all up to date, by the minute, with OneSeason news, but I think a lot of people, especially new users don’t know there is a OneSeason Nation where they can get all the help they need?

Answer:  Yes, I think it is highly likely that this will be included in a future newsletter(s).

Answer: No.  OneSeason is for the fun and entertainment of (living) sports fans.  Accounts cannot be transferred among users (alive or dead).

Answer: We do not currently anticipate charging any listing fee’s for placing orders.  We have been working on some adjustments to prevent the repeat orders that have been occurring.  The display of Trade Orders should minimize the distraction of any orders placed far away from recent activity.

Answer:  Right now we are focused on building a system that is intuitive and accessible to a large audience.

Answer:  The investment provides the company with additional resources for our operations (includes all of the above) so that we can continue to build out our system.

Answer:  I agree with the intention of your suggestion, let us think about the best way to implement.

Answer:  This is something that we have thought about and will continue to revisit but really would prefer to design in such a way that folks look at what matters from the start (otherwise it is just deferring the issue).

Answer:  Wow, this is the best and most important question that I have been asked.  I would have to say both.  That way Gisele would assume that I was with Adriana, Adriana would assume that I was with Gisele during which time I could chase Erin Andrews and get some work done.

Answer:  Alex works with a group in Seattle that does some contract work for us helping to manage social/viral/community buzz.  When the company that he works for is engaged with OneSeason, his trading ability is suspended and prohibited.

Answer:  OneSeason continues to be built in logical phases.  Building and stabilizing the trading system along with achieving proof of concept can now be checked off.  Gone are the days of pre-launch assumptions as we now have live operating data and can see what features people like/use, what needs to be improved and what should be removed.  At this point we have a product/service that is approximately 25% of what we envision existing and are working methodically to build it out.  Based on the usability information, we have been working on some redesigns which you will begin to see implemented over the coming weeks along with a number of new features.  OneSeason has begun to encourage content providers to use the platform for distribution.  This includes widget, data and feature embeds on other websites as well as the development of 3rd party applications on and around OneSeason.com.  As this virtual goods marketplace and social gaming platform for online sports entertainment gets more complete, we will become more aggressive on attracting users to a clean, intuitive, compelling experience.  Optimizing and scaling a product/service that is appealing to a broad audience is the next chapter to be written for our story.  I cannot provide any more detail about the timeline or potential future releases.  We are hopeful that you enjoy the system as it is currently available and are working hard to continually improve the site.