Mock Draft Central

Background

Mock Draft Central (MDC) allows diehard Fantasy Sports enthusiasts to practice drafting of teams each season for a variety of sports. MDC found us through personal connections and ultimately became our first speculative development project.

Fantasy Sports Meets Reality

Though Fantasy Sports might be considered niche entertainment, it has a huge following and is big business. Just as athletes require a place to practice, MDC’s founder, Jason Pliml, figured Fantasy Sports needed an online practice field for drafting teams. Jason succeeded in demonstrating his ideas with a proof-of-concept system. However, the interface was unattractive and was not as responsive as necessary. Further, MDC needed additional funding to create a system that could achieve profitability.

Atomic-Powered Know-how & Financing

We recommended entirely replacing the existing HTML and Java web interface with a Flash-based version. We created the new interface from scratch (with full test-driven development) and worked together with MDC’s designer to integrate graphic design elements with our programming. The existing Java-based server remained; we refactored portions and added to it to support production needs and testing. We added automated tests to existing server code while also creating all new code in a test-first manner.

In later phases, to support MDC’s growth toward profitability, we struck a deal with the company trading development for an equity stake. Shortly thereafter, the local Angel investing group Grand Angels made subsequent investments.