Coach’s Pick is an AI assistant for sports bettors — providing on-demand data, personalized picks, and AI-driven bet evaluations to make wagering smarter and more engaging.
CoachsPick.com
Sports and Entertainment
Product Strategy
Product Design
Design Systems
Brand Design
Marketing Strategy
OVERVIEW
PROBLEM
Casual sports bettors are overwhelmed by noisy, inconsistent data. They lack confidence in their betting decisions, and most existing tools are either too complex for beginners or too generic to feel personalized.
OUTCOME
Coach’s Pick delivers a product that simplifies the betting process with AI-powered recommendations and confidence scoring, while engaging users in a more personalized and sticky way. Early traction shows improved retention and engagement, lowering acquisition costs in a highly competitive market.
PROJECT
Build an AI assistant that simplifies the betting process by providing personalized picks, real-time data insights, and confidence scoring to help sports bettors make smarter decisions.
Our research revealed that confidence and clarity were the biggest gaps for casual bettors. Rather than segmenting by demographics, we studied betting behaviors and the role of trust in decision-making, which shaped how Coach’s Pick provides personalized guidance.
KEY FINDINGS
Major insights and findings
1
Information Overload
Casual bettors waste hours parsing through noisy, inconsistent data before placing a wager, creating frustration and indecision.
2
Confidence Gap
Without clarity or validation, most casual bettors second-guess their decisions, reducing long-term engagement and trust.
3
Lack of Personalization
Competing platforms treat all bettors the same, missing opportunities to tailor recommendations that increase loyalty and stickiness.
OPPORTUNITY
The number of bettors who bet with friends is increasing
In 2021 37% of all bettors placed a sports bet with a friend. The following year 49% of younger bettors placed a bet with a friend. There is an opportunity to build a social betting platform.
49%
Of younger sport bettors are betting with friends and family
76%
Of younger sports bettors say it’s a form of entrepreneurship
51%
Most often go to social media for gambling information and tips
POST MORTEM
Final thoughts and do-overs
1
Anchor Around Confidence
With Coach’s Pick, the confidence scoring engine became the sticky feature that shaped the product. Testing reinforced that incremental releases tied to user confidence created more lasting engagement than chasing the “big social network” idea.
2
Design Signals Trust
Users consistently reacted to design decisions that highlighted clarity and transparency of statistics. We learned that strong visual systems and data presentation built credibility and trust—critical for adoption in sports betting.
3
Make It Sticky from Day One
Early focus on shipping quickly came at the expense of retention. By pivoting back to our research insight—solving the engagement cycle—we built features that encouraged repeat usage and daily activity, ultimately strengthening retention.
