Should Underdog Fantasy prioritize adding more niche sports to increase user base or focus on optimizing existing popular leagues for better user retention?

Introduction

The trade-off question at hand is whether Underdog Fantasy should prioritize adding more niche sports to increase its user base or focus on optimizing existing popular leagues for better user retention. This scenario involves balancing growth through expansion versus deepening engagement with current offerings. I'll approach this analysis by examining the product context, potential impacts, key metrics, and experimental design to arrive at a data-driven recommendation.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Based on Underdog's current market position, I'm thinking user acquisition might be a key priority. Could you share how our user growth has been trending over the past year?

Why it matters: Helps determine if we need to focus more on acquisition or retention Expected answer: Moderate growth, but slowing in recent quarters Impact on approach: Strong growth would lean towards retention focus, while slowing growth might prioritize new sport additions

• Considering our revenue model, I assume we operate on a commission basis from entry fees. Is this correct, and are there any other significant revenue streams?

Why it matters: Informs whether new sports or optimizing existing ones would have a larger revenue impact Expected answer: Primarily commission-based, with some advertising revenue Impact on approach: Multiple revenue streams might favor diversification into new sports

• Looking at user behavior, I'm curious about the engagement levels across different sports. Do we see significant differences in average time spent or frequency of play between major and niche sports?

Why it matters: Indicates potential for niche sports to drive meaningful engagement Expected answer: Major sports have higher engagement, but some niche sports show promising metrics Impact on approach: Strong niche engagement would support expansion strategy

• From a technical perspective, I'm wondering about the scalability of our platform. How easily can we integrate new sports without significant development overhead?

Why it matters: Assesses feasibility and resource requirements for adding new sports Expected answer: Moderate effort required, but existing infrastructure can support expansion Impact on approach: Easy integration would favor adding new sports, while high complexity might prioritize optimization

• Regarding our team capacity, do we have dedicated resources for both new sport integration and existing product optimization, or would this be an either/or allocation?

Why it matters: Determines if we can pursue both strategies simultaneously or must choose Expected answer: Limited resources require prioritization of one strategy Impact on approach: Balanced resources might allow for a hybrid strategy, while limited resources force a clear choice