Description

From Casino Dealer to iGaming Exit: What Hustle Actually Looks Like
You've heard people credit their success to luck. Karolina Pelc doesn't buy it. The founder of BeyondPlay, who built and sold her gaming software startup to FanDuel in 2024, traces every "fortunate" moment back to a decision, a risk, or a leap taken before she felt ready. In this episode, she joins Lee-Ann to talk about building a business in a male-dominated industry, the lessons that only come from failing, and her new book Her Play, which challenges the narrative that success is something that happens to you.

About Karolina Pelc

Karolina Pelc has spent over 20 years in gaming, starting as a casino dealer in Poland before working at London's most prestigious clubs and spending three years on cruise ships. She moved into online gaming as it was emerging, held roles across marketing, product, and business management, and was part of the LeoVegas team during its most exciting growth phase. She went on to found BeyondPlay, a software-as-a-service company specialising in multiplayer and jackpot products, which was acquired by FanDuel in February 2024. She now mentors early-stage founders and has channelled her journey into her debut book, Her Play, which publishes on 9 June in the UK & Europe and on 8th September in the USA & Canada.

Talking Points Include:

• Why luck is a byproduct of motion, not a personality trait — the phrase at the heart of Her Play, and why Karolina developed it in response to a question she kept getting asked after the sale
• What a cruise ship taught her about multiplayer gaming — and why the product idea she eventually built and sold wasn't random at all
• The three moments she knew she had outgrown the room — from leaving a cruise ship job without a plan, to founding a startup in a 43-square-metre apartment during COVID lockdown
• How failure compounds into advantage — why the jackpot product that got BeyondPlay acquired only existed because the original product wasn't getting traction fast enough
• Building confidence in a male-dominated industry — Karolina's honest take on gender dynamics in gaming and the startup investment world, and why she sees her experience as a superpower rather than a disadvantage

Listen to Find Out More About:

• What Karolina actually took away from her two visits to Necker Island, and how the experience shaped the book and her decision to mentor founders
• How she navigated the identity crisis that came after selling BeyondPlay, and what helped her work out what she wanted to do next
• The specific moment during COVID that convinced her to found the company rather than take a permanent job, despite every rational signal pointing the other way
• Why she believes your past experience is never a liability, and how that thinking connects directly to what affiliate managers do every day
• The five key takeaways Lee-Ann pulls from the conversation — including a fifth one Karolina adds herself, live on mic

Key Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:

[01:38] Karolina's introduction and the story behind HerPlay — from land-based casino dealer to iGaming exec to founder

[05:37] "Luck is a byproduct of motion" — where the phrase came from and what it actually means in practice

[18:15] The three defining leaps in Karolina's career, and what finally made her take each one

[25:00] Necker Island, Richard Branson, and the full-circle moment that launched the book

[32:00] Lee-Ann's four-point summary — and Karolina's fifth, which might be the best of all

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