In the third part of our past winner interview series, John Wright recounts StatsDrone’s journey from a bootstrapped SaaS startup to an iGB Affiliate Award winner, and how it has evolved since last year.
John Wright, co-founder of 2024 Best Tech for Affiliates winner StatsDrone (below), got into the igaming industry two decades ago while still at uni. Having to pay off a hefty student loan, he decided to give professional gambling a shot, following the path of a bonus hunter friend who he thought was “completely crazy”.
“I figured I didn’t have much to lose – maybe I’d end up another $500 in debt. But after doing it, I was actually able to pay off my university debt after graduating,” Wright recalls.
“That was also when I got exposed to the marketing side of the business. I realised that if companies could afford to pay me as a player, there must be even more money to be made on the other side, then I started to really learn about the entire industry.”
Product-led growth
In the first decade of Wright’s igaming career, he worked as an affiliate manager and ran a few affiliate sites. From that experience, he realised revenue leak is a common issue for affiliates, as there’s often no proper feedback loop when a brand shuts down or a programme is late with payments.
We’re not chasing the biggest profits. We’re trying to build the best product
With a background in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto, Wright took a punt and launched StatsDrone in late 2017 to help affiliates track their sales. A bootstrapped startup, he kept his personal expenses as low as possible to fund the business. Now seven years on, while StatsDrone hasn’t achieved the “hockey-stick growth” he once hoped for, the team has grown to 12 full-time employees. Looking back, Wright says starting the company was “the best thing to do” and that he has “absolutely no regrets”.
Wright believes what sets StatsDrone apart from competitors is its “product-led growth mindset” and talent investment.
“I believe we have more developers than some of our competitors combined, and we are definitely going to hire more this year,” he says. “We’re not chasing the biggest profits. We’re trying to build the best product. That’s something we take a lot of pride in.”
You don’t need a big marketing budget, but you need to stay top of mind
Aside from the early financial strain, Wright says one of the biggest challenges has been the long buyer journey in B2B sales, where immediate purchases are rare and onboarding can take forever. Like iGB Affiliate Awards judge Katy Stafford, Wright reflects that showing personality is key to building trust and securing igaming deals.
“For me, that means being active on LinkedIn, speaking at conferences, attending events regularly and even starting my own affiliate marketing podcast. This is especially true for smaller affiliates – you don’t need a big marketing budget, but you need to stay top of mind,” he explains.
On industry awards
Lately, Wright has gone viral in the igaming circle for his parody video on LinkedIn, counting the seemingly endless list of industry awards.
“I actually like a lot of the awards in this space, but I do think there are too many of them,” he says. “What people really value are awards with real meaning and merit, not those 'pay-to-play' ones that you need to sponsor a booth or buy your way in.”
Winning was a complete shock – and it still feels surreal
Having attended the iGB Affiliate Awards for 15 years, Wright believes “it is one of the best ones to win in the industry”. The Best Tech for Affiliates category in particular, he says, shines a “spotlight on the need to improve affiliate marketing tech systems” and “encourages companies to innovate”.
Last year was the first time StatsDrone claimed the award. Wright recalls that he didn’t expect winning at all and attended the event “just to show up and hang out with friends”.
“We were up against companies with massive marketing budgets and strong brand recognition, so winning was a complete shock – and it still feels surreal. The award means the world to us,” he says.
The award has really changed people’s perception of our company
Right after winning, StatsDrone headed to Malta for a “honeymoon” to meet potential clients. Riding on the momentum, Wright saw a “big spike” in sign-ups. Scheduling meetings also “suddenly became a lot easier”.
“The award has really changed people’s perception of our company. It’s definitely accelerated our growth. I’m grateful for just being shortlisted, let alone winning.”
In the offing
Wright has big plans for StatsDrone this year. He’s finally seeing an uptick in revenue and reveals the team is working on a range of new projects, from building link-tracking products to big data tools. Having recently joined the board of trustees at the responsible gambling charity BetBlocker, Wright is aiming to “push the boundaries of thought leadership” and “be part of the discussion of how affiliate marketing evolves”.
And, of course, he’s looking forward to attending this year’s awards. For him, the experience is about more than competition – it’s a chance to connect with peers and discover what others are building.
“Even if we’re not nominated, we’ll still show up. The networking alone makes it worth attending. Sure, we wouldn’t say no to a second one. But everything from here on is just icing on the cake.”
For more information on the judging process and submission advice, please visit the official awards page, and don’t forget to check out tips from Simon Pilkington, Katty Stafford and internal judging lead Stephen Carter on creating a standout entry.