08-25-2025 
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The startup ecosystem in every industry is an exciting place to be. It’s the heartbeat of emerging tech innovation, learning, and experimentation, but it comes with challenges. Founders are faced with a spectrum of fears and pitfalls as they go about their journey, but a solid support system can help with those challenges.
This is why Kelly Kehn, Sue Schneider, and Paris Smith—three outstanding leaders in the iGaming industry (also dear friends of mine)—co-founded “Defy the Odds” for the iGaming startup space.
During iGB L!VE 2025, I had the chance to catch up with Kehn in person to hear more about the new venture.
“The three of us have formed Defy the Odds, which is a startup launchpad with a mission to make entrepreneurship more inclusive,” she explained.
“We haven’t seen a lot of female founders. A lot of minority founders come through iGaming, FinTech, SportsTech, and we thought it was a space that we could really affect.”
“And we do that through startup advisory, and we’re building a community for all startups to bring those industries closer to their pain and suffering and their journey that they’re on.”
“And we’re working with larger companies as well and bringing new money into the space. So it’s really exciting,” Kelly added.
Exciting it is, and even though I could not catch up with Schneider and Smith in person as they could not attend iGB Live, I did have a chance to gather their perspectives on the project remotely.
Smith, who also runs “Life Winning”—angel investing, leadership coaching, consulting and advising along with her partner Silka—said she, Silka, Kehn, and Schneider discovered the idea for Defy the Odds while meeting in Curacao. The group had come together to brainstorm on what was next as they were all making transitions in their careers at the time.
“When we discussed the industry in general and the passion each of us had, it made sense to have a like-minded advisory arm focused on marginalized entrepreneurs,” shared Smith.
“They rarely have a voice and more so lack the contacts and ability to navigate the industry. Our key strengths are experience, expertise in different areas, and network. Utilizing these factors collectively, we believed would help setting up people for success,” she said.When asked for specifics on how Defy the Odds will help startups in iGaming, Smith highlighted the sincere feedback and coaching on how to present ideas and to whom “the trifecta” is able to provide.
“It’s not only about introductions, there is a lot of coaching and guidance that has proven to be helpful for these up and coming industry leaders,” she said.
Smith also mentioned how Defy the Odds partners with key organizations in the ecosystem, such as Nevada-based launchpad “Zero Lab,” to align the entrepreneurs for success.
Schneider commented on the amazing energy in the startup space. She confirmed there are finally more underrepresented founders, which is a good time to jump in and let them take advantage of the Defy the Odds Founders’ collective knowledge and networks.
“For good solutions, we can expedite the process for those offering innovations,” she confirmed.
“In addition to the work with the individual founders, I’m hoping we can advocate for innovation on the regulatory front and also help investors interested in our space (from outside the industry) get comfortable with startups in our space,” Schneider added.
To learn more about how the Defy the Odds launchpad can help you as an entrepreneur in the iGaming space, visit their website and get in touch. Kehn, Smith, and Schneider are amazing, networked and experienced women who will help you wherever they can, just as they have helped me throughout my career. Good luck on your journey!
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