About Us
WHO WE ARE
SportStake was founded in Orange County in 2024 by a group of passionate sports fans who happen to be entrepreneurs; we are also dedicated fantasy sports fanatics who saw the daily fantasy sports (DFS) industry growing but felt it lacked the innovation needed to truly elevate the experience for people like us.
WHAT SETS US APART
We believe fantasy sports should be more than just picking preset lines—it should be dynamic, interactive, and player-driven. That’s why we built SportStake, a platform designed to give users more control, more flexibility, and more ways to win. With custom line creation and live trading functionality, we’re empowering players to control their own future, challenge friends, and adjust their entries & positions in real time.
We’re not just another DFS platform—we’re reinventing the game.
Welcome to the future of daily fantasy sports.
Meet the Founders
Matthew Soryal
C.E.O.
After years of late nights tracking player props & fantasy competitions, and wondering why DFS platforms never seemed to actually understand the people using them. As someone who lives for sports—whether it’s Champions League matchdays, Lakers playoff runs, or Rams heartbreaks—Matt always felt there was something missing in the DFS space: a platform built by real fans, not just growth hackers.
While others were focused on marketing blitzes and land grabs, he saw an opportunity to build something with staying power—something functional, intuitive, and truly fan oriented. With a background in investment banking, startup growth, and emerging tech ventures, Matt brings the business acumen to back the vision. As CEO, he's turning years of experience—and a lifetime of sports obsession—into a next-gen fantasy platform designed to serve the enthusiasts with a genuinely enjoyable experience instead of chasing them for their screen time.
Sam Soliman
C.T.O.
Sam is the architect behind SportStake’s technology—building the infrastructure and core systems that power the platform’s real-time performance and reliability. With a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and a deep passion for clean, efficient code, he approaches software not just as a profession, but as a craft.
From designing scalable backend systems to obsessing over performance optimization, Sam’s focus is on delivering seamless, secure experiences for users without ever sacrificing speed. He brings years of hands-on development experience, along with a builder’s mindset shaped by a love for sports and a relentless curiosity for emerging technologies.
As C.T.O., Sam leads engineering with precision and purpose—ensuring SportStake is not just innovative, but bulletproof where it counts. He’s the quiet force turning bold ideas into working code, and vision into reality.
Bishoy Aiyed
C.M.O.
In a space where most platforms feel out of touch, understanding the culture is everything. Bishoy grew up playing all kinds of sports—from football and basketball to track and soccer—which gave him a real understanding of what matters to fans. It's the kind of awareness that only comes from being part of it, not studying it from the outside.
With a degree in marketing and over 7 years of experience, including work with startups, he understands how to build brands from the ground up. He brings a creative mindset to every challenge, paired with a long-term vision that ensures the brand resonates today and continues to grow with its audience. At SportStake, he leads the brand and marketing efforts, helping shape how the platform connects with the people it's built for.
Jonathan Messiha
Frontend Developer, Social Media Manager
As a lifelong sports fanatic, Johnny has always invested his time and passion into all aspects of the game. Starting with a B.A. in Marketing and Communication Studies from the University of San Diego, Johnny diverted his efforts towards sports marketing, serving on the marketing team for San Diego’s D-1 sports programs.
He took it one step further, attending graduate school at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where he earned a M.A. in Sports Journalism. He spent his years in Phoenix working as a sports reporter, broadcaster, writer, editor, and producer for ASU’s Pac-12 teams and events, before moving on to become a fantasy sports writer and LA sports beat reporter for PBS.
Although he found comfort as a DFS writer, Johnny began to understand the value in creating one’s own content and not adhering to the repetitive storytelling and structure in sports media. Looking to diverge from the norm but maintain his emphasis on sports statistics, he attended Chapman University where he earned his M.S. in Data Science with an emphasis in Software Engineering. With all these tools under his belt, he is ready to contribute his sports expertise to the functionality of the SportsStake website and application along with generating company growth for through various forms of media.