Recently, Xanada Investments announced FTDx as the winner of this year’s Xanada Startup Contest, an investment initiative of the fund. FTDx has demonstrated outstanding innovation in traffic monetization within the gambling industry, earning them the top spot.

In the interview below, Vladimir Malakchi, the CEO and Managing Partner of Xanada Investments, and Björn Nilsson, CEO and co-founder of FTDx, share their perspectives on this achievement and what lies ahead.

Advertisement

Vladimir Malakchi, CEO and Managing partner at Xanada Investments:

What were your overall impressions of this year’s Xanada Startup Contest participants, and why did you choose FTDX as the winner? What key factors stood out about their solution that aligned with Xanada Investments’ vision?”

VM: This year’s Xanada Startup Contest had nearly 250 applications from all over the world. The range of ideas was incredible, everything from gamification to AI-driven user engagement. What made FTDx stand out was how practical and impactful their solution is. They’ve tackled a big issue in iGaming, what to do with traffic that doesn’t convert because it’s from regions operators usually ignore. Their system turns that missed opportunity into real revenue while also encouraging first-time deposits.

We loved how FTDx backed up their idea with real numbers and a solid strategy. They’re not just solving a problem; they’re doing it in a way that scales and adds value for operators. That’s exactly the kind of project we look for at Xanada Investments-solutions that deliver results and create meaningful change in the industry.

Advertisement

Xanada Investments has a history of backing scalable solutions. How do you assess the scalability of FTDX’s technology, and what competitive advantage do you believe this gives them over other monetization platforms in the market?

VM: At Xanada Investments, scalability is a key factor in evaluating projects, and FTDx has shown a strong foundation for growth with its lightweight, adaptable platform. Its seamless integration with operators’ systems and focus on real-time revenue generation make it ideal for scaling across regions, especially in today’s fast-moving digital landscape.

FTDx’s major advantage is efficiency,it captures value from active users during live sessions, reducing the need for costly re-engagement strategies. This cost-effective approach works well in markets with varying tech infrastructure, including those with high mobile traffic but limited resources, enabling FTDx to tap into a wider audience.

The platform’s data-driven design supports continual optimization, allowing operators to refine strategies based on real-time insights. This adaptability keeps FTDx competitive in a rapidly evolving industry. Overall, FTDx’s scalable and proactive monetization tools provide operators with a reliable solution for driving revenue in diverse global markets.

Advertisement

Looking ahead, how do you envision FTDX evolving with the support of Xanada Investments? What role does their team’s expertise play in ensuring the successful execution of these growth plans?

VM: With Xanada’s support, FTDx is well-positioned to expand its reach and develop its platform to meet the growing demands of the iGaming sector. Our resources and strategic network will provide FTDx with the connections and insights needed to enter new markets, particularly in regions like Europe and Latin America, where demand for gamified, real-time engagement solutions is on the rise. Xanada’s role will not only be financial but also advisory-we’ll work closely with FTDx to refine their approach and scale their operations effectively.

The expertise within the FTDx team is a major asset in executing these growth plans. Their background in data analytics and monetization strategies means they have a clear understanding of the market’s demands and a precise approach to addressing them. This technical and strategic expertise allows them to develop solutions that are not only innovative but also grounded in practical applications. Their ability to anticipate and adapt to industry trends is a valuable strength, ensuring they can keep up with evolving customer expectations and continue delivering results as they scale.

FTDX’s ambitions to provide measurable outcomes, whether through immediate revenue generation or long-term user retention aligns closely with Xanada’s vision for sustainable growth. By leveraging our network and expertise, FTDx will have the support needed to continually innovate while expanding into new markets. Together, we envision FTDx not only as a leader in iGaming monetization but also as a standard-setter for efficiency and effectiveness in player engagement solutions.

Advertisement

Björn Nilsson commenting on the win of FTDx in the Xanada Startup Contest:

Congratulations on your victory! What was your strategic motivation for participating in the Xanada Startup Contest, and what advantages do you see from this win in terms of your future development?

BN: Thank you very much! I’ve had experience participating in startup contests before, including one with Triggy. While we didn’t win that time, we made it to the top 10 finalists, which was an invaluable experience for the company’s growth. As I mentioned during my podcast with Vladimir Malakchi, contests like these sharpen your game. As a former athlete, I know firsthand that nothing improves you more than competing. Whether you win or not, participating forces you to refine your pitch, clarify your message, and solidify your business plan.

Beyond this, I genuinely enjoy the thrill of competition.

Your product offers a unique approach to monetizing global visits. What inspired you to develop FTDx? What market challenges did you identify that led you to create this solution?

Advertisement

BN: My co-founder, Fredrik Selin, and I were active in several areas, primarily on the affiliate side, when we had a conversation with Jon Bowden, the CMO of New Jersey-regulated casino PlayStar. Jon mentioned that they were receiving a significant amount of traffic from states other than New Jersey and asked if we had any ideas about how to utilize that traffic. Intrigued, we promised to explore the issue further.

Using tools like Similarweb and Ahrefs, we analyzed traffic data from various brands, both large and small. What we discovered was staggering-there’s an immense amount of “lost” traffic out there. Millions of visits end up on 403/404 blocked pages every month, representing a massive untapped resource.

Ten years ago, this issue wouldn’t have existed. At that time, being online inherently meant being “global.” However, with increasing regulation and rising competition, operators must now specialize and dominate local markets to remain relevant. This focus inevitably results in excess traffic from markets where they aren’t operational. That’s where FTDx comes in-to unlock the value hidden within this overlooked traffic and turn it into a new revenue stream.

How do you see the success of the FTDx solution based on your clients’ experiences? How does their traffic volume change, and what positive side effects have you noticed from implementing your solution?

Advertisement

BN: Though we’re still early in our journey with live clients, the results so far have been extremely promising. For example, blocked traffic from our largest client has generated over 8,000 new accounts with other brands in just the past three months. This is traffic that would have otherwise gone unnoticed and unrealized.

When we enable traffic exchanges—allowing clients to receive blocked traffic from other operators—the volume of relevant traffic in their target markets grows significantly. One of the most notable positive side effects, and a point we’ve emphasized from the start, is how operators begin to see the extended value of brand marketing. They realize that their efforts reach far beyond their primary focus markets and, thanks to FTDx, can now monetize that extended reach.

Can you tell us about how Lickd helps content creators in the games space?

Lickd has the world’s biggest catalogue of music for content creators. With over 1.4 million tracks: including songs by Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Justin Bieber and more. We believe gaming creators have the right to access the same high quality mainstream music that all other creative industries have, and that’s why we’ve been campaigning for 8 years.We won’t stop until content creators have access to every mainstream track that TV, Advertising and Movie producers have.

Lickd works with a a lot of gaming creators already,  like MARCUSK (who used seven tracks through Lickd in one video), as well as Smallish Beans, Wifies and Parker. We are proud to have helped these content creators take their content to the next level.

Advertisement

We also work with brands like EPIC Games, specifically on their Support a Creator Program – where Lickd helps to protect YouTube creators from any copyright claims that may arise content that includes music from the game. We are a long-term partner of theirs and love their approach to investing in their creator community.

How does licensed music help gaming creators grow their audience?

It is a huge obstacle for creators, especially those at the start of their career, to find tracks that fit their audience and the tone of their videos. The wrong track could mean your video leaves a small dent or doesn’t land at all.

For creators who use Lickd both in the gaming space and beyond, licensed tracks can help capture the essence of what the video is aiming to achieve in a simple manner, recognisable music helps put it in front of viewers and grabs their attention.

Advertisement

Recently, gaming content creators Chris and Mat from TwoSync had this to say about our service:

‘Lickd is the only platform that’s convinced music labels to allow creators like us to use chart music. There’s over 500K tracks to choose from(actually there are 1.4 Million, but who scrolls that far), that’s more than all of the stock websites combined, that is insane! Our AdSense actually improved with chart music.’ 

Can you tell us about your recent gaming video analysis data, and what it means for the wider industry?

We analysed 5,000 of the best performing games related videos that used mainstream music to see which tracks stood out.

Advertisement

The results showed that there isn’t necessarily a recency bias to what gamers listen to with Coldplay’s 2008 track Viva La Vida, coming 2^nd and John Newman’s 2013 hit Love Me Again at number 7. Most surprising perhaps was the appearance of Howard Shore’s iconic Lord of The Rings score with At the Sign of the Prancing Pony in third place, showing gamers taste is more wide-ranging than just current pop artists.

The data underlines the breadth of what is capable with licensed music and the variety on display showcases how important licensed music is to gaming creators.

What can we expect from Lickd in 2025?

Our mission in 2025 is the same as it was in 2024 to give content creators of any shape and size access to the same mainstream hits that other creative industries have.

Advertisement

We are always looking for ways to innovate with games studios in the way we have with EPIC. For example, we have a product that allows us to stream rights cleared music into virtual spaces (kind of like in store radio, but for virtual spaces).

We would also love to work with a few more brands and studios on helping them use mainstream music in their social content and have built our Brand Tool for just that purpose.

Can you imagine being able to cut your social game trailers with recognisable mainstream music and make them awesome again? Well, talk to us and you won’t have to imagine it any longer.