Richard P Blankenship is able to attain sustainable success by relationship building

Richard Blankenship is just 29 years old, and he is already a cofounder for a New York based company called Prizeout, the company just closed 4.5 million dollars in series A financing. Prizeout is just one of the many successful ventures for the young entrepreneur, as his personal relationships have got him where he is today.

Blankenship was working at Poker Central as the Chief Revenue Officer when he first met fellow co-founder David Metz, at the time Metz was a CEO of a trivia app called FleetWit. Metz was intrigued by the live production experience Poker Central had, most notably for the World Series of Poker. Metz wanted to use the live production capabilities for FleetWit for a mix of a poker and trivia show. Metz and Blankenship knew this was in the best interest of both FleetWit and Poker Central, so they spent three months negotiating a deal that would benefit both parties. During their extensive negotiations, Metz mentioned an idea to Blankenship that he instantly fell in love with. The idea was for a financial technology company, Prizeout. Blankenship instantly jumped on this opportunity, as he knew from his vast experience in the gaming industry that companies in the gaming field had billions of dollars in consumer funds, and that a better option was needed for withdrawing these funds. Quicker withdrawal and the benefit of gift cards was the idea Prizeout was predicated upon.

Blankenship was enamoured with the idea, and he made a deal to wire seed capital too Metz for Prizeout. Contracts were not needed, as the two had built a trust and a personal relationship, where all that was needed to close the deal was a handshake. Metz says that his relationship with Blankenship was not limited to just himself, as Blankenship has a special aura that drew people in and secured their trust. The relationship started with Blankenship selling services for FleetWit, and grew into Blankenship becoming the first investor of Prizeout. Not only did Blankenship invest in Prizeout, but Metz later made him a cofounder and the Chief Revenue Officer of the company, as he saw the significant value Blankenship would add to the company. Such is the incredible personality of Blankenship, and everyone he has done business with has echoed what Metz had to say. Blankenship’s ability to relate to others on a deeper personal level, and foster relationships with people has helped him amass a venture capital portfolio that many people are not able to attain in their lifetime. From residential real estate, E-commerce fashion, poker media, Esports, and now his prized gem, Prizeout, Blankenship is a jack of all trades.

Another great example of Blankenship’s unique ability to grow a business out of personal relationships is fellow serial entrepreneur Jeff Liboon. Liboon met Blankenship when he was working as the head of marketing for the Amazon App store and Blankenship was the Chief Revenue Officer of Poker Central. Liboon was looking to incorporate Poker Central’s live production prowess for Amazon’s Esports events. As the relationship between the two grew, so did that of their respective employers. The two were able to create a company called Estars Studio, an Esports production company that provided services to companies like Amazon and those alike. The two eventually invested into each other’s companies, with Liboon investing in Prizeout and Blankenship investing into MightyKidz. MightKidz is now one of the fastest-growing childcare facilities in the U.S., as it has been recognized by the famous INC 5000 list, ranking at #344. Liboon and Blankenship now take vacations together, and their personal bond became so strong that Blankenship is now the godfather to Liboon’s daughter.

Blankenship believes that hard work and caring are essential to success, as it creates a pleasant working atmosphere and yields substantial business gains. If you won big on a site like DraftKings, be sure to look out for Prizeout to cash your winning quickly, and also utilize the gift cards of your favorite brands when doing so.

Disclaimer: No Deccan Chronicle journalist was involved in creating this content. The group also takes no responsibility for this content.