479: Steve Kuhn Talks Building a Non-Gambling Prediction Platform for Sports Fans

Tom Richardson welcomes Steve Kuhn, former hedge fund executive (Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Pine River Capital), founder of Major League Pickleball, and the co-founder of SportsPredict.com, for a look into the fast-moving world of prediction markets and prediction-based gaming in early 2026. The conversation breaks down why prediction markets surged in late 2025, what it meant when the NHL announced deals with Polymarket and Kalshi, and why Kuhn believes the next wave of fan engagement will be built around skill, status, and community rather than cash gambling. Kuhn traces how a childhood obsession with games and a Harvard background in game theory shaped his career in finance, and ultimately led him to launch SportsPredict as a free-to-play sports prediction platform designed for everyone, including fans who don’t want to bet. Kuhn unpacks how the product works in real time (including live, in-venue formats), how ratings aim to improve on the model of chess, and why forecasting is an under-taught life skill with real career value. Kuhn also shares lessons from building Major League Pickleball and DUPR, outlines his ambitious plan to find an “elephant sponsor” for a large-scale prediction game show, and explains why he’s open to partnering with leagues as a white-label platform to create safer, more social second-screen experiences.Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-kuhn-212b4a149/The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Lissa Ruiz. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com