She started on the casino floor, shuffling cards in land-based casinos in Poland. Twenty years, 60+ flights a year, a sold startup, and a book later, Karolina Pelc has turned a dealer’s job into a global career: running casino operations, building and selling a startup, and now advising the next wave of founders.
In Episode 2 of Season 3 of the Bet It Drives podcast, powered by GR8 Tech, Karolina slides into the passenger seat immediately after a helicopter ride. She shares a journey that spans cruise ships, London casinos, LeoVegas, BeyondPlay, and mentoring the next generation of founders.
In this episode, Karolina shares:
- From dealer to deal-maker: How starting as a 19-year-old casino dealer in Poland and on cruise ships gave her the front-row education that later shaped BeyondPlay
- Using every card you’ve been dealt: Why she refused to “throw away” her land-based experience when online gaming started booming and how that decision changed everything
- LeoVegas, BeyondPlay, FanDuel: What it takes to go from corporate casino director to founder whose startup builds a brand strong enough to get acquired
- “Her Play” book: How she turned 20 years of grind into a structured system in book form, designed to give a mindset framework for building businesses
- No comfort zone: How a calendar packed with conferences, keynotes, and client meetings became her best investment in reputation and opportunity
- Mindset over everything else: Why she focuses her advisory work on helping early-stage founders reframe fear, rejection, and failure before they worry about valuations and cap tables
- Women who build: How she invests in female-founded startups, mentors young women in gaming, and leads by example rather than letting herself be boxed into “diversity speaker” status
- The startup roller coaster: Why three years of building BeyondPlay felt like ten years of lessons, with more tears, team challenges, and near-misses than most people ever see from the outside
Yevhen Krazhan, CSO at GR8 Tech and host of Bet It Drives said:
This episode goes deep into the real journey behind the success. With Karolina, you see the full journey: it’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s exactly the kind of mindset story this industry needs right now.
Season 3 of Bet It Drives opened with Eman Pulis in Rome, taking on legacy, risk, and the chaos of building an events empire. Episode 2 keeps the wheels turning with Karolina’s story of reinvention, resilience, and what happens when you bet on yourself for 20 years straight.
Next up: more road-level conversations with standout leader Valentina Diaco, who isn’t afraid to talk about the hard hands as well as the jackpots.
Watch or listen to Season 3, Episode 2 with Karolina Pelc on:
Season 3 of Bet It Drives is rolling, and Karolina’s episode proves that the biggest gamble is never at the table. It’s you.
