Following Rivers into Oceans

Expanding our mission into new markets in 2026

A life changing conversation

At BetterPlay, we've had the amazing opportunity to pick the brains of some of the top minds in entertainment, tech, and business. (We are still pinching ourselves over who we get to work with as our key advisors!) This fall, we had the opportunity to connect with a former SVP for several of the largest tech companies in the world. This individual has driven billions of dollars in revenue over the course of his career. His advice to us changed our core approach to BetterPlay and our KOZEE platform.

The conversation came at a critical time for the business. We had been entertaining a variety of offers and opportunities. Some of these offers included merging with companies, some could have led to acquisition, some would have included significant pivots that we were wrestling with as co-founders. At the time, we were searching for a way to not only produce reliable revenue, but to also hold faithful to the very reasons we started BetterPlay. Our mission revolves around people and using interactive media to improve their mental health.

Out of our conversation, we learned that we didn't have to compromise - we just had to find that "river" of opportunity and follow it until it opens into an "ocean." For us, this meant re-evaluating our business model and focusing on specific milestones that will get us to our ocean.

What does this mean for BetterPlay?

In the immediate, we've discovered that KOZEE can do a world of good for patients at Children's hospitals. Currently, we are finalizing agreements with several to develop and bring our platform to their patients. We have had wonderful conversations with specialists in patient technology, hospital administrators, and many others to inform our build as we make a version specific to healthcare and also select nonprofits. This is our first river to navigate as we head towards on ocean that brings our platform the masses. And boy are we excited!

Other news:

• Congrats to Vanessa for being accepted into the Founder Forward Fellowship in 2026.

• Our team has continued to iterate on our recommendation engine, working with our tech lead, Ben Juarez and our science lead, Dr. Nick Bowman.

• We'd love to spill the beans now, but we will have additional announcements about our team, as well as a powerful strategic partnership in Q1 of 2026.

• It's a tradition! Michael has put out his top 10 games of the year.

Best,

Michael Sapiro and Vanessa Lane