Polymarket Hires Travis VanderZanden as Chief Growth Officer to Fuel Expansion

Polymarket has brought on Travis VanderZanden, the founder of scooter-sharing startup Bird and a former Uber and Lyft executive, as its new chief growth officer. Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan announced the hire Wednesday, praising VanderZanden’s background in scaling marketplaces rapidly, a strategy often described as blitzscaling.

A Growth Veteran Joins Prediction Markets

VanderZanden previously led growth efforts under Travis Kalanick at Uber and served as chief revenue officer at Yammer under David Sacks before founding Bird. Coplan said his experience building marketplaces made him the right fit, joking that this time growth would come through software rather than hardware.

Polymarket Faces Pressure From Kalshi

The hire comes as rival platform Kalshi pulls ahead in trading volume, driven largely by sports betting markets. In July, Polymarket and Polymarket US recorded a combined 12.9 billion dollars in volume, compared to Kalshi’s 40 billion dollars. Active trader numbers on Polymarket have also remained largely flat.

Competition is intensifying further as Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gemini, DraftKings and Robinhood expand into event markets. Both Polymarket and Kalshi are reportedly pursuing new funding rounds targeting valuations above 20 billion and 40 billion dollars respectively.

Regulatory Scrutiny Grows

Prediction market platforms are also facing increased legal pushback. Several states and countries have filed lawsuits alleging violations of gambling laws, and New York City Council recently opened a probe into marketing practices targeting younger users across four platforms.