We all see dedicated sports fans everywhere cheering on their favorite teams near and far.
Right here in the Ohio Valley, in fact, Paul Ashmore and his son had a vision, too, but for the Ashmore family, “Pick ’Em Sports” was born from an experience that happened more than three decades ago.
While attending Georgia Southern University in 1995, Paul Ashmore had a firsthand introduction to sports gambling through a bookie. What began as a personal experience became a lasting lesson about how quickly gambling can affect far more than someone’s bank account.
“I was fortunate to recognize the dangers early, but the experience showed me how easily someone can lose their money, relationships, stability, and even hope,” he said.
That experience stayed with him as the sports landscape changed.
As sports betting became increasingly accessible and intertwined with the way fans consume games, Paul and his son, Ben, began thinking about whether there could be another option, one that preserved the competition and excitement of picking games without requiring fans to put money at risk.
That idea eventually became “Pick ’Em Sports”.
“The platform was created around a straightforward concept: Give sports fans a place to compete, compare picks, build bragging rights, and connect with others without turning the experience into gambling.”
The Ashmore family believes that distinction is important, particularly as younger fans are increasingly exposed to betting terminology and sports wagering.
Rather than building a product that leads fans toward gambling, “Pick ’Em Sports” was designed to operate independently of it. There are no odds, spreads, wagers or deposits, and the platform does not direct users toward sportsbooks.
“My son and I used to have several spreadsheets and would pick games that way,” explained Paul, the sales manager for Old Colony, Realtors’ Wheeling office. “It was very time-consuming, but this gave us another reason to figure out how to simplify picking games without the risk of wagers.”
Wide World of Sports
What originally began as “Pick ’Em U”, Paul, alongside his wife, Missy, and their children, Ben and Sammie, took the original idea and realized it had developed into a much broader sports platform. What began with a focus on college sports has expanded across an impressive variety of leagues and events.
Today, “Pick ’Em Sports” includes college football, the NFL, PGA Tour, Formula 1, the Triple Crown, NCAA baseball, NCAA softball, the UFL, LOVB volleyball, MLB, the NHL, and the NBA. Fans can participate in public leagues, create private leagues with friends and family, or take part in sponsored leagues created for companies, schools, organizations and communities.
One of the platform’s newer features is “Pre Picks”, a patent-pending format that allows fans to make predictions before a season begins, including selections for conference champions and national champions. The platform also features live leaderboards, weekly picks, head-to-head records, custom leagues and analytics, along with sponsor-funded fan experiences.
And throughout that expansion, one principle has remained unchanged: “Pick ’Em Sports” is free for fans and does not involve wagers, entry fees, betting lines, or spreads. Building a growing company while working in real estate and raising a family has not come with a perfect formula. Instead, the Ashmore family has relied on planning, discipline, and plenty of early mornings and late nights.
Paul’s career in real estate has provided lessons that have been translated directly into entrepreneurship. Communication, relationship building, problem solving, and the ability to adapt when circumstances change have been a huge part of Paul’s achievements.
But for Ashmore, the most important part of balancing those responsibilities is remembering why “Pick ‘Em Sports” exists in the first place.
“My family is not competing with the business for my attention. They are part of the reason the business exists,” he said.
That philosophy is reflected in the app’s history. Missy, Ben, and Sammie were involved when “Pick ’Em Sports” was little more than an idea. They have experienced the highs and lows of building something from the ground up, and that’s made “Pick ‘Em Sports” much more than another technology venture for the family.
“It represents our values and something we hope will make sports safer and more enjoyable for other families,” he said.
A Family Story
The Ashmore family’s story is also entering a new chapter as both children pursue careers that connect in different ways to the family’s interests.
His daughter Sammie, is a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, where she is studying sports media marketing.
“Her education gives her a natural connection to the sports and marketing side of the family business,” Paul commented.
Ben, meanwhile, is a senior at the College of Charleston majoring in real estate and finance while completing his college running career.
His father said, “Watching both children pursue their own paths has been one of the most rewarding parts of this chapter.”
For Ben, the lessons learned through real estate and finance are about more than transactions.
“Real estate is ultimately about people, trust, discipline, and sound financial decisions,” Paul said. “Those lessons will serve him well regardless of where his career takes him.”
With Ben balancing college and running, the family has had to adjust to working from different locations. Phone calls, text messages, and video conversations have replaced some of the time they once spent sitting around the same table. But the distance has not changed Ben or Sammie’s role in the story.
The Ashmores also want people to understand that their opposition to gambling is more than a marketing strategy.
“’Pick ’Em Technologies’ is a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, meaning its broader public-benefit mission is formally incorporated into the company’s structure,” Paul said. “We want to prove that fans can enjoy meaningful competition and great experiences without risking their money.”
That mission is now reaching beyond the Ashmore household.
The company was built in West Virginia, but the family sees an opportunity to connect sports fans and families across the country through a different kind of competition.
“The goal is not simply to build another sports app,” Ashmore confirmed. “It is to create a community where fans can make predictions, compete with friends, follow their favorite teams, and enjoy the excitement of sports without the pressure of gambling.”
What began with one family, one personal experience, and one idea has grown into a platform spanning some of the biggest sports in the country.
And for the Ashmore family, perhaps the most meaningful part of the journey is that they have been able to build it together.
“Pick ’Em Sports” is ultimately a story about sports, technology, and entrepreneurship, but at its heart, it remains a family story.
The Ashmores saw an opportunity to create a different, safer experience for sports fans. Now they are working to turn that vision into something families everywhere can enjoy together.
