Ahad Padania and Sami Khan are the co-founders of Wager960, a skill-based monetization platform that lets players compete in chess for real stakes. The platform is built to give players a fair way to monetize their skill while maintaining a competitive, transparent environment. Escrow protects the stakes, Elo verification keeps matches fair, and a documented anti-cheat system protects the integrity of every game.
What drew you to entrepreneurship?
Ahad: "Necessity is the mother of invention.” My journey into entrepreneurship started with a problem I experienced firsthand.
I spent years mastering chess and reached the top 0.01% of players worldwide. Despite the time, discipline, and skill required to get there, I realized there was no practical way for most highly skilled players to earn from their ability unless they became elite professionals.
That realization led to Wager960. Instead of accepting the problem, I decided to build the infrastructure I wished existed. A platform where everyday competitive players can be rewarded for their skill.
Entrepreneurship, to me, is about identifying a problem worth solving and creating something that does not yet exist. Wager960 is my attempt to do exactly that.
Sami: I’m a first-generation entrepreneur. Since middle school I wanted to be an inventor. I was the kid who took things apart to understand how they worked, reverse-engineering whatever I could get my hands on. I loved computers and logic, and I was always trying to connect that to my own life: building systems to make things easier or better. A lot of them were more complicated than they needed to be, and some weren’t realistic at all, but designing them was the part I loved.
That same instinct runs straight through Wager960: the kid who took things apart to understand them now builds the anti-cheat system that catches people trying to game the platform. Entrepreneurship is the natural endpoint of all of it. I want to work for myself, on my own terms. I’ve never liked the idea of operating inside a structure someone else built without knowing me, following rules set by people who weren’t thinking about me when they made them. Building Wager960 lets me design the whole system myself and own how it works.
What problem are you solving, and what is your unique approach?
Ahad: The problem is that most competitive gamers can only play for entertainment unless they reach the professional level. There is no accessible way for everyday players to be rewarded for their skill.
Our solution is to create a platform where players compete head-to-head in skill-based games, starting with Chess & Chess960, where performance determines the outcome. By focusing on skill rather than chance, we give players a fair and meaningful way to put their abilities to use.
Sami: Competitive chess players who want to play for stakes are pushed into informal, unsafe arrangements: side bets with no escrow, no identity checks, and no cheat detection, where one party can simply refuse to pay or quietly run an engine. General gambling platforms don’t serve them, because chess is a game of skill, not chance. Our approach removes every weak point at once. Both players contribute an equal entry and the winner takes the pot, with the platform taking only a small flat organizer fee, so we never profit from a player losing and our incentives stay aligned with fair play. Escrow holds both stakes until a verified result. Elo verification prevents sandbagging and mismatches. The anti-cheat system is built around a consistently applied, auditable process with a tiered response ladder and appeal rights. And Chess960 itself reduces opening prep and memorized engine lines, so the game rewards live skill over preparation. Wager960 is competition, not gambling: no odds, no house edge, no element of chance.
How did you come across this problem, and why did it appeal to you?
Ahad: After winning an international gold medal for India, I realized that recognition alone doesn't create opportunities. Despite reaching the highest levels of competition, there was no clear path to make a living from my skill. Researching further, I found this was a much larger problem affecting talented people across many fields. Experiencing it firsthand motivated me to become an entrepreneur and build a solution rather than wait for one.
Sami: I came to it as a competitor first. I’d played FPS games and actually earned income from playing, and that experience stuck with me: the connection and freedom of being part of a community, and the feeling of taking something I was good at, something I first played just for fun, and turning it into something I could earn from. When Ahad brought me the chess idea last summer, what surprised me was that this barely existed for chess. Even where you could earn from it, you basically had to get lucky and get picked or sponsored. That gap is what drove me to build Wager960: a way for skilled players to earn from the game itself, on merit, not luck. It also appealed to me as a chance to put my own skill to the test and build a real platform and a real business around it.
What are you hoping to accomplish for your start-up at ESI?
Ahad: At ESI, I hope to validate Wager960's business model, refine our go to market strategy, and connect with experienced mentors and entrepreneurs who can challenge our assumptions. I also want to build relationships with potential partners, early adopters, and investors who can help us grow. By the end of the program, my goal is to have a stronger foundation for scaling Wager960 and bringing skill based competition to a larger audience.
Sami: First, sharpen our regulatory path. We want to use ESI’s network to get the right legal guidance on how a skill-based platform like ours is classified before we commit further resources. Beyond that: refine our go-to-market and acquisition strategy, grow toward sustainable traction, and tighten the pitch and financial model with mentor feedback. The highest-value outcome would be connections to fintech, payments, and legal advisors who understand this space.
When you need a dose of inspiration, do you have a favourite song to play?
Ahad: I look in the mirror (or talk to my mentors)
Sami: “Notion” by The Rare Occasions. It’s about finding reason and joy in an otherwise nihilistic world, which is the headspace I come back to when I need to refocus.
Do you have a quote or book that inspires you, or encapsulates your entrepreneurship journey?
Ahad: Shukhar Alhamdulillah
Sami: A personal motto: “I never deserved what I have. I earned it fighting against fate.”