AMA - Ask me anything about the esports/gaming industry (14+ years experience)

[Koenz]

I have read that computer games can be useful for kids and develop their thinking skills. Is it true ?

Hi @jaminson that is correct indeed! Of course, it depends on the games kids are playing.

When you talk about 'thinking skills', I immediately think about child-friendly mobile games like Candy Crush Saga, 'Unblock the ball', 'Flow Free', 'Unblock Me' and Water Pipes for example. These games also help with strategy skills and problem solving skills for example.

Games can have strong benefits for the development of children as long as they have a healthy balance with other important aspects which I shortly highlighted in this post:

Regarding the 'healthy gaming' thing:
Gotta love acronyms Here's a model I call the 'Spel Schijf van Vijf' in the Netherlands. It's been in the news multiple times. In English I simply call it 5S-system. It consists of:
1. Sleep
2. Study
3. Sports
4. Social life
5. Screens

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum. Subscribe.

[AlfaStream]

Hello everyone,

was a youtuber with moderate successes, and failures long ago. I was active on youtube during what seemed to be the golden years of 2007-2010

Having had videos reach over 100k views before (no longer up, a legal controversy ensued)

my question is. How to I break into the esports industry as a youtuber. Or restart as a youtuber, it used to be easy to set seo keywords, but anymore every service I come across wants to charge an arm and a leg for keyword metrics unlike the old days, however google nerfed the old keyword tool some time ago.

Any guidance is appreciated,

 

[Koenz]

was a youtuber with moderate successes, and failures long ago. I was active on youtube during what seemed to be the golden years of 2007-2010

Having had videos reach over 100k views before (no longer up, a legal controversy ensued)

my question is. How to I break into the esports industry as a youtuber. Or restart as a youtuber, it used to be easy to set seo keywords, but anymore every service I come across wants to charge an arm and a leg for keyword metrics unlike the old days, however google nerfed the old keyword tool some time ago.

Any guidance is appreciated,

Videos over 100k, that's good! What made you stop at the time and not continue? It were the golden years to start for sure, many that continued are popular nowadays.

Now I don't know too much about metrics.. I do know there's quite some youtube threads on the forum and maybe @Andy Black can help you out or link some interesting stuff.

About getting into the esports industry as a youtuber: this mostly means you should be a professional gamer making content. Esports = the pro's. Or on the other hand, you can become a news channel for esports for example, like a weekly show about the matches, or business in the industry etc etc. There's still quite some room for improvement when looking at channels on youtube. Storytelling, quality of production etc. I get the idea that YouTube is really valuing good storytelling videos that are 10+ minutes. Watch some of these and learn how to engage people for a longer period of time. Starting with a hook or question and then make the content about this topic. During the video keep raising questions and answering after. Now I'm no youtube pro, but when I present on stages storytelling is important. I have:
1. 2 questions at the start
2. A hook
3. A story (when personal or about another person this often involves 1 'hero' , 1 'sage/mentor' and 1 adversary/villain/difficult period
4. Build suspense in your story/video (like raising questions but answering later)
5. End with nice results / positives
6. Specific to youtube I learned that it's better to end a video quick and not do a recap or something as people will click away

If you are looking more into making content about (competitive) games, there's lots of options besides only playing/streaming games.

You have to find a niche yourself, do some research about what's out there already, check if you can improve the content or change it or have a unique approach, and then it's just about starting and doing the work I suppose. Youtube is a long-term thing which honestly, I haven't started yet.

 

[Abenh]

Feel free to ask anything you like! I'll answer the best I can.

Hello Koenz
Thank you for sharing this information with us about E-sport and gaming industry.
I wanted to know how the E-sport Tournament are beign organized ?
is it between individual player and then look for sponsors? or it's a private organization (like UFC in MMA) who prepares and promote for it ?

 

[Koenz]

Hello Koenz
Thank you for sharing this information with us about E-sport and gaming industry.
I wanted to know how the E-sport Tournament are beign organized ?
is it between individual player and then look for sponsors? or it's a private organization (like UFC in MMA) who prepares and promote for it ?

Hi @Abenh thanks for your question!

So an esports tournament is organized in a pretty similar way as any sports event, except for a few things:
1. The event is played on PC or consoles
2. There's big screens involved that show the game that's being played (it's like showing the soccer match you're watching live in the stadium also on the screens of the stadium). But of course people can't look at the screens of the individual players, hence the broadcast is showed on big screens for people to follow. Besides seeing the game you will often see the faces of the players somewhere in the screen as well (see attached file #1).
3. There's more involvement of alternative reality systems, most often involved during opening ceremonies of the biggest events. Just have a look at the following video:

4. I'll post the following in this list due to someone I know that works at WADA told me that an esports event is so much more than just the 'game' itself, compared with sport events where it's mainly all about the 'sport --> Many events also have a trade-fair area where people can try new games, new hardware etc. It's often combined with a whole experience besides the main esports games.

Things that are pretty much the same are:
1. Biggest events are played in big venues like stadiums. Biggest attendance for an event has been 40k people so far (that was the event of the video above)
2. People buy tickets to attend events, and thousands/millions of people watch online
3. Most events are organized with the help of sponsors and the publisher. The publisher is the one that 'owns' the game. Sponsors are looking to target this younger audience and have many activations. These activations are offline (at the location) as well as online (during the broadcast).
4. However, there are some publishers that are barely involved in the events of their game, they leave that to 3rd parties (like Dreamhack and ESL). The most known example is the publisher Valve. They made the games Dota 2 and CS:GO, famous esports games. Though, the events in these games are organized by 3rd parties.

Your second question:
Players are playing for teams, just like there's individual soccer players playing for FC Barcelona. Professional gamers are playing for a team that have sponsors. If you are very good in a game you'll eventually be scouted for a pro-organization as you're climbing the ranks.

As mentioned above, most events are organized by publishers which are private organizations (Like UFC indeed). Some events are organized by 3rd parties, but it's still private organizations. The biggest events are all organized by private organizations. There's not really federations like in sports.

There are federations in esports that organize local events and international federations organizing worldcups, but these events are often smaller than the biggest events in the world organized by private parties.

 

[Abenh]

Hello @Koenz Thank you for your detailled answer, i appreciate the time you put in i founded a lot of value in your information

There's more involvement of alternative reality systems, most often involved during opening ceremonies of the biggest events. Just have a look at the following video:

That's a cool way to entertain your fans , i didn't know they can do thaat

there are some publishers that are barely involved in the events of their game, they leave that to 3rd parties (like Dreamhack and ESL).

I see what are you talking about but how those Third Parties make their money, by acting as a middel man and taking a commision or Hired & paid by the developper ?
In the Website of DreamHack

As mentioned above, most events are organized by publishers which are private organizations (Like UFC indeed). Some events are organized by 3rd parties, but it's still private organizations. The biggest events are all organized by private organizations. There's not really federations like in sports.

So how you can benefit from the E-sport Industry as a Fastlaner ?

 

[Mike L]

Hello everyone,

After checking out the gold thread of @eliquid called 'Ask Me Anything About SaaS ( I'm Building My 7th ), which is super valuable for many people, I came upon the idea to start this thread about gaming / esports.

Before we start: what is esports?
'Esports', also fully written as 'electronic sports', is the name of the industry that's related to professional gamers playing in front of big audiences for big prize pools. What's big? The biggest live-audience was 40.000 people in the 'Bird's Nest' arena during a world championship. The biggest prize pool to date was $34.4 million. Some esports tournaments beat the Super bowl and other big sports events in viewership. What's very attractive to many businesses is the young demographic of the industry.

I've been on the forum for a while and haven't seen many gaming or esports related business threads. Though, there's many opportunities as this industry is currently the fastest growing entertainment industry, being 7.5x bigger than the music industry and 3.5x bigger than the movie industry.

Because this industry is growing so rapidly, it's a very interesting industry for many entrepreneurs and investors. Famous artists, sports players and entrepreneurs are investing heavily. Also, there's new businesses launching daily and there's still lot's of opportunities in seriously any area you can think of business wise.

I can imagine some people on the forum would like to know more about this industry. Therefore, I'd love to answer any questions related to the gaming/esports industry.

Who am I?
I've been active in the esports industry since 2006. First as a professional player myself, leading to being a tv-host for an esports show on FOX-Sports in 2016 till 2020, an international speaker since 2016 and being a board member and vice chair of the athletes & players commission of the Global Esports Federation since 2020. I currently run 2 businesses in this industry:

1. The first is focussing on helping companies to set up strategies and campaigns in the esports industry. I've worked with companies like Vodafone, KIA Motors, Spinnin' Records and Populous. I just do this by myself whenever a company reaches out to me. I also speak about the industry at many business events and conferences.

2. My main focus is helping parents to repair, retain or reinforce the relationship with their gaming children and helping their kids to stay or get back in a balanced lifestyle. We do this with online programs, a facebook community and more. Really enjoy this as an ex-medical student and also due to my personal experience with my mom when I was a gamer.

Feel free to ask anything you like! I'll answer the best I can.

Fire away!

Do you have any experience within simracing/Motorsport games? Would love to hear your thoughts about it if you do. What challenges does it face compared to the more mainstream eSports

I have a first MVP "SaaS" like product within that niche and I'm thinking about pivoting as what I need to get it to where I need might just be too big of a challenge without the right partners.

 

[Koenz]

Hello @Koenz Thank you for your detailled answer, i appreciate the time you put in i founded a lot of value in your information


That's a cool way to entertain your fans , i didn't know they can do thaat

I see what are you talking about but how those Third Parties make their money, by acting as a middel man and taking a commision or Hired & paid by the developper ?
In the Website of DreamHack

So how you can benefit from the E-sport Industry as a Fastlaner ?

Anytime

Third parties make money in multiple ways.
1. They are hired by the publisher to setup the event and the tournament
2. Third parties have sponsors. The company ESL is a third party event organizer and they have lots of sponsors which increases their budgets. If you look at their website, it only says 'Intel'. However, the most money comes in from sponsors that sponsor specific games. So, ESL hosts events in multiple games and certain sponsors want to be part of certain games. Hence you'll see all these sponsors at the event itself. Some are DHL, Mercedes and Betway.
3. Ticket sales. I can only assume the publisher gets a % of the ticket sales, though I can't say that for sure. One thing I do know for sure is that a third party receives money for ticket sales
4. Expo renting. Often at events there's an expo section. This ground can be rented by companies willing to show their products.

Benefitting in the esports industry from a fastlane CENTS perspective is, just like any other industry, difficult. It takes time, effort, energy, knowledge, money etc. Also, what is your definition of Fastlane. Is that to earn money without putting any hours in the business, or is that getting rid of time * money, which might still mean you work many hours a week.

There's opportunities everywhere and I suggest sticking close to yourself, as that's what I've done. My personal story with my mom is now turned into my business, as my notable execution thread shows:

NOTABLE! - An Educational Business In The Gaming And Esports Industry

Hello everyone, I often find myself being inspired early morning by reading execution threads on TFF after my alarm goes off. I already had the idea of starting my own thread for a while and today is the day. I'll do my best to provide you with lessons I'm learning, some golden nuggets...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

You can become a fastlaner in any area of the gaming / esports industry. Education, teamowner, publisher, creator, influencer, marketer, sales, accountancy, advocates, doctors, programmer etc. It's mainly up to you to decide what your path is going to be.

And when you have an idea of what you like to do, re-read TMF or Unscripted to get into gear and start

 

[Abenh]

Anytime

Third parties make money in multiple ways.
1. They are hired by the publisher to setup the event and the tournament
2. Third parties have sponsors. The company ESL is a third party event organizer and they have lots of sponsors which increases their budgets. If you look at their website, it only says 'Intel'. However, the most money comes in from sponsors that sponsor specific games. So, ESL hosts events in multiple games and certain sponsors want to be part of certain games. Hence you'll see all these sponsors at the event itself. Some are DHL, Mercedes and Betway.
3. Ticket sales. I can only assume the publisher gets a % of the ticket sales, though I can't say that for sure. One thing I do know for sure is that a third party receives money for ticket sales
4. Expo renting. Often at events there's an expo section. This ground can be rented by companies willing to show their products.

Benefitting in the esports industry from a fastlane CENTS perspective is, just like any other industry, difficult. It takes time, effort, energy, knowledge, money etc. Also, what is your definition of Fastlane. Is that to earn money without putting any hours in the business, or is that getting rid of time * money, which might still mean you work many hours a week.

There's opportunities everywhere and I suggest sticking close to yourself, as that's what I've done. My personal story with my mom is now turned into my business, as my notable execution thread shows:

NOTABLE! - An Educational Business In The Gaming And Esports Industry

Hello everyone, I often find myself being inspired early morning by reading execution threads on TFF after my alarm goes off. I already had the idea of starting my own thread for a while and today is the day. I'll do my best to provide you with lessons I'm learning, some golden nuggets...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

You can become a fastlaner in any area of the gaming / esports industry. Education, teamowner, publisher, creator, influencer, marketer, sales, accountancy, advocates, doctors, programmer etc. It's mainly up to you to decide what your path is going to be.

And when you have an idea of what you like to do, re-read TMF or Unscripted to get into gear and start

Thaaanks you so much for this informations
and i read the other thread too, Huge Motivation

 

[KAIZOS]

I was doing a brainstorm weekend with my friend, thinking about how the world is changing and what opportunities those changes give us to provide value. One of the things was gaming (addiction). I thought about parents as a customer group, and started doing research.

Then I found your recent book on bol.com, your platform with courses, and I was just mirin how you are doing such a great job with this that I proptly discarded my ideas in the trash.

Now I am even more amazed (but not surprised) you are on fastlane forum. I can see the entrepreneur mindset and just know you will be really successfull if you keep doing what you're doing. It's inspiring. Props my dude.

Groetjes

 

[Koenz]

Thaaanks you so much for this informations
and i read the other thread too, Huge Motivation

Keep Hustling! What industry you in?

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum. Subscribe.

[Koenz]

I was doing a brainstorm weekend with my friend, thinking about how the world is changing and what opportunities those changes give us to provide value. One of the things was gaming (addiction). I thought about parents as a customer group, and started doing research.

Then I found your recent book on bol.com, your platform with courses, and I was just mirin how you are doing such a great job with this that I proptly discarded my ideas in the trash.

Now I am even more amazed (but not surprised) you are on fastlane forum. I can see the entrepreneur mindset and just know you will be really successfull if you keep doing what you're doing. It's inspiring. Props my dude.

Groetjes

Haha dankjewel man!

Cool you found my book and platform with some research. Also appreciate the nice words! Do my best. No idea where it'll go, still a lot to learn and test and check and and and.. You know, the typical entrepreneurial route haha.

Though, feel free to send me a message somewhere. No need to throw things in the trash! I work together with close to all educational people in the Netherlands embracing this topic. We're in it together right, your idea might be a unique approach and we all help each other out.

There's also a lesson here right. When you have an idea and someone else already does something, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try. You might feel like I'm a 'competitor', but I'm mostly partners with all people in NL. I prefer partnering instead of competing. Better for everyone. Before Google was Yahoo. There's coolblue, mediamarkt and bol.com etc. Enough examples of businesses that are in the same niche. There's enough room for another passionate entrepreneur. So again, feel free to reach out

Do you have other interests considering the gaming and esports niche? Other ideas you had before?

 

[KAIZOS]

Thanks for the awesome reply.

I am currently busy with designing a product completely unrelated to gaming or e-sports. At the moment I am still a beginner entrepreneur just starting out with my first steps.

I do have an idea still on the shelves about doing something related to dopamine education, so I might reach out to you in the future when I have some more experience under my belt.

Cheers!

 

[Vlado]

Hi @Koenz

First and foremost, thank you for this amazing thread and for the effort you are putting into your answers here.

I'd like your opinion on the stuff I am currently working on.

I have always been very immersed in gaming, following streamers, competitions and emerging eSports brands. But I never played professionally or anything like that. Just regular and avid observer.

Currently I am working on bringing my idea of a supplement/lifestyle for gamers to life. Here where I live (CEE part of the world) I haven't really found any interesting brand producing supplements (energy, focus and attention enhancement, specifically) for this market, whereas it seems there are quite a few for the more western countries (GFuel, GamerSupps, etc.) That's where I'd like to put my attention and bring a product like this to life here for my market. That would be the first stepping stone followed by other supplements and clothing line.

I don't really have a specific question and I understand that this is probably not your specific area of expertise, but I'd maybe like your thoughts about this kind of companies in this niche within the gaming/eSports industry.

I have my strategy more or less thought of, but what would be your steps in creating a brand like this without having any interesting esports background (as I said, I always was just a regular player, not a pro or making videos or anything like that) and basically without any brand awareness, just a product which is not offered on my market.

Thank you for your response in advance.

 

[Koenz]

Hi @Koenz

First and foremost, thank you for this amazing thread and for the effort you are putting into your answers here.

I'd like your opinion on the stuff I am currently working on.

I have always been very immersed in gaming, following streamers, competitions and emerging eSports brands. But I never played professionally or anything like that. Just regular and avid observer.

Currently I am working on bringing my idea of a supplement/lifestyle for gamers to life. Here where I live (CEE part of the world) I haven't really found any interesting brand producing supplements (energy, focus and attention enhancement, specifically) for this market, whereas it seems there are quite a few for the more western countries (GFuel, GamerSupps, etc.) That's where I'd like to put my attention and bring a product like this to life here for my market. That would be the first stepping stone followed by other supplements and clothing line.

I don't really have a specific question and I understand that this is probably not your specific area of expertise, but I'd maybe like your thoughts about this kind of companies in this niche within the gaming/eSports industry.

I have my strategy more or less thought of, but what would be your steps in creating a brand like this without having any interesting esports background (as I said, I always was just a regular player, not a pro or making videos or anything like that) and basically without any brand awareness, just a product which is not offered on my market.

Thank you for your response in advance.

Happy to hear you enjoy the thread and thank you for contributing!

Nice coincidence, in the last few months I've been involved with several businesses that are (international) food/supplement businesses or platforms. For example van Eeghen, NutraIngredients, Mibelle Group. I'll also be a judge for the upcoming NutraIngredients Awards, so broadening my network in this space.

Now to create a brand in this space you don't necessarily need a background in esports. However, knowledge is good to have. Or, have a partner that knows the industry. If you have more knowledge about the industry, you'll be able to target a better niche. Therefore, you're marketing and branding efforts are more in line with what the potential customer is looking for.

On the first page of this thread I posted the 5 steps you can find below. I think these are vital in order to launch something in the space. In your case, it's important to start with step 2: investigate. You already know some other brands in the space which is good. You've already figured out that you can bring something extra to the market, different than others (also because of your area), which is good. However, it's also about getting to know the industry and people that work in esports in your area, and how things are organized and done.

Also, it can also be a good idea to get in touch with some other people that are doing something similar in this space, but in other parts of the world. Maybe you can call with GFUEL for example, or any other really. Besides, I know that NutraIngredients is very interested in expanding in this area. Maybe they can help you or you can somehow partner with them, bringing you the budget to start the business. I'm just brainstorming here really.

Also, since you're in the CEE/European part of the world it's quite easy to get in touch with esports. Many countries, and maybe yours, have national esports bodies. These are esports federations that know exactly what's going on in the country. In some countries these federations are already recognized, in others not yet. Nonetheless, they can be a great start. Also, check out this document of the European Esports Federation: click. It includes their email at the end. You can mention my name as well if you like, many of them know me so might be a 'warm' entrance for you. Also, check out their website: click.

I hope some of what I mentioned above can give you a good start


1. Inside --> look at yourself (the company). What are the values, norms, goals, products, social media channels and usage of those channels. I always do this before the first meeting and while checking the whole company, I can already connect things I see and read with things in the gaming/esports industry

2. Investigate --> the industry. Gain more knowledge about the gaming and esports industry in general, but also specifically about the area you like to target. Know about the 'little things', like how you write 'esports' for example (instead of E-sports or eSports etc..). Talk with the industry, interact with the community, go to events, maybe also talk about the idea you have as a company and if they have feedback.

3. Impact --> through partnerships. Work with experts, teams, esports companies. Get someone in the house that's from the industry itself

4. Inspire --> through content. Content is the number 1 thing in gaming and esports. How can you take your future client on a ride. When thinking of content, think about the 3E's of marketing: Educational, Emotional, Entertaining. If your content has these 3E's, it often works really well

5. Invite --> develop relationships with the community and receive in return. Do this by short term and long term strategies. Short term campaigns or sponsorships can give you a peak in brand awareness, but make sure you can direct those people to something that runs long-time so that you won't 'lose' that audience that gets in touch with you.

 

[Vlado]

Happy to hear you enjoy the thread and thank you for contributing!

Nice coincidence, in the last few months I've been involved with several businesses that are (international) food/supplement businesses or platforms. For example van Eeghen, NutraIngredients, Mibelle Group. I'll also be a judge for the upcoming NutraIngredients Awards, so broadening my network in this space.

Now to create a brand in this space you don't necessarily need a background in esports. However, knowledge is good to have. Or, have a partner that knows the industry. If you have more knowledge about the industry, you'll be able to target a better niche. Therefore, you're marketing and branding efforts are more in line with what the potential customer is looking for.

On the first page of this thread I posted the 5 steps you can find below. I think these are vital in order to launch something in the space. In your case, it's important to start with step 2: investigate. You already know some other brands in the space which is good. You've already figured out that you can bring something extra to the market, different than others (also because of your area), which is good. However, it's also about getting to know the industry and people that work in esports in your area, and how things are organized and done.

Also, it can also be a good idea to get in touch with some other people that are doing something similar in this space, but in other parts of the world. Maybe you can call with GFUEL for example, or any other really. Besides, I know that NutraIngredients is very interested in expanding in this area. Maybe they can help you or you can somehow partner with them, bringing you the budget to start the business. I'm just brainstorming here really.

Also, since you're in the CEE/European part of the world it's quite easy to get in touch with esports. Many countries, and maybe yours, have national esports bodies. These are esports federations that know exactly what's going on in the country. In some countries these federations are already recognized, in others not yet. Nonetheless, they can be a great start. Also, check out this document of the European Esports Federation: click. It includes their email at the end. You can mention my name as well if you like, many of them know me so might be a 'warm' entrance for you. Also, check out their website: click.

I hope some of what I mentioned above can give you a good start


1. Inside --> look at yourself (the company). What are the values, norms, goals, products, social media channels and usage of those channels. I always do this before the first meeting and while checking the whole company, I can already connect things I see and read with things in the gaming/esports industry

2. Investigate --> the industry. Gain more knowledge about the gaming and esports industry in general, but also specifically about the area you like to target. Know about the 'little things', like how you write 'esports' for example (instead of E-sports or eSports etc..). Talk with the industry, interact with the community, go to events, maybe also talk about the idea you have as a company and if they have feedback.

3. Impact --> through partnerships. Work with experts, teams, esports companies. Get someone in the house that's from the industry itself

4. Inspire --> through content. Content is the number 1 thing in gaming and esports. How can you take your future client on a ride. When thinking of content, think about the 3E's of marketing: Educational, Emotional, Entertaining. If your content has these 3E's, it often works really well

5. Invite --> develop relationships with the community and receive in return. Do this by short term and long term strategies. Short term campaigns or sponsorships can give you a peak in brand awareness, but make sure you can direct those people to something that runs long-time so that you won't 'lose' that audience that gets in touch with you.

Thank you very much for your thorough answer!

I am going through the list you send and really trying to work on that Investigate part, learning more about the industry.

Also, it can also be a good idea to get in touch with some other people that are doing something similar in this space, but in other parts of the world. Maybe you can call with GFUEL for example, or any other really. Besides, I know that NutraIngredients is very interested in expanding in this area. Maybe they can help you or you can somehow partner with them, bringing you the budget to start the business. I'm just brainstorming here really.

I was thinking of contacting some of the brands actually doing this, but I don't know if their reaction to a potential competitor be (even though in a different part of a world. Still, they might want to expand here)

I hope some of what I mentioned above can give you a good start

Certainly! Thank you very much again.