Building an eSports Venture from Ohio to $10M+ in Revenue: eFuse CEO Matthew Benson (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Fantastic! What are some of the nuances of go-to-market strategy that you have learned? Matthew Benson: We took a shot at this influencer-based model. We created a tournament for a single influencer. Once we saw the spark, we doubled down on it. It was based on being receptive to the community and listening.

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Building an eSports Venture from Ohio to $10M+ in Revenue: eFuse CEO Matthew Benson (Part 2)

Matthew Benson: We built the MVP for eFuse. Almost an entire year later, we launched the product on January 2, 2020. On the initial launch, we didn’t have much success. We were just getting rolling and stumbling during the first three to four months. COVID hits right about that time. All eyeballs go to gaming.

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Building an eSports Venture from Ohio to $10M+ in Revenue: eFuse CEO Matthew Benson (Part 1)

This interview is a fascinating look into the world of Gaming. Read on! Sramana Mitra: Let’s go back to the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background? Matthew Benson: I’m born and raised in Ohio. I grew up an hour south of

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Deepen Parikh of Courtside Ventures (Part 5)

Deepen Parikh: We want to plan the infrastructure side. Obviously, 4G in India and the infrastructure that Jio has created is a game changer for a lot of content that is being consumed. Similarly if you look at something like China, the market is big enough to have direct deals with some of the major

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Deepen Parikh of Courtside Ventures (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: Your talk of the drone racing league reminds me of Harry Potter and the Quidditch game. Deepen Parikh: That’s right. I would recommend watching it because it actually does. Sramana Mitra: Is there anything else that you want to add to enlighten us about your sector?

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Deepen Parikh of Courtside Ventures (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Beam is also a subscription business model? Deepen Parikh: It wasn’t; it was ad-supported. It was very early. It’s different from The Athletic, which was more of subscription model and more consistent revenue where you can see the growth over time. This was a pure-play on technology interactivity, but more importantly, it’s just

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Deepen Parikh of Courtside Ventures (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: I have a few questions. As you correctly laid out, a lot of the sports ventures are essentially media and entertainment ventures. It’s basically performance media that monetizes. What is the product for this company that people are subscribing to? Deepen Parikh: It’s written content. As a sports fan of a team, you’re

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Deepen Parikh of Courtside Ventures (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: How big is Courtside Ventures? Deepen Parikh: Our first fund is $35 million. We were scrambling non-stop. It was just me and my partner. Our job is to find the best entrepreneurs, companies, and ideas across our main verticals. As a first-time fund, it was about building relationships with other VCs, sports leagues,

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