The International Gaming League wants you to know that gamers are real people too (Views: 6220)
“In South Korea it’s a professional sport,” says CEO Eyal Toledano. “Over there you can say ‘shoutcaster’ and they know what it means. People here say ‘gaming league’ and they have no idea what I’m talking about.”
Changing awareness about professional and amateur gaming has been a painstaking process for IGL, but things are changing.
After pitching their idea to a sold-out crowd at FounderFuel’s Demoday they were gaining online traction by the next day. People we’re finally tweeting about the amateur destination for competitive gaming.
“For the first time last week we actually saw a huge understanding of what we’re doing,” said Toledano. “It was a huge validation point for us.”
Among an established market place for competitive gaming, the kind where the best, most “hardcore” gamers compete against each other for money, IGL is targeting the other audience.
That would be the audience that isn’t quite professional, but still wants to “game it”. As they said in their DemoDay pitch, “100 per cent of pro gaming spectators are gamers themselves”.
They’ve created an online league for anyone to play against other competitors of similar skill. It’s not for money or prizes, but it’s an organized experience for the mainstream audience. Included is in-game commentary and statistics, pre-game and post-game analysis and a host of other incentives that will make it a strong gaming community.
“We’re coming out with a mainstream and North American-friendly package that people can actually understand,” said Toledano.
Prior to joining FounderFuel’s third cohort of startups, IGL essentially started out as “two 18 year olds in our basement putting together a crappy website and calling it a gaming league.”
That didn’t last long though as Toledano gained extensive experience in the gaming industry, both as an observer and an employee. He spent a few years in sales at Planbox while co-founder Darryl Allen spent five years at Research in Motion (RIM).
The team entered FounderFuel with an idea that they weren’t going to stray from. They needed guidance from proven mentors, connections and external validation.
“The mentorship from the FounderFuel family helped us truly understand our business,” said Toledano. “We just came and hoped that those guys would be helpful in understanding out business and as it turns out it was the best decision we made.”
As the guys moved through the program they validated their vision and strengthened their concept.
They also set new goals for the future, and big ones at that. Within six months they want to fully release their product. To do it they’re seeking $400,000.
Michel Murdock of Ubisoft warns that monetizing their product should be IGL’s first priority, and will likely be it’s toughest.
Would gamers pay a monthly fee, or would IGL sell data to big gaming companies?
Part of the solution is making their approach even more focused- but once they accomplish this, the sky seems the limit.
“The product they have is very different and they’re touching a field other startups haven’t gone after,” said the Executive VP of Ubisoft’s Hybrid Technologies division. “But in terms of potential members, it’s really big. There’s great potential.”
They want to bring their product to the mainstream audience and part of the solution involves debunking prevailing myths and criticisms about the gamer in North America.
Primarily that the gamer is the “fat slob in his parent’s basement who plays World of Warcraft 17 hours a day,” said Toledano.
“Today we’re actually putting together something that can help us break those dogmas and say, no, gamers are regular people too,” he said. “It’s an activity much like chess and it’s becoming more accessible.”
For future or current entrepreneurs trying to make the next stride in their business Toledano stresses continual effort. While there were many times he wanted to give up he stresses that people need to do whatever needs to be done.
“If you have a great idea and you think that you can build a sustainable business that can grow quickly and answer a really big demand then do it,” he said. “If it means stopping school then gauge all of your options, but at the end of the day if you have a passion for entrepreneurship then you’re on the right track.”
