EPTSo, this is a little more complicated than the other two intro, mostly because I’m still in the process of starting a business. I won’t go into details on what it is, since details aren’t final, we have no backers, and it’s all pretty much hot air right now, but even with no official legal progress, it’s been a journey.
The difference between starting a community website like SC2Ratings and starting a business is drastic. If I’m talking to a staffer about SC2Ratings, I’m trying to get them interested, so that maybe they’ll plug it, or start using it. They’re usually receptive, because they know I’m doing this out of an interest in helping the community. When I talk to a staffer about a business I might be starting up, instantly their guard goes up, and they become very careful with what they say.
eSports is growing right now, but there is still a limited supply of funding, much of which has a lot of conflict, so you really have to play your cards right. For example, if my business were to be sponsored by Razer, I couldn’t ever work with any members of EG – since their sponsorship with Steelseries would conflict. It’s not a matter of me or EG being jerks, it’s a matter of sponsorship conflict, and even though the individuals involved would be totally OK with it, our sponsors would throw a riot, and might pull out or sue us.
I should note that the examples I’m using in this post are purely fictional. EG, Steelseries and Razer were just the first combination that came to mind when thinking about sponsorship conflicts.
So, one way to avoid these sponsorship problems, would be to not have product sponsors. That way, I can work with anybody and it doesn’t matter. Well, where does the money come from then? If sponsors aren’t providing funding, then I have rely on my product or service, and that’s risky. I’m not going to pretend I have a MBA, or any sort of strong business background, but if the whole of your income relies on selling a product/service, and that doesn’t go well, it’s easy to find yourself out of business quickly. If my business was sponsored by Razer, I could have lower prices for my product/service, which means more people will be likely to buy it – and if nobody does, I’ll have more time to make it work, since there’s still money coming in while I try to get on my feet.
Anyway, what does all of this have to do with getting involved in the community? Well, while going around at events talking to casters, staffers, and players about SC2Ratings, and getting interviews, I’ve had a few conversations the potential of working with different people, but there’s always such a huge hesitation on the part of the person I’m talking to. Usually it boils down to: I’m not an established and successful enterprise, so the risk of working with/for me outweighs the potential rewards. I’ve heard a lot of, “Once you’ve gotten going, talk to me again” which is code for “Let somebody else take the risk of working with you first.” Generally speaking, people don’t want to talk to you about your business unless you’re already successful.
If you’re looking at getting involved in the community via a new business, don’t. There are better ways to get involved. I’m going to keep trying, because I would like to eventually have a career in the eSports industry (and I do much better running things than I do following other people orders), but it’s a bitch.
