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Incredible Miracle was founded on October 10th, 2010 by its now owner and manager, DongHoon Kang, known to fans as IM Hirai. Having continuously proven themselves the best Starcraft 2 team in the history of the game, IM Hirai, has put Incredible Miracle on the map as one of Korea's premier eSports teams.
Despite accruing a number of impressive accolades, Incredible Miracle's history has not always seen smooth sailing. As we will discuss in this interview, Incredible Miracle had a very humble beginning. In an emerging market, securing sponsors is a very difficult task, one that IM Hirai found out the hard way. We discuss his story of how he was able to tie down the teams first few sponsors, and how he was able to shape his team into one of the world's most prolific eSports teams.
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![[image loading]](http://static.ongamers.com/uploads/scale_medium/0/21/2782-hirai+2.jpg)
What made you decide to start Incredible Miracle in the first place?
I was out drinking with friends, reminiscing about the old Starcraft 1 days when we used to hang out together. To feel the same passion once more, I met up with Xian (currently the coach of Samsung Galaxy), Nestea and ChRh (currently retired) to build a Starcraft 2 team with me as the coach. We also called up MVP, YongHwa and KangHo (LosirA) whom I knew for a long time.
You had worked with KeSPA teams/players before you started IM, how much did this influence your management style?
As the owner, I tried to manage the team in a different manner than KeSPA teams. However, as the team coach, I tried to absorb KeSPA teams’ systems while fixing some weak points.
What was your biggest challenge in the early days of Starcraft 2 and getting the team started?
Being the owner was much harder than being the coach. As the owner of the team, dealing with the management cost was the hardest. Getting sponsors and other processes of building the team was harsh. Furthermore, I have never managed a team before and I lacked skills to do well.
What kinds of difficulties did you go through when searching for sponsors? What kinds of reactions did you receive, what was the process you went through to secure a sponsor?
The hardest thing at first was not knowing anyone in those companies. It was like building up on a waste land. This made me try harder. I started out by calling those companies’ call center. After calling and visiting them in person every day, I was eventually able to meet higher up people. I made hundreds of calls every day and visited them whenever I could. After all that I was finally put through to meet the right people to talk about sponsoring. When I first started the team my wife gave me a business card holder that can hold up to 600 cards. I laughed thinking there was no way I could fill it up. Right now I’m on my way to fill up my 2nd holder. No matter what it is, you can achieve it if you just try.
Click HERE to view the rest of the interview. <3
