Why Esports Looks Great — But Isn’t Venture-Friendly

Key Concepts

• Esports
• Venture Capital (VC) friendliness
• Long-term investment (long hold)
• Scalability
• Gaming ecosystem
• Competitive gaming

Esports and Venture Capital

The speaker expresses surprise that esports was not a venture capital (VC) investment focus, given their background in the UFC, which they felt would be a natural extension. However, they state that esports did not meet their criteria for VC investment.

Rationale for Not Investing in Esports

The speaker believes in esports as a "long hold" and an important growth component of the gaming industry. They are a fan of competitive gaming, enjoying watching players perform at a level beyond their own capabilities, similar to watching high-level Call of Duty gameplay.

However, the speaker does not believe esports is "perpetually scalable" and therefore not "venture friendly." While acknowledging its importance within the broader gaming ecosystem, they would neither raise capital for an esports venture nor invest in one. This perspective suggests a distinction between long-term growth potential and the rapid, scalable returns typically sought by venture capitalists.