<a href="https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2021/jan/11/esports-companies-poised-strong-growth-2021/" target="_blank">LA's Esports Companies Are Poised for Strong Growth in 2021</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6f6f6f">Los Angeles Business Journal</font>

LA's Esports Companies Are Poised for Strong Growth in 2021 - Los Angeles Business Journal

<a href="https://labusinessjournal.com/media/esports-companies-poised-strong-growth-2021/" target="_blank">LA's Esports Companies Are Poised for Strong Growth in 2021</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6f6f6f">Los Angeles Business Journal</font>

Auburn University

4x Founder (2 exits) | CEO/Co-Founder @ AI Stealth + Esports One | Founded Leaguepedia (2011) | Building the next frontier AI for Sports & Esports

Austin, Texas, United States

Founded and scaled a pioneering tech startup in esports and gaming industry, focusing on advanced analytics and real-time data solutions. Led the company from ideation through multiple funding rounds, securing over $10 million from leading venture capital firms and angel investors, including Eniac Ventures, MIT Play Labs, Quake Capital, XSeed Capital, AVG Fund.

Technology Leadership and Innovation:
- Developed and implemented cutting-edge computer vision and reinforcement learning technologies that transformed real-time data capture and event analysis during esports events. 
- Created a unique esports fantasy platform using proprietary computer vision technology that automated gameplay capture and analysis, setting a new industry standard for non-intrusive data integration.

Product Development and Management:
- Launched the first-of-its-kind analytics dashboard utilized by top-tier clients, including Riot Games, Acer, Blizzard, EA, Take-Two, Epic Games, NFL, and NBA, enhancing their strategic decision-making processes.
- Led the design and introduction of community-driven features such as mutable and evolutionary NFTs, which significantly boosted platform engagement, increasing monthly active users from 10k to 200k+.

Strategic Growth and Market Penetration:
- Leveraged blockchain technology to expand and diversify product offerings, successfully launching several NFT membership programs—Metapass (92k+), OneBot (34k+), and Arenas (2k)—across platforms like Twitch and Discord.
- Recognized and capitalized on emerging market trends to develop products that consistently drove innovation across the company.

Esports One

Founder/CEO

- Led product innovation and engineering teams in a cutting-edge esports gambling platform, driving user acquisition and retention through real-time betting technologies and user experience enhancements.

- Managed website development and operations for Unikrn and all subsidiaries, overseeing a global development team and transitioning to agile methodologies using the scrum framework for product releases and improvement.

- Designed and executed a comprehensive strategy for expanding real-money wagering products across Europe and Australia, successfully navigating complex regulatory landscapes, securing necessary licenses, and establishing key partnerships with payment processors while ensuring seamless transactions and customer adoption.

- Significantly improved site stability and performance through implementing agile methodologies and comprehensive release cycles, as well as creating and implementing quality assurance and control guidelines.

Unikrn

Chief Product Officer

- Directed site-wide content initiatives for a leading esports streaming company, overseeing product strategy, content curation and production, and project management.

- Led successful multi-million dollar streaming partnership with the Korean Esports Association (KeSPA), managing over 20 teams and 200 players, including the world's #1 player, Faker.

- Developed and implemented company-wide standards, systems, and best practices for creating, distributing, maintaining, retrieving, and repurposing partner, streamer, and in-house content.

- Collaborated closely with Talent, Sales, Product, and Creative Departments to design and package content, ensuring adherence to brand guidelines and consistency in style and tone of voice.

- Achieved significant growth in audience engagement and viewership through inventive marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships with industry leaders.

AZUBU

Sr Vice President of Content & Marketing

- Built and scaled the premier esports wiki and informational hub, attracting tens of millions of monthly users through strategic initiatives focused on real-time updates and user-generated content.

- Led a high-performing team of 10 employees and 100 volunteer contributors, covering all major esports titles and establishing custom-tailored products for streamers and collegiate esports.

- Leveraged advanced analytics tools to continuously improve user experience, inform content creation, and drive revenue growth.

- Forged strong partnerships with industry stakeholders, including Riot Games, Twitch, Youtube, AB InBev, Razer, Logitech, and Corsair, enhancing the platform's credibility and reach.

Esportspedia

- Led cross-functional teams in designing and implementing complex systems architectures, ensuring mission-critical systems' availability, scalability, and security.

- Conducted extensive research and analysis to identify emerging technologies and trends, evaluating and recommending relevant tools and solutions.

- Developed and implemented disaster recovery plans to minimize system downtime and data loss.

Rackspace Hosting

Lead Systems Engineer

Acquired by Curse Inc. (2014)

- Founded and led the global go-to resource for competitive League of Legends, architecting and developing the platform from the ground up using the Wikimedia framework.

- Grew the team to 20 contributors, doubling site traffic to 12 million monthly pageviews and 3 million MAUs within the first year.

- Organized and ran highly successful charity tournaments that broke viewer number records on Twitch TV for non-publisher events (190k CCU, 6+ million total).

Leaguepedia

Founder

- Managed and maintained Linux and Windows Core Cloud servers for small businesses and enterprise clients.

- Oversaw domain services as SME for Cloudkick offering.

- Provided technical support to clients and resolved critical issues promptly and professionally.

Senior System Engineer

- Managed and optimized Linux and Windows networks for 500+ customers, ensuring high availability and optimal performance, improving customer satisfaction and retention rates.

- Implemented various security protocols, such as multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, and password policies, ensuring secure user access and compliance with industry standards.

- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to design and implement network and security solutions that aligned with business objectives, resulting in improved operational efficiency and productivity.

Lexicom Computer Systems Inc

System Administrator L2

- Spearheaded all IT support operations, managing a team of professionals and overseeing tasks ranging from Mac OSX Server setup and management to multiple website design and administration.

- Architected and implemented an advanced computer network that increased productivity by 3x, significantly decreased server downtime, and improved network performance and configuration accuracy.

- Collaborated with leadership and cross-functional teams to establish and execute IT strategies that aligned with company objectives and goals.

Auburn University's Engineers Without Borders

Senior IT Manager

- Directed all aspects of operations, including web hosting, server management, client relationships, and team management, resulting in increased efficiency and profitability.

- Spearheaded the development and implementation of a virtual training system for technicians, enabling remote learning and improving team skills without the need for costly travel.

- Streamlined billing systems and implemented cutting-edge SEO techniques for company websites and select client sites, resulting in increased traffic, engagement, and revenue.

Dataracks, Inc.

Chief Operations Officer

- Successfully founded and operated a profitable business, hosting over 200 websites and 40 game servers and serving over 10 million page views per month.

- Demonstrated strong leadership and negotiation skills by convincing a small business ISP to run a T1 line 30 miles out to a rural location, allowing for seamless operations and growth.

Acquired in 2000

Matthew Gunnin