Newcastle’s Jacqueline Garrett has established a start-up company in the gaming world, which aims to create the “influencers of the future in esports”.
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Ms Garrett is in Berlin on a 12-week accelerator program, along with eight other sporting start-up companies from around the world.
Lead Sports runs the program, which is a legacy of Adi Dassler – the founder of Adidas.
Ms Garrett competed against more than 400 businesses to be selected in the accelerator program, which is described as a “global sports entrepreneurship and investment platform”.
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Her company, GGWP Academy, will receive 25,000 euros and get the opportunity to pitch to investors.
This will give the company the chance to raise seed capital ahead of launching in December.
Lead Sports manages and backs the Advantage Sports Tech Fund, which invests in “early-stage technology companies aimed at shaping the future of sports”.
This fund invests in “fan engagement and experience, connected athletes and communities and derivative sports”.
Ms Garrett said GGWP aimed to provide “relevant, effective and healthy training to gamers worldwide in esports, live streaming and recorded content creation”.
Read more: When fun and games becomes a career
Nowadays, gamers can make big money and acquire massive followings on online channels like Twitch and YouTube.
This can involve gamers providing commentary to an audience, which watches them as they play and talk.
Ms Garrett’s company aims to teach gamers how to brand themselves, build an audience and make money.
Courses will cover subjects like online safety, professional esports, gaining followers and creating effective content.
How to get signed by an esports team and negotiating sponsorships, contracts and partnerships will also be taught.
Ms Garrett said her company’s courses would show how esports’ professionals gain followers and create communities.
“In a world where traditional media like TV is being rapidly replaced with Twitch and YouTube streams, it's inevitable that content creation becomes a more stable career path,” she said.
She said her company would pinpoint the reasons behind the success of “top influencers” and offer its findings to customers. This would give those interested a chance to succeed, “not just those with access to marketing agencies”.
She said achieving a big following in the gaming world would “always come down to the right mix of personality, ability, uniqueness and dedication”. GGWP will be based at the Esports High Performance Centre at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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