Newcastle's Jacqueline Garrett is seeking to tap into the multi-billion dollar gaming market by teaching gamers how to brand themselves, build an audience and make money.
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Her start-up company GGWP Academy has reached a major milestone, having launched its "e-learning platform" for gamers who want a career in content creation and esports.
The platform's app will be offered to more than 6 million gamers through partnerships with online tournament platforms and the company Logitech.
GGWP will offer education pathways for streamers, esports athletes and content creators.
In future, it will expand to include gaming writing, podcasting and shoutcasting [video game commentary usually streamed live].
GGWP will teach gamers how to make money through esports and other kinds of gaming.
Ms Garrett said the platform would prepare "aspiring streamers for life as a full-time content creator".
It will offer training to the esports and gaming community and "help more gamers start and improve their career".
"It's also a place where users can set and track their goals for success," she said.
About three quarters of kids aged from six to 17 would like to "become an influencer".
"There's over 2.2 billion gamers worldwide - 95 million are attempting to stream gameplay on services like Twitch, Facebook, YouTube and Mixer," she said.
Gamers can make money through channel subscriptions, viewer donations, brand-sponsored streams, influencer campaigns and esports tournaments.
She said the top one per cent of gamers - like Richard Tyler Blevins [known online as Ninja] can earn millions.
"The next 5 per cent would potentially earn the average wage and the rest are still trying to monetise. That's where we come in."
She said there were a large number and range of content creators in the gaming world with "zero training on how to represent a brand".
There was also no way for brands to easily scout talent for campaigns.
"GGWP Academy does both," she said.
Forbes reported recently that the global gaming sector made $210 billion in revenue in 2018. It was growing so fast, it was on track to reach $455 billion by 2025.
Ms Garrett said esports was growing at about 38 per cent a year and gaming generally at 9 per cent a year.
To build a successful brand, she said gamers need "a genuine enjoyment for what they do, consistent branding across all channels that expresses their personality and an established network across the industry".
They also need to create a positive online presence, strike a balance between online and offline time and maintain a consistent schedule of delivering content.
She said the trend of many youngsters dreaming of becoming streamers and influencers in the gaming and social media worlds reflected a wider trend in the gig economy, which relates to flexible and freelance work.
Streamers were a mix of the "usual Instagram influencer and a reality TV star".
A cultural shift had occurred towards "working for yourself, creating work-life balance and not succumbing to typical jobs with management hierarchies in large companies".
Ms Garrett said her education platform includes ways to encourage gamers to find some balance in their lives.
"We teach goal setting, time management and healthy gaming at all levels of our training," she said.
"Gone are the days when gamers were stereotypically overweight and didn't see much sunlight. These days in content creation, you are far more likely to check a streamer's Instagram and see their fitness photos.
"This change has been a dramatic one over the past five years with esports and streaming becoming the new entertainment for our youth."
GGWP Academy received initial funding of 25,000 euros from Lead Sports, when Ms Garrett attended a 12-week accelerator program in Berlin in 2018. A Newcastle investor also contributed a further $20,000.
The company is now seeking $1 million in "seed funding" in a deal set to be completed this month.
Ms Garrett has also struck a deal with gaming company Logitech.
"I targeted Logitech initially for the way they're perceived in the gaming community as providing great products and a variety of price points, which is ideal for budding streamers and esports athletes," she said.
"I approached them at an executive level in the states. Fast forward 12 months and I met with Australian management to show them our product and they were in."
She said Logitech was GGWP's "educational partner" and they "share our goals for gaming-career pathways".
GGWP is also working on a second version of its platform, to be launched later this year, which will feature an "influencer marketplace".
This will enable content creators to be ranked for influence and connect them to brands for participation in "influencer campaigns".
It will be a worldwide ranking system for gaming influence that "goes beyond the influencer's reach".