1549: Challengermode – A Mission to Make Esports Accessible to All

The Tech Talks Daily Podcast

The Esports industry has exploded in recent years and is not slowing down, but the industry remains extremely top-heavy and built around sponsorship and advertising revenue, rather than consumer revenue and participation. Challengermode is looking to turn the current industry model on its head - creating value for all esports stakeholders from the bottom up as well as the top down.

After major success in Europe, running millions of competitions for millions of players, Challengermode is currently gearing up to expand into North America this year, and is currently valued at over $40m. I invited: Robel Efrem from Challengermode onto the podcast to find out more.

Robel himself, has an incredibly impressive resume; he speaks four languages, has been nominated for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award three times, and has founded two companies in the last 10 years - the first which resulted in a successful exit and the second which is Challengermode, which received a $12m investment from Alibaba, with other investors including Telia Ventures, GP Bullhound, Back in Black Capital and Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic.