When Emre Ruhi and Dan Tasch started Microcoaching in March, they were worried that investors wouldn't immediately understand the idea, that they would toss it aside and ignore it.
Which is understandable. Microcoaching is a D.C.-based startup that connects professional video gamers with people who want to get better at a certain video game or who are trying to learn it for the first time. What usually gets people is the idea of "professional video gamers." Unless you're a gamer or know someone who is one, you probably question whether or not this is a real job, Ruhi said.
But that was anxiety mellowed when the startup closed its first seed round for an undisclosed amount from Vienna, Va.-based James Hunt Holdings, who primarily invests in early-stage companies and has ties to Georgetown University.
"The entrepreneurs and the VCs that we've talked to in the area don't know a lot about video games, so I was surprised at how quickly the mentors and resources we have out here were able to latch onto the idea," Ruhi told DC Inno in an interview. "We had to explain it to folks, but once we did, business is business."
Microcoaching provides digital on-demand coaching sessions for gamers who can't figure out how to beat a certain level or help the rest of their team excel. Ruhi and Tasch recruit high-achieving players to serve as coaches, and new coaches can offer coaching sessions whenever they're feeling it, just like Uber and Lyft drivers can set their own schedules. In the same fashion, Microcoaching takes a sliver of the profits that coaches receive for each session, but with the caveat that the more hours someone spends coaching, the smaller the fee is. But the coaches set suggested hourly rates and users are able to pay whatever they want depending on how useful they find the session. Right now, Microcoaching has about 250 users and 30 coaches.
In 2015, the Entertainment Software Association reported that revenues in the U.S. video game industry hit $23.5 billion, a 5 percent increase from 2014. Reports also show that more people watched a live 2016 League of Legends world finals game than watched the 2016 NBA finals.
So, demand exists, Ruhi said. The obvious demographic for Microcoaching are players in multi-player games who need a bit of a boost. But Ruhi says that isn't the only demographic his company attracts. "The most interesting demographic that I was surprised to learn about is that we talked to a lot of parents who wanted to know what their kids are doing and had no way to figure it out," Ruhi said. "These parents are like 'Man, my kid plays Minecraft all day. I don't even know what that is. He might not want a session, but I would like to know what he's talking about, have a common hobby.'"
Microcoaching isn't the first platform to offer coaching for players, Ruhi said. However, he says they are the only ones who offer a flexible coach schedule and on-demand coaching. Other services might ask you to schedule for two or three weeks in advance.
Ruhi and Tasch founded the startup in the first year of their MBA program at Georgetown. Now in their second year, they've won SoFi's 2016 entrepreneurship competition, were finalists for the Ted Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize and are also working with Monumental Sports on e-sports related production projects.
With all this momentum, Ruhi says he's excited to launch the company's beta version in the next few months.
"All technology these days is moving towards personalized, customized for you," Ruhi said. "That trend is what we’re aligning with."
Image used via CC BY 2.5 DK — credit Magnus Fröderberg/norden.org
