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It’s no news that esports is big right now. Comprising of core components like players, tournaments, and teams/franchises, and other resulting parts like online resources and betting sites, the industry is worth more than $1 billion and growing steadily. With this guaranteed potential for growth and increased revenue generation, business visionaries and esports loyalists alike have been scrambling to carve out a piece of the pie – resulting in ventures like Rivalry.
A Brief Backstory
Steven Salz, Rivalry’s founder, actually started early in the esports space. He began looking for inroads as early as 2015. At the time, esports wasn’t as big as it is today and although it showed a lot of potential, there were much fewer startups in the space.
Together with co-investors Kevin Wimer and Ryan White, Salz began to look into viable esports-related ventures that all three of them could sink their teeth into. After compiling a set of guidelines under which their new business would fall, they decided on esports bookmaking as the preferred venture. However, since there weren’t many bookmaking enterprises that, to them, were worth investing in at the time, they decided to go ahead and float their own business.
Both Wimer and White co-founded the skin marketplace Loot Market and as such had experience running an esports business. They directed that experience towards formulating a business model, identifying specific areas like monetization and product strategy along the way.
Going to Market
Rivalry was officially launched in February 2018 as an online-based esports betting platform with Salz as the CEO. Combining exceptional branding, laudable industry partnerships, and a noteworthy growth strategy, it has separated itself from the rest of the pack. Today, Rivalry is one of the top esports betting sites in the United State, boasting partnerships with brands like FURIA and FNATIC as well as with esports talisman Richard Lewis.
Deliberately Fun and Feature-Packed
A visit to the Rivalry website reveals a platform that, on the surface at least, doesn’t take itself too seriously. The colorful animations and whimsical web design and art styles exude a relaxed atmosphere. The website places all front-and-center the relevant information that visitors would need: such as upcoming games, current odds, head-to-head records, and other resources such as news and instructional content.
According to the CEO himself, Steven Salz:
“We think this demographic and the user is way more casual. They want to look at gambling socially and as entertainment. We don’t want to create some stigma around it where they think about it as something dirty. We add to the entertainment experience of an esports fan. We make money and recycle it back into the community – it then becomes this virtuous cycle and we think that’s good for business and also good for the community.”
Looking To The Future
Rivalry has big plans for its short and long-term future in the esports space. According to its CEO, the company looks to further expand its brand recognition and solidify itself as a media entertainment juggernaut. Salz believes that high-quality, reliable service is key to achieving this lofty goal.