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Queens Gaming Collective, a female-owned gaming lifestyle group, launched on Thursday and reported that it had raised a $1.5 million seed funding led by BITKRAFT Ventures.
According to its website, the organization is on a quest to “advance fair inclusion by promoting women in the gaming industry.” It will explore new markets in gaming and Esports in general. The group highlights how video games have been the largest source of entertainment in the mainstream media, and they remain male-dominated.
The collective is designed and driven by numerous women who are committed to radical representation, economic equality, and competition partnership,” said Alisa Jacobs, Queens Gaming Collaborative co-founder, and CEO. She went on to state that the group is “creating a culture beyond a lifestyle brand that recognizes the achievements and progress of our makers.”
Consortium of Industry Women Funded the Investment
A consortium of twelve additional investors composed of founders and women industry executives, including founding members of the seed-stage fund Muse Capital Assia Grazioli-Venier and Rachel Springate; co-founder of the online candy store Rosie O’Neill; former executive of MTV, Sony Music, and Creator Studios Amy Finnerty; and president of Kappa USA and co-founder of the branch, funded the investment round.
The mission of the new organization was identified by Queens co-founder and CEO Alisa Jacobs in a report. For this group, gaming is a lifestyle, and the organization is a global campaign designed and led by numerous women committed to radical representation, economic equality, and competition partnership.
Jacobs also informed the Esports Observer that “diversity is not just a buzz word for the industry. It is a value for the company. At Queens, not only in our public-facing roster but also behind the curtain, the staff, advisors, and investors, we have committed to having true diversity of background, gender, race, and orientation. In the next six months, the programming and services we intend will come from a range of voices and appeal to people who do not necessarily see themselves represented in the media.”
The other half of the Queen’s founding team, chairman and co-founder Justin G. Giangrande, told the Esports Observer that the seed capital would be deployed to support the long-term growth of the company’s production, content, and human capital roster. Considering that this is a huge opportunity to reach an under-recognized consumer audience, the group believes that there exists a great need and appeal for brands to spend towards activating against a women-led collective such as this.
Giangrande brought together an advisory board of industry experts, including senior executives from Amazon, Twitch, TikTok, and Spotify, and hospitality and entertainment company, The H.Wood Group, with the support of the agency and venture studio, Zoned Gaming. In addition to the advisory board, a diverse network of ambassadors, including former NBA player Baron Davis and digital marketer Karen Civil, will help the organization to build its reach.
These three key sales segments: content, merchandising, and intellectual property, are the pillars the Queens Gaming Group aims to develop its business model around. “Our mission and our business model is to provide talent opportunities that have been out of reach for them so far to provide professional management, direction, tools, and resources to build significant space-based brands, jobs, and effect and to concentrate on monetizing through the three pillars,” Jacobs explained.
Also, Taylor Heitzig-Rhodes, who joins Queens from the Esports talent agency Evolved, has been named by the organization as a partner and head of talent to identify, sign, and handle rising talent for the group.
To become the official gaming peripheral and equipment partner, game hardware maker Razer is collaborating with the company. The sponsorship’s financial details were not disclosed.