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Some thoughts about Mamba Mode Gaming: In my time casting and following semi-pro esports I've seen a lot of orgs like MMG crop up and eventually die. There's a lot of kids excited about esports who want to get involved and make a team without any major structure or backing. /1
So they leap without a firm plan in place. Maybe they’ve got some money shelled away, maybe they persuade somebody to ‘invest’ with promises about the exploding industry of esports, whatever it is they get enough dough together to sign a team or two. /2
Maybe that team wins some tournaments, exciting! And that convinces themselves/investors that hey this is a great idea! Except there’s a problem, it’s really damn hard to make any money as an esports team of any sort, especially at the start. /3
Meanwhile they’ve signed contracts, thinking they’ll get sponsors later on. Even if the contracts are for a pittance, they add up. Sign a team of five for $500 a month that’s miniscule for the players but $2500 a month coming out of the account with next to nothing coming in /4
Maybe the investor starts to get nervous and wonders when this fabled esports money is coming in, maybe the founder gets nervous seeing the bank account drain. Whatever it is the money anxiety creeps in and they realize the fuel gauge is emptying. /5
So it all comes crashing down. The founder disappears, or writes a twitlonger, or promises to come up with the cash somehow or whatever. Point is it collapses and it turns out this was a house of cards all along. /6
So what lessons can we take away from MMG and orgs like MMG? Here are some red flags: If your first thought when looking at an org is ‘huh I wonder where that money is coming from?’ TRUST THAT THOUGHT. /7
If it isn’t immediately obvious who is the financial backing and that their pockets are deep enough you should be concerned. Look at the person running it, is your first thought man they’re young, or they’re a student or they don’t have any business experience? Red flag. /8
I’m not saying none of these orgs kicked up by young kids can succeed but it’s very rare and they’re usually going to be paying salaries in tshirts for a while. /9
In MMG’s case there was a very obvious red flag. The org concept was built around Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality. A great philosophy for a competitor but almost certainly trademarked to hell and back. /10
If MMG ever had substantial success they were going to be sued and have to completely rebrand. If the thinking on the branding was that short term what else were they overlooking? /11
Now there’s nothing inherently wrong with signing with one of these orgs, PROVIDED you take precautions to protect yourself. /12
Read contracts, if your salary is shit or might disappear at any moment make sure you aren’t locked in long term to a buyout. Make sure prize money is being handled directly by the players and isn’t going to an account you have no access to. /13
These orgs are going to keep cropping up. Running a team is a dream that looks far more accessible than it is and I can't blame people for chasing that dream. You just hope that if it doesn't work out they stick around to should the burden of responsibility. /14
