Fnatic offers fans a stake in the company, just like SuperOne
When Sam Mathews speaks, it tends to be a good idea for the world of gaming to listen to him. Best known as the founder and director of Fnatic, the world’s number one professional esports team, he is effectively the manager of 25 of the best gamers on the planet.
He helps them get noticed; he provides them with sponsors and he makes them money. And he picks them in the first place because they are the best at what they do. Mathews also founded UGAME way back in 2008. This is a niche gaming social network, a forerunner to Twitch in a way with less streaming and more static content.
So when he gave an exclusive interview to the BBC explaining how Fnatic was ready to “give our fans a chance to own a piece of the future” this immediately struck a chord with us at SuperOne. The opportunity to own a piece of the future is shorthand, in this instance, for an invitation to buy into Fnatic.
Obviously, the cynical out there will think “yeah, of course, he wants your money. Doesn’t anyone?” But Mathews has a compelling vision, and genuinely believes fan ownership could become more common in esports. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how Mathews’ model works, let’s consider how SuperOne already has two significant crowdfunded support bases which are distinct and yet have some crossover.
For example, the SuperOne marketing model allows people to buy bonus tiers, packed with discounted gaming tokens and NFT cards. When a member share his referral link with new prospects, and those people themselves buy a bonus tier, the new purchases trigger a range of bonus payments for the person growing the network.
But SuperOne has more recently also introduced staking, creating a passive income stream for people who hold tokens. With SuperOne operating on a proof-of-stake blockchain, it means these tokens ultimately are used to verify all transactions on the blockchain and 10% of all company revenue is returned to the stakeholders.
The beauty is that by being a partner you can have a foot in both camps because SuperWallets come with tokens on top of NFT cards. Neat, eh? Fnatic does things a bit differently.
Although the London-based enterprise has secured £7.5 million in private funding, it ultimately wants 1.5% of the business to be owned by fans. “Until now there hasn’t really been a way for fans of esports to join their favorite teams,” says Mathews. “It’s only been available to very rich individuals or institutional investors.
This is definitely not about getting an extra cash injection, it’s about the three and a half thousand people so far, who’s come along to invest. “This is democratizing access, we want to give them a place to voice their opinion, give a transparent view into what we’re doing, where we’re going and why.”
Fan ownership does exist in traditional sport. In Germany, the rules on football ownership require teams to be owned, at least in part, by fans. The NFL’s Green Bay Packers are wholly owned by supporters while in England some lower league football clubs, like Wycombe Wanderers, Accrington Stanley, and Carlisle are partly owned by fans.
Clearly, encouraging fans to become not just emotionally but financially invested in Fnatic comes with a degree of risk. If the thousands of new stakeholders in the brand don’t feel like they’re being listened to, they could be quick to raise a dissenting voice. This is where it helps to have a seriously powerful brand, one that can ride stormy waters and emerge stronger in the long term.
Fnatic has had a powerful decade at the summit of the esports world, and most commentators believe this is a sector that is still ripe for so much growth.
SuperOne is at an even earlier stage in its life cycle, but arguably this makes it an even better prospect if you are looking for something that has potential for rapid growth in the medium term. What the two brands share is presence in the gaming sector, one of the most resilient places to be during the coronavirus pandemic, and a dedication towards excellence.
Come join us, or them. Or why not both?