Episodes

  • Women and Diversity in Sports and Esports

    Women and Diversity in Sports and Esports
    Dec 1 2020
    Marisa Reich is the Chair of She Sports Switzerland and ex Head of Events & Culture at Infront. Marisa joins Chris Hana to talk about her career, from being an athlete agent to working for the Berlin Marathon and working for Red Bull to her most recent positions. Both discuss the need for diversity and inclusion and talk about why women are needed in the sports and esports industry, current challenges, and how to build an inclusive culture.
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    46 mins
  • The Importance of Research and Data in Esports

    The Importance of Research and Data in Esports
    Nov 17 2020
    Nicole Pike spent 13 years at Nielsen building and moving its games and esports divisions forward. Nicole recently joined YouGov as their sector head for esports and gaming. In this weeks episode, Nicole talks about her career, the importance of data and research in a young industry like esports, and about her future plans. Both also talk about how brands can authentically work with the industry and what people should know before engaging with the space.
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    43 mins
  • How Johnathan Wendel Turned Fatal1ty into a Successful Gaming Brand

    How Johnathan Wendel Turned Fatal1ty into a Successful Gaming Brand
    Oct 27 2020
    Johnathan Wendel, better known by his nickname Fatal1ty, started his professional gaming career in the 90s. Johnathan walks Chris through his time as a player, the impact it has on his life, and how he was able to become an entrepreneur by turning his name into a successful brand. Today, Johnathan is also co-founder of Ready Up, a California-based startup that wants to make esports and gaming accessible for everyone.
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    47 mins
  • Building ESL and Why Open Ecosystems are Important for Esports

    Building ESL and Why Open Ecosystems are Important for Esports
    Oct 13 2020
    Ralf Reichert is Co-Founder of the Electronic Sports League (ES), the world’s largest independent esports company with offices around the globe. ESL creates esports leagues, tournaments, and runs production studios. In this episode, Ralf shares the ups and downs of his almost 20 years with ESL, why open ecosystem are important for the esports industry, and why ESL focuses on building a place where “everybody can be somebody.”
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    39 mins
  • Upper Deck and Moving Trading Cards to the Digital Space

    Upper Deck and Moving Trading Cards to the Digital Space
    Sep 29 2020
    Jason Masherah is President at Upper Deck and has been with the company for over 14 years. In this episode of Conquering Geek Culture, Jason walks Chris through the Upper Deck verticals Sports Cards, Entertainment and Upper Deck Authenticated Memorabilia & Collectibles and discusses “Upper Deck e-Pack," which moves the traditional trading card experiences into the digital world.
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    30 mins
  • Why Gary Vaynerchuk is Bullish on Esports

    Why Gary Vaynerchuk is Bullish on Esports
    Sep 15 2020
    Gary Vaynerchuk is Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia, and 5x New York Times Best-Selling Author. He began working at his family wine store, where he grew the business from $3M to $65M in just five years. In an interview with Chris Hana, Gary explains how he uses his skills to identify trends and why he is bullish on esports. Among other things, both dive into Gary’s investment in the Minnesota Røkkr Call of Duty League team and Gary’s experience with Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, who is currently represented by the newly created VaynerGaming agency arm.
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    25 mins
  • Why OverActive Media Believes in Franchised Esports Leagues

    Why OverActive Media Believes in Franchised Esports Leagues
    Sep 2 2020
    Chris Overholt is the CEO of OverActive Media (OAM), an esports and entertainment organization that heavily invests in franchised esports teams. With his deep roots in traditional sports, Chris explains why he joined the esports industry, why he believes in the franchise league model and why esports leagues will eventually outperform traditional sports. Furthermore, Chris provides insights on how OAM helps its talent grow professionally and how he thinks about video games in the Olympics.
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    41 mins
  • Innovation and Monetization in Sports and Esports

    Innovation and Monetization in Sports and Esports
    Aug 11 2020
    Tim Hayden is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Stadia Ventures, the global Sports Innovation Hub for entrepreneurs, industry partners and investors. Chris Hana and Tim discuss Stadia’s investment philosophy, why Stadia also invests in esports, technological trends, why traditional sports is ahead of esports when it comes to monetization, and what both industries can learn from each other. They also chat about how Stadia built a big network of supporters across both industries and how they bring both worlds together.
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    35 mins