Transforming a childhood passion into a thriving business.
“Follow your passion.”
That has to be one of the most commonly given and heard advice of all time. It’s easier said than done. You’re one of the lucky ones if you get to make a living out of do something you love every day.
Justin’s one of those lucky people. His startup is the definition of “follow your passion”. Since he was a kid, he has always been immersed in the gaming world, spending countless hours playing video games with friends. After graduating from UBC, he went on to work with EA Sports. The love and excitement of video games continued to grow.
Justin started Battlefy with his long time friend Jason, who’s also a gamer. After their first startup failed, the duo were looking for a new venture to pursue. Inspired by their friends who were tournament organizers, Justin and Jason decided to explore the tournament gaming space. It was the perfect combination of entrepreneurial minds and a lifelong passion for gaming. And that was how Battlefy started.
JUSTIN WONG: CO-FOUNDER & CTO OF BATTLEFY
Battlefy is where anyone can create or find an esports experience. They also bring brands into the world of esports with special campaigns that connect them directly to players and organizers. Whether you are a college club, national esports organization, production company or a brand supporting gamers, Battlefy makes creating and managing a tournament or league easier and more professional.
A few key takeaways from our conversation…
As a leader, you have to create the right culture for your team to thrive.
One of the biggest challenges for any startup is growth. Communication becomes more difficult. When Justin started the company with his co-founder, it was easy to talk between the two of them to solve problems or make decisions. Eventually, they had to bring on more people as the company grew. This meant Justin had another issue to think about: team dynamics.
There will be more people who want bits of your time and new challenges to face, making it hard to keep everyone on the same track. As the leader, you have to keep the team focused towards the main goal.
Tackling the problems that come with scaling and growing a team isn’t easy. Justin had to think about questions like “how can you leverage each team member’s skill set?” and “How do you build a driven, productive, and positive working environment with a mix of different people?”
For Justin, he starts by finding out what each person needs to do their best work and tries to make it possible. He also likes to provide hands-on experiences. He asks his new team members to use the product, help in product development and meet customers. He wants everyone to be involved and feel like they are contributing to the greater vision.
There’s a lot of great ideas but take a moment to step back and think about the big picture.
Your first idea is probably not going to be the one you run with.The startup journey is full of testing and iterations before you land on your final plan that you want to bring to fruition.
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement. But before you dive head first and invest hundreds of dollars and hours into your new venture…step back. Is there a market for your product or service? Have you talked to your potential customers and conducted thorough interviews? Do you have a strong unique value proposition? The list of questions goes on.
There are so many essential details to think about. If you take the time to hash them out beforehand, you will find your startup journey a lot easier.
Hey I’m Celine, Content Creator for Launch Academy and a 3rd year marketing student at the Sauder School of Business of the University of British Columbia. Follow me as I share my conversations with local entrepreneurs.
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