Do You Have What it Takes? What VCs are Looking For in Esports Investments | Malte Barth

1. D o Y o u H a v e W h a t i t T a k e s ?
W h a t V C s a r e L o o k i n g F o r i n E s p o r t s I n v e s t m e n t s
M a l t e B a r t h
F o u n d i n g P a r t n e r
@ m a b a r t h

2. W H AT I S B I T K R AF T
• We are the only esports-exclusive Venture Capital fund gl
• USD 140mm fund
• Berlin/London + Los Angeles/San Francisco

3. A partner team of esports veterans
B I T K R AF T T E AM
Track record, network, years of collaboration and operational expertise
G2 ESPORTS
JEN S
H ILGER S
Founding Partner
43
MA LTE
BAR TH
Founding Partner
46
SC OTT
R U PP
Founding Partner
46
Head of Esports, MTG
(headed ~€140M esports investments)
Executive Board Member, ESL
Board Member, DreamHack
(world’s largest gaming festival)
Board Member, BITKRAFT Seed Fund
Industrial Advisor, EQT Partners
(Global PE with €49B in raised capital)
Founding CEO of the worlds largest
esports organization, ESL
(sold in 2015 >€100M valuation)
Founding CEO, DOJO Madness
Co-Founder, G2 Esports
Founder, BITKRAFT Seed Fund
Considered a founding father of
eSports (since 1997)
Managing Director USA, MTGx
(ESL and DreamHack USA)
overseeing MTG games & esports VC fund
Board Member, Kongregate
Former CEO, Digital Artists
Games & Entertainment expert, McKinsey

4. 4.5x
An unparalleled track record in esports
B I T K R AF T E S P O R T S T E AM ’ S I N V E S T M E N T
The team created $700M for investors over 57 investments in esports
Sources: Handelsbanken Equity
Markets April 6, 2018, BITKRAFT
Esports Ventures Q3 2017
Reporting, various MTG public
announcements, G2 esports
Management
$M
$225M
$450M
$675M
$900M
Invested Realised + unrealised Value as of June, 2018
Recent value:
$890m
Invested:
$200m
$0M

5. 0
1
2
Pre-Seed Seed Series A Series B +
Company Stage
Market
Maturity
Industry Cycle: The esports industry matures
O U R I N V E S T M E N T T H E S I S
Attractive early stage deals in esports are increasing significantly
BITKRAFT Seed Fund
(2016 Vintage)
BITKRAFT Venture Fund
(2018 Vintage)
Fully invested

6. Numerous highly scalable
businesses representing the
backbone of esports. Distribution,
hosting, remote gaming, game
engines, infrastructure,
communities and engagement &
interaction platforms. Numerous
plays to convert & monetize huge
esports audiences.
P L A T F O R M S
Huge value creation potential in four key
themes
I N V E S T M E N T T H E S I S
Unique investment lens on the esports market
Game IP has become the most
valuable IP around, and there
continues to be huge potential to
build unicorns. BK will leverage
its extensive experience, strategic
partners and network to de-risk
game investments. At-scale fund
enables multiple bets as well as
portfolio construction &
diversification benefits within this
theme.
G A M E S
Digitally-native brands like Dollar
Shave Club, Bonobos, Warby
Parker & Allbirds drive major
value for investors. Gaming &
esports are at the heart of today’s
pop culture, but early in the native
brand creation cycle. BK will
invest in brands that speak to
these massive communities.
Proven, scalable business models
around e-commerce, digital
content & influencers.
E - C O M M / B R A N D S
Gaming & esports gave rise to
numerous technologies that
transformed other industries —
think live streaming, 3D design
software, motion sensors, high-
end graphics cards, etc. Now,
esports is on the cutting edge of
AI, computer vision, haptics &
networking, creating opportunities
to dominate a niche and expand
horizontally.
H O R I Z O N T A L T E C H

7. W H AT AR E V C s L O O K I N G F O R ?
CHANGE
THE
PARADIGM!

8. „yet it moves“
W H AT AR E V C s L O O K I N G F O R ?

9. People!
W H AT AR E V C s L O O K I N G F O R ?
Investing in winning team!
• Sales vs Delivery 
• Esports passion
• Technical Co-founder
• Resilience
• Having fun
• Right reasons
• Distinct culture
• Ability to raise follow-on financing
• Knowing and tracking the team for a while
• Surprise us!

10. Vision + Product
W H AT AR E V C s L O O K I N G F O R ?
Delivering the outstanding
• Big ambitions
• Initial product visibility (MVP, vertical slices, etc.)
• Ideally product-market fit
• Initial customer feedback, validation or
engagement

11. KPIs
W H AT AR E V C s L O O K I N G F O R ?
Proof is in the data
• Adoption
• Acquisition especially organic/viral
• Engagement, Depth and time spent
• Retention
• Virality
• Monetarization

12. ESPORTS VENTURE FUND
J E N S
jens@bitkraft.net
M A L T E
malte@bitkraft.net
S C O T T
scott@bitkraft.net
Surprise us!