Technology can serve as a game-changer across various industries. But when it comes to sports, PlayVS CEO Delane Parnell knows firsthand that it can take things to a new level if used correctly.
This week’s Black Tech Green Money episode is a blast from the past and features a conversation held with Parnell alongside Blavity CEO Morgan DeBaun during AfroTech 2019.
The Company
PlayVS was launched around the mission of building out the infrastructure around amateur eSports. This means that if one decides not to become a professional eSports player, then the only other option is to play online. What the company is on a mission to do is build a generational product where all of the online competition happens.
“The way that we approached it is really unique, mostly because in order to even have a company, we have to work with game publishers who own their IP,” Parnell explained. “So, in many ways, it’s the same challenge that groups like Spotify or Netflix have, where they have to go work with third parties who spend billions of dollars developing an IP to acquire rights to be able to commercialize that.”
The World Of eSports
eSports is a term that is used to describe competitive video gaming. It’s the concept of playing video games in the same format and structure that is used when playing sports. There’s an entire industry that is built around the gaming industry that is very similar to the way that the NBA and NFL are structured.
“Lots of the team owners and those professional leagues are the same owners who own franchises in the NFL and NBA,” Parnell explained. “We’re working on the amateur side of things.”
What that means is that PlayVS works to support amateur players who enjoy playing video games, essentially building out the software that enables competition for them.
Listen Up:
For more on how Parnell’s startup was able to raise $96 million in just about a year, the concept of eSports, and how PlayVS uses technology to dominate the space, listen to the full Black Tech Green Money below.
