Experiment 6: L1R1 – Personalized Gaming Comics

This is the sixth experiment that took place a few months ago. In this experiement I came up with the concept of ‘L1R1 Comics’ – which are personalized children’s comics, which feature characters from their favourite games. I’m fortunate to be around a lot of Gen-Z kids – from neices, nephews, cousins, mentees and so on. So this idea came from talking to that audience, plus my knowledge of what is going on in the culture and tech startups.

Gaming x Comics

Two genres which are closely aligned . One worth $1.1 Billion (Comic Books), the other worth $152 Billion (Video Games). Children’s comics have surpassed superhero comics in 2019 as the most popular type of comic book. However, the comic book industry has taken a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gaming is the most popular form of entertainment in the world. What was once dismissed as a pointless hobby even 10 years ago is now in the mainstream. Esports, also known as competitive gaming, has seen a lot of growth over the past few years. However most revenue is still coming in from sponsorships – so businesses are always looking for new revenue streams.

Both industries can learn from each other – comics can be more personalised like games (such as Fortnite). Gaming (and especially esports)
companies will benefit from another revenue stream.

Solution

L1R1 Comics will provide comics that appeal to those interested in gaming
We will partner with video game publishers to produce personalised comics based on your favourite games in addition to creating original material.

Behind the comic books is a tech platform where people can enter their personalised details (real name, gaming name, personalized message, hobbies), which we use to create our own multiverse – different stories and narratives.

Unlike SportStar Books, Wonderbly or other similar businesses, L1R1 is aimed at stories around gaming.

Idea Validation

The whole idea of a personalized gaming comic would involve a story based around the person’s favourite game. Bear in mind that the comic books are for children, so the games would be the likes of Pokemon, Fortnite and other popular games. Therefore I needed to reach out to the someone responsible for partnerships at Epic Games, The Pokemon Company and so on. I searched on LinkedIn and searched for who I thought was the right person. Often I would contact the junior employee or even the wrong person, to lead me in the right direction.

When I finally got through to the right person, I would send a pitch deck (which I created on Canva) in an email and await feedback. Most seemed happy about the idea but there are processes which prevent partnerships on art. For example, this was a response from the The Pokémon Company International, Inc:

______________

Hi Jason

Your idea of personalized comics sounds like a lot of fun – unfortunately we are not allowed to manipulate the stories of our animation in this way. Also I’m not sure if you are proposing original art for these, but that is also not allowed for us – our artwork comes specifically from Japan.

I’m sorry not to have better news here! I wish you all the best with your endeavor.

Best,

_______________

And it was here that L1R1 Comics hit a brick wall. At just concept level, there was no leverage to use to partner with these companies. Therefore that would be the end of the experiment

There are other alternatives to this concept. Instead of games like Pokemon, Fortnite etc, there could be personalised books which include a favourite esports team, or YouTuber (since 1 in 3 Gen-Z and Millenials want to be YouTubers or social media influencers). With the right model and niche, the idea could bring in regular income.

However, taking a look at competitors on Companies House and others that I know have closed down recently – success in the publishing industry (which includes personalised books) – is a very tough one to sustain.

Outcome

Experiment status: Ended

Reason: Unable to partner with key stakeholder requied.

Duration of experiment: 2 months

Cost: £0

October 30, 2020 1

Experiment 4: esco: Investing in esports

The concept of esco was an app in which gamers could invest in gaming and esports-related stocks and shares. I did this experiment during the same time as number 3: eLlama (gaming-related rewards). This experiment took place over Feb/March (around the time the COVID-19 pandemic was growing). The outcome of the experiment was positive, with conclusions any entrepreneur could learn from.

Problem

The gaming industry is worth $152 Bn and esports (spelt with a small ‘e’), which is competitive gaming, is worth $1.1Bn (Newzoo). I’ve mentioned in previous articles that these industries are growing; as I’m writing this, celebrity gaming tournaments are being run and events being televised, in place of the cancelled or postponed football season. The metaverse, a shared virtual world where players and brands and IPs all collide and coexist is getting closer.

But the most important people in the industry, the end users – gamers, who play these games for hours, are not benefitting financially.

Solution

This is why I came up with the idea of esco. Esco is an investment platform where gamers (or their parents) only can invest in the companies behind the games they love.

This idea was half-baked – there were many other cool ideas around it. But the main concept was ‘moneybox’ or ‘acorns’ for gamers, by gamers. Instead of ‘buying v-bucks (an in-game currency), make real bucks’ investing in the things you love doing.

Validating Assumptions

So the key assumptions I made were:

gamers want to invest in gaming
gamers do not know how to invest in gaming

Innovation Mapper: Validating 2 desirability (D) assumptions

I tested these assumption by speaking to 10 people (mostly around my age), in addition to running a survey with university gaming society students (in which 43 people answered). The following questions on the survey and during conversations were:

As someone who contributes to its success, would you invest in the esports / gaming industry? (such as stocks, shares, assets)
- Yes : 45
- No : 8
Please explain why you would or would not invest in the esports or gaming industries? (Some answers below)
- ‘Games will always be popular and I think I’d get more money back’
- ‘The gaming industry is still growing, and there is a lot of shady business going on I would not invest in but also there are no guarantees as the scene is still young’
- ‘It is an ever growing industry with many benefits, it can be educational, provide people with a social group they might otherwise lack, can have positive impacts on mental health, of course the opposite can also be true. However, it has personally helped me so i would want to invest. E-sports can also encourage healthy competition and team building.’
- ‘Stocks and shares are risk based investments, which would cause me to detract from any work I have and would shift focus, causing efficiency to decline.’
- ‘Nah’ (there is always one!)
Do you know how to invest into an esports / gaming company or asset? (apart from your workplace, if applicable)
- Yes: 14
- No: 39

Typeform survey which I did to validate experiments 3 and 4

Lift Off?

Through the surveys I validated my 2 assumptions about desirabiity, that:

gamers want to invest in gaming
gamers do not know how to invest in gaming

So now it’s full steam ahead. Get the developers, build my first iteration of the platform, measure results, learn, iterate until product market fit, then raise some seed money, to build functionality and increase marketing reach – right?

Wrong.

Just because there is a validated problem, it does not mean the solution is a big shiny app. For example, a mailing list may be okay. Roundhill Investments provide a weekly email on the industry and quite often, it contains news about esports-related stocks. I could just send the people I interviewed a link to their website and some further information. I could even write a post on this blog re: gaming investments.

Here are other ideas and thoughts on a gaming-related..

Crowdfunding platform: Kickstarter for games and esports. Similar to Matcherino, who have raised money, but is no indication of how successful it actually is.
Micro-savings app: An app where the user takes small amounts of money from their account to invest in shares, or something gaming-related. Too niche and the micro-savings app market is very crowded (see picture below)
Co-operative: a community savings group, where everyone would contribute monthly for investment in stocks or companies. This would be unique and maybe appeal to the team nature of esports (imagine an investment clan) but not personally appealing.
Venture Capital Fund: not interested in following the paths of Bitkraft, who are doing a great job.

Also, solution may be to tie it in with my existing job which is helping brands to engage customers through esports. The solution may simply be to approach fintech companies, armed with information from this experiment.

The chosen solution should be one that 1) solves the problem best or cheapest and 2) that I’m passionate about. Therefore that means, passing on information and using the info gained for my existing job are the best options.

Savings apps market – scratching the surface

Outcome

Experiment status: Ended

Reason:

Solution does not need to be a tech product or a business

Duration of experiment: 2 – 3 months

Cost: £150

Logo (£10)
£100 spent on prize draw for those who participated in survey (shared with experiment 3)
Domain name registration – esco.gg (£40)

Outcome Summary

Three additional notes on the experiment 3:

Same as Experiment 3, buying a logo and domain name was unneccesary, but used it as a commitment to action. I will not need to do this again
It have spoken to dozens of people about the gaming and esports indusry. My knowledge and opportunities are compounding. I know that the engagement of fans and casual gamers will be important to move both industries forward.

On to the next.

April 11, 2020 1

Innovation ‘B-Sides’

I mentioned during the 2020 Challenge that there were 3 curiosity areas: esports, future of work and tech in developing countries. This was to provide focus and not waste time and resources on such a diverse range of ideas. However, there have been a few experiment ideas that are related but didn’t quite make the cut – but may still be worth exploring. These extra experiments may even turn out to be of more value than the core experiments. If the 2020 challenge experiments are ‘A-sides’ then these ideas are the ‘B-sides’.

The B-Side Experiments

So, in addition to the 2020 Experiment, this year I will start 5 B-side Experiments. These experiments:

Will not be in one of the curiosity areas
Will not got through a throrough validation process (I won’t speak to customers before building)
Can be used for personal purposes (i.e. solves a personal problem)
Should not require a lot of personal resources to build (can be done quickly by myself or someone else can do it)

The whole idea of this is to execute constantly, based on instinct, without fear or procrastination about the business model.

Genesis

The terms ‘A-side’ and ‘B-side’ used to refer to the two sides of a vinyl or cassette, whehter thats a single, LP (long-playing) or EP (extended play) record. The A-side is the recird the artist wants to get the airplay. The B-side is the secondary, less popular, recording; this may also have been recorded in the same session as the A-side or have its own history. Some artists and producers would just put instrumentals of the A-side – others would put strong B-sides, not compromising the quality of the music. Some B-sides became just as popular (or even more popular) than the A-Side – for example, Queen’s We Will Rock You was a B-Side to We Are The Champions.

These days, in the age of digital downloads, B-Sides are also known as songs that are less popular, radio-friendly or critic-friendly. For example, when Jay-Z performed his ‘B-Sides’ concerts, he did tracks that he doesn’t usually perform at concerts.

There are many parrelels between music and innovation – in a future post I will talk more about it.

The Startup LP

Taking that into account, I’m treating the 2020 Experiment like an album; 7 radio friendly tracks and 5 ‘fillers’ or street records. Let’s see if any are ‘hits’, which tracks get more traction then others and which ones stand the test of time.

To go one further, I would encourage anyone to explore their B-side, whether its a hobbie, business idea or activity. Trying different things can broaden your horizons, open up new opportunities and unexpected things can happen.

I will post updates on the B-Side experiments soon.

January 28, 2020 1

Chicken Shops, Gaming and Culture

#inspiration-free

Now and then, on the way home and to meetings, I pass the group of flowers and candles on the pavement parked on Randlesdown Road in Bellingham (London). These flowers and candles are in memory of a young boy, Jay Hughes, who was murdered outside the local Morley’s Chicken in November 2018. The killing was one of many over a two-week period. This ‘inspired’ the government to start a campaign warning kids about the dangers of knife crime.. in chicken shops (over 200 were part of the campaign). It was in fact, uninspiring, lazy and desperate, with many people accusing the government of stirring negative sterotypes of black people. My guess is that the campaign also had no positive impact on the knife crime epedemic either.

#knifefree campaign – (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

KFC: Modern Warfare

Fast forward to last month. I was browsing through my instagram and I came across an image which I couldn’t quite register. You know, like one of those pictures of two famous people that hooked up, that no-one would ever guess. However it was so intriguing that I had to look further into it. You guessed it – it was Colonel Sanders, of KFC – the company you always use as a case study for why you’re never too old to be an entreprenuer (apparently he was in his 70s). In the picture, Sanders was holding a chicken leg in one hand and PS4-looking controller in the other. The boomer of all boomers was kicking it with the Gen Z’s!

After following ‘KFC Gaming’ on Twitter and Instagram, I discovered how they had spent the last few years engaging with the gaming community. whether its from creating an AI commentator to predict League of Legends games to interactive content over social media. KFC Gaming’s follower count is 54k but that number should rise fast, since the content is as engaging as other accounts, like 433 (who have 25 million IG followers). This can do no harm for thier brand and shows that they are trying to understanding a part of their audience, that are gamers. While some critics would say that KFC sponsoring games creates a negative stereotype, fast food chains sponsoring other sports (like football) has been a norm for decades. The work KFC is doing (mainly in America and China) can be learned from and applied in the UK, where 37 million people play games.

Outside the Box : Where Morley’s and co. fit in

Following the ‘knife crime chicken-box campaign’ in London, one of the defences given was that chicken shops and fast food chains were the best way of reaching and connecting with potential perpetrators. Gaming is a much better way of connecting with the youth, regardless of race and gender. Its a positive activity and appeals to their interests. While there doesn’t have to be a ‘Morleys Gaming’ or ‘Dixie eSports’, these chicken shops can, for example:

co-sponsor events in which kids and teens can primarily play games (like a FIFA tournament) and secondarily have access to other services (mentoring, skills workshops etc)
have special offers where those that buy a meal can enter a prize draw to play with a well known gamer or YouTube influencer (KSI for example)
sponsor a well known gamer or YouTube influencer to do a streaming marathon to raise money for a community (knife crime victim, community centre etc.)

What these examples do is they open up possibilities indirectly. That person or clan who gets to the quarters finals of the FIFA tournament (Point 1) may stop by the careers section or be inspired to go into an area of the gaming industry thats exciting. This could kill two birds with one stone, considering the lack of diversity in gaming and esports (another blog post for another time). Point 2 does more for the brand than the community but can be included with 1 as an add-on. As for Point 3, streamers Click Crew raised over $300k for three charity providing relief from the Australian wild fires – so it can be done. Even chicken-related videos can get views (Hot Ones, Chicken Connoissuer etc).

These are just examples, but all three are utilising chicken shops in a better way and would be a good companion (or replacement) to the ‘put the knives away’ campaigns.

Click Crew, raising over $200,000 through a 36-hour charity stream

No Box : Where the UK fits in

The UK esports and gaming scene is unique to the US, China and other countries. Even though in one of my last posts I compared esports to Hip hop, UK esports could learn something from Grime, a unique sound which started local and has its own identity. Grime started from pirate radio (an innovation), from people (many of those black Britons) who wanted to improve their situation in life (and did). As we face problems with knife crime or black murders or class inequality, we need to approach these solutions with an open and innovative mind. So – to all the Chickens… Morleys, Dixie, Kennessey, Sams and the rest.. lets talk ideas… over 2-piece meal.

January 8, 2020 1