Newcastle upon Tyne-based Hitmarker, a company operating in the fast-growing industry of esports, went live with an equity crowdfunding campaign today to help realize their expansion into the wider video game market.
Esports is a $1 billion segment of the $152 billion video game industry, and is the competitive, organized competitions that feature gamers competing for prize pools reaching into the millions to a worldwide audience.
Just recently, a 16-year old Fortnite player named Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf triumphed at the Fortnite World Cup, winning the Solo finals to net himself a cool $3 million from a total prize pool of $30 million. This event was one of the largest esports events to date, and was watched by millions of people online.
Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Drake and Michael Jordan are just of the few of the high profile names to have invested into the burgeoning industry lately.
Hitmarker fits into this ecosystem as the destination to find jobs and hire staff in the industry. Candidates can use Hitmarker to find jobs in esports, and companies can hire staff with an authentic understanding of the industry’s nuances, in a similar way that Indeed functions for more traditional industries.
The jobs website is looking to raise a minimum of £80,000 in exchange for 4% equity and a maximum of £200,000 for 10% through Crowdcube. Through a private-access phase exclusive to their close network they have already raised in excess of £30,000.
Managing Director Rich Huggan commented on the company’s aims following their funding round, saying, “The gaming jobs market is in a similar position to that of esports before Hitmarker existed. There is a great need for a single location where candidates and companies can come to apply for jobs and hire knowledgeable staff.”
“Now is the perfect time for us to crowdfund to realize this vision,” he continued. “We have been profitable for the past 3 months, have already dominated esports, a subsection of gaming, and can extrapolate this method to become the gateway into the gaming industry for candidates and companies, the largest entertainment vertical in the world. The opportunity is enormous.”
The raise will primarily be used to bolster headcount and marketing, and the company plans to double their full time staff from five to 10. This will create several new tech jobs in Newcastle upon Tyne, as Hitmarker is based in a city centre office in Charlotte Square, a five-minute walk from Central Station.
This is one point that Rich is looking forward to in particular. “We can’t wait to complete this raise and get to work. There’s so much we have planned to become the same trusted source in the gaming hiring market as we are in esports. Doing so from my home city of Newcastle upon Tyne and becoming known as a great source of tech jobs in the North East of England is a fantastic bonus, too.” he said.
More details about their investment pitch including business plan, launch video explaining the idea and financials can be found on their Crowdcube page, where questions from potential investors can also be posed to the company.
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