In treacherous esports waters, content creators can be a lifeline for esports organisations.
Not only can they provide a cash injection to the companies, but also they can use their fanbases to help support esports brands and help bring more attention to the organisation. Such is the case with Wildcard Gaming.
Wildcard Gaming — an esports organisation from the United States — is not as notable as some of its other North American competitors, but it has slowly grown and scaled since its inception in 2017. Shortly after the company underwent a significant rebranding in June, Wildcard also welcomed Kaitlyn ‘Amouranth’ Siragusa as its co-owner to help it grow further.
Ben Merritt, COO and Co-founder of Wildcard Gaming, and Kaitlyn ‘Amouranth’ Siragusa spoke to Esports Insider about their ambitions and how the collaboration will help scale Wildcard into a more prominent player on the esports field.
Firstly, this unexpected team-up occurred after Merritt explained that Wildcard was on the lookout for a notable influencer to help organically grow the brand. Ultimately, the search led Wildcard to Amouranth, who fit the values Wildcard was looking for and is located in Houston, Texas, where the Wildcard headquarters are also located.
“There was that big driving factor around just building out in the city that I think really aligned for both parties,” Merritt added. “One of our main starting points was to look at the Houston area. Kaitlyn came to mind first, and then we had great conversations with her and her team, which made the process easy.”
Amouranth is not the first creator in recent memory that has looked at, and invested in, the esports scene, with Disguised (Disguised Toast) and Moist Esports (Ludwig and MoistCr1TiKaL) being two well-acknowledged examples in North America alone. However, while these two organisations were created by content creators from the ground up, Amouranth has decided to take a different approach and invest in an existing company.
Amouranth expanded that she had planned on investing in esports for a while, like several of her content creator colleagues. Amouranth even alluded to her content creator colleagues in a launch video that features the creator exploring new business opportunities. Amouranth also emphasised how the geographical factor was important for her to “spread her wings and get into a new industry.”
The esports business is still just a business
Amouranth is actually no stranger to investing in projects outside gaming and content creation, owning several interesting business ventures such as gas stations and an orchard.
The creator said that her approach to investments is very cautious and that she only follows through with a very small number of deals she takes a look at. “What you say no to is just a detriment in regards to success,” said Amouranth.
She also added that, especially in the broader business sense, it is always better to be patient, careful and keep it as simple as possible, avoiding very complicated ventures.
“You should look at businesses that have proven themselves to withstand the initial startup phase,” she stated. “We saw a lot of esports companies fizzle out spending too much sponsor money etc., so it is important to look out for that. Just because something is doing good for a short time and is blowing up does not mean it has sustainability.”
Although other creators invested in the industry earlier than Amouranth, she noted that she is usually careful when picking ventures to move forward in, and “would never have considered an esports acquisition or investment” several years ago.
Amouranth added: “This is what partly drew me to Wildcard. They are like I am as well, financially conservative and are interested in making sustainable business moves. I guess, moving in a way and making decisions that are not ‘Hail Marys’… and being open to engaging new communities and possible opportunities.”
Additionally, Amouranth said that she liked the fact that Wildcard competes in a shorter list of games, does not waste a lot of money by dipping straight into unsustainable games, and is overall a very cautious company when it comes to growth and expansion.
Being in the spotlight
Since Amouranth joined Wildcard as Co-Owner in late June, Merritt noticed that there has been a slight shift in inquiries and activations in general, which are now more inbound than outbound. The COO of Wildcard added that the move did put a spotlight on the company, and that the organisation is now working on getting local support in Houston from as many businesses and fans as possible.
Merritt said: “{The} focus with Amouranth here is definitely speeding up the process on how we generate revenue streams, and getting businesses involved in the city of Houston, really building up that esports story in the city.
“Right now, Houston is one of the biggest cities in North America, but also one of the cheapest in terms of the cost of living, and I think that is a big bonus to what we are trying to do here.”
The spotlight has helped the brand shift from a more niche organisation to a company that now has the potential for worldwide reach. Merritt added that Wildcard has always felt like a strong contender in the NA scene, but it was always more in line with the likes of Major League Baseball’s (MLB’s) Tampa Bay Rays than the New York Yankees. Wildcard was in the scene, but wider audiences did not know a lot about them.
Merritt added: “There is the esports winter and there is a whole lot of that ‘bubble popping’ going on in various esports ecosystems. If you are able to bring in a large creator to do watch parties with or just prop those ecosystems, there are actually some good pathways to profitability now.”
Coincidentally, talks with Amouranth occurred when Wildcard was trying to go back to its roots with a new visual identity and logo. The original Wildcard logo included a jester-inspired skull that was soon changed to a more corporate logo in 2018 to, interestingly, cater to a partnership that fell through in the end. Wildcard had an agreement with a large fashion brand, which made using the old skull logo impossible, so the company rebranded to make its logo more corporate. However, the deal then went bust.
Still, Wildcard kept using the logo for five years before rebranding back to the jester-inspired design that is in use now. The new logo also has the same palette of colours as the Houston Oilers, another nod to local sports and the city of Houston.
Day-to-day life for Amouranth has not changed much. While streaming and creating content for a large number of different platforms is a daunting task, Amouranth explained that she is trying to be as active as possible as part of Wildcard’s leadership team. This is especially true when it comes to things that she is more experienced in, like promoting the brand to a wider audience and helping create awareness for Wildcard.
Slow but steady
For now, the biggest challenge for Wildcard is trying to expand into new markets, since entering new games in the United States is a very expensive project.
So, instead of diving in head first, the company and its new co-owner are trying to look at expansion opportunities and figure out what new games would be the best new direction for expansion. Marritt added that his biggest challenge right now is balancing the need to expand into more games and making these decisions financially viable.
With the support of a notable creator, Wildcard can grow to be an impressive player in the NA esports industry. However, due to the caution and slow approach of its leadership, there might not be many sudden flashes for the company, but rather a slow, efficient burn that will hopefully last for years to come.
