This is a Test the Waters Campaign
ERA Sports is considering a crowdfunding campaign; this page is meant to gather feedback and interest before we formally launch an offering and no funds can be accepted at this point. Your input is helpful in crafting the formal investment program.
Click the Pledge Now button once you have read the information below.
Contents
- Overview
- Reasons to Invest
- Our Story
- The Problem
- The Solution
- Who uses our platform?
- Business Model
- ERA’s Core Team
- ERA’s Advisors
- Partners and Customers
- Plan of Action
- The Market
- Patent Portfolio
Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/erasports
Twitter: https://twitter.com/erasportsinc
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/PzrRwjk
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ERASports
1. Overview
ERA SPORTS is a company started by gamers for gamers on a mission to democratize the esports ecosystem. We have built an App we call ELEVATE. ELEVATE relies heavily on automation. We identified the pain points that create issues in the esports ecosystem -- and we automated them.
Esports is growing at an exponential rate. In five years, the landscape is going to be completely different; automation is going to be king because it will allow for more amateur tournaments, which will in turn will create more professional players. The industry is just going to get bigger and bigger.
ELEVATE is built with a blend of unique and popular features. We plan to combine the best aspects of social media with the innovative tournament software we have built; it will span the entire virtual esports ecosystem.
Get ELEVATED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC9fyMfFU2o
Platform Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjUJhvo4yI4
2. Reasons to Invest
- Booming Industry: In 2021, the video game market size in the United States surpassed 85 Billion USD, up from the all-time industry high in 2020 with 76 Billion USD.
- Experienced Team: ERA SPORTS benefits from an exceptional executive team with deep esports, technology, professional sports management, and marketing experience.
- Industry Relationships: ERA SPORTS is well connected within the local and national esports industry. We are working with major customers and venues to establish our brand.
- Innovative Technology and Patents: ERA SPORTS has two issued patents and one pending patent application on our technology. As an industry leader, we will continue to file new patent applications as our technology continues to evolve. One of our business verticals is licensing our IP to others.
- Undeveloped Amateur Market: The amateur esports market is largely untapped and under-developed compared to the professional esports market even though it is significantly greater in terms of participant numbers and revenue earning potential. Competitive esports are forecast to transcend traditional sports in terms of participation and viewership, and their global dominance is an eventuality, not merely a possibility!
3. Our Story
Our founders started ERA SPORTS with a vision to empower the amateur esports player. We began developing an esports platform that would totally automate tournaments and the player experience. We started with finding a solution for payments since prize pools were often misplaced in the amateur scene. We developed a payment engine and were issued two patents with another patent pending. Recognizing the booming growth and trends within the esports industry, we secured additional funding and launched ELEVATE to provide the scalability and tools needed for amateur gamers as well as esports organizations and clubs.
4. The Problem
Amateur gamers in the esports community are looking for equality with professional esports players just as the amateur esports market is exploding. Amateurs must rely on a disarray of third-party apps and sites which impacts their ability to earn revenue from advertising and events and to secure sponsorships. These apps and sites require a greater time investment from players and event organizers due to the manual processes needed to track and score matches and to complete payments of prize money.
5. The Solution
Our esports platform ELEVATE is built by gamers for gamers and automates the gaps left by current solutions. ELEVATE incorporates cutting edge technology to provide the efficiencies needed to make amateur esports more profitable for players and event organizers alike. ELEVATE provides the tools needed for players to create and monetize organizations, tournaments, and leagues, and to stream content and acquire sponsors.
6. Who uses our platform?
Players
Players maintain a profile that follows them throughout their gaming career. The profile acts as a central hub for the cross section of content and competitive gaming. Players can find teams, tournaments, leagues, and organizations to join through ELEVATE.
Organizations
Organizations can create profiles that act as a central hub for all the activity within the organization. Tournaments and leagues can be hosted and managed via ELEVATE. Instead of charging organizations a monthly fee, we give organizations the ability to charge their members a monthly service fee and we take a percentage of that. Once organizations have enough members, they can utilize this approach to raise money through a fundraising portal that is planned to be built into ELEVATE later. The ability for an organization to give ownership to its members through a capital raise is one roadblock we will have removed in true democratizing fashion.
Sponsors
In true democratizing fashion, we open the sponsor game up to amateurs through what we call micro-sponsorships. Sponsors set parameters that players, teams, orgs, and any other user can apply for on the ELEVATE App.
Coaches
Coaches are provided all the tools needed to manage their team. Everything from stats to player seeding is provided and automated where it makes sense. Coaches can review gameplay, make trades with other teams, and communicate with their team on ELEVATE.
Broadcasters
ELEVATE’s broadcasting suite provides all the tools necessary for a broadcaster to stream and narrate a match. The broadcasts can be redirected to YouTube and Twitch at the discretion of the broadcaster.
Content Creators
Content creators can record and automatically upload their videos to ELEVATE and other selected channels such as Twitch and YouTube.
7. Business Model
By automating the features needed to operate leagues & tournaments, we have provided our customer base with the ability to generate more revenue with less resources. ERA SPORTS takes a small percentage of transactions processed through the platform. When our users make money, we make money. Our business model will include multiple verticals including amateurs, education, betting, and IP licensing.
8. ERA’s Team:
Erik Alexander – President & Co-Founder, ERA SPORTS linkedin.com/in/ealexandert
Erik Berger – General Counsel & Co-Founder, ERA SPORTS linkedin.com/in/erikoberger
Scott Schmeisser - CEO, ERA SPORTS linkedin.com/in/fscotts
Sterling Thornburg - COO, ERA SPORTS linkedin.com/in/sterlingthornburg
Luis Garcia – Head of Marketing, ERA SPORTS linkedin.com/in/luis-garcia-069879167
9. ERA’s Advisors:
Dr. Samudra Vijay - CEO, SAM Analytic Solutions linkedin.com/in/samudra-vijay-ph-d-cissp-821a7b3
Raj Khaware - CEO, Veear Projects Inc. linkedin.com/in/rajkhaware
Tom Harding - Founder, Infinity Direct, 4-H Advisory Council linkedin.com/in/tom-harding-4b001a3
Toby Thongphasavanh - Founder, ShiftUp eSports linkedin.com/in/thto1101
Nathaniel Engelsen - Chapter Head, LANFest MN linkedin.com/in/nathanielengelsen
Jeremy Swenson - Founder, Abstract Forward linkedin.com/in/jeremyswenson00001
Corbin Fonville - Founder, Minnesota Championship Series linkedin.com/in/cfonville
10. Partners and Customers:
ShiftUp eSports - Leagues and Community Events
Black Ice eSports Leagues, Event Space, Community Events
Minnesota Championship Series - Leagues
Seasonal Shootout – Leagues and Broadcasters
Allied Esports - Leagues and Event Space
Minnesota 4-H – STEM/e-Learning, Leagues
11. Plan of Action
- Complete development of the current iteration of our ELEVATE platform.
- Launch ELEVATE MVP for partner League and Organizations including Black Ice Esports, Minnesota Championship Series and Seasonal Shootout .
- Establish e-learning program with Minnesota 4-H where the members are taught skills within esports that are transferable to multiple career paths, combining passion with purpose.
- Explore licensing opportunities for our issued US patents and continue writing new patents against these earliest of their kind in the esports space.
12. The Market:
In 2021, the video game market size in the United States surpassed 85.86 billion U.S. dollars, up from the all-time industry high in 2020 with 76.15 billion U.S. dollars.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/246892/value-of-the-video-game-market-in-the-us/
The global gaming industry is projected to be worth $256 billion by 2025.
https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2020-12-01/global-gaming-market-expected-to-exceed-256-billion-by-2025
In 2020, the global video games advertising market was estimated to be worth just over four billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach 4.8 billion by 2024.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/558502/value-video-games-advertising-market-global/
Venture-backed companies in the gaming space have raised nearly $5.9 billion in funding so far this year, already surpassing the total raised by gaming companies in 2020 and 2019, and approaching 2018’s levels.
https://news.crunchbase.com/news/its-game-on-for-gaming-startups/
There have been 26.6 million monthly esports viewers in the US this year, up 11.4% from 2020. Esports Investments have grown from $490 million to $4.5 billion, indicating a staggering YoY growth rate of 837%.
https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/esports-ecosystem-market-report/
13. Patent Portfolio
Issued
US Patent Issued on December 2019
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INTERACTIVE GAMING
US Patent No. 10,522,006
Issued
US Patent Issued November 2020
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INTERACTIVE GAMING
US Patent No.10,839,650
Pending
US Patent Application filed November 2020
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INTERACTIVE GAMING
US Application No. 16/950,326
Disclosure: this page represents Testing The Waters materials.
- No funds or other consideration is being solicited, and if money is sent, it will not be accepted by the company; and
- No sales will be performed or commitments to purchase accepted until the offering statement is qualified; and
- A proposed purchaser’s indication of interest is non-binding.
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