Walimu.gg is an Esports coaching marketplace, community and database that helps gamers level up quickly by connecting them with live and remote coaching, bootcamps, and gamer guides.
I founded Walimu in 2018 but had been conducting research and design for the concept since 2017.
I founded Walimu in 2018 but had been conducting research and design for the concept since 2017.
Inspiration
During my HCI graduate degree I became increasingly interested with the concept of telepresence. With Walimu, I specifically remember the moment of inspiration. I was cooking in my apartment, and had to repeatedly bring my mother in on video chat to make sure I was getting the recipe correct. I wondered why this type of guidance wasn't available in a way for everyone, and for applications beyond cooking.
Early Research
I conducted a large number of preliminary interviews and surveys to gather information about how people learned new skills and what the strengths, weaknesses and needs were associated with current used tools.
Some of the key insights synthesizes were that existing mainstream tools lacked the personalization and instant communication thats associated with having a live mentor.
Some of the key insights synthesizes were that existing mainstream tools lacked the personalization and instant communication thats associated with having a live mentor.
"You can't ask a youtube video questions"
Additionally, contextual research was conducted to determine the feasibility and user experience associated with live help over video. We found out that the idea of remote live help was helpful, but the medium over which it occurs more conveniently for users may vary
Once feedback was gathered we started working low fidelity designs in order to do user tests on the concept
Starting A Business
The hard part: GETTING BUY-IN
I started applying to local accelerators to help with entrepreneurship guidance and funding to build a website. However, we kept on getting rejected on the basis on not having a compelling area of focus. Initially we focused on cooking, but there were questions about whether this was that was the market of launch to start with. If the need was great enough.
Back to Research
We had to find hotspot areas to add to out marketplace. Our research pointed areas like
Health
Beauty
Auto
Technology
Gaming
as areas where live help was heavily valued.
Health
Beauty
Auto
Technology
Gaming
as areas where live help was heavily valued.
Building a Website: Sharetribe
I also decided to look to build a real website as a means of getting user feedback on which areas had the most potential to scale. In order to do this efficiently within my budget, I used a marketplace builder Share tribe. This would allow me to ramp up quickly, acquire customers, and have a baseline product to show users, accelerators, and investors.
INITIAL MARKETING: Reddit, Meetups, and Seniors
With a basic product in hand, I commenced with our first marketing efforts. We attempted to recruit experts. We used subreddits, social media groups. and local meet ups in order to find out what people would be willing to teach others and if they would sign up on Walimu as experts to do remote teaching.
We also heavily marketed to retirees, as individuals who might have a number of skills of interest to teach on Walimu and also may want to learn more technology related skills.
We thought Walimu could serve as a conduit to connect generations through teaching and learning remotely
Walimu LLC was formally incorporated August 2018
First Accelerator Acceptance.
In Fall of 2018, I was finally able to get a local accelerator to buy into our vision and accept us into their 6 month accelerator.
Ascend2020 targeted local minority and women founders and would put us through a schedule designed to help us take our products and business to the next level through education and feedback from experts.
I also finally found my permanent business partner and CTO Mahesh Kumar. We were classmates at Georgia Tech.
Ascend2020 targeted local minority and women founders and would put us through a schedule designed to help us take our products and business to the next level through education and feedback from experts.
I also finally found my permanent business partner and CTO Mahesh Kumar. We were classmates at Georgia Tech.
PIVOT:
GAMING AND ESPORTS
GAMING AND ESPORTS
The ascend2020 program was constant asking us to do customer discovery and stay agile in our approach to product market fit. So we took a step back with marketing our marketplace as is and really focused on finding that one area where the coaching availability and need were compelling.
Finding the Focus
One of the places we commonly did user research were music and gaming hangouts. At the time these, particularly Controllerise, were gaining popularity in Atlanta and their open and chill atmosphere made is a good spot to do user research. We repeatedly would ask people what they were willing to coach people in.
It was mostly a mixed bag until we realized to asking about what was right in front of us, gaming!
It was mostly a mixed bag until we realized to asking about what was right in front of us, gaming!
See the problem is that most time we would ask people "What they would coach", there was often a general hesistation, unless the individual was outgoing. People often don't view themselves as experts. However, with gaming, the barrier of entry seemed low.
Gamers seemed much more comfortable to coach gaming that other enthusiasts to coach their expertise
"Oh yeah, I could coach someone in Mortal Kombat. I'm not the best player, but I could definitely help a beginner ramp up"
"Oh yeah, I could coach someone in Mortal Kombat. I'm not the best player, but I could definitely help a beginner ramp up"
The New Walimu
After doing more research with users and starting to the understand the potential of the gaming community and esports market, we officially decided to focus heavily on Video Game Coaching starting February 2019
I had grown up playing video games, but had fallen out of touch with that world. It had changed and growth in so many different ways in the last 5 years, let alone since I gamed heavily. Immersion and networking were absolutely necessary to understand this world, market, and ecosystem.
I started networking with tournament House owners, event organizers, Game Developers, individual gamers, conference organizers, podcasters, and of coarse, individual gamers to get buy into this community. Around this time I also prepped and completed our first pitch as company at the completion of the Ascend2020 Accelerator.
Create-X Accelerator and Staying Agile
With our compelling focus area, we were finally accepted to the Georgia Tech Create-X accelerator. The program ran from May through August of 2019. This was a world wind of trying anything and everything to traction and staying agile. This was our first time gaining external funding.
Tapping the Esports Ecosystem
We had already hit the ground meeting and networking in the esports ecosystem. However, we turned our efforts up for this accelerator. Contacts were constantly being made allowing us into special events where we would meet further contacts. I joked that if all else failed, this experience really hulked out my network.
. We made connections the individuals shepherding Esports in Atlanta at the Metro Atlanta Chamber...
which led to connections with the organizers of Momocon
and ultimately, to connections with the heads of Hi-Rez and Skilshot studios.
We were networking on every front and meeting a lot of these big players helped us understand the larger long term plans for the world of Esports and how those plans would figure into what Walimu was doing. Particularly the training of amateur, collegiate and professional gamers.
Live Walimu Workshops
During our accelerator sessions we were challenged to find new and creative ways to gain traction. We had also networking with smaller organizations, influencers, and business owners to collaborate and recruit both coaches and customers. Putting these together we realized three things:
1: There is a need for coaching in order to get better quickly because the career opportunities were huge.
2: Organizations and Business were always looking for different ideas to bring foot traffic into their businesses.
3: Parents are looking for activities for their children that are both fun and productive.
We decided a great way to gain initial traction would be to run live workshops that would leverage the space and communities built by these organizations and provide the service of Esports Coaching.
We ran several sessions with VS Realm Esports Arena and the Nerdy Black Kids Collective
As well as at 4O4 Esports
Major Marketing Efforts
Concurrently, we were engaging in major guerilla marketing and web-based advertising.
We ran reddit ads, Instagram ads, and advertised within Discord communities.
Our marketing efforts on the ground involved collaborating to run booths at local gamer heavy events to sign up potential coaches and learners on the Walimu.gg marketplace as well as on podcasts and attaching ourselves to local tournements.
Big Pitch and Pivot
Getting closer to our big pitch, the world Esports was evolving faster than ever, and we were taking note.
Big Esports News
In the midst of our major marketing efforts to parents about the long term prospects of their kids in Esports, news broke through the mainstream. Kyle Guisdorf won 3 million at the Fortnite World Cup. This made all the international headlines and suddenly what Walimu.gg was marketing to parents for months became valuable to many more consumers.
Image Courtesy of BBC
Create X Pitch
We knew two things after this news broke. One, we would have to move quickly to take advantage of the opportunity. Two, this news would lend a lot of weight to our value proposition. Parents were understanding the value of Esports Coaching and the life opportunities that it could open up for their kids.
We made sure to hammer these points home in our Create-X Accelerator Demo Day Pitch:
Big Decisions
We gained quite a bit of interest in our product after the Create-X pitch as well as cumulatively over the previous months with our tireless marketing efforts. We now had to make decisions about how to proceed.
Firstly, we understood the opportunity and responsibility that would come with more external investment. An expectation of significant return of investment, a large percentage of ownership in exchange for risk, and essentially a large time commitment going forward.
Mahesh and I had to make some big choices reviewing the state of our product, our personal lives and full time positions, and the emerging Esports space.
We decided that it would be ill-advised to pursue or take outside investment while we felt our product needed to evolve, especially as the marketplace became more competitive.
Firstly, we understood the opportunity and responsibility that would come with more external investment. An expectation of significant return of investment, a large percentage of ownership in exchange for risk, and essentially a large time commitment going forward.
Mahesh and I had to make some big choices reviewing the state of our product, our personal lives and full time positions, and the emerging Esports space.
We decided that it would be ill-advised to pursue or take outside investment while we felt our product needed to evolve, especially as the marketplace became more competitive.
Small Pivot and Redesign
With a market getting more competitive we wanted to use our knowledge and experience in the space to really give us an advantage with our next pivot/redesign.
One thing became abundantly clear. The world of Esports, particularly coaching, was still the wild wild west.
There exists a great business opportunity to the company that effectively best curates and organizes the information regarding Esports Training that exists in the form of coaching, bootcamps, and guides, across the internet.
This became the central tenet of our redesign, which is currently being implemented and can be seen below.
There exists a great business opportunity to the company that effectively best curates and organizes the information regarding Esports Training that exists in the form of coaching, bootcamps, and guides, across the internet.
This became the central tenet of our redesign, which is currently being implemented and can be seen below.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR OUR RELAUNCH THIS APRIL
