eSports Team Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting an eSports team business? If YES, here is a detailed sample eSports team business plan template & FREE feasibility report.

In recent time and of course many thanks to the emergence of the internet, loads of businesses that are highly profitable and thriving are springing up and you can be part of it irrespective of the part of the world that you are domiciled. One of such businesses is an eSport team.

In case you don’t know, most eSport teams start making profits within few months of establishment as long as they have professional gamers in their team.

For example, American professional Dota 2 player Sahil Arora, who goes by the alias ‘UNiVeRsE’ is the world’s highest eSports earner with total earnings of $2,720,623.84. The 27-year-old gamer is also the highest earner in all of the united states. Can you beat that!

The truth is that starting an eSport team is not an easy task, but nevertheless, you still need to be creative if you intend making money from this line of business. One of the ways you can make money from your eSport team is to ensure that you attract professional gamers to be part of your team and you go all out to compete for high – paying eSport competitions.

Please note that in order to get it right when starting an eSport team business, you would need a good and workable business plan and here is a sample eSport team business plan that can give you the needed guide to write yours.

A Sample eSports Team Business Plan Template

1. Industry Overview

Esports which can also be referred to as electronic sports, e-sports, or eSports is a type of competition sports using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. This line of business is grouped under the video games industry.

The most common video game genres associated with esports are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), first-person shooter (FPS), fighting, digital collectible card games, battle royale games, and real-time strategy (RTS). Popular esports games include League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., StarCraft, among many others.

Tournaments such as the League of Legends World Championship, Dota 2’s The International, the fighting games-specific Evolution Championship Series (EVO), and the Intel Extreme Masters provide live broadcasts of the competition and prize money to competitors.

According to a report published by IBISWorld, the Video Games industry has experienced strong returns to spending on industry products during the latter half of the five-year period to 2018.

While the emergence of low-cost games for mobile devices has slowed demand for other games and may continue to temper growth opportunities in the foreseeable future, industry revenue has picked up amid stronger sales in games, downloadable content (DLC), consoles and their corresponding products.

Over the five years to 2018, industry revenue increased at an annualized rate of 7.2 percent. In 2018, revenue is expected to total $43.7 billion. This growth was assisted by growing consumer incomes and the releases of the revised Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as well as the Nintendo Switch, throughout the five-year period.

Recent statistics shows that eSports Viewership is Growing. Between 2016 and 2017, there was a 19.3 percent increase year over year. In 2017, there were 192 million casual viewers and 143 million enthusiasts, making the total audience 335 million and that there will be 250 million eSports enthusiasts, making the total audience 557 million.

The video games Industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in all parts of the world especially in developed countries such as United States of America, Italy, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Australia and Italy et al.

Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 144,152 licensed and registered eSport teams responsible for employing about 230,914 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $44 billion annually with an annual growth rate projected at 7.2 percent between 2013 and 2018.

It is important to state that Cloud9 is the most valuable professional esports company, worth $310 million, in part because of its success across a wide variety of games.

They have a lion share of the market in this industry. The International tournament awards US$10 million to the winners, however teams that do not have the same amount of success often do not have financial stability and frequently break up after failing to win.

In 2015 it was estimated by SuperData Research that the global esports industry generated revenue of around US$748.8 million that year. Asia is the leading esports market with over $321 million in revenue, North America is around $224 million, and Europe has $172 million and the rest of the world for about $29 million. Global esports revenue is estimated to reach $1.9 billion by 2018.

Lastly, the need for you to equip your gaming team can’t possibly be overemphasized. This is because you need to make your business point as attractive as ever. You might also want to ask people who are already in the business for mentorship if you are a complete rookie.

2. Executive Summary

Green Planet® eSport Team, Inc. is a standard, licensed and highly – competitive professional eSport team with headquarters and training facility in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina. We have been able to secure a standard facility in a central and easy to locate area in Mount Pleasant.

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is going to become the number one destination for Pro gamers who are looking for a professional eSport team to be part of in the whole of Mount Pleasant – South Carolina. We are well equipped and positioned to operate a licensed eSport team. Our team is poised to compete at the highest level in the industry via enrolling for eSport competitions from all across the globe.

We conducted a thorough market research and feasibility studies and we came to the conclusion that Mount Pleasant – South Carolina is the right place to start our eSport team. Our client’s best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics.

Green Planet® eSport Team, Inc. will be open for training and screening 24 hours in a day during weekends (Fridays to Sundays) and from 6:00 am to 12 midnight from Mondays to Thursdays in order for us to accommodate people with different time preference. We have made provisions for effective light system and also to recruit enough staff and to run shift amongst our workforce.

Green Planet® eSport Team, Inc. will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a business, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards and our Pro gamers will be obligated to behave ethically, abiding by both the explicit rules set out by tournaments, associations, and teams, as well as following general expectations of good sportsmanship.

Green Planet® eSport Team, Inc. is owned and managed by Eddie Jones who is a retired Pro gamer with loads of accolades and titles from within and outside the United States of America. Eddie Jones has the capacity and influence to attract some of the finest Pro gamers in and around Mount Pleasant – South Carolina because they see him as a mentor and coach.

3. Our Products and Services

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is in the Video games industry to set up a highly competitive and profitable eSport team in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina that will win local, national and international eSport competitions and we have been able to put up a facility that can help us achieve the goal. These are the services and amenities that will be made available to our clients;

Compete at eSport competitions
Recruit and train Gamers to become professionals
Operate eSports viewers channel
Work with agencies for sponsorship deals
Operate eSports Summer Camp

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our Vision of starting Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is to build a world – class eSport team that can favorably compete with leading eSport teams all across the globe.
Our mission for establishing Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is to contribute our quota in promoting video game activities in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina and also to make profits from the Industry; we want to become the leading eSport team – brand in the whole of Mount Pleasant – South Carolina.

Our Business Structure

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is in business to become the leading eSport team in the whole of Mount Pleasant – South Carolina and we are fully aware that it will take the right facility, management and organizational structure to achieve our goal.

We will ensure that we recruit only the best hands that can help us achieve all that we are set to achieve. The kind of the eSport team we intend building and the business goals we want to achieve is what informed the amount we are ready to pay for the best hands available in and around Mount Pleasant – South Carolina as long as they are willing and ready to work with us.

In view of that, we have made provisions for the following positions to be occupied by highly qualified and experienced staff;

Chief Coach – CEO
Manager/Technical Adviser
Accountant / Cashier
Video Games Instructor/Assistant (5)
Customer Care Executive/Front Desk Officer
Cleaners

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Coach – CEO:

Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining pro gamers, managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
Creates, communicates, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
Evaluates the success of the organization

Manager/Technical Adviser

Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
Design job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
Ensures operation of video games and other equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
Carrying out induction for new team members
Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees and gamers
Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
Oversees the smooth running of the daily activities in the eSport team

Video Game Instructors/Assistant (5)

Responsible for operating licensed games for training and competitions
Ensures that the video game machines are well arranged for another playing session after every session
Responsible for recommending the replacement of worn out or damaged video games, pads, consoles and other video game accessories

Accountant/Cashier:

Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for the organization
Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
Responsible for administering payrolls
Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
Handles all financial transactions for Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc.
Serves as internal auditor for Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc.

Client Service Executive

Welcomes members and potential members / clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the organization’s products and services
Manages administrative duties assigned by the management in an effective and timely manner
Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries

Cleaners (3):

Responsible for cleaning in and around the organisation
Washes glassware and utensils after each use.
Maintains a clean working area by sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning of glass doors and windows, etc. if required.
Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
Handles any other duty as assigned by the manager.

6. SWOT Analysis

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is in business to provide an ideal platform for gamers in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina to grow and compete at eSport competitions and at the same time to make profits. We are aware that there are competitions in the Video games industry, which is why we took out time to conduct an effective SWOT Analysis before investing our hard earned money into the business.

We know that if we get things right before starting our eSport team, we will not have to struggle before attracting pro gamers with good pedigree and building our customer base to a level where we can easily breakeven in record time. We hired the services of a HR and Business consultant with bias in business structuring to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our organization and he did a pretty good job for us.

Here is a of the result we got from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc.;

Strength:

One of the obvious strengths that will definitely stand as a plus for Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is the fact that our facility is centrally located in a densely populated area in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina; our location is in fact one of our major strengths coupled with the support from stake holders in the industry. We equally have a team of highly qualified professionals who will work hard to win laurels.

Weakness:

We critically looked into our Business model and we were able to identify two major weakness. One is the fact that we are a new business and the second is the fact that we may not have the financial resources required to match up with existing eSport teams in South Carolina when it comes to employing experts in the industry and generating the needed hypes that can drive traffic towards our eSport team.

Opportunities:

The opportunities in this Green business are massive and it is growing by the day. In 2019, it was estimated that the total audience of esports would grow to 454 million viewers and that revenues would increase to over US$1 billion. The increasing availability of online streaming media platforms, particularly YouTube and Twitch have become central to the growth and promotion of esports competitions.

Threat:

A major threat that may affect our business is unfavorable government policies. For example, despite its large video game market, esports in Japan is relatively underdeveloped, and this has been attributed largely to its broad anti-gambling laws which prohibit paid professional gaming tournaments.

Bad press can also affect our business – The legitimacy of esports as a sports competition remains in question; however, esports has been featured alongside traditional sports in multinational events, and the International Olympic Committee has explored incorporating them into future Olympic events.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

Prior to this era, video games most often relied on high scores to determine the best player, but this changed with Street Fighter II, where players would instead challenge each other directly, “face-to-face,” to determine the best player, paving the way for the competitive multiplayer and deathmatch modes found in modern action games.

The popularity of fighting games such as Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom in the 1990s led to the foundation of the international Evolution Championship Series (EVO) esports tournament in 1996. All through the 2010s, esports grew tremendously, incurring a large increase in both viewership and prize money. eSports viewers spent 17.9 million hours watching their gaming heroes on those channels in the first quarter of 2018.

The most popular game to watch is Dota 2, followed by League of Legends and Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Interestingly in recent time, an agency can help eSports teams negotiate, sign and collect payments from such sponsors, and they also help to manage the relationship between the team and brand.

Demographically, Major League Gaming has reported viewership that is approximately 85 percent male and 15 percent female, with a majority of viewers between the ages of 18 and 34. Despite this, several female personalities within esports are hopeful about the increasing presence of female gamers.

Lastly, the modern esports boom has also seen a rise in video games companies embracing the esports potential of their products.

8. Our Target Market

Aside from teenagers and children, the target market for eSport team cuts across people of different walks of life. The fact that people visit video games centers for various reasons makes marketing the business interesting. Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. will work towards providing services, facilities and environment that will help us reach out to our target market and compete at the highest level.

These are the category of people that we intend marketing our business to;

Adults
High school students
Sports Men and Women
College Students

Our Competitive Advantage

The Video games industry is indeed a prolific and highly competitive industry. Pro gamers will only join your team if they are comfortable with the games you have or if you can provide the enabling environment and facility for them to train, improve and compete at international level.

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is centrally located in a densely populated – residential area in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina; this is obviously going to give us an edge amongst our competitors. We equally have a team of highly qualified professionals who will work with all our team members and make it easier for us.

So also, our training facility, team philosophy and video game machines are amongst the best that anybody living in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina can get; it is easy to use and highly reliable. We will be open 24 hours in a day during weekends (Fridays to Sundays) and from 6:00 am to 12 midnights from Mondays to Thursdays in order for us to be able to accommodate people with different time preference.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Our marketing strategies will be directed towards achieving specific objectives that support the strategic goals of the organization. The truth is that all that we do will be geared towards creating new market channels, increasing sales via winning competitions and attracting sponsorship deals. Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we will adopt are;

Advertise our eSport team on national dailies, local TV and radio stations
Promote our eSport team online via our official website and all available social media platforms
Introduce our eSport team by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to sports clubs, schools, households and key stakeholders in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina
Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in offices, libraries, public facilities and train stations et al.
Making our first impression count positively to those making use of our eSport team for the first time
Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness and also to give direction to our eSport team
Adopt direct mailing coupon marketing approach
Position our signage/flexi banners at strategic places in and around Mount Pleasant – South Carolina
Work with Micro-Influencers.
Look for product integration and partnership opportunities.

Sources of Income

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the Video games industry and we are going to go ensure that we do all it takes to attract sponsorship deals and win competitions on a regular basis. According to the professional eSports organization Riot, each team in the League of Legends Championship Series receives an amount of money to provide salaries and help with operating expenses.

In addition to basic compensation, teams and players can earn additional money by means of winning or placing in competitions. By winning or placing near the top of these tournaments, teams would be compensated from the prize pool. A team owner helps set up sponsorships, creates merchandise, and helps market the players.

Aside from that, we will ensure that within our capacity we make available a wide range of items (video games and video game accessories) et al from different brands / manufacturers both local and foreign manufacturers in our facility as a mean of earning additional income.

10. Sales Forecast

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina and on our online platforms and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from the first six months of operation and grow the business and our clientele base.

We have been able to examine the Video games industry, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. Below are the sales projection for Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc., it is based on the location of our eSport team facility and the wide range of video games that we will be offering;

First Fiscal Year (FY1): $1 million
Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $3.5 million
Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $10 million

N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that we will win most of the topflight competitions that we compete for. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher depending on the prize money for competitions and sponsorship deals.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our branding and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market. We are set to become the number one choice for clients in the whole of Mount Pleasant – South Carolina which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our eSport team

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc.;

Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
Sponsor relevant community based gaming or sport events and competitions
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
Install our Bill Boards in strategic locations all around Mount Pleasant – South Carolina
Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas all around Mount Pleasant – South Carolina to attract pro gamers and aspiring gamers
List Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. on local directories / yellow pages
Advertise our eSport teams in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our corporate logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

An agency can help eSports teams negotiate, sign and collect payments for sponsorship, and they also help to manage the relationship between the team and brand. Essentially, brands and eSports teams can both benefit from sponsorship deals. Showing that we don’t have direct control on the pricing mechanism for such deals.

When it comes to salaries for team members, regular esports salaries vary from team to team and from player to player. The regular monthly salaries of average pro gamers can range from $1,000 to $5,000, whereas the highest paid players can earn up to $15,000 per month apart from the money that they get from prizes.

The salaries of all our pro gamers and workforce will be same as what is obtainable in the United States’ eSport teams open market.

Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America. Here are the payment options that Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. will make available to her clients;

Payment via bank transfer
Payment via online bank transfer
Payment via mobile money
Payment via Point of Sales Machines (POS Machines)
Payment via check

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients make payment for our services without any stress on their part.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

From our market survey and feasibility studies, we have been able to come up with a detailed budget on achieving our aim of establishing a standard and one stop eSport team in Mount Pleasant – South Carolina and here are the key areas where we will spend our startup capital; These are the key areas where we will spend our startup capital on;

The Total Fee for Registering the Business in the United States of America – $750.
Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $1,500.
Marketing promotion expenses (8,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $10,000.
The total cost for hiring Business Consultant – $5,000.
The amount needed for the purchase of insurance policy covers (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $15,800.
The total cost for the purchase of accounting software, CRM software and Payroll Software – $3,000
The total cost for leasing facility for the eSport team training center – $80,000.
The total cost for facility remodeling – $50,000.
Other start-up expenses including stationery – $1000
Phone and utility deposits – $3,500
Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $300,000
The cost for Start-up inventory – $15,000
The cost for acquiring LED TVs, computers, Xbox stations, comfortable chairs, tables, Air Conditions, Shelve for stocking video games and video games accessories amongst others. – $50,000
The cost of Launching a Website – $600
Miscellaneous – $5,000

We would need an estimate of six hundred thousand Dollars ($600,000) to successfully launch a medium but standard and well – equipped eSport team in the United States of America.

Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc.

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is owned and managed by Mr. Eddie Jones. He decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.

Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
Generate part of the startup capital from friends and other extended family members
Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $200,000 (Personal savings $130,000 and soft loan from family members $70,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $400,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a company, then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning pro gamers over to be part of our eSport team is to pay our pro gamers competitive salaries, expose them to top flight competitions, equip our facility with state of the art video games and to make our facility highly secured.

Green Planet® ESport Team, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

Business Name Availability Check: Completed
Business Registration: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit: Completed
Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Acquiring facility and remodeling the facility to fit into a standard eSport team: In Progress
Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
Generating capital from family members: Completed
Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
Writing of Business Plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Purchase of the needed video games and accessories, electronic appliances, office appliances and suppliers: In progress
Creating Official Website for the Company: Completed
Creating Awareness for the business both online and in the neighborhood: In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
Network with eSports competition organizers and agency that work for sponsorship: In Progress