Duran Parsi ON: founding CSL, new challenges at FACEIT, and building a career in esports

#14 - Matt Akhavan-Kim

Matt has been forging their own path in esports for over 7 years now, mostly from a General Manager side of things. From managing players to assisting with visas to supporting leadership and diving into analytics, he has gained experience at Envy Gaming, UCI Esports, Misfits Gaming Group, Flyquest, and Cloud9. He is passionate about organizational strategy and intends to further put his stamp on the industry in the coming years as he wraps up his MBA in 2023. Please note that this previously unreleased episode was originally recorded on February 25, 2021.

Nishant Patel on founding AFK Gaming, esports in India, and what skills are in highest demand.

Nishant Patel is one of the co-founders of AFK Gaming [https://afkgaming.com/] and also serves as its Head of Content. AFK Gaming is one of the top esports news/media sites around, specializing in topics around mobile esports & what's happening within the industry in India. We discussed his vision for Asian esports, what it takes to survive as a media company in such a fast-moving industry, and what you as a job-seeker can do to make yourself the best possible candidate for a job in esports. You can find him on Twitter @therealClouDx [https://twitter.com/therealClouDx] or on LinkedIn. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishant-patel1/]Make sure you also check out AFK Gaming, along with their latest news and projects.

Breanne Harrison-Pollock on designing esports apparel and the importance of persistence

Recorded at the end of 2020, Breanne discusses what went into building what Forbes described as "the Nike of esports," an innovative apparel company called Ateyo. We explore how she stumbled upon PC Cafes in New York, helping to spark the initial idea for their first product. She also shares what went into founding and setting up the company, negotiating with factories, work-life balance, networking, and more! You can find her on Twitter @breannehp [https://twitter.com/breannehp] and you can find out more about Ateyo here: https://ateyo.com [https://ateyo.com/] I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did; if you did, please leave the podcast a review (it really helps!)

Duran Parsi ON: founding CSL, new challenges at FACEIT, and building a career in esports

Duran is a longtime esports veteran, playing for the National team in StarCraft: BroodWar while in high school, eventually founding the Collegiate StarLeague, and more recently taking on new challenges at FACEIT. In this episode, we explore each step throughout his career, his motivations & challenges, and his advice for anyone looking to build a career in esports.

Will Whittingham ON: finding a job in esports

Will is on the front lines of helping people find work in the esports industry. His job as a Content Coordinator for Hitmarker requires him to actively seek out the most recent job openings in gaming, so if you want to work in esports, you might want to give this episode a listen!  We discuss his upbringing, his realization that he didn't want to work in politics, the hiring process, tips for interviewing, some things to NOT do while networking, and some additional insight.  Let us know what you think about this episode over on our Twitter [https://twitter.com/WorkInEsports]. And please leave a review on iTunes or your favorite podcasting platform, it helps a lot!