How the layoffs at 100 Thieves underscore esports’ creator-executive leadership problems

“Without these businesses being creator-led to start with, they would not occur shut to the valuations that that they ultimately got,” stated esports marketplace insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau. “The downside, having said that, is that most of them are not business people.”

These troubles had been on entire display on Jan. 10, when the primary esports organization 100 Robbers laid off around 30 of its workers — or around 15 proportion of its workforce, typically across its information and partnership departments. The wave arrived 6 months just after dozens of staffers had been laid off in July. Associates from 100 Intruders did not return various requests for remark.

Just one of the excellent types

Esports corporations have extensive been notorious for elevating expert players to extra business-targeted senior government roles — and for suffering scandals as a final result.

Richard “Banks” Bengston, the previous chief running officer of FaZe Clan, dragged the organization into controversies involving cryptocurrency schemes and unlawful gambling in advance of stepping down in Might 2022. At TSM, CEO Andy “Reginald” Dinh was fined by Riot Online games very last calendar year about allegations that he verbally abused some of his staff. Some workers in the esports sector are starting to lump 100 Intruders founder and previous pro “Call of Duty” player Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag into that group, way too.

Haag did not instantly return requests for remark.

100 Intruders was Haag’s brainchild, but his leadership type was flawed, according to previous staffers, who informed Digiday that Haag treated some coworkers rudely, prioritized his passion projects above 100 Thieves’ revenue-creating partnership organization and unsuccessful to skillfully converse the company’s business programs.

Haag launched 100 Intruders in 2017 and now serves as both the CEO and public confront of the business, which is thought of one particular of the most well known esports models in the world. Backed by $120 million in venture funding, 100 Burglars counts Drake, Scooter Braun and Dan Gilbert amid its ownership group, as perfectly as Haag and his fellow creator–owners, the preferred streamers Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter and Jack “CouRageJD” Dunlop. The org has won numerous titles in game titles these as “Call of Duty” and “League of Legends” and was valued at $460 million in the course of its most up-to-date funding round in December 2021.

100 Thieves created a reputation as one of the excellent kinds — an esports group genuinely perfectly-positioned to function as a small business in the extensive term. The enterprise has a robust M&A method, and its streetwear-inspired goods has typically bought out in a matter of times. In 2019, The Verge referred to 100 Burglars as “the Supreme of esports” final yr, Forbes ranked it as the next-most-worthwhile esports org in the globe.

But it is commencing to glimpse like a entirely unique corporation. The most current layoffs left at the very least one particular section — content output — “almost fully gone,” in accordance to a previous 100 Robbers staffer, 1 of six who spoke to Digiday and requested anonymity around fears that talking out could jeopardize future esports task prospects. Of the 188 employees at 100 Thieves that are publicly mentioned, numerous are contracted, element-time or no longer work there.

Furthermore, 100 Thieves’ constructive public graphic belied a culture of confusion and govt mismanagement, in accordance to 4 former employees of the firm.

Haag utilised his time and sources to prioritize expanding his individual passion projects, together with an power consume known as Juvee and a match growth studio, more than the partnership company important to hold 100 Robbers chugging together, according to three former staff members.

And this passion clouded his means to listen to, and act on, critical feedback, even from other C-degree executives, former personnel told Digiday.

“In typical, there’s a bit of a culture of concern,” a 2nd former staffer told Digiday. “Nobody desires to phase out of line.”

Four of the previous 100 Thieves staffers who spoke to Digiday for this report expressed misgivings about the extended-time period viability of Juvee, but stated that 100 Burglars administration overlooked these considerations. When the long-time period viability of Juvee is still to be identified, the gaming electricity consume space is now to some degree saturated with rivals this kind of as G Gas and Rogue Energy and any buyer packaged merchandise organization arrives with substantial overhead prices for shipping and delivery and producing.

Haag’s deficiency of experienced organization experience also occasionally came out in the way he communicated company system to 100 Burglars workers. 100 Robbers bundles its creators’ social followings to create a crew-huge whole to share with buyers and associates, which is a conventional exercise among the significant esports orgs. But all through 1 all-fingers meeting, Haag referred to this follow as “selling them some snake oil,” in accordance to two previous staffers.

Passion over earnings

Haag’s mercurial method to 100 Robbers directly impacted its partnership small business, according to two previous staff of the enterprise. Numerous of the org’s brand associates predicted Haag to attribute intensely along with 100 Thieves’ other creators in the org’s branded content material and activations — but as 100 Thieves grew and its sponsorship obligations expanded, Haag’s participation in branded written content declined noticeably.

In the latest months, Haag and other prominent 100 Robbers associates such as Dunlop have almost never participated in branded written content, in accordance to a fourth former staffer. “I assume that’s why a whole lot of the viewership has been dropped — since they have all this distinctive talent that is there,” said a 3rd former staffer. “They’re like, ‘who are these men and women? This isn’t what we signed up for.’”

Around the previous six months, viewership of 100 Thieves’ YouTube channel declined by 12.39 per cent and engagement with partnered videos on 100 Thieves’ YouTube channel declined by 54.55 {18875d16fb0f706a77d6d07e16021550e0abfa6771e72d372d5d32476b7d07ec}, in accordance to the knowledge platform GEEIQ.

Six of 100 Thieves’ brand associates did not renew their contracts with the org in 2022, according to GEEIQ: Rocket Home finance loan, Omen by HP, Greenback Shave Club, Rockstar Strength, StockX and CashApp. Rockstar Electrical power operator PepsiCo declined to remark on its motives for ending the partnership with 100 Burglars, and the other makes did not instantly return requests for remark.

At the moment, manufacturer partnerships account for the overwhelming majority of most esports organizations’ profits. Even though 100 Burglars president and COO John Robinson told Digiday in January 2022 that the company’s profits streams have been break up evenly in between partnerships and clothing income, two former staff members knowledgeable Digiday that partnerships formed the bulk of the company’s revenues, as they do for other big esports orgs.

“They’ve operate into virtually the identical troubles as each individual other firm, other than that they have created 100 instances the splash as all people else,” Breslau stated. “So it seems they are far more profitable than every person else, and I really don’t consider that, economically, that is backed up by the merch drops.”

Pivoting away from branded content

Nevertheless 100 Robbers seems to be deprioritizing the partnership and branded material aspect of its business enterprise in 2023. The business is relocating absent from its present-day, far more strong partnership solution, which incorporates custom material and brand integrations, toward more of a traditional sports sponsorship product focused on naming legal rights and jersey symbol slaps, in accordance to two previous staffers.

“They’re taking the gasoline pedal off the whole YouTube written content matter mainly because the numbers are just accomplishing very bad recently, so I think they are focusing way a lot more on esports,” reported a fourth previous 100 Thieves staffer. “It’s emotion much more like a classic athletics company.”

The firm acknowledged its economical situation as just lately as December 2021, when Robinson explained to Dexerto that reaching profitability was not 100 Thieves’ major precedence. 100 Thieves’ quick rise, followed by its successive rounds of layoffs, sort a cautionary tale about the dark side of the esports industry’s predilection with creator–executives and what occurs when the reins are not relinquished.

“90 {18875d16fb0f706a77d6d07e16021550e0abfa6771e72d372d5d32476b7d07ec} of [esports] earnings is in brand sponsorships and activations — and we have so a great deal hassle acquiring other approaches of earnings,” Breslau explained. “Considering these are our most important difficulties, they are only compounded additional by obtaining half of the most significant companies, by valuation, begun by creators that do not have schooling or expertise in these fields.”