About the business
Launched in 2017, Esports Scotland is an events and gaming tournament organiser based in Kinross. Esports is the world of competitive video gaming – a form of online entertainment which has seen rapid growth in recent years, with many participants now competing professionally for significant tournament prize funds.
James Hood launched the businesses as a Facebook page to bring the Scottish Esports community together and encourage people to showcase their skills. The business quickly snowballed into the first season of the Scottish Esports League, a competitive event for gamers age 16+ across Scotland.
Esports Scotland also works with various B2B customers, including Celtic Football Club and Lenovo to deliver bespoke esports events on their behalf.
In 2019, the second season of Esports Scotland’s Scottish Esports League was sponsored by Lenovo and Curry’s PC World and the finals were broadcast live on the BBC Sport website.
The support provided by Business Gateway has been really helpful because it allowed me to focus on the priority areas of the business. The strategic advice and market research reports opened my eyes to potential development opportunities to further grow my business.
How Business Gateway has helped
After launching Esports Scotland, James approached Business Gateway to help identify areas where he lacked specific knowledge and subsequently fill those skill gaps. In addition to one-to-one sessions with a business adviser, Business Gateway supported Esports Scotland with a strategic review, financial advice, market research and an introduction to Scottish Enterprise.
James Hood, director of Esports Scotland, commented: “The support provided by Business Gateway has been really helpful because it allowed me to focus on the priority areas of the business. The strategic advice and market research reports opened my eyes to potential development opportunities to further grow my business.
“I would advise any business owner to approach Business Gateway and find out how they can help.”
Support Provided
1:1 Business Adviser
Strategic Review
Scottish Enterprise
Financial Restructuring Advice or Support
Market Research Reports
What’s next?
A recent study published by Barclays found that, for the first time ever in Scotland, 13-18-year olds picked gaming as a career path above being a doctor, policeman or nurse. Given the rapid growth in popularity and young demographic of esports, James has high hopes for the potential of Esports Scotland and aims to create the country’s first ever professional esports league.
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