Startup Spotlight #10: eFuse

eFuse is a web and mobile application that provides validated opportunities and candidates for the eSports and video game industry.

Jul 13, 2020

I got the chance to speak with Matthew Benson, co-founder and CEO of eFuse, about what he’s working on at his startup, and any advice he has for emerging entrepreneurs.

eFuse was founded in 2018 and is a professional social network for esports and video games - a place where talent and opportunity meet. Available in the form of a web and mobile application, eFuse connects the highly fragmented gaming community and provides tools for individuals to build a unique gaming portfolio, collaborate professionally, and create tailored content.

Startup Spotlight: eFuse

eFuse cofounder and CEO Matthew Benson.

Problem: There is nowhere an esports or gaming enthusiast can go to both advance their skill, knowledge, career, and while also building a meaningful, supportive community.

Market: eFuse's market is anyone who is interested in esports and gaming.

Solution: By focusing on building features for gamers and specifically those who want to make gaming a career, eFuse has built a platform that cuts through the noise and provides the most and highest quality gaming opportunities anywhere. We connect gamers to one another & to opportunity.

Team: The eFuse team is made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds. Each team member has shown an ability to perform at an elite level and concentrates their expertise on building a better experience for gamers on eFuse.

Recent Success:

Benson: One thing our team takes a lot of pride in is being the best listeners and the quickest actors. In doing this, we've been able to learn so much about the community we serve in an extremely short period of time, but what really sets us apart is our ability to take this information and distill it into actionable steps. We learn quickly, iterate quickly, launch quickly, & repeat. Yes, we break things along the way, but it's the speed of our iteration that has set us apart.

Recent Struggle:

Benson: One thing our team has struggled with but has progressively gotten better at is taking feedback. It's really hard to hear that your baby is ugly, be it your feature, the new marketing campaign you launch, or anything in between. However, it is the feedback that takes mediocre ideas and turns them into something special. Over the course of the last six months, we have morphed ourselves into being a feedback-driven company. If you can't take the heat, you probably won't fair well on our team. We are respectively blatant when it comes to feedback and this contributes to our ability to create the best product for the community we serve. We must challenge ourselves every day to be better.

Founder Advice:

Benson: Learn to ride the peaks and valleys. Inevitably in a startup, there will be extremely high highs and the lowest of lows, and you must teach yourself to never let your emotions swing too far one way or the other. Your team likely looks at you as the nucleus of the organization and they will follow your reactions - you must be consistent and nonvolatile. This doesn't mean not to celebrate the wins or that you can't be upset with losses, but it does mean be careful not to overextend because it can have lingering effects on your mental health and your team's performance. Learn to ride the waves.

Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Benson: Here are three founders you should check out next!

Seth Miller, Founder of Rapchat: Rapchat is the best way for today's rap enthusiasts to create, collaborate, and connect with tomorrow’s stars.
Jeff Schuman, Founder of Aware: Aware aims to adopt the latest advancements in cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, and behavioral analytics to amplify enterprise value by monitoring the social graph (Office 365, Slack, Workplace by Facebook).
Emre Koskal, Founder of Data Anchor: DAtAnchor develops a novel crypto-technology that anchors the data consumption within the network boundaries, serving as a backstop against inevitable breaches.

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