Building a great team is one of the cornerstones of creating a successful company. For Matthew Benson, a great team is built under three principles, recognizing who you are and what skills you have, hiring someone ready to navigate the ups and downs, and identifying the moments of the business. Some people are better for starting things, and others for scaling and growth. 

Matthew Benson is the Founder and CEO of eFuse; he is also on the Forbes 2021 30 under 30 list and drawing a lot of attention from the gaming community with his creation, which many people call “the LinkedIn for gamers.” On his platform, gamers can upload their in-game credentials and reels to connect with other gamers, apply for scholarships, and participate in tournaments.

In this episode, we talked about Matthew’s company meteoric rise, created in 2018 and with substantial success so far. In addition, Matthew shared some brilliant insights about putting a team together, legacy, and values. We also talked about his past in the venture capital world, his future projects with eFuse, and much more. 

You can visit eFuse website: https://efuse.gg/

Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewjbenson1/

Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewjbenson/

or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjb_oh

Full Episode Breakdown:

1:25 – Matthew talks about eFuse’s mission and how they help the gaming community to connect. 

3:32 – Mathew shares some of eFuse’s campaigns and events to promote equality in esports and gaming. 

5:08 – Matthew tells the story of how he recognized the need for a platform like eFuse.

9:51 – Matthew talks about his decision of leaving the corporate world to start his own company.

13:14 – The three principles to build a great team. Matthew talks about how he put together the team that helped him succeed with eFuse.

16:03 – Matthew talks about the experience of reaching tremendous success at a young age and dealing with hirings of people older than him and his team. 

21:23 – Matthew shares a bit of “Pipeline”, the project that wants to make the path to Collegiate esports smoother.

23:41 – John and Matthew talk about the importance of volunteering as an excellent strategy to get into the gaming industry.

25:33 – Matthew talks a bit about the challenges he faced when he had to get the money from investors for eFuse.

29:53 – Trust, relationship, and progress. Matthew explains how building those three pillars was vital for the success of eFuse.

32:35 – Matthew explains a bit of the eFuse business model and how they prepared the company to survive and thrive even if the investments wouldn’t come.

34:18 – Matthew explains how they are giving back to the community and his work with Sundance. 

37:12 – Matthew shares some details of his first experience at a competitive esports event.

39:50 – Matthew shares his opinion on the games he considers will explode and succeed in the following years.

43:42 – Matthew shares a bit of what we can expect from eFuse in the forthcoming months.