The Lodgz Podcast

Andrew Chen is the Co-Founder of Tap Esports Center. TAP Esports Center is a premier gaming facility located in Philadelphia, PA. They have 40 high speed gaming PCs & over 3,500 active users registered. Andrew joins me to talk all about their facility & about their rapid success in a short period of time!

Connect with the show:

• Follow Andrew on LinkedIn

• Follow Andrew on Instagram

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Perry Bunn is the Founder & President of Auburn University Esports. He joins us to chat about everything esports related going on at the University! He’s played a key role in growing the organization, which now has numerous competitive esports teams in different games. They have about 150 competitive players & 500 general members.

Connect with the show:

• Follow Perry on Instagram

• Follow Perry on Twitter

• Follow Auburn Esports on Twitter

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Marcus Howard is a public speaker, author & influential advocate for indie games. Marcus founded ProjectMQ, a multimedia search engine for the world’s best independent video games. We chat ProjectMQ, the Tampa Association of Gaming & esports in Tampa, FL.

Connect with the show:

• Follow Marcus on LinkedIn

• Follow ProjectMQ on Twitter

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Co-Founders Cody Dierickx & Jon Ortiz join us to chat about ROK Esports in Miami, FL. ROK Esports is a pop-up style tournament organization with the goal of becoming a future esports bar. Averaging around 200 attendees per event they are making some noise in south Florida. Tune in to hear about their entrepreneurial journey, what games they feature at their tournaments & their sponsorship with Primus Gaming.

Connect with the show:

• Follow ROK on Instagram

• Follow ROK on Twitter

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Jenny Simile is a Mixer streamer with 25k+ followers & 138K+ views of her channel on Mixer. She’s the first streamer to join us on the podcast! She shares how she got into streaming, how she has grown her channel & why building a community is important. Update - since the recording of this episode, Jenny became a partnered streamer on Mixer!

Connect with the show:

• Follow Jenny on Mixer

• Follow Jenny on Twitter

• Follow Jenny on Instagram

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Phil Wildman is the Founder & Managing Director of GG Insurance Services in London. Insurance for esports teams, players & businesses is vital. Phil breaks down real/possible insurance situations within the gaming & esports space & why risk management is so important.

Connect with the show:

• Follow Phil on LinkedIn

• Visit their website

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Derek Watford is the Co-Founder of High Point Gamer in Tampa, FL. Derek is a thought leader in the space, playing a key role to grow Tampa as an attractive esports city. His company, High Point Gamer, focuses on brand building, events & community engagement. His long track record in gaming brings valuable information to parents, kids & organizations.

Connect with the show:

• Follow Derek on LinkedIn

• Follow HPG on Twitter

• Follow HPG on Instagram

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Shawn Smith is the Co-Founder & CEO of GYO Score Esports Data Analytics. Esports, because in its infancy, currently lacks the traditional “pipeline” & “path” traditional sports offers to players hoping to reach the collegiate level. Shawn & his team are working to solve this absence in esports through their platform GYO Score.

Connect with the show:

• Follow Shawn on LinkedIn

• Follow GYO Score on Twitter

• Follow GYO Score on Instagram

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

Adam Nelson is a US Army veteran, experienced individual in the tech & IT space & founder of Philly Esports. Philly Esports is a "pop-up" style competitive event organizer located in Philadelphia, PA. Adam chats with us about his esports business, their mission/goals & the challenges of entrepreneurship.

Connect with the show:

• Follow Adam on LinkedIn

• Follow Philly Esports on Instagram

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

• Follow Juan on eFuse

Joe Armao is the Vice President of Sports & Entertainment at Iberia Bank in the New York office. Joe chats with me about the role gaming played in his upbringing, his career in banking & of course, esports. He also covers something I believe strongly in - the importance of relationships in business.

Connect with the show:

• Follow Juan on LinkedIn

• Follow Juan on Twitter

• Follow Juan on Instagram

• Follow Juan on eFuse