Jon Koob is a master of social media, yet he seems to be a student at the same time - always learning and improving at his craft.  He attended The University of Iowa, excitingly pitching and starting their Snapchat channel. Later he joined Vancouver-based esports startup, Battlefy, as their social media manager, and today he flexes his skills over at SteelSeries in Chicago.  

In this episode, we discuss some of the stigma around social media roles in esports, with many people assuming every company just has a social media intern to handle things - Jon tells us that it's really so much more than that. Also, we touch on the power of networking (how we met), and what it takes to actually find a role in esports or even just at a startup.  

Theresa is a resident of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, working as the Head Coach and Coordinator of Esports at Messiah College. She is a master of metal and memes, and formerly served as the Editor-in-chief at the Collegiate StarLeague. That is how we first came into contact, she was looking to hire an esports writer and I happened to land the gig.

This conversation was a very enjoyable one for me, as we got to focus a lot on the specifics of collegiate esports. If you have ever wondered about what it takes to succeed as a collegiate esports athlete or if non-competitive gamers can play a part in a college program, then this is one you won't want to miss!

Josh is a resident of Las Vegas, working as a money manager, who created time for himself to find work in the esports industry as a caster-turned collegiate historian. He is a WWE and all-around wrestling fanatic, and he doesn't shy away from standing up for what is right, even in the face of pressure. He is a guy I look up to in that sense, and I loved our conversation. 

We got a chance to talk about what sets a successful collegiate esports program apart from an unsuccessful one, skills needed to work in esports, and the importance of networking with others online and the excitement that comes with meeting them in person.

Matt is a data science lover who also happens to be one of the most experienced Sejuani players in the world. We first met at an anime conference in Detroit, where he was competing in a League of Legends tournament. He has been involved in some cool projects, such as a fighting game and his most recent work, Tryharder.gg - an AI driven self improvement tool for League of Legends players. He offers some fascinating insight into the data driven side of the industry and gives us some tips for getting started with projects of your own.

Tyler is a high level Overwatch player who also works in the esports industry. He has spent most of his time developing content over at Proguides.com - helping players improve at League of Legends, Overwatch, and Hearthstone. We worked together for a few years, so I thought it would make for a good first episode. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what you think, and be sure to follow Tyler on Twitch and Twitter!