MONEY

Nashville's GameWisp targets gamers, fans

Jamie McGee
jmcgee@tennessean.com

Across the U.S., a thriving gaming culture focused on the prowess and personality of videogame players has captured the attention of millions.

In Nashville, GameWisp — a company composed largely of lifelong gamers — is building software to help videogaming entertainers build their brand and interact with fans, tapping into the demand for more videogame content.

GameWisp is led by CEO Michael Anderson. He, a fellow software engineer, a lawyer and a commercial real estate appraiser came together in 2012 to develop the company and began focusing on it full-time last year. The company, which stands out in a city of health care and music startups, will be among three Nashville teams pitching at Launch Tennessee's 36|86 event next week.

For those unfamiliar with the gaming niche, Anderson breaks it down in simple terms: Top gamers often post edited videos of favorite games — Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, etc. — on YouTube that are rich with their commentary — advice on strategy or just entertaining quips. On Twitch, a live streaming platform bought by Amazon for $1 billion, they can play a game in real time as they interact with audiences.

The audiences are enormous. The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Twitch's average monthly users exceed 100 million, and YouTube's gaming channels draw billions of viewers each month, according to ITProPortal.

"The fans aren't just interested necessarily in particular games or a particular genre of games, but really it comes down to the personality behind the content that's being made," Anderson said.

These online entertainers can generate revenue from ads on YouTube and Twitch, but other opportunities exist for these semi-celebrity gamers, Anderson said. On GameWisp, players can create a profile, build a fan club package, offer exclusive video and interact with their fans through discussion forums that GameWisp helps them schedule and set up. That way, they can spend less time planning engagement opportunities and more time creating content.

For the players seeking ways to transform their videogaming interests into a full-time pursuit, the additional revenue streams could help them achieve that.

"These entertainers have a platform to distribute their content, but they have no great ways to engage their audiences and make additional money," Anderson said. "Part of the problem is that they don't have time to both create the content and engage their fans more than they already are."

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GameWisp Chief Executive Officer Michael Anderson, center, meets with the company’s other founders Eli Hooten, Aaron Middleton and Andrew Wynans and software developer MaRisa Jackson. The company will pitch at Launch Tennessee’s 36|86 event next week.

Anderson and GameWisp's chief technology officer, Eli Hooten, met at Vanderbilt University as they pursued advanced computer science degrees. Andrew Wynans and Aaron Middleton, who knew Anderson as undergraduates at Texas A&M University, moved to Nashville from Houston in 2013 to work on GameWisp, and the group spent nights and weekends building it.

All four committed to the company full time in June 2014 when they were admitted to Techstars, a three-month startup accelerator in Chicago. Through the program, they raised $118,000 to fund operations.

GameWisp's team now includes six full-time people, who work out of a basement on Music Row. Users have begun generating revenue through the platform, and they continue to develop new software for the product.

At 36|86 they will be competing for $36,000 in prize money, along with 35 other companies from the region.

"It's a great opportunity to get exposure (from) investors around the region, outside of Nashville," Anderson said. "We really love Nashville and want to see the community of entrepreneurs and business startups grow here. ... Anyway we can be part of that movement going on in the city, that's something we are interested in doing."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.