Want Indian audiences to generalise Esports as a career option: Trinity Gaming's co-founder Shivam Rao

New Delhi, June 28: The esports industry in India is one of the most fledgling gaming industries and with the lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic along with the smartphone revolution in the country, the sector has witnessed a big surge.

Having realised the importance of a healthy and safe environment for professional and budding gamers, the stakeholders and organisers in the esports industry have also started managing talents and provide such youth necessary guidance they require.

Trinity Gaming, India's top gaming talent management company, which was founded by two young entrepreneurs - Abhishek Aggarwal and Shivam Rao in 2019, is helping shape up the career of young gamers in the country and also making efforts to eliminate the social stigma associated with this new industry.

In an interview with MyKhel, Shivam Rao, Co-Founder & COO, Trinity Gaming, asserted that his company wants the Indian audiences to generalise gaming as a career option. The company wishes to convince someone to accept esports and gaming; not just by words but also wants the gamers to yield good results. The company is, therefore, trying to set a concrete step towards the gaming industry.

Here are the excerpts:

MyKhel: A structured gaming talent management firm was the need of the hour in India. What were the challenges faced by the firm while changing the perception towards talent management and bringing them under one roof?

Shivam Rao: The biggest challenge we are facing is the mindset of the audiences. It is a difficult task to actually work no changing the perspective of the audience related to gaming. Therefore, Trinity tries had to come up with entertainment content and great ideas to promote their talented players. We know there are gamers who have potential but few are not much versed in handling brand deals. We try to promote our talents and get the best out of them in terms of brand collaborations. We hope it can help in changing the mindset of people.

MK: How Trinity Gaming is helping creators with a viable profession to earn money yet enjoy working in a space that one is passionate about. Can you please elaborate on how you are ensuring that the gamers have a permanent source of income?

SR: We are proud of our influencers already having a viable career in the industry. For creators like these, we have brand managers who, precisely scout the brands and deals for our influencers and provide them with endorsements and projects with some of the big gaming support companies like ASUS. Creators also carry on with their regular streams and audience interactions to stay connected to them. We provide them with a systematic plan to handle everything professionally and without any burden where they can enjoy gaming to the fullest.

MK: How is Trinity Gaming hand holding beginners and creating a concrete career option? What is the response from tier 2-3 cities for the general belief here is that such things only spoil youngsters for it doesn't offer them employment and financial stability?

SR: We scout and give chances to potential and passionate gamers who want to build a career in the esports and gaming industry. We provide them with resources to grow. But their growth and the standings in the industry totally depends on the willpower and hard work of the gamers. We also support them in their initial growth stages. We motivate them mentally and emotionally. If a creator reaches the stage of a gaming influencer, we provide them with brand deals where they can channel their potential and passion to earn money. We work on content optimisation and help them with any technical support required.

We want the Indian audiences to generalise gaming as a career option. If we want to convince someone to accept esports and gaming we don't do it only by words. We aim to yield good results, therefore, setting a concrete step towards the gaming industry.

MK: How Trinity Gaming is working towards its commitment to the gamers who want to pursue a career out of it?

SR: The growth and the standings in the industry totally depend on the willpower and hard work of the gamers. We also support them in their initial growth stages. We motivate them mentally and emotionally. If a creator reaches the stage of a gaming influencer, we provide them with brand deals where they can channel their potential and passion to earn money. We work on content optimization and help them with any technical support required.

MK: What is the growth trajectory for Trinity Gaming since its inception?

SR: Trinity gaming has grown a lot; although, we can't judge in exact numbers about our growth percentage. In 2019, 2 boys entered the world of startups with a dream; now in 2021 with the help of our supporting staff members, we are managing more than 200 creators. Trinity gaming also became the official CSP for Facebook gaming.

MK: What are the common misconceptions and myths about gaming and eSports that you have been busting?

SR: The common misconception about esports is that to enter the esports industry you should be a pro gamer. But this is not absolutely true, the esports and gaming industry opens up a wide variety of non-gaming related jobs like management, media, game development etc. We aimed to open up opportunities for everyone who wants to make their career in the gaming industry.

MK: Trinity Gaming helps gaming creators master and monetise their craft, proudly serving some of India's largest channels and brands alike. What is your take on that?

SR: Trinity gaming has always focused on investing in human resources. After we decided, to invest in helping creators to grow. We believed that by having a good human resource and influencers on board, it will be easier to collaborate with brands that we experienced. Today, we are proud to have dynamo gaming, Godnixon and Kronten with us, along with the brands like ASUS. We are also the exclusive Creator Service Provider (CSP) for Facebook gaming. We help beginners starting from scratch provide them with marketing support, graphical assistance and collaborations with brands. With Trinity, a gamer becomes an influencer.

MK: How Trinity Gaming is helping Brands to create innovative Branding Strategies with the help of these dynamic Creators and Influencers in the gaming & esports ecosystem?

SR: This is the exact reason we invest in human resources. We believe in exploring the ideas from the creators' staff who understands the audiences, creators, and social media. We have staffs who work on scouting while the research department figures out the trending strategies and drafts out plans for our creators. We have brand managers and graphic designers who help your creators with implementing various strategies.

So long story short, if Trinity could reach the point where it is, our team members have a significant role to play. We are thankful to our beloved staff and teams, who work hard to help uplift Trinity Gaming, the creators, and the gaming ecosystem.