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Team Envy President & COO Geoff Moore only made the jump into esports in June, but he has had his eyes on the industry for years. More than a decade ago, Moore’s brother in-law, Matt, told him that he was considering a move into the market, but Moore was a skeptic.

“He said, ‘Hey, there’s this thing called esports. We should get in it, and we should find a way to professionalize it and build it up. Because it’s going to be huge,’” Moore said. “I just looked at him like he was crazy.”

But the more he watched from afar, the more interested he became in the budding industry.

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“[Esports teams] are unique and different than traditional sports teams,” he said. “But there seems to be a convergence that’s going to happen in the future to where they’re going to look more and more like traditional sports teams.”

Moore hesitated to call esports in general a true startup, but said that if esports organizations were a rocket ship, they’d still be on their way out of the earth’s atmosphere.

“There’s these different stages of propulsion of the organization as it ascends,” he said. “There are so many different paths ahead and opportunities ahead that you’re still doing analysis and making decision on pretty basic, big directional things. So there’s still a lot of strategy to create.”

Moore joined Envy touting a resume stacked with time in a wide range of startup-style sports ventures. Spending a vast majority of his career in the Dallas area, Moore has worked for the Dallas International Sports Commission, the NHL’s Dallas Stars, The Circuit of the Americas, and HKS Sports & Entertainment.

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“I’ve worked on kind of every side of it,” he said. “I’ve been a consultant for projects with HKS. I’ve been on the other side where I’ve been recruiting organizations to come to Dallas whether it was FIFA and the World Cup or the Minnesota North Stars owner. I’ve worked for teams in depth. I’ve done everything from running the game day operations … to being in charge of the brand of the franchise.”

“It is rewarding to have been on all sides of it. The more you can see each issue in its full dimension, you can help the group find the right solution.”

Boasting such an eclectic assortment of experiences and a Texas background made Moore an ideal candidate for Mike Rufail’s team, one that has become increasingly regionalized to the Dallas area with investments from the Hersh Family Investment and YouTuber Preston “PrestonPlayz” Arsement.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”The more you can see each issue in its full dimension, you can help the group find the right solution.”[/perfectpullquote]

So when Envy Vice President of Sales & Marketing Shay Butler, who worked for the Stars with Moore, recommended him for Envy’s opening, the fit was natural.

In speaking with Envy’s ownership about their open position, Moore said the parties “hit it off instantly,” adding, “It seemed like with everything they mentioned, my experience was a perfect fit for what they were doing.”

Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Experiential Education

After a couple of months to settle into his new seat, Moore said the team’s primary focus right now is merging the team’s digital presence and content with physical outreach, which comes in the form of facilities and events.

Team Envy is “full go” on trying to bring a fan-friendly facility to Dallas and further cement their association with the area, according to Moore. While the organization’s Overwatch League team, the Dallas Fuel , are its only geolocated franchise, dominating the Dallas market is a part of Rufail’s vision.

“Mike [Rufail] feels like it’s his calling to be a pioneer in this industry in providing experiences for fans,” Moore said. “It takes up a lot of my time. We are meeting with cities, facilities, architects and technology consultants. We have to be a pioneer in this field.”

Moore said that while esports are largely ingrained in digital content, he believes fans crave the personal touch and social interaction that a physical venue and events can provide.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“They want to gather with like-minded fans and have a social experience with the event as a festival.”[/perfectpullquote]

“They want to gather with like-minded fans and have a social experience with the event as a festival,” he said. “It allows them to beat the at-home, watching-on-your-couch experience. People are social by nature.”

Esports arenas and fan-friendly facilities are still few and far between in the United States, and figuring out the best way to go about building one is like “traveling unknown lands,” according to Moore.

But that just makes it all the more exciting for Moore.

“There’s not a lot of information out there about what the right thing to do is — the right size, the right location,” Moore said. “It’s thrilling. It’s scary. It’s uncertain. It’s incredible.”

“We have to be unique and authentic to our marketplace, but we also has to have a vision to the future of what we want to grow [Team Envy] into.”

On September 28, Geoff Moore will be joined by many other esports luminaries to share his experience going from the business world into esports. He will be on one of six panels at RSR Partners x HIVE New York. Get your tickets today!