Making His First Million And Beginning of Chess.Com
As a child, Erik Allebest saw his father running one business after another, and that shaped his entrepreneurial mindset.
While he was doing his undergrad at BYU, he was also running his online chess teaching company, where he was hiring other students to teach chess.
He started another chess equipment retail business (Wholesale chess) with his friend, who was the chess club president at BYU. They were importing equipment for sale from China. He eventually got bored with the company and sold it for $2.5 million. The company was doing one and a half million dollars in revenue at that time.
In 2007, Erik partnered with his college friend Jay Severson (the same chess club president) and software engineer to launch Chess.com. The idea was to create a chess online community where chess enthusiasts can connect and share their passion for chess. Erik bought the domain for $55,000.
Jay was working at a mortgage company at a time. He would get free at 6 pm and both would code whole night.
Building Chess.Com
In the early days, Chess.com wasn’t an instant commercial success. The founders used their own funds and reinvested any income they made back into the platform. However, players were liking it as it was like a Myspace for chess where users could talk in a forum and share resources.
By offering free membership and paid premium memberships that unlocked advanced features, such as game analysis tools and in-depth lessons, Chess.com slowly started making money. The premium memberships became a key factor in generating income, and this, along with ads and sponsorships, started to bring in substantial revenue. As membership grew, the site added new features, including mobile apps and live streaming capabilities.
Capitalizing Chess Boom
In the late 2010s, online chess started to explode, thanks to streaming platforms like Twitch and the rise of chess personalities like Hikaru Nakamura. Chess.com smartly capitalized on this surge by sponsoring chess streamers and tournaments, making the platform a go-to destination for online chess enthusiasts.
Covid – 19 pandemic forced people to stay indoor that gave chess.com a major push as people were playing game on the platform.
The famous Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit was another contributor to Chess.com’s increase in traffic.
Chess.Com Today
Today, Chess.com is the world’s largest online chess platform, with millions of active users and a thriving community of players and educators. The site continues to expand its offerings with live tournaments, instructional content, and community engagement tools. Chess.com has become a hub for chess enthusiasts, hosting high-profile events like the Speed Chess Championship and sponsoring popular chess streamers.
Resource: https://www.sramanamitra.com/2021/12/03/solo-student-entrepreneur-to-over-50m-revenue-chess-com-ceo-erik-allebest-part-5/
