Matt Kalish, the co-founder of DraftKings, is launching a new company designed to help creators scale their brands. Kalish will be CEO of the new venture.
HardScope is designed to give independent creators access to c-suite capabilities, including help and tools around strategy, creative assets, production, social media, distribution and commercialization to help them build their media companies. Specifically, HardScope aims to help creators scale their audiences and content in a way that doesn’t sacrifice quality while growing equity by developing original IP as well as new products and ventures.
The team behind HardScope was also behind FaZe Clan’s 2024 relaunch, the professional esports team known for competitively playing “Call of Duty” and “Counter-Strike.” Last year, FaZe Clan (580,000 Twitch followers) won Best Content Organization at The Streamer Awards. Though the team has a history of working with live streamers, HardScope is for all creators.
In 2024, FaZe Clan also spun off into the esports company FaZe Holdings and the internet media company FaZe Media, which holds FaZe Clan’s media-related IP. That latter venture received a $11 million in investment from Kalish, giving him 49% ownership of the company.
The HardScope team has also worked with major live streamers such as JasontheWeen (1.9 million followers), Lacy (2.1 million followers), Stable Ronaldo (4.3 million followers), Adapt (1.3 million followers), YourRage (1.9 million followers), Kaysan (601,000 followers) and Silky (1.1 million followers). Its recent subathon (subscription marathon) generated 1.8 billion video views and 85 million social engagements in October. At the height of the event, HardScope creators owned the top seven spots on Twitch. Streamers showcased during the campaign gained over 100,000 new subscribers each.
“We take pride in being the battle-tested team of makers, who create valuable assets in-house and get results for partners in a sea of unaccountable middlemen,” said Kalish. “The mission of HardScope is to directly platform top talent that own the keys to Gen Z and invest in building their empires, while seamlessly onboarding brands into their universe through authentic integrated partnerships and collaborations that drive performance.”
HardScope’s platform also seeks to more easily connect live streaming creators with brands looking to appeal to Gen Z.
“Brands know the audience has shifted, but they struggle to navigate the fragmentation of the creator space,” said Mandy Gardiner, senior vice president of brand partnerships at HardScope. “We’re making it simple to create authentic partnerships that place brands at the center of creator communities and culture, while driving powerful business results. Our native DNA and proprietary technology is able to turn streaming moments into movements that dominate feeds and drive sales.”
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