All Hail the Queens! Queens Gaming Collective is a women-led gaming lifestyle company here to elevate women to the next level. When I sat down (virtually) with Co-Founder and CEO, Alisa Jacobs and Co-Founder and Chairman, Justin J. Giangrande, this duo was passionate about women no longer “dimming their light”.
The mission of Queens Gaming Collective is starting a global movement, by providing women creators, streamers, and competitors equal access to infrastructure, resources, and representations to build their brands and careers. Even though gaming is a male-dominated industry, with challenges in diversity and gender inequality, women account for 46% of all game enthusiasts, but it’s starting to become clear that gaming is a lifestyle and that queens are culture.
When building their company, Giangrande and Jacobs wanted to ensure that their queens were backed by queens as well. The Queens Court has 9 women led executive members: business leaders, entrepreneurs, and angel investors bringing years of work experience and expertise to invest in these women. “It’s not only women supporting women, but it’s men valuing women as well. It’s equally as important”, said Giangrande. Not only, is it financial support, but its advisory and consulting guidance for the women across gaming, sports, entertainment, consumer products, and tech.
Queens is essentially broken down into a three-prong structure with focusing on talent, content, and merchandising. For example, if a gamer wants to build her equity and brand by creating a podcast, acting, or making music, Queens has access to resources and opportunities like its advisory board to propel them to be multi-dimensional. Jacobs has the mentality of “gamer and” and being that these women can be more than just one thing. Some of the investors include Amy Finnerty (Prior EVP at Maker Studio and VP of MTV), Lauren Jarvis (Head of Content Partnerships at Spotify), and Assia Grazioli-Venier along with Rachel Springate (Muse VC). Queens also has brought over Taylor Heitzig-Rhodes from Evolved, a talent agency specializing in content creators and competitive esports as a Partner and Head of Talent. She will be responsible for identifying, signing, and managing rising talent for the Queens.
When selecting its inaugural Queens, it was niche focused. Each Queen was chosen for a variety of different reasons: skills, engagement, passion and becoming a face or role model for
women of all ages, backgrounds, sexuality, and race.
The inaugural Queens includes:
? Cosplayer and content creator ?Kiera Please
? DJs and designers ?Coco and Breezy
? Singer and gamer ?Cray
? WNBA Champion ?Alexis Jones
? Gamer and recording artist ?bunnymightgameu
? Gamer ?BlackKrystel
? Singer and gamer ?Sunzi
? Content creator ?xmiramira
? Streamer/Gamer and Cosplayer? ?HelloIAmKate
? Gamer ?Bloody
? Influencer ?Carrington Durham
? Streamer ?Kayla Delancey
? Gamer ?demisux
? Actor and cosplayer ?Maid of Might
? Vocalist and model ?Erica Nagashima
? Gamer and model ?SavEdgeDoll
When asking Giangrande and Jacobs about what the women are most excited about, its essentially doing life together. One thing that Queens Gaming Collective prides itself in is being who they say there are. “Some of these women have been used and abused within this industry, and they are shocked and surprised that they are get what’s promised, it’s something that’s not common,” said Jacobs. When Queens was coming into fruition, Giangrande and Jacobs asked them to bring their “Impossible Dreams”. “When we hear “Impossible Dreams”, we are reluctant to share, guilty of sounding crazy, but these women of grown into a family. They are supportive of each other and its community and collaboration over competition”.
Although Alisa Jacobs has taken on a CEO role, she is no stranger to her own journey as well. “I have worn a turtleneck with a 3-piece suit in 100-degree weather before, just to be taken seriously.” She has been the youngest or only woman in a room before, but her 15+ years of marketing expertise provide intensive knowledge and creditability. She has had stunts with NFLPA, the Washington Football Team, led culture and partnerships at Diageo, and founded branding agency LOOP, just to name a few. Along the way, she had built a relationship with Justin Giangrande. In his is own right, Giangrande has been EVP at VaynerSports and CEO of The Network Advisory.
“In 3-5 years, we expect to be the biggest brand of the decade”, says Giangrande. With both Giangrande and Jacobs having executive roles in the past, they understand the foundation of a solid business concept. “Don’t be afraid to dream big, hire well because people are everything. I love people that are better than me, and if you are not obsessed with this company, then don’t be here.”
The Queens Gaming Collective has secured $1.5 million from seed round financing. The Queens’ website is live with a celebratory kickoff live stream December 5th on Twitch. Exact timing and talent lineup to be announced soon.
Visit the website at https://www.queens.gg and Follow on Instagram/Twitter @queensgg