Startup Stories: Tiv’s Origins & Mission
An idea for a new credit card for gamers becomes something much more: a startup determined to make passion the future of financial services.
The road from idea to finalized business plan to company incorporation to Tiv as a fully operating startup begins with a casual, passing moment in time. I was walking out of the office with my cofounder, JP (like many founders, we started as coworkers). Just before going our separate ways for the evening, he let it slip: “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
Although JP and I were on different teams, we’d been working together more frequently. Had he found a new job? If so, I knew I’d be disappointed. We had both spent most of our careers in gaming but had wildly different backgrounds. He came from the community — a popular streamer and influencer. I came from the industry — strategy and partnerships for game platforms and publishers. We frequently joked that, somehow, we hadn’t ended up on opposite sides of the deal table.
This was probably for the best. We share similar values and upbringings. We were both raised in the south and became Midwest transplants as adults. But we are equally tenacious (some people, including our wives, might say stubborn). Growing up, JP and I were both athletes, spending most of our weekends as teens playing in soccer tournaments across the country. We had also found the same outlet for our competitive natures off the field: gaming. We agreed to get coffee the following morning.
The Problem
When we met 12 hours later — neither of us like to waste time — he shared what was on his mind. What started as a personal problem had become a professional preoccupation. JP had gotten married and, like many couples, he and his wife sat down to discuss their newly merged finances. His gaming spend was a point of contention. But JP had a solution: he would fund his habit exclusively through credit card rewards. Problem solved — or so he thought.
JP searched for rewards cards that benefitted gamers. As the #1 form of entertainment in U.S. — the videogame business is larger than music and movies combined¹ — surely there would be an offering. But the more he searched for solutions, the less he found. It seemed as if there was a whole world of credit card programs built for other people and activities, but none that served the gamer in a meaningful way.
So JP started thinking about how he would build his own. Like most gamers, JP played across multiple platforms and devices. He spent his time on PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and mobile. As a result, he spent his money across them all. His monthly spend varied because his favorite games, publishers and services were not all on a single platform, nor would they ever be. He’s not alone: nearly 90% of gamers play on two or more devices every month². JP had reached the proverbial fork in the road. He had seemingly made up his mind that this product needed to exist for the community, but he was uncertain how the gaming industry would respond. He thought at the very least I could help him navigate that path.
The Opportunity
What he didn’t know was that I was dealing with my own professional predicament. I had worked in esports for nearly three years at the time. Along the way, I helped a handful of investors assess opportunities with various esports teams, platforms and services. Although I was and am bullish on esports, it currently represents less than 1% of the total gaming market³. It felt like everyone — myself included — was chasing a hot commodity at the expense of much larger opportunities in gaming.
This gnawed at me almost daily. Nearly 2/3 of Americans over the age of 18 — 164 million people! — self-identify as gamers⁴. Could something be built for all of them?
The common answer is no. That gamers play preferences are too diverse, that each game genre, e.g. FPS, MOBA, RTS, Sports Sim, Casual, etc., features its own unique subcommunities and cultures. There is truth to this line of thinking, but it is not absolute.
I saw JP’s problem as something universal. No matter what device they played on or what games they loved, one thing all gamers shared was the lack of a rewarding payments solution, particularly credit. But could we build something that was more than a credit card company? JP and I wanted to create something more meaningful and enduring, a company that would venture beyond the world of credit to benefit both the gaming community and the gaming industry.
I was fortunate to work for Xbox during a fascinating time, bridging two console generations (Xbox 360 and Xbox One). One of the most interesting developments, however, came from the world of PC gaming. An upstart developer — Riot Games — had released its first game in October 2009: League of Legends, a free-to-play MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). It was a massive success: League had more than one million daily active users clocking up a billion minutes of playtime in less than 18 months⁵. In 2011, Riot sold a 93% stake in the company to Tencent for $400 million (Tencent bought the remaining 7% at the end of 2015).
More importantly, Riot had accomplished all of this while abandoning box software. League was fully distributed over the internet. There were a lot of lessons to be learned from Riot’s achievement. Most notable, to me at least, was the realization that the gaming business model was fundamentally shifting: from a single chance to monetize via the sale of a game disc at retail to an opportunity to monetize at any given moment digitally — provided there was a payment device on file. For platforms and publishers, this meant the key to success was no longer purely about maximizing the player pool. To be sure, installs remain the bedrock of the business model. To unlock exponential value, however, maximizing player engagement became the name of the game.
The primary means to measure engagement in the gaming ecosystem? Time.
The Mission
When JP and I think of time, we see it as something that is equally and universally valuable. Time, not money, is the most cherished commodity. How you choose to spend it is your most essential expression of value. It is important that this value is not only recognized, but amplified — that your time is made more valuable. This core belief forms the mission of our new company, Tiv.
Tiv aims to deliver financial products and technologies that transform the relationship between time and money so that people can feel more rewarded — behaviorally, socially and emotionally — doing what they love.
For too long, financial institutions have wanted us to play their game. Exhibit A: credit card rewards are increased only when we spend in the categories and at the stores they want us to. We all deserve better. Financial products and services that fit our lifestyle, amplify our interests and deliver truly incredible rewards.
The Solution
So JP and I decided to create what we call next-gen credit. Given our gaming backgrounds, we like to joke that we’re effectively creating a new meta (“most effective tactics available”) in credit, one designed to reward not just the purchases, but the passion of a community we love dearly. To achieve this, we invested heavily in developing proprietary technology and systems. We’re excited to announce our third cofounder and CTO in the coming weeks, who was previously cofounder and CTO of a well-known company with a successful 9-figure exit. He will be our hands-on technical and operational leader, driving the development of the first and only payment product to integrate financial and behavioral activity.
Our journey starts with gamers. For far too long, they have been underserved and underrepresented by financial institutions. Through Tiv, gaming’s credit solution will be born of the community — instead of the big banks. We will not only put more money in the pockets of gamers, but also empower and encourage them to spend more time doing what they love. No matter the game, no matter the platform.
If you want to learn more about Tiv, pay us a visit or shoot us a note at hello@tivcard.com. Feel free to say what’s up to Jed and JP on Twitter, where we like to chat about gaming, community, the startup world and #dadlife.
[1] Newzoo. (June 2019). Global Games Market Report https://newzoo.com/insights/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2019-light-version/
[2] Tiv. (May 2020). Gaming & Credit Behavior Report
[3] Newzoo. (May 2020). Global Games Market Report https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoo-games-market-numbers-revenues-and-audience-2020-2023/
[4] Entertainment Software Association. (May 2019). Essential Facts About the Computer and Videogame Industry https://www.theesa.com/press-releases/65-of-american-adults-enjoy-playing-video-games/
[5] Riot Games. (July 2011). League of Legends Surpasses More than 15M Registered Players, 1.4M Play Daily https://www.engadget.com/2011-07-26-league-of-legends-surpasses-15m-registered-players-1-4m-play-da.html
