# Funding Goals
# Headlines
• We're equity crowdfunding to scale quickly so that we can fully capitalise on the opportunity that exists in the esports and video game hiring space. Both esports and the wider video game industry are growing at pace and the need for an all-in-one recruitment solution is growing along with it.
• The immediate priority of our business is to open up a further two revenue streams, before broadening the product offering into the wider video game industry. Our research suggests that this will increase the number of jobs available on Hitmarker by a factor of five and lead to an even greater swell in terms of audience and future revenue potential.
• To get to this point we want to (a) double the number of full-time staff employed by the company in the first five months of 2020, (b) to greatly scale up our marketing efforts to accelerate our current level of growth, and (c) to take steps to protect our brand legally through trademarking in the UK, Europe, and internationally.
• Hitmarker represents a unique gateway into the fast-growing esports industry and is a highly tax-efficient investment opportunity. Our business does not live or die by the success of any one game (or "esport") and already has the benefits of an established brand, proprietary technology, and the largest esports-specific candidate/company database in the world.
• Our team's vision is to grow the business as quickly as possible and to stay true to their principles of being an efficiently-run operation. Our ties to the North East, and Newcastle upon Tyne in particular, means we hope to become known as a great creator of jobs for local people and a highly respected Living Wage employer for years to come.
# What are Hitmarker’s crowdfunding goals?
At a minimum, we are looking to exchange an equity stake of 4% in the company for a sum of £80,000, all of which will be eligible for Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) tax relief.
At a maximum, we are willing to exchange an equity stake of 10% for a sum of £200,000. The first £150,000 of which will be eligible for SEIS tax relief and the final £50,000 of which will be eligible for Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax relief.
# Why are we crowdfunding?
Having just monetised our service this year and because we are still undergoing a period of sustained organic growth, we believe the time is right to raise seed capital in order to scale even faster and to diversify our offering.
There is a clear opportunity in the esports and video game industry for an all-in-one hiring solution that serves the needs of both candidates and companies.
The industry at large is only growing in terms of investment, participation, and revenue, and we're well-positioned to be one of the first supporting agency success stories to come out of it. We're already well on the way.
# What will the funds be used for?
First and foremost, exchanging an equity stake in the business in return for working capital will allow us to achieve our goals through hiring, introducing new tech jobs to the North East. This will allow us to more than double the amount of man hours spent on developing Hitmarker:
# INITIAL HIRING PLAN (EARLY 2020)
Front-end Web Developer
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Contract: Full-time
Age: 18+
Cost: £18,720 per annum (minimum)
Purpose: To allow us to improve our feature set and respond to customer requests much faster.
Content Coordinator
Location: Remote (USA)
Contract: Freelance (full-time hours)
Age: 18+
Cost: £18,720 per annum (minimum)
Purpose: To allow us to broaden our offering into video game jobs and to dominate that market.
Content Coordinator #2
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Contract: Full-time
Age: 18+
Cost: £18,720 per annum (minimum)
Purpose: To allow us to broaden our offering into video game jobs and to dominate that market.
Content Coordinator #3
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Contract: Full-time
Age: 18+
Cost: £18,720 per annum (minimum)
Purpose: To allow us to broaden our offering into video game jobs and to dominate that market.
Videographer/Video Editor
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Contract: Full-time
Age: 18+
Cost: £18,720 per annum (minimum)
Purpose: To alleviate the key man risk we have with the existing staff member who fulfils these roles.
Seed capital will also allow us to greatly increase our marketing spend in order to maintain our current level of growth:
# INITIAL MARKETING PLAN (EARLY 2020)
Google Advertising
Increase our Google Ads spend by a factor of 10 to improve our bidding power and diversify our campaign portfolio.
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter Advertising
Target a completely new audience with new photo and video advertisements on other social networks.
SEO Content
Produce high quality, SEO-focused content with the aim of it being shared around the internet and our website being linked back to.
Networking Events
Begin attending monthly conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows to connect face-to-face with key decision makers and prospective clients.
Event Sponsorship
Attain headline sponsorship of relevant esports business and university events in the UK and Europe to increase brand awareness.
Finally, seed capital will also allow us to protect our brand around the world:
# LEGAL PLAN
Enhance and protect the brand by registering trademarks in the UK, Europe, and internationally.
# What would someone gain from investing in us?
Hitmarker offers a unique gateway into the global, fast-growing world of esports and video games.
Unlike most of the investment opportunities in the space, which are team or game-specific and dangerously reliant on event performance and sponsorship revenue, Hitmarker operates in rare air as a much-loved and objective presence in the industry.
We are not reliant on the success of one particular game or esport, and simply require the overall esports and video game scene to keep growing in order to grow within it.
The brand has been firmly established, already has multiple revenue streams, is the only custom-built jobs board in the sector, and now has the largest endemic candidate and company database in existence.
In addition to this, the business has been run extremely efficiently since its inception, and will continue to be so in the future. We have an extremely dedicated workforce, a strong staff training policy, and look forward to becoming known as a great creator of jobs and fantastic Living Wage employer in the North East of England for years to come.
Further still, the majority of our current and future costs are recognised as research and development from a tax perspective, making Hitmarker a very tax-efficient proposition.
If you're interested, you can invest from as little as £10 on Crowdcube today. We'd love it if you'd help us make our mark!