Erik Allebest is the co-founder and CEO of Chess.com. He discusses how external catalysts dramatically multiplied the platform's user base and overall interest in chess.
Disclosure
Allebest: Chess.com instituted a firm rule against paid user acquisition
“We'd totally been burned on, on paid acquisition, and we pretty much made You know, a very firm rule that we weren't going to do paid acquisition. And so instead we said, we're going to take any money that we have and we're going to put it into content because…”
Disclosure
Allebest set early salaries by asking candidates what they needed to live
“I would just say to them, Hey, how much money do you need to do this job? And if we can make that, we'll do it. And if not, I'll let you know, but really, what do you need to do this? Because I'm not going to make you an offer. Cause I don't know your life. I …”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Allebest forced exiting investors to pool tens of millions for staff
“When our PokerStars investor, you know, the Sheinberg family, when they exited to GA, I said, I am going to block this transaction as hard as I can, unless We set aside a huge percentage comparatively of the sale. Everybody is going to pay. I think it was seve…”
Insight
Allebest: Raising venture capital psychologically feels like earning revenue for founders
“I think raising money feels a lot like earning money. It's a self-validation.”
Insight
Allebest: Exact-match domains were essential for web startups, unlike today
“Ridiculously large role, especially at the beginning and the beginning sets the tone for later. Now, I mean, in today's world, if we hadn't done it, if you, would you have to start on chess.com? Probably not, but given the time that we started and how it worke…”
Assertion Supported
Allebest: VCs including Peter Thiel rejected Chess.com for five years
“We tried for like the first Five years to raise money. We tried many times. We tried angels. We tried, I met Peter Thiel. I went, I met a bunch of different angels. I went up and down. I used all my connections up and down Silicon, you know, Sand Hill road to …”