How It All Started
In the early 2000s, esports in Ukraine was just gaining momentum. One of the significant events was the appearance of the "Kyiv Cybersport Arena" computer center, which organized the first serious tournaments. Vitalii Volochai, known as V1lat, worked as a commentator in the organization.
In 2013, V1lat created RuHub, which operated in the CIS esports segment. A year later, the company needed additional funding, which Vitalii Volochai found from investors in Russia. Over time, the Russian investors started to pressure and demand to move the main office to Moscow and close the Kyiv office. V1lat refused further cooperation, sold his part of the company, and decided to create a new one, independent of foreign counterparts.
Thus, in 2018, Maincast was founded by Vitalii Volochai, Oleksandr Smagliuk, Oleksii Voronov, and Andrii Hryhoriev. The company had the equipment and premises at its disposal but required financial injections amounting to 800 thousand US dollars. V1lat approached Ukrainian investor Maksim Krippa with a proposal. Negotiations lasted several months, after which Maincast secured its investor.
Maincast became one of the first Ukrainian studios to focus exclusively on esports broadcasts. The company aimed to provide high-quality content for viewers, including not only match broadcasts but also analytical programs, interviews with players and coaches, and special reports from tournaments.
Changing Priorities
From the very beginning of global esports, teams often represented not countries but regions. Therefore, Ukrainian esports remained part of CIS esports with Russian as the broadcasting language for a long time. However, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought its changes to business practices, including esports.
The events of 2022 forced Maksim Krippa to refuse Russian advertisers for Maincast and switch to Ukrainian language broadcasting, which initially seemed like the beginning of the end for the studio, as the majority of esports content consumers are Russian-speaking. However, the decision proved correct not only from a patriotic civic standpoint but also from a business perspective. The Ukrainian-speaking esports audience grew by more than 1000%. In 2023, Ukrainian language broadcasts garnered 15.5 million hours of viewing.
Now, Maincast provides 93% of all Ukrainian-language views and holds about 95% of the rights to broadcast all significant global tournaments, making the studio the undisputed market leader.
Finding an Investor: The Story of Maksim Krippa
Initially, V1lat did not reveal the investor's name, only mentioning in an interview that the investments covered all the necessary expenses for the studio's operation. Later, V1lat shared that attracting an investor was not easy. Convincing Ukrainian entrepreneur Maksim Krippa of the prospects of esports, the partners received the necessary funding.
Becoming a shareholder, Maksim Krippa became passionate about esports and by the end of 2018 became the majority owner of Natus Vincere (NAVI). Maksim Krippa support allowed Maincast to actively develop and offer new content formats, including educational programs for novice players and coaches, as well as innovative approaches to match analytics.
Maksim Krippa Support in Difficult Times
As Vitalii Volochai later admitted, Maksim Krippa financial support was vital for Maincast during tough times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when views initially grew and then began to decline due to the ban on offline events and sponsors started to cancel contracts, the investor's support proved critical.
Later, in 2022, due to the war, Maksim Krippa financial support helped the company survive after refusing Russian sponsors at a time when Ukrainian sponsors were paralyzed by the war. Thanks to this support, Maincast managed to keep its team and continue developing new projects, such as creating its own esports portal and developing a mobile app for convenient viewing of broadcasts.
It is worth noting another important component of Maincast's success – its people. Not just professionals in their field, but enthusiasts. At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they, like all Ukrainians, experienced severe shock, which turned into chronic stress, and went into shelters during air raids. But at the same time, they continued to work, create products, and improve them. Investor Maksim Krippa fully immersed himself in the topic of esports, which since 2018 has become not only a business for him but also a passion. As a result, his investment portfolio was replenished with one of the most famous esports organizations NAVI and the company GSC Game World, the developer of the famous game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Does Maksim Krippa base his investment choices solely on passion? Probably not. A businessman without sober pragmatic calculation is unlikely to become so successful. But the success stories of many companies show that they are based not only on pragmatism but also on a personality that reflects their own values and worldview in their business.
