Team & Partners
Our team recently pivoted from DraftBuff, a vertical social community for esports, to focus full-time on Icons of Theia. DraftBuff was live for almost two years and had a lot of success in the esports space, with over 150K users and a 4.7+ star rating on app stores. After two years building a successful social app, we are applying what we learned to build our Icons of Theia community.
Team
Dylan Sena - CEO & Co-Founder
Previously CEO of DraftBuff for two years. Created DraftBuff while receiving chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2017. Before DraftBuff, worked as a software developer at Amazon for four years across three teams: AWS Directory Services, Alexa Personalization, and Alexa for Hospitality. Worked two jobs for 18 months before quitting to build DraftBuff full-time. Bachelor’s in Math, Physics, and Computer Science from the University of Michigan.
Fun Fact: Dylan's first game that he beat was Pokémon Red in 1998 when he was 5 years old. Two years after it launched, he thought he was the first person to ever beat it.
LinkedIn / Telegram / Discord / Twitter
Kaustubh Garimella - Game Lead & Co-Founder
Co-founded DraftBuff in 2017 as a way to stay in touch with Dylan during his treatment. Previous Product Manager and Senior Engineer at Pixvana, a VC-backed VR startup. Started career developing for Microsoft Rewards, Bing’s gamification platform. Kaustubh is a seasoned competitive card game player, consistently ranking top 1000 in Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra. Bachelor’s in Computer Science and International Relations from Northwestern University.
Fun Fact: Wrote his Northwestern admissions essay about Civilization IV, his favorite game.
Guilherme Arten-Meyer - CMO, Head of Content, & Co-Founder
Previous CMO of DraftBuff for the last 1.5 years. Marketer with over 6 years of experience in gaming and esports. Founded Splitpush which was acquired by GAMURS. Marketing Director for Stage.gg, acquired by Mobalytics. Worked for Inven Global and Esports One. Born and raised in Brazil, lived in Germany, now based in South Korea. Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University in Germany.
Fun Fact: Speaks 5 languages (English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, and Korean). Also writes sci-fi novellas in his free time. Currently writing a novel in a world where people don’t age.
LinkedIn / Telegram / Discord / Twitter
Fino Feng - Art Director
Twelve years of experience in game concept design and art team management. Over his career, he has helped create and promote more than 20 games worldwide across various art designs and styles. Previously worked at IGG as Senior Art Director. Keen interests in photography, fashion, gadgets and travel.
Fun fact: Fino always chooses the easy game mode when playing a game.
Nicolas Weckerly - Product & Marketing Manager
Previous Product and Marketing Manager for DraftBuff for last year. Business professional with four years of experience contributing on multiple fronts in small businesses. Graduated cum laude from Colorado Mesa University with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a concentration in entrepreneurship.
Fun Fact: Built a bitcoin miner in early 2018 and has had an interest in blockchain ever since.
Partners, Advisors, & Investors
Hashed
Backed by Hashed VC, one of the leading blockchain VC’s in the world and the first investment to Axie Infinity. Other investments include Mythical Games (Blankos Party), the Sandbox, Immutable X (Gods Unchained), MakerDAO, Decentraland, Cosmos, and more.
Sam Li
Formerly a VP at the NBA, Sam Li is an investor and advisor to sports tech, media, and crypto startups. Through his fund, Ludis Capital and personal investment portfolio, Sam is involved with successful crypto projects such as Chiliz, Immutable, Nifty Island, and the Winklevoss twin's Gemini Exchange. Sam was previously an advisor at DraftBuff, advising the team on their esports business.
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