Matthew “Nadeshot” Hagag opened up on his podcast “Selfmade with Nadeshot” about the most difficult part of being the CEO of 100 Thieves. Nadeshot is the founder of the esports organization, and after a couple of years of running it, he is starting to reveal some of his honest feelings managing it.
At the 49:18 mark in this embedded YouTube video, Nadeshot answers a tough question asked by his co-host, Jackson Dahl:
Dahl asks Nadeshot, “What is the hardest thing about being the CEO [of 100 Thieves.]”
At first, Nadeshot is taken back a bit, but he then gives the raw truth. The hardest thing Nadeshot deals with is “keeping the faith.”
He reiterates that he genuinely believes in 100 Thieves, the gamers associated with it, as well as the employees.
In this moment, Nadeshot is looking at the esports organization as an individual. He is looking at it through the lens of the gamer he has built himself into. He understands that if he didn’t invest so much time into being the owner and CEO of 100 Thieves, he could continue gaming and creating content. This would have made his personal brand bigger than it is now.
There is a huge tradeoff for him taking on this role for 100 Thieves. On the one hand, which he mentions in the video, he has been able to learn a lot from being the CEO, including running a business, managing, and becoming a “functioning adult.”
His biggest worry is that 100 Thieves fails and he ends up wasting years of his life. Those years could have been used to build up his Nadeshot brand even more. He’s also worried that a lot of the skills he’s learned by running the organization wouldn’t be transferrable to other industries if he needs to transition.
Dahl tells Nadeshot that he feels skeptical about his worries of not being able to transition his skills into another industry. This writer agrees with Dahl.
The gaming aspect may not be transferrable. However, the soft skills he’s developed through this venture, like being able to make decisions, lead and motivate a team, as well as all the technical aspects that come with running 100 Thieves, can be used in different jobs.
As of right now, 100 Thieves is a top-rated organization, but there is always a chance that things don’t work out. Nadeshot is keeping a clear mind about the reality of esports.
