By taking his passion for gaming and turning it into a business, Tier One Co-Founder and CEO Tryke Gutierrez built the country's first esports and gaming talent agency. Here's how.

Starting a business can be founded on many reasons—addressing a need, supporting a social cause, or simply making money. But for Co-Founder and CEO Tryke Gutierrez, the very ethos of Tier One Entertainment stemmed from what he loved doing most: gaming.

While passion is the fuel that drives a business, the industry in itself is commonly overlooked. Dedication, discipline, and a strong direction for its team, however, helped pave the way for Tier One's success. In fact, to this day, the company currently operates in 5 countries across Asia and manages a roster of over a thousand talents with hundreds of millions of combined followers across multiple streaming and social media platforms.

What's more, Tier One has made a name for itself—having been called a unicorn startup by its investors, Bitkraft, Atlas Ventures, Gobi Partners, Warner Music Group, Play Ventures, and Mirana, among others.

"Since our inception in 2017, Tier One has single-handedly ushered in the streamer boom in the Philippines, and made similarly significant impacts in our satellite territories," the company website reads. "By signing, developing, managing, and promoting the country’s most promising young content creators, Tier One created a coveted business model that other companies scrambled to replicate in recent years."

In this exclusive interview with The Business Manual, Tryke shares how all this came to be and what he and his co-founders have in store for Tier One entertainment—as they plan to take esports and gaming to a higher level.

Level One: How it All Began

Established in 2017, Tier One Entertainment was the brainchild of Filipino cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao, esports player Tryke Gutierrez, and entrepreneur Brian Lim. By collectively bringing their passions together, the trio was able to establish a "gaming entertainment company that operates at the intersection of media properties, esports, and creators."