‘I built a million-pound company in my mum’s house’

In his late twenties, Jack Williams left a comfortable finance job in London and retreated to his mum’s cottage in west Wales to build an an AI-based start up.

That company he started in Cardigan, Ceredigion, has now been sold for millions of pounds, as part of the increasingly lucrative esports market.

Jack, 30, said his mum was supportive of the idea of him starting his own company, but his dad was more wary, saying he had given up “good career prospects to do what exactly?”

The company, iTero, uses artificial intelligence (AI) that “acts as a coach” for players of the popular game League of Legends to get feedback on their gameplay.

It has now been bought by the esports team GiantX in a “multi-million deal”.

When Jack started the company in 2021 he admitted it had “almost failed within six months”.

The business model initially targeted the best players, which created “a very small market” of professional gamers who did not need extra coaching.

“I thought it was all over. I told my dad that he might have been right – this was a big risk,” he said, adding that he was “incredibly stressed”.

He changed his target market to anyone looking to improve at the game, and the business grew from there.

After graduating with a degree in mathematical finance from Aberystwyth University he worked as a data scientist for the banking company HSBC.

“This new term kept coming up, artificial intelligence. I absolutely fell in love with it,” he said.

He later moved to London, working with the management consultant firm Deloitte as an AI consultant.

But he spent his free time on his passion of gaming.

“Rather than predict the results of the mortgage sale next month, I would predict who’s going to win a game between my favourite players or team,” he said.

“It was a very similar technology. But I was applying it to something I was much more enjoying than the world of finance.”

Finally, he decided to use his expertise to build something of his own, returning to his mum’s cottage at the age of 28.

“It’s not very feasible to carry on living in London whilst you don’t have a main source of income,” he said.

He admitted that being able to return home was not a luxury available to everyone, and was important for the company’s success.

“I never felt like I was isolated or completely alone in the struggle,” he said, adding that the worst thing he would have had to do was “grovel for my old job back”.

Jack’s business idea tapped into a hugely lucrative – and growing – market.

Esports refers to a range of different video games that are played by professionals around the world. Often hosted in stadiums, events are televised and draw large audiences.

The industry is expected to be worth $1.87bn (£1.46bn) by 2025.

iTero went from a solo act to a small team, and Jack was eventually able to move out of his mum’s place.

After two years, iTero made a profit.

GiantX, the esports team, had expressed interest earlier in the process, something Jack described as “incredibly motivating”.

“An esports organisation that I looked up to, ready to welcome me with open arms if I was able to work out how this business actually works,” he said.

As part of the deal with GiantX, he became the company’s head of gaming technology.

“This is real, this is something I’ve built,” he said, urging those considering building start ups in Wales not to “be put off”.

And has his dad now been convinced?

“My dad is obviously elated. He’s now fully on the side of esports – I’m even trying to get him to watch or play a game or two eventually,” he said.