Breanne Harrison-Pollock & Rachel Feinberg, Co-founders of Ateyo
IN CAREER SPOTLIGHT, THE*GAMEHERS TEAM INTERVIEWS WOMEN WHO HAVE FOUND OR CREATED WORK WITHIN THE GAMING INDUSTRY (OR ADJACENT TECH INDUSTRIES) IN AREAS OUTSIDE OF PLAYING, STREAMING, OR COMPETING.
This week we profile Breanne Harrison-Pollock and Rachel Feinberg, cofounders of Ateyo. Ateyo is a clothing company that creates technical apparel specifically designed for gamers. Breanne spoke with us about Ateyo’s origin story, the importance of gamers’ feedback in their design process, and how she and Rachel maintain such a cohesive business partnership as cofounders and friends.
Rachel Feinberg & Breanne Harrison-Pollock, Cofounders of Ateyo, photo courtesy of the subjects
When did you first get into gaming? Did you enter the gaming world from a personal or professional angle first?
Breanne: I grew up watching my brother play games, but I was always an observer and not a player. Then, after college, Rachel and I were both living in New York. On the weekend we would take the train from Manhattan to Flushing, Queens. It was there that we discovered a ton of local PC gaming cafes and became so excited about the possibilities for Ateyo. In 2016, we went to our first TwitchCon and we feel in love with the community and never looked back. Now, I watch more than I play. For me, it’s more fun to learn, interact, and be a part of a community. But over quarantine, I’ve been playing Animal Crossing and Among Us. When I have the time. I want to dedicate it to League—that’s one of my favorite games to watch.
How did you decide to merge your work in fashion with the gaming industry?
Breanne: We always talked about creating products that changed your interaction with the world. We both were working in traditional luxury fashion and we’d hit all the goals—Vogue, NYFW, Beyonce wore our collection—but something was missing. It wasn’t exciting to design yet another dress. When we first found gaming, we were energized by a community that needed products. We knew that we could design a sweatshirt that would make you a better gamer. So, we left traditional fashion and set our sights on esports!
As co-founders, what are your main duties and responsibilities in your work at this point in the business’s life?
Breanne: Our responsibilities are always changing and evolving! Early on we divided up ownership on different areas of the business, but we still do mots of the ideating together. I’m responsible for everything product-related—concepts, sourcing, production. Somehow I also ended up managing our ecom and website, but that’s a job I am trying to get rid of. Rachel handles our community, marketing, social, and partnerships. Depending on who has the bandwidth we divide up ownership of big projects.
One of the themes you seem to return to a lot in the story of growing your business is getting feedback from gamers and players. Can you speak a bit to how to effectively seek feedback from community members and put it into practice?
Breanne: Feedback has been super important to us since the beginning. First, we care that we’re making an amazing product. To do that, we need to know how people are using it, what the pain points are, what they love, and what they want. Products aren’t amazing if no one uses it. As designers, it’s rewarding to be able to go back and fine-tune one specific aspect. Usually, you make a product and then move on to the next. At this point, we’ve gone through 4 or 5 iterations of just our zipper—and I’m still not happy with it. Additionally, the gaming community is used to giving feedback on games, tech, etc. We want to continue the same relationship with our products. We’re lucky our community has been so open and willing to work with us.
As two women in business within the gaming industry, have you felt certain challenges that you believe were specific to being women? How did you navigate those situations?
Breanne: Yes! Of course. Anytime you’re the odd one out, things become a bit more challenging. I think it’s slowly changing, but for the most part, when we walk into a room it’s assumed we’re not gamers, we’re not business owners, and we don’t really know what we’re talking about. All of that is not true, but we’ve had to go above and beyond to disprove those stereotypes and learn how to stand up for ourselves.
As small business owners and entrepreneurs, what advice do you have for gameHERs who wish to start their own businesses?
Breanne: I think you have to know yourself really well. What are your strengths and weaknesses? How will that play out in your business? Then, do your research! Spend a ton of time figuring out how to make your idea a reality. A lot of people have great ideas, but the execution is everything!
Speaking to your work together as co-founders, do you have any advice for keeping a business partnership strong?
Breanne: We do a lot of work on this, ha ha. As cofounders and best friends (we also used to live together), we spend A LOT of time together. We’ve worked on prioritizing our friendship, improving our communication, and having empathy for each other. We try to find a bit of time to do fun things together (no work talk allowed). It’s a ton of stress on one relationship, but we are so lucky to have each other. The more you learn about how the other person works, the better you can be as their partners. But we are always looking for tips!
As consumers and community members, how can we support women in the esports industry?
Breanne: Stand up for them! In meetings, on Twitter, on in-game voice chats. We all need to prioritize making our community safe and welcoming, providing career paths and opportunities, and make sure women’s voices are included and recognized. We can all vote with our dollars and support brands that uphold those values.
What do you wish for the future of women in esports?
Breanne: I’m dreaming of the day when you walk into an esports event and the majority of the pros and fans are women! I think women are running esports behind the curtain, but I want to see them front and center!
Be sure to check out Ateyo to step up your gaming apparel game:
Ateyo Website: http://.ateyo.com
Ateyo Twitter
And follow Breanne and Rachel on Twitter for updates:
Breanne Twitter @breannehp
Rachel Twitter @rachellipstick
Ateyo Apparel
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