8 Acquisition International - Global CFO Excellence Awards 2023 May23345 Esports CFO of the Year 2023: Faizaan Baig Founded in 2016, Misfits Gaming Group is an interactive entertainment and lifestyle company working to empower its network of world-class content creators to achieve their goals and visions. The company is positioned at the intersection of gaming, media, and culture, with popular social channels, an innovative gaming studio, and competitive esports teams. Here, we speak to Faizaan I. Baig, Misfits’ outstanding Chief Financial Officer, about the company and his role. Following its establishment in 2016, Misfits initially grew into a recognised North American Esports brand, fielding teams in popular games such as League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Overwatch. By 2020, the brand had become an Esports powerhouse. However, it has recently pivoted to position itself as an interactive entertainment company with a primary focus on gaming and user-generated, supported by a well-oiled Esports distribution funnel. To accomplish this, Misfits has been working to align itself with top creators and influencers since 2021. In 2022, it made the bold decision to sell its League of Legends franchise to instead invest in creatorbacked gaming and metaverse ventures, including a monetised Minecraft server and a Roblox focused game development studio. Whilst it still fields teams in leagues such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Valorant and Rocket League, Misfits has largely turned its primary focus away from the Esports landscape. Earlier this year, well-known influencer Karl Jacobs joined Misfits as Creative Director, and streamer AustinShow joined as Content Creator & Executive Producer. These additions to the company have further solidified its decision to enter the content creation space. Misfits has also switched up its branding to feature a more colourful visual style, having redesigned its mascot, the iconic Misfits bunny, for its new logo. This visual refresh includes an updated website and a revamped merchandise store, reflecting its new vibrant style. Misfits’ leadership team are at the forefront of this huge transition. In January 2022, Faizaan Baig, an experienced finance professional, joined Misfits to fill the role of Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this, he was an Investment Banker at Deutsche Bank, where he oversaw the Interactive Entertainment Advisory Group, and as part of that advised clients in the sector on both strategic and capital raising transactions; Misfits was one of his clients. After Misfits last successful capital raise, which was sourced and executed by Faizaan, Ben Spoont, Founder & CEO of Misfits, asked Faizaan to join the company as it entered its next stage of growth and needed the financial and strategic acumen of an Investment Banker to help the company navigate this new frontier. “The value proposition seemed extremely interesting to me, so I decided to leave investment banking and come in-house,” he explains. As CFO at Misfits, Faizaan is responsible for managing the financial actions, goals, objectives, and budgets of the company as it undergoes significant organisational and brand changes. Whilst the fundamentals of “Esports-as-a-business” remain strong, many avenues of monetisation have been pushed out due to a softening demand for media rights, meaning that it has been a financially challenging time for Esports organisations over the last few years. This is why Misfits has been looking to grow in new directions. On this, Faizaan comments, “As we morph into a new company (with the same DNA) it is very important to stay on track with our 3-year strategy and to not let “outside noise” distract us from what we are meant to accomplish.” Heading the financial department at Misfits, Faizaan works hard to stay true to his beliefs as he leads his team to achieve the company’s vision. “I do not believe in micro-managing. but I am a stickler for details,” he shares. “I believe that everything should be laid out in a strategy document with a clear runway or roadmap laid out along with the milestones and KPIs that need to be hit. This ensures everyone is working towards the same goal.” When asked what advice he would give to an aspiring CFO, Faizaan says, “Numbers do not lie! It is very important to have a full understanding of the operating and financial performance of the company. This will ensure that you will give the best advice to the CEO and to the Board.” As a result of his accomplishments in the role of CFO at Misfits Gaming Group, Faizaan I. Baig has been awarded Esports CFO of the Year in the Global CFO Excellence Awards 2023. This year, Misfits’ transition into an interactive entertainment company is officially complete. The company is looking forward to the next chapter of its story, especially as it seeks acquisitions to bolster its organic growth. Misfits plans to have a liquidation event in the next three to five years, so there is a lot of ground it needs to cover to accomplish this goal. With regards to his own career, Faizaan aims to continue to build the finance and accounting department at Misfits, especially as the business scales and expands into new adjacencies. Moving forwards, he would also like to be more active in the Miami technology ecosystem by serving as a mentor and a resource for young founders . In his free time, Faizaan works with charities to support causes he is passionate about. He tells us, “My wife and I are huge dog lovers and have four fur babies at home. We do a lot of work with local animal rescues and encourage everyone to donate to their local animal charities – every dollar counts!”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUyMDQwMA==