In this episode of Breakthrough Labs, General Atlantic Managing Director and Head of Consumer Internet and Technology Tanzeen Syed speaks with Erik Allebest, Co-Founder and CEO of Chess.com, one of the world’s largest platforms for playing, learning and watching chess, with over 100 million members. They discuss Erik’s mission-driven pursuit to build Chess.com, driven by his love of chess and passion for bringing the game to others; his earlier chess-related businesses and experience in e-commerce, starting when he was in college; his decision to take an unconventional path following his time at Stanford Graduate School of Business; the importance of community and authenticity in his core values and approach to building Chess.com; how personalization of the product and storytelling helped engage first time chess players, as well as those already familiar with the game; his commitment to focusing on Chess.com’s product and creating value for users to build its community organically; Erik’s perspective on what it means to be a mission-driven company and how this has contributed to Chess.com’s development; challenges the company overcame and Erik’s approach to navigating these alongside Co-Founder Jay Severson; pivotal moments that contributed to increased interest in chess globally and, in turn, Chess.com’s success, including the 2018 World Chess Championship, the rise in online gaming catalyzed by COVID-19 lockdowns and Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit; and, Erik’s outlook on the future of chess.

Key Takeaways – “In this episode” 

• Learn how Erik’s love of chess and passion for sharing the game with others led to the creation of Chess.com. Erik discusses some of the unconventional, strategic decisions he made throughout the journey to build Chess.com into the global platform it is today. 
• Hear about Chess.com’s commitment to developing products that add value for chess players of all levels and maintaining the integrity of the game.
• Erik’s decision to partner with an outside investor and how he approached evaluating potential partners.
• How Erik and Chess.com Co-Founder Jay Sevenson navigated pivotal moments and seized the moment of the global increase of the popularity of chess.