business & professional

Game On!

Get A Taste
Of Melton

Jewish-owned online gaming company primed
for more growth.

Free "sample" classes
begin in August at
Federation.

Allan Nahajewski
Contributing
Writer
I

abe Rubin is driven. At a
moment's notice, he'll drop
down and do 40 pushups to
the tune of "Eye of the Tiger" on his
laptop — and that's while he's at work.
Rubin, 34, is CEO of Beyond Gaming
LLC, a company he cofounded with
web designer Noah Krugel, 42, the
firm's chief technology officer. The two
met at an Anti-Defamation League
conference in Washington, D.C.
Rubin sought Krugel's expertise
to bring to life an idea that came to
him in 2005 while playing an online
video hockey game with his brother in
California. The idea: a website where
gamers could compete for cash prizes.
A year later, the site was launched
— www.gamersaloon.com . Since then,
650,000 gamers from around the world
have competed for $19 million through
the site in more than 1 million tour-
naments. The website matches users,
who compete for an amount they agree
upon. Users pay either $7.98 for a
monthly subscription or a fee for each
tournament. Beyond Gaming collects a
14 percent fee.
Beyond Gaming operates in the 41
states that allow online skill-based
competition for cash prizes. The com-
pany, which totaled $4.9 million in
revenue in 2013, also has customers
throughout Europe, North and South
America.
The global frenzy over World Cup
soccer has boosted business for Beyond
Gaming. "FIFA 14 is the largest sports
gaming title in the world," Rubin says.
"Every 90 minutes, there are more than
459,000 online FIFA 14 games:'
The company's leadership team
has local roots. Rubin grew up in
Huntington Woods, attended Hillel Day
School, Berkley High School and the
University of Denver. Krugel attended
Southfield Lathrup High School and
the University of Michigan. An Dolgin,
33, the company's director of business
development, also a U-M grad, is the
son-in-law of Rabbi Harold Loss of
Temple Israel.
"We all have a passion and love for
the state of Michigan:' Rubin says.
"We're happy to be here, helping grow
the economy and the tech sector:'
This year, Beyond Gaming moved
up Woodward from Royal Oak to
Birmingham to larger offices.

F

G

30 July 10 • 2014

JN

On the balcony of their new office overlooking Woodward in Birmingham are

Beyond Gaming CEO Gabe Rubin (front) and team members (from left) Dave
Carson, Carl Clendenin, Noah Krugel, Ari Dolgin and Dan Nelder.

"There are a lot of great things going
on in the company:' Rubin says. "Our
new space creates a whole new atmo-
sphere and work environment for us.
People love coming here. They can go
out on the deck or walk to downtown
Birmingham. It's a friendly, inviting,
techie space. We'll be hiring three or
four additional programmers probably
some time early fall:'
Beyond Gaming currently has six
employees.
"We consider ourselves the pioneers
of this industry, but many companies
have gotten into this space," Rubin
says. "We relate to the David and
Goliath story. One of our competitors is
[British billionaire business magnate]
Sir Richard Branson. He was involved
in a company where he licensed the
Virgin name. That company raised
more than $50 million but is now
struggling, where we continue to have
solid growth."
Rubin cited two reasons for Beyond
Gaming's success.
"We spend our marketing dollars
strategically:' he says. "We've developed
marketing strategies that we know will
have a return on investment.
"Another competitive advantage is
our stellar customer support. From
day one, we've had a strong belief that
in this type of business, it's extremely
important to have top-notch customer
support. We have a dedicated team

that has been praised by our mem-
bers and industry experts, who say
GamerSaloon.com customer support
is the best in the industry. Every day,
we're working on ways to improve that.
That's a major reason we're here, and
we're growing:'
Plans for growth include new offer-
ings scheduled for the fall.
"One is a social game dealing with
words and pictures, which we expect
will have mass appeal. We've been
working very hard to develop that:'
Rubin says. "The other is a fantasy
sports initiative tied into charities:'
The target customers for Beyond
Gaming are 18-to-35-year-old males
who love to compete. Customers must
be 18 to participate, which is a compa-
ny policy, not a legal requirement. All
games are live competitions between
two users. The website matches players
together. User feedback is collected to
foster improvement.
"Our value is that we've got a com-
munity of active players who are on the
site at all times:' Dolgin says. "When
you want to play, there's going to be
someone on the other side to take that
game:'
"'Eye of the Tiger' represents every-
thing this company embodies," Rubin
says. "We have a singular focus, and we're
persistent. Winston Churchill's famous
`Never, never, never give up' is something
I live by. We will not stop:'

❑

ederation's Alliance for Jewish
Education is holding Florence
Melton School of Adult Jewish
Learning, "A Taste of Melton" informa-
tional sessions. Learn more about the
program that has enriched the lives
of more than 1,000 Jewish people in
Metropolitan Detroit.
Melton instructor Ruth Bergman
will present "A Taste of Melton"
sample lessons on Tuesday, Aug.
12, at 6:45 p.m. at Max M. Fisher
Federation Building, 6735 Telegraph
Road, Bloomfield Township. Rabbi
Michele Faudem will teach on
Thursday, Aug. 14, at 9:30 a.m. at the
Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
Melton Director Judy Loebl will be
on hand to answer questions. There
is no charge to attend "A Taste of
Melton."
The Florence Melton School of
Adult Jewish Learning is an excit-
ing approach to Jewish learning.
Developed at Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, adult learners from all
backgrounds explore classic Jewish
sources in an intellectually stimulating,
non-denominational environment.
There are no tests or homework,
Melton is learning for pleasure, not
pressure. The two-year course meets
for 30 weeks per year with superb fac-
ulty who encourage group discussion
and exploration of ideas.
New Melton Year 1 classes will be
offered this fall on Tuesday evenings
at the Max M. Fisher Federation
Building, Thursday mornings at the
JCC in West Bloomfield and Thursday
evenings at Temple Israel, West
Bloomfield.
The Susan R. Robin Memorial
Scholarship is available for students in
need of financial assistance. Additional
scholarships are available through the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit and Detroit Friends of Melton.
Payment plans are also available.
The Florence Melton School of Adult
Jewish Learning is sponsored by the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit's Alliance for Jewish Education
and the Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit.
For information or to RSVP for "A
Taste of Melton," call (248) 205-2557,
email Bronstein@jfmd.org or visit
jewishdetroit.org/melton .

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