People

Jens Hilgers

Jens Hilgers

Formal First Name
Jens
Dates
1975 - present
Location

Jens Hilgers is a Founding General Partner of BITKRAFT Ventures. Under his leadership, the firm has built a portfolio spanning more than 50 companies across North America, Europe, and Asia. His primary interests include esports, videogames, and online technologies. Hilgers is a well-known serial entrepreneur considered as a godfather of the eSports industry. He has been building and managing international games and tech companies in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Asia for over 20 years. He also actively invests in and supports selected startups in the Games and Esports space.

  • Hilgers organized the first online tournaments and public lan parties in 1997.
  • He launched his first esports online platform gamers.de in 1997, which he sold in 1999. 
  • He founded ESL in 2000 and grew the company into the world's most prestigious esports brand.
  • He co-­founded DOJO Madness in 2015, a company building tools helping esports players to master their game.