His biggest hope as a child was making it to 18. Now he hopes to bring Esports to schools across the nation and is the youngest African American Venture Capitalist in the country. But how did he get there?
Delane Parnell grew up in the Jeffries Projects in Detroit where his mom had him and his brother play sports to keep them engaged and involved. She also had them get jobs so Delane started selling cell phones in the summers. He went from selling phones to owning the store to owning 3 stores; and now he’s building the infrastructure for the official platform for high school Esports, called PlayVS.
While some high school kids are playing football and basketball, others are playing League of Legends. But instead of playing video games at home, by themselves, kids come together to play for the social aspect. PlayVS creates a platform for kids to play in a way that’s recognized and celebrated in the schools.   
“Everything we do is for our players,” says CEO Delane Parnell. He and his executives test the games in the office to make sure user experience is top notch. Esports fosters teamwork and forces kids to work together and be critical thinkers. And the games are built the same for everyone to compete in the same way on the same digital field.
Delane Parnell says, “My #1 piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to keep going. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do.”