The Story Behind Skillrift: From Frustrated Player to Founder

I've been playing League of Legends since season 2.

Thousands of hours. Thousands of games. And for most of that time, I was stuck.

I mained ADC. I watched every educational video I could find — xFSN Saber, IKeepItTaco, coaching VODs on YouTube. I studied wave management, trading patterns, positioning in teamfights. I knew the theory inside and out.

But knowing and doing are different things. I'd watch a guide, feel like I understood it, then jump into ranked and make the same mistakes. The gap between "understanding" and "executing" felt impossible to close.

Eventually, I hit a wall around Platinum. No matter how many videos I watched, I couldn't break through on my own.

So I decided to hire a coach.

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The coaching experience that changed everything

Finding a coach in 2024 was... an experience.

I started on Discord servers. Posted in LFG channels. Got DMs from people claiming to be Master+ coaches. Some had proof. Some didn't. Pricing was all over the place — $10/hour, $50/hour, "DM for rates."

I picked someone who seemed legitimate. A Master ADC main with decent reviews.

The coaching itself? Actually helpful. He spotted mistakes in my VODs that I'd never noticed. Gave me drills to practice. Helped me fix my laning phase.

But the experience of working with him was chaos.

• Scheduling: We coordinated through Discord DMs. He'd send times, I'd check my calendar, I'd send times back. This took days.
• Payments: He sent a PayPal request after each session. No invoices. No receipts. Just "hey, can you send $40?"
• VOD sharing: I'd upload recordings to Google Drive and share links. He'd watch them and send voice messages with feedback. Half the time I couldn't find the messages later.
• Progress tracking: Nothing. No notes. No history. Each session felt like starting from scratch.

I remember thinking: "This guy is good at coaching. But his tools make him look like an amateur."

And then: "If it's this bad as a client, what's it like as a coach?"

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Talking to the other side

I started asking coaches about their setup.

Not just my coach — I reached out to dozens of them. League coaches, Valorant coaches, Rocket League coaches. Anyone willing to talk.

The pattern was immediate and universal.

Every coach was duct-taping their business together.

Discord for communication. Calendly or Google Calendar for scheduling. PayPal or Stripe for payments (manually invoiced). Google Drive for VODs. A spreadsheet to track clients. Maybe Notion to keep it all organized.

Six or seven tools minimum. None designed for coaching.

Every coach spent hours on admin.

One coach told me: "I spend maybe 60% of my time actually coaching. The rest is scheduling, chasing payments, and trying to stay organized."

Another said: "I've lost clients because my booking process confused them. They wanted to pay, but they couldn't figure out how."

Every coach wanted to be more professional.

They knew their setup looked amateur. They knew clients deserved better. But there was no alternative.

I looked for one. Platforms for tutors, for fitness coaches, for music teachers — they existed. But for esport coaching? Nothing that actually understood the space.

That's when I realized: someone needed to build this.

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The decision

I was working in tech at the time. Building software for other people's problems.

But this problem — the coaching tooling problem — wouldn't leave me alone. I kept thinking about it. Sketching ideas. Talking to more coaches.

In early 2025, I quit my job to build Skillrift.

The name came from the idea of crossing a gap. The rift between where you are and where you want to be. The gap that coaches help players cross every day.

I'd experienced that gap as a player. Stuck in Platinum, knowing I could be better, frustrated that YouTube videos weren't enough.

Coaching helped me cross it. I hit Master.

And now I wanted to help coaches help more players cross their own rifts.

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What we're building

Skillrift is the first platform built specifically for esport coaches.

Not adapted from another industry. Not a generic booking tool with gaming branding. Built from scratch, for how coaching actually works.

For coaches:

• A professional public page with your rank, achievements, and reviews
• Packages and pricing clients can browse and purchase instantly
• Built-in scheduling with automatic reminders
• Async VOD reviews with drawings, timestamps, and annotations
• Client management that tracks progress over time
• Payments that just work — no invoicing, no chasing

For players:

• Find verified coaches who specialize in your game and role
• See real reviews and credentials
• Book and pay in minutes, not days
• Get professional VOD reviews you can replay anytime

All in one place. No duct tape.

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The mission

Esport coaching is real. It helps people improve. I'm proof of that.

But right now, it's held back by terrible tooling. Talented coaches look unprofessional because their tools are unprofessional. Players who want coaching don't know where to start.

That changes with Skillrift.

Our mission: Make esport coaching as professional and accessible as it deserves to be.

Every coach should be able to focus on coaching, not admin. Every player should be able to find a great coach in minutes, not days.

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Join the journey

I'm building Skillrift with coaches, not just for them.

The roadmap is shaped by real conversations. The features we ship are informed by real problems. If you're a coach and something is broken, I want to know.

Private beta launches Q1 2026. Waitlist members get:

• Priority access before public launch
• Founding member pricing locked in forever
• Direct input on what we build

This is the beginning. I hope you'll be part of it.

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Questions? Want to share your coaching story? Find me on Twitter or join our Discord. I read every message.

— Mikaël, Founder of Skillrift