Student founder returns to eLab with a revamped team and renewed vision

EVAL Gaming founder Sekou Roland is taking another swing in the Keller Center’s eLab Summer Accelerator, returning for a second year with a new team, a refined vision, and the entrepreneurial skillset he’s been steadily building to push his venture forward.

A political science major and football player, Roland is driven to address the stark inequities between opportunities available to traditional athletes and those offered to esports players. His venture, EVAL Gaming, aims to level the playing field by creating a platform that helps high school esports athletes access meaningful college opportunities, particularly through recruitment and scholarships.

“In eLab last year, our goal was to figure out what we needed to launch and to determine whether this venture was truly viable,” said Roland. “The 2024 team was filled with traditional athletes—football players like me—but as the program progressed, we realized we were missing a crucial element: the gamer's perspective.”

Following Demo Day, Roland took time to rethink his approach. He enrolled in Keller’s EGR 380: Creating Value in the Real World, where he honed his entrepreneurial thinking and, crucially, met Ryan Divan, a Mathematics major and high school esports veteran. Divan brought the insight and lived experience that Roland had been seeking. EVAL gave Divan a platform to build the kind of support system he’d wished for as a young gamer. “I’m excited to bring value and meaning to the esports community,” said Divan.

In preparation for reapplying to the accelerator program, Roland and Divan needed to grow their team. After interviewing over 50 applicants, they brought on Ibraheem Amin, a Computer Science major, as their software engineer, and Erika Yeung, an Electrical and Computer Engineering major, as their Chief Marketing Officer. Both are avid gamers who add critical technical and strategic expertise to the venture.

“One of the biggest lessons I took from last year’s eLab experience was the importance of having the right people around you,” said Roland. “Building a dynamic team with the right players is essential to creating a sustainable venture. I feel like this is the right team to make EVAL a reality.”

This dream team is preparing to pitch their venture at Keller’s annual Demo Day in New York City and then continue working together in the eLab Incubator program during the academic year.