When NiP first began in 2000, there were no multimillionaire pro players, no gaming houses, no arenas packed with screaming fans. Turning gaming into a full-time, paying career seemed like a pipe dream. Today, NiP is a thriving esports empire with six teams across six games. Of course, no one’s saying it’s been a consistently easy road, much less a fully deliberate one. “I like to say that NiP was a company that happened by accident, rather by plan,” says CEO Hicham Chahine, but walk into their Stockholm offices and two things are immediately apparent: first, Chahine’s dog Oliver has the run of the place. Second, NiP is being run like a startup, and they’re in mega growth mode.