Founder, Designer, Developer, Sim Racer

Gavin Weeks

Design-forward builder crafting bold digital products, structured systems, and high-impact experiences.

(02) (About)

About

I'm co-founder of Kolex, the leading platform for digital collectibles in esports and gaming. I've led product, design, and development for 10 years, building trusted experiences in collectibles and fantasy for some of the world's largest brands including ESL, Tencent, Kings League & Warner Bros. We've minted over 400M collectibles and our 1M+ collectors have opened nearly 40M packs.

I have 26 years in the industry, from CEO at Ryze Software and Esportsify to CCO at Xfire (23M+ users). I founded Jowst, the tournament platform that was acquired by Xfire, Tiny Rocketship creative agency, and co-founded NEVERBLAND, the London based digital product studio. Earlier, I focused on progressing accessibility and web standards at Future Publishing and Engino, spending an excessive amount of time at war with Internet Explorer 6!

More recently, I've been deep in AI engineering—architecting specialist agent teams that amplify what small teams can ship, turning AI from a buzzword into real leverage for product velocity and operational efficiency.

I'm passionate about marrying technology with user-centric design—championing usability and web standards across everything I build.

(03) (Skillset)

Skillset

Product & Leadership

Product StrategyDefining product vision and prioritising the roadmap to deliver measurable user and business outcomes.
Roadmap PlanningStructuring quarterly and annual plans that balance near-term delivery with long-term platform investment.
Team LeadershipHiring, mentoring, and aligning cross-functional teams around shared goals and engineering excellence.
Stakeholder ManagementBuilding trust with investors, partners, and executives through clear communication and consistent delivery.
FundraisingPreparing pitch materials, leading investor conversations, and closing seed and Series A rounds.
Go-to-MarketCoordinating launch strategy, positioning, and growth channels to drive initial adoption and retention.

Engineering

TypeScriptWriting strongly-typed, maintainable code across full-stack applications to reduce runtime errors.
React / Next.jsBuilding performant server-rendered and client-side UIs with React and the Next.js App Router.
Node.jsDeveloping scalable backend services, APIs, and CLI tooling in the Node.js runtime.
REST & GraphQL APIsDesigning and consuming RESTful and GraphQL APIs for flexible, efficient client-server communication.
PostgreSQLModelling relational data, writing complex queries, and optimising indexes for production workloads.
Cloud InfrastructureProvisioning and managing cloud resources on AWS and Vercel to support reliable, scalable deployments.

AI Engineering

Agent ArchitectureDesigning autonomous agent systems that decompose goals into tool-calling loops with reliable state management.
Prompt EngineeringCrafting structured prompts and few-shot examples to reliably elicit accurate, well-formatted model outputs.
LLM OrchestrationCoordinating multiple model calls, retries, and fallbacks using frameworks like LangChain and custom pipelines.
RAG PipelinesBuilding retrieval-augmented generation systems that ground LLM responses in up-to-date, domain-specific context.
Multi-Agent SystemsComposing networks of specialised agents that collaborate, delegate, and verify each other's outputs.
AI-Augmented WorkflowsEmbedding AI capabilities into existing product flows to accelerate user tasks without replacing human judgment.

Design & UX

UI / UX DesignTranslating user needs into intuitive interfaces that balance visual clarity with functional depth.
Design SystemsBuilding and maintaining token-based component libraries that ensure consistency across products.
PrototypingRapidly creating interactive prototypes to validate ideas and gather feedback before engineering investment.
User ResearchPlanning and conducting interviews, usability tests, and surveys to inform evidence-based product decisions.
AccessibilityImplementing WCAG-compliant markup and interaction patterns so products work for all users.
FigmaDesigning and collaborating on high-fidelity mockups, component libraries, and developer-ready specs in Figma.

Platforms & Tools

VercelDeploying and configuring Next.js applications on Vercel with preview environments and edge functions.
AWSUsing S3, RDS, Lambda, and CloudFront to build cost-effective, highly available cloud architectures.
DockerContainerising services for consistent local development and reproducible production deployments.
CI / CDAutomating build, test, and deployment pipelines with GitHub Actions to ship changes safely and quickly.
GitManaging version control workflows including branching strategies, code review, and conflict resolution.
Monitoring & ObservabilityInstrumenting applications with logging, metrics, and tracing to detect and diagnose production issues fast.

Domain Expertise

Digital CollectiblesDesigning and scaling NFT and digital collectible platforms with secondary markets and creator economics.
Fantasy SportsBuilding real-time fantasy sports products with live scoring, roster management, and contest mechanics.
Esports & GamingCreating competitive gaming experiences including tournaments, leaderboards, and live event integrations.
Marketplace DesignArchitecting two-sided marketplace mechanics that balance supply, demand, trust, and liquidity.
Real-Time SystemsEngineering low-latency data pipelines and WebSocket-powered UIs for live, event-driven applications.
GamificationApplying points, progression, and reward systems to drive engagement and long-term user retention.

(04) (Experience)

Experience

2015 – Present

Co-founder

Kolex

SeedSeries ACo-founder, CPO & CTO

Leading product, design, and development for the leading digital collectibles platform in esports and gaming. Building trusted experiences for ESL, Tencent, Kings League & Warner Bros. 400M+ collectibles minted, 1M+ collectors, 40M packs opened.

2010 – 2020

Founder

Esportsify

AngelCEO

Founded and led an esports tournament and community platform for competitive gaming, building tools for players, teams, and organisers.

2015 – 2018

Founder

Ryze Software

SeedCEO

Founded and led a software and digital product development company, delivering bespoke solutions across web and interactive media.

2013 – 2015

Executive

Xfire

Series ASeries BCCO

Chief Creative Officer at the relaunched Xfire social gaming platform with 23M+ registered users. Joined following the acquisition of Jowst.

2011 – 2014

Founder

Jowst

AcquiredFounder

Founded a video game tournament platform centralising the competitive gaming experience. Acquired by Xfire.

2010 – 2013

Founder

Tiny Rocketship

ExitFounder & Creative Director

Creative agency specialising in digital design, branding, and web development for clients across technology and entertainment.

2009 – 2010

Co-founder

NEVERBLAND

ExitCo-founder

Co-founded a London-based digital product studio, building innovative products and experiences for global brands across web and mobile.

2006 – 2009

Employment

Future Publishing

Web Developer

Progressed accessibility and web standards in editorial publishing environments. Spent an excessive amount of time at war with Internet Explorer 6.

2004 – 2006

Employment

Engino

Web Developer

Early career focus on web standards and accessibility, championing usability best practices across digital products.

(05) (Portfolio)

Recent Projects

Product engineering across collecting, mobile apps, agent workspaces, live sport data, and interactive 3D. These projects show how I shape complex systems into usable experiences.

Kolex Platform

Collectibles, Marketplace, Fantasy

CollectiblesMarketplaceFantasy

A connected esports collecting platform spanning packs, collections, trading, marketplace auctions, fantasy, quests, and live activity. The work brings complex commerce and game systems into one product experience.

Collectibles: 403M
Collectors: 1M
Packs Opened: 38.3M
Trades: 5M
Market Sales: 12.5M

Next.js
Node.js
PostgreSQL

View project

Kolex Mobile

Mobile App, Collectibles

Mobile AppCollectibles

The Kolex collecting experience on mobile, built with Expo Router, shared data flows, theming, and translations. The app architecture supports browsing and managing collectibles across devices.

React Native
Expo Router
TanStack Query
i18n

App Store Google Play

Squad Office

Agent Orchestration, Developer Tools

Agent OrchestrationDeveloper Tools

A visual office for coordinating specialist agents. Rooms, presence, and a public floor make concurrent work visible and easier to follow as it happens.

Agent Systems
Real-time UI

View project

Kings League Fantasy

Fantasy Football, Kolex App

Fantasy FootballKolex App

A football fantasy experience within Kolex. Collect player cards, build squads and formations, scout players, and follow chat and leaderboards across matchdays.

Collectibles: 10M+
Collectors: 200K+
Packs Opened: 10.4M
Trades: 1.2M
Market Sales: 3.8M

Next.js
TypeScript
Node.js
Redis

View project

DeltaSync

F1 Data, Real-time UI, 3D

F1 DataReal-time UI3D

F1 telemetry and timing brought into an interactive race view. Explore live data, replay sessions, and follow cars around a 3D track on desktop or mobile.

Races tracked: 72+
Tracks: 20+
Sessions: 372+

Next.js
TypeScript
WebSocket
Python

View project

Airburst

Web Game

A simple shooter game based on the retro arcade classic Missile Command—defend your cities from incoming missile waves in a modern take on the 1980s hit.