Evan Luputra

I led the product and the team that shipped Sabu

Savicore, Sabu

20K

users in the first 22 days of Early Access, with $0 on ads.

League players were spreading one evening across three different apps. I co-founded Savicore and ran product as CPO: the vision, the roadmap, research and a 15+ person team. We shipped Sabu, a Mac and Windows club for League of Legends players, and grew it through partners, coaches and streamers. We spent nothing on ads.

My role
Co-founder and CPO
What I owned
Vision, roadmap and priorities, research, product design, the team
Team
15+ coaches, developers, designers and a PM
Company
Savicore raised $1.4M2

The short version

Problem
One evening of League meant three apps: chat in one, matches in another, coaching somewhere else. Friends who don’t play had no reason to show up.
Constraints
A startup with a 15+ person team. Mac and Windows, English and Brazilian Portuguese, and no ad budget.
Key decision
A club first, with the League tools as a pack you add. As CPO I set the vision and a two-year MVP roadmap, and restructured the company to ship it. We tested it with 3,000+ beta testers.
What I ruled out
Voice rooms gated behind adding a game. For a club that made no sense, so we opened voice to every member and added a code of conduct pledge.
Outcome
20K users and 1.3K daily actives by day 22 of Early Access, with $0 on ads. Savicore raised $1.4M.

One evening of League meant three apps, and a friend left out

Savicore started as a subscription coaching platform for League of Legends. I ran research with our players and coaches about how they actually spend an evening around the game. They chat in one app, look up matches in another and find coaching somewhere else. Their friends who don’t play League have no reason to show up at all.

What they wanted was one place to hang out, learn and plan with friends, including the ones who don’t play.

From there, research turned into testing. We tested Sabu with 3,000+ beta testers.

Before Sabu, we proved it on the coaching platform

Before we built anything new, I lined up our design system, technology and operations on the coaching platform. In two months, revenue rose 48%, click-through 15% and unique visitors 120%. That gave the team the confidence, and the base, to go build Sabu.

Coaching: Book a session with a verified pro, with Find my coach and Watch a sample buttons.
Coaching, carried into Sabu. Book a live session or a VOD review with a verified coach.
Design notes
  • Verified pros up frontPlayers know who they are booking before they book.
  • What a session includesScreen share, VOD review and a game plan, said plainly.
  • Two clear actionsBook now, or watch a sample first if you’re not sure yet.

A club first, with League as a pack you add

I set the vision and a two-year MVP roadmap inside a five-year plan. Sabu would be a club first: Community, Messages, voice and classes for everyone, with the League tools as a pack you add when you want them. A visitor who doesn’t play League only sees Community and Messages. That puts new League players one step away from their tools, so accounts already linked to Riot keep the full menu.

To actually ship that, I restructured the company around scrum and lean planning and tied design, technology and operations to the business goals. I designed the product in Figma with our designers, from the club shell to every League tool, on one glass design system shared by the app and the website. Glass goes on the frame only. Messages, tables, maps and video stay on solid surfaces, because players read fast in the busiest screens and text has to stay sharp.

Playbook: a tactical board on the Summoner’s Rift map with player markers, a drawing toolbar and a lineup panel.
Playbook. Coaches prepare tactical maps and draft plans, then share a live link students open in their own app.
Design notes
  • Club firstCommunity sits above League. Friends who don’t play still belong.
  • Solid map surfaceGlass stays on the frame. The map is solid, so markers stay sharp.
  • Lineup beside the boardMap and draft plan share one screen, with no extra tool.
  • Share a live linkCoaches plan once, and students open it in their own app.

We took the gate off voice rooms

Voice rooms first waited until you added a game. For a club that made no sense. Hanging out includes talking, so we opened voice to every member.

More people in voice meant more to moderate. So joining Community now starts with a short code of conduct pledge: honest accounts, no hate or harassment, protecting minors and fair play.

Classroom: a live class card with a Join streaming now button, stream chat and the week’s schedule.
Classroom. Live classes from coaches, with chat and a weekly schedule.
Design notes
  • Live class up frontEvery member is one click from a coach teaching live.
  • Chat beside the streamMembers ask questions without leaving the class.
  • This week on SabuA weekly schedule shows who teaches next, and when.
Community pledge: four rules to check before joining, including zero tolerance for hate and harassment and protecting minors.
Community pledge. Four promises before you join.
Design notes
  • Four promises firstVoice is open to every member, so the rules come before the room.
  • Check each pledgeJoin stays off until every card is checked.
  • Joining comes lastNobody enters Community without agreeing to the pledge.
Matches: recent games grouped by day with champion, score, items and LP change, and a summary of recent games.
Matches. Recent games grouped by day, with the result, the build and the LP change. Demo data.
Design notes
  • Grouped by dayToday, yesterday and earlier stay apart at a glance.
  • LP on every rowGreen and red show the gain or loss of each game instantly.
  • Summary beside the listWin rate and recent form sit right next to the detail.
VOD Review: choose your footage, your coach and the review depth, in three steps.
VOD review. Pick the footage, the coach and the depth. The review lands privately in your library.
Design notes
  • Pick the footageUpload a VOD or choose a recent ranked match.
  • Any coach by defaultFastest match by default. Players can order without picking.
  • Pick the depthKey point or detailed, with the recommended option marked.
  • Private by defaultFeedback on your own play lands privately in your library.
Draft Lab: Draft with a plan, not a vibe, with team comp and side options and an Enter Champion Select button.
Draft Lab. Scores every remaining champion against both team comps during a draft.
Design notes
  • Draft with a planEvery remaining champion is scored against both team comps.
  • Solo Queue or ProScores fit how the player plays, lane first or team first.
  • Into Champion SelectLive tracking in the desktop app brings the read into a real draft.

Early Access in two languages, and 20K users in 22 days

I led coaches, developers, designers and a PM from roadmap to Early Access on Mac and Windows, in English and Brazilian Portuguese. Community, voice rooms and live classes came first, as the core of the club. Then the League pack: Library, Playbook, VOD review, coaching sessions, Matches, Replays and Draft Lab.

By day 22 of Early Access, Sabu had 20K users and 1.3K daily actives,1 and we hadn’t spent anything on ads. Partners, coaches and streamers brought their communities into the club. Savicore raised $1.4M.2

Those partners and streamers are where our growth came from, and we only brought them in at launch. Next time they’d be in the room while we plan.

Replays: a list of games and a gold graph with key moments for the selected game.
Replays. A gold graph and the key moments of each game.
Design notes
  • One game libraryEvery game in one place, with win or loss on each row.
  • Gold graph per gameOne line per team shows exactly when the game turned.
  • Timed key momentsPlayers review the moments that matter, not the whole game.

Sources

Screens are rendered from the Sabu desktop app source in web mode, using its built-in demo accounts and demo data. No real user data. Champion artwork belongs to Riot Games.

  1. 1Chris Lee (Savicore) on LinkedIn: Sabu day 22 of Early Access
  2. 2Chris Lee (Savicore) LinkedIn profile: raised US$1.4M+