In our Newzchain Exclusive series, we feature startups and founders who are solving real problems, not just chasing trends. And in this edition, we sat down with Tony Klor, the founder of Catoff, a startup aiming to shake up the creator economy in gaming. 

As the gaming industry grows more saturated, many streamers and indie developers continue to face an uphill battle when it comes to visibility and fair monetization.

Klor, who relocated to India to build Catoff from the ground up, walks us through the story behind the platform, what sets it apart, and how it’s positioning itself within the evolving Web3 and gaming landscape.

From early wins to long-term ambitions, the journey of Catoff reflects a broader shift in how creators are reclaiming control, one challenge at a time.

Rethinking the Creator Economy in Gaming

Catoff was born out of a frustration that many in the gaming community share — that despite booming viewership and endless hours of content, most creators are barely getting by. 

The numbers paint a stark picture. Klor says that 97% of streamers earn less than minimum wage, and 92% of indie games never break through. For Klor, this wasn’t just a statistic — it was the lived reality of friends and collaborators hustling in a system that rarely rewards the underdogs.

“The platforms are saturated, and the monetization tools are outdated or only reward the top 1%,” Klor explains. “We knew we could fix it.”

That fix is Catoff, a Solana-based challenge economy that lets gamers and streamers create bite-sized, monetized challenges during live gameplay. Whether it’s predicting the next headshot, surviving a round, or beating a boss, fans can participate in real time, turning passive viewing into active engagement. And with built-in Solana payments and UPI support in India, the platform is built for accessibility as much as interactivity.

Catoff’s philosophy is simple: empower the 99% of creators and games left out of traditional revenue models. Drawing from their experience building viral Web3 products like X Dares and IRL Challengethons, the team is focused on making games more fun, streams more interactive, and creators more profitable — not just for the elite, but for everyone. As Klor puts it,

“Catoff Esports isn’t just a product — it’s a movement.”

What Makes Catoff Different

While prediction and betting platforms in gaming aren’t new, Catoff Esports is carving out a space that most players in the industry have overlooked — the everyday creators, casual gamers, and indie developers who don’t operate in packed arenas or headline tournaments.

At the heart of Catoff’s innovation is its ability to generate AI-powered personalized odds for single-player challenges. This isn’t limited to professional multiplayer showdowns; even a solo streamer grinding through a dungeon crawler can activate dynamic, real-time challenges that fans can engage with. 

“This unlocks a whole new layer of engagement for casual streams and creators,” says Klor.

In addition to AI-generated odds, Catoff enables live predictions on streamer outcomes. Viewers can stake on highly specific gameplay moments, like whether a streamer will score a headshot, clear a boss, or survive a tricky round. It turns passive watching into something far more interactive, almost like a second-screen experience built into the game itself.

And for developers, Catoff’s pluggable SDKs offer a low-lift way to integrate challenge-based monetization into any format, from indie platformers to AAA shooters. This modular approach means creators aren’t locked into a single style of play — the system adapts to them, not the other way around.

Despite being entirely bootstrapped, Catoff’s early momentum is notable. With a growing team of 6 full-timers and 7 interns, the startup has already won 11 hackathons and secured 7 ecosystem grants from leading Web3 players, including the Solana Foundation, CoinDCX, Superteam, and YGG.

When asked about the next phase of growth, Klor has said that it is already underway. In the short term, Catoff aims to onboard 500 creators, roll out its AI-powered Streamer Mode, and drive $50K+ in challenge volume through IRL tournaments and creator-led bounties. On the game dev front, it plans to integrate with its first five indie game partners, bringing challenge-based wagering directly into gameplay loops.

The long-term vision is more ambitious. The startup aims to become the go-to monetization layer for creators left out of Twitch and esports payouts. As Klor puts it, 

“We want Catoff to be the engine that powers grassroots gaming economies — whether it’s a Telegram group in India or a dorm room LAN party in the Philippines. Wherever games are being played, Catoff should be there, turning attention into income.”

Building a Culture for the 99%

At Catoff, culture isn’t just company jargon, it’s a blueprint that mirrors the mission. From the way meetings are run to how decisions are made, everything is designed to reflect the same values the platform is built on: transparency, ownership, and creative freedom. 

And for Klor, this wasn’t optional. 

“We’re building a new way to work and win — one that mirrors the kind of fairness and participation we want creators to experience through our platform.”

Everyone on the team, regardless of title, has access to the same context, direction, and decision-making processes. It’s a model that borrows from open-source philosophy, both in code and in communication. 

Equally important is the absence of ego. At Catoff, ideas take precedence over résumés, and learning is valued more than being right. It’s a culture where interns challenge founders, and the best argument wins.

The team also thrives on experimentation. As a company inventing a new layer in the gaming economy, nothing is off-limits. Rapid prototyping, public failures, and learning in motion are part of the everyday rhythm. But that freedom is balanced with a strong sense of responsibility. 

Shipping on time, owning mistakes, and showing up with integrity aren’t just encouraged — they’re expected.

Betting on the Unconventional

For Klor, building Catoff wasn’t just about launching a startup; it meant relocating across continents and stepping directly into unfamiliar territory. Choosing to build in India as a foreigner came with its own set of hurdles. Bureaucratic red tape, visa headaches, language barriers, and even getting scammed by vendors, all of it was part of the headache.

Every day tasks like buying a SIM card or paying rent became a kind of personal side quest. Layer that onto the backdrop of one of the most brutal crypto bear markets in recent memory, and survival itself felt like a win.

But Klor didn’t pack up and leave — he doubled down. Instead of importing solutions, he learned to embed himself into the local scene. He hired a team that could bridge both cultural and regulatory gaps, leaned into grassroots events, and ensured features like UPI payments weren’t just a box to tick but a core part of the user experience. 

“Resilience isn’t just about pushing through,” he says. “It’s about adapting smartly and building with empathy.”

That philosophy now runs deep through Catoff’s DNA. And when asked what advice he’d give to fellow founders, Klor doesn’t hesitate. Build where it hurts. Go where others won’t. Stay adaptable, even when things fall apart — because they will.

“The biggest opportunities live in the margins — in places people ignore or underestimate,” he says.

But perhaps his most enduring message is this: be delusional, but ship. 

Every founder believes in a version of the world that doesn’t yet exist. It’s that belief, paired with daily execution, that turns late-night frustrations and half-baked prototypes into something real. For Klor, that something is Catoff. And it’s only just getting started.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah