KaFe culture: how KaFe Rocks stormed up the Power Affiliates rankings

When KaFe Rocks scraped into EGR’s 2019 Power Affiliates rankings, it was very difficult to write its entry. There was barely a morsel of information about the company online, and its official website revealed next to nothing, aside from a clear preference for remote working.

In 2019, KaFe Rocks was a new entrant in 25th position. But fast forward 12 months, and the company is undoubtedly the major talking point on this year’s list, having catapulted its way up the charts to fifth place, disrupting a previously solid top five to overtake heritage brands and PLCs.

Founded in 2018, the business was able to learn from the mistakes of its predecessors in the Wild West days of the affiliate space and pledged to “shed light and transparency on an industry that desperately needs it” prior to launch. KaFe Rocks has barely wavered from that mission statement, scoring 21 points in the compliance category from our esteemed nine-person judging panel, ahead of Racing Post and Gaming Innovation Group, and level with Gambling.com Group.

The business boasts more than 90 remote-working staff members in 2020 and has effortlessly coped with the new working-from-home culture brought about by the global Covid-19 lockdown. The last month has been a baptism of fire for new CEO Simon Pilkington, who was appointed at the end of February. He was due to move to Malta full time as part of the promotion, having been with the business since 2018. Construction work has begun on renovating a new office for employees who fancy a slice of regular life from time to time, but Pilkington’s permanent relocation is on hold as this wretched virus continues to stave off any semblance of normality.

Below, he talks to EGR Intel about keeping staff entertained with yoga lessons and CS:GO tournaments, as well as protecting casino consumers from harm with crystal-clear reviews.

EGR Intel: What can you tell us about the KaFe Rocks business?

Simon Pilkington (SP): KaFe Rocks, in many ways, is a very traditional SEO affiliate. Pure SEO is our number one remit, obviously all white hat with no silliness. The company itself was formed in early 2018 but the owners were in the industry already with separate businesses and that preceded the creation of KaFe Rocks as a business. The three founders are German, but the company works in multiple territories. Whereas a lot of people get involved early in the UK market, that wasn’t our biggest focus originally. We were focused on many more territories across Europe and beyond.

EGR Intel: How has the business grown?

SP: I joined in May 2018 when I think we were about 15 staff members. Then over the two years, we’ve grown rapidly to just over 90, which is pretty huge. That trend then followed throughout the business in other metrics. We’re really pleased with where things are despite obviously tough times right now due to the coronavirus. In terms of our sites, we’ve got around 40 properties in a number of different languages with staff all over the globe working 100% remotely.

EGR Intel: The KaFe Rocks website doesn’t reveal much, but it does place a massive emphasis on working from home. Why?

SP: One of the key facets of our company is that we’re a purely remote-working business. We’ve got a global talent pool to pick from, which is great for recruitment. Because it’s been born into the company since the very beginning, it has not been a big culture shock, which I know many firms are facing in the current circumstances.

EGR Intel: Does remote working solve the talent pool problem of being bound to one hub like Malta or Gibraltar?

SP: Ironically, we do have a good core of people in Malta because we are a Maltese business. I was due to move over there at the end of March, but the current situation leaves me a bit up in the air with that. But KaFe Rocks, without trying to be too cliched, is all about the people and all about the culture. A big part of that is being able to recruit globally, in any territory, in any language, as long as it fits with the profile of the company. It’s not rocket-science, and I’m sure some other companies are doing it. But because we’ve had that instilled from the very beginning, rather than switching to it, it’s just made it a much smoother process. We’ve found some great people that otherwise we would never have found in Malta. On the flip side, that’s not to say there isn’t great talent in Malta – it is just a more restricted pool.

EGR Intel: Your remote-working experience must have helped with home working for the coronavirus mitigation?

SP: We’ve been very lucky in many ways as a company. You make your own luck, of course, but we were already remote working. We’re also full of people who are good at remote working because it’s not for everybody. There are lots of people who prefer to be in an office environment, which is actually one of the ways we’ve invested in Malta. We are in the process of renovating a new office space, which is completely non-obligatory to our workers. No one has to go there, but it’s for employees who want a day of seeing people and speaking face-to-face.

EGR Intel: Is it business as usual then?

SP: Not quite. We have a number of employees in Italy and Spain, and as lockdowns go, it’s been really tough and pretty brutal. It’s not like in the UK where we are allowed out to exercise, so we are aware we’ve had to manage the mental health side of things because there is a big difference between choosing to be a remote worker and being told you can never leave the house. Trying to keep spirits up is where our biggest focus has been.

EGR Intel: How are you trying to keep spirits high during the lockdown?

SP: We were already frequent users of Zoom and Slack and various communication channels, so it’s about using those platforms for good. What’s great is that most of the initiatives have come from people inside the company. We’ve got someone who is a yoga instructor in their spare time, and they are gaining their qualification by doing lessons on Zoom for staff. We’ve held our own poker tournaments and we are even due to have a CS:GO tournament within the company. It has been a lot of fun, but we have really ramped up communication levels too. The CEO monthly update has moved to a weekly thing.

EGR Intel: Congratulations on becoming CEO, by the way.

SP: Thanks, we’ve been very fortunate. I took the role on in late February and I guess if this had gone another way, I could have been in the very unfortunate position of having to make layoffs. But the first thing I am able to do is go into work and say, unless something drastic changes, there will be no coronavirus-related layoffs and that we’re actually in a relatively strong position, thankfully.

EGR Intel: How did you become chief executive?

SP: I joined as head of English language markets in May 2018. I was then essentially promoted to the VP of English markets, but with the option to move to Malta and become CEO, which was obviously too great an opportunity to turn down as it is something I’ve strived for. To do it in a company that I can genuinely say I love is amazing, so it was an absolute no-brainer.

EGR Intel: Do you have a history in online gaming?

SP: Before KaFe Rocks I was at Perform Group for six years, with a little hiatus in the middle when I relocated to Bristol. I joined initially to help monetise Goal.com and Soccerway from a betting perspective. I was head of sportsbook there in my final position before moving back over to the affiliate side.

EGR Intel: What is the breakdown by vertical of the KaFe Rocks affiliate portfolio?

SP: Part of the reason we’ve been so fortunate is because a good proportion of our business has come from the casino side. I think our sports sites are around the 40% mark, with casino making up the bulk of it.

EGR Intel: Have you seen an uptick in casino activity during lockdown?

SP: Once coronavirus happened, we saw the trend coming. One thing that took us more by surprise is the poker uptake in certain territories. I think EGR reported a 123% increase in poker in Italy [in March] and we can certainly back those figures up from what we’re seeing. The casino traffic to our sites in most markets has also improved, whereas sportsbook traffic is declining for obvious
reasons.

EGR Intel: How important is reinforcing a responsible gambling message considering the uptick?

SP: The key is that people are doing it responsibly at the end of the day. This is an unprecedented situation and we obviously try and stick within every parameter of the rules around responsible gambling as that is a big part of what we believe in.

Gambling is a form of entertainment, and we do not want to exploit people, so we try to shine a light on operators that are both good, and not so good. We want to ensure that if people are going to be searching for new places to wager their money that they’ve got the best reviews possible as well as the best information available.

EGR Intel: Which territories are key for KaFe Rocks?

SP: Italy and Spain, although the situation in Spain has obviously changed dramatically very recently. It’s a good example of the extra surprises that are being thrown at the industry just now, and I don’t expect it to be the last one.
It was fascinating to see how the team reacted to get compliant with the new regulations. Within a 40-hour period, we had moved all our Spanish properties completely in line with the new requirements. In terms of other markets, we are in English language markets, so the UK and a little bit in the US, but Spain, Italy, Germany and Latin America are the key territories for us.

EGR Intel: Some of your biggest competitors in the EGR Power Affiliates list are huge PLCs. Does KaFe Rocks have an advantage in that it doesn’t have to answer to shareholders?

SP: First and foremost, they are fantastic companies. We certainly look to them as our competitors. Not being listed suits us because we don’t have to lay every big business decision on the line by being transparent to shareholders. Being able to go under the radar a little bit is definitely an advantage. The company has always been run well from a corporate perspective, which means we are able to move at speed.