Founder & Chief Executive, Play Versus Inc.

Sawtelle-based PlayVS is bringing organized esports competition to high schools and colleges so that schools can build teams around such games as “League of Legends” as easily as creating a basketball program. The company was founded by Parnell in 2018 and has grown quickly, forming partnerships with more than two dozen state high school organizations and expanding its operations to Canada with the 2021 purchase of Vancouver-based GameSeta Esports Inc. The company has also developed partnerships with such a major game publsihers as Riot Games and Activision Blizzard. Prior to founding PlayVS, Parnell was an early employee at Detroit-based internet service provider Rocket Fiber.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 2