Dream Lab

What Dream Lab does

Dream Lab, legally operating as Dream Lab Consulting, is a privately-held fractional HR practice founded in 2018 in Los Angeles by KC Hicks. The firm delivers senior HR leadership on a part-time, embedded basis to early- and mid-stage companies in gaming studios, esports organizations, media and creative brands, and eCommerce/Web3 ventures. Its delivery model is structured around a three-phase approach: an Initial Evaluation (a 2–4 week diagnostic producing a needs analysis and people strategy), a Scoped Engagement (monthly retainer-based HR support sized to the client's stage), and an ongoing Execute & Evolve phase. Services span People Operations (ATS integration, compliance, onboarding/offboarding, equity administration, compensation) and Business Leadership HR (organizational design, change management, DEI, learning & development). Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed, with engagement scope and cost calibrated to four company stages: Just Founded, Scaling Up, Needs Cleanup, and Major Transition.

The firm is founder-led and lean, with 1–10 employees operating across Los Angeles and Phoenix. KC Hicks (formerly of Riot Games, Microsoft, and Meta) and Chris San Mateo (formerly of Microsoft, Riot Games, and Scopely) are the named principals and primary client-facing consultants. Dream Lab has served 15+ named client companies across gaming (Azra Games, Raid Base, Brink Bound Games, Bitshift Entertainment, Maestro Interactive, Story Games, Gaming247, Phoenix Labs), media (Donut Media, GCN, VENN, UCB Comedy, Possible), and eCommerce/Web3 (Lunya, Wenew, PhatMojo), with several relationships extending beyond five years. The firm has raised no external capital and operates as a self-funded consulting practice. There is no proprietary technology platform; the offering is human-delivered professional services billed monthly on a recurring basis. Distribution is direct-to-client, driven primarily by founder networks, content marketing via the dreamlab.dev website, LinkedIn presence, and word-of-mouth referrals within the gaming and tech founder community.

Name

Dream Lab

Legal name

Dream Lab Consulting

Website

https://dreamlab.dev

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dream Lab is a founder-led fractional HR practice founded in 2018 that delivers senior HR consulting to early- and mid-stage gaming studios, esports organizations, media companies, and eCommerce/Web3 brands across the United States via custom-scoped monthly engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fractional HR Consulting Services

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

HR Technology (HRIS/HCM) Advisory & Implementation (BPAHAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performance Management & OKRs (BPACAPAF)

Keywords

• Fractional HR services
• People operations consulting
• Gaming industry HR
• Startup HR advisory
• HR strategy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Fractional HR Consulting Services: Dream Lab provides fractional HR services through monthly scoped engagements. Every engagement is custom-scoped to the client's actual situation - from foundational ops to full strategic HR support. The revenue model is subscription-based professional services with flexible monthly billing sized to where the client is (Just Founded, Scaling Up, Needs Cleanup, or Major Transition).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Dream Lab is a fractional HR practice that embeds senior HR professionals into gaming studios, esports organizations, and creative companies on a monthly subscription basis. Engagements begin with a 2-4 week Initial Evaluation diagnostic that produces an HR audit, gap analysis, and people strategy roadmap, followed by Scoped Engagement monthly retainers sized to client needs. Services span People Operations (compliance, onboarding, compensation, equity, immigration) and Business Leadership HR (mission/vision, change management, organizational design, DEI).

Product overview

Dream Lab operates as a fractional HR services practice rather than a product company. Their offering is a single unified consulting service with multiple integrated components: the Initial Evaluation (a 2–4 week diagnostic that produces an HR audit, gap analysis, and people strategy roadmap) leads into Scoped Engagement (monthly retainer-based HR support sized to client needs). Two primary service tracks — People Operations and Business Leadership HR — are delivered together, covering tactical HR infrastructure and strategic people leadership. Services are further tailored to four company stages: Just Founded, Scaling Up, Needs Cleanup, and Major Transition, each delivering specific deliverables like payroll setup, compliance basics, offer letters, onboarding flows, and employee handbook.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Initial Evaluation A 2-4 week deep dive diagnostic that assesses HR infrastructure, conducts a gap analysis, and produces a go-forward people strategy and roadmap before any ongoing engagement. Delivered to founders and executives at gaming studios, esports organizations, and creative companies who need senior HR leadership without full-time headcount costs.
• Scoped Engagement Monthly subscription-based fractional HR engagement sized to actual client needs, ranging from foundational HR ops to full strategic support. Scope dynamically adjusts as client needs evolve. Covers People Operations (ATS integration, compliance, onboarding/offboarding, compensation, equity administration, immigration) and Business Leadership HR (mission/vision, change management, organizational design, DEI, learning & development).

Quantifiable outcome

• 20+ years of combined HR experience across gaming, tech, and creative industries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Gusto: Gusto is a payroll, benefits, and HR platform serving small businesses and startups, including a growing base of creative and digital companies. Like Justworks, it is a tech-first incumbent that handles the foundational HR layer Dream Lab helps clients set up.
• Justworks: Justworks is an HR technology platform and PEO serving SMBs with payroll, benefits, compliance, and HR support. While delivery is more productized and tech-led than Dream Lab's bespoke consulting, both compete for HR budget at venture-backed startups and creative/digital SMBs.
• Insperity: Insperity is a publicly traded PEO providing HR outsourcing, benefits administration, payroll, and workforce solutions to SMBs across all industries. It competes for the same fractional HR budget at the mid-market end but lacks Dream Lab's gaming/esports vertical specialization.
• Velocity Global (now Pebl): Velocity Global (rebranded to Pebl) is a global Employer of Record and HR services provider, supporting companies with international hiring and HR infrastructure. It overlaps with Dream Lab on the 'HR infrastructure for scaling companies' need, particularly for Web3 and digital-native clients expanding across geographies.
• BambooHR: BambooHR provides HR software for SMBs, with strong adoption among creative, agency, and tech-forward employers — overlapping with several Dream Lab client categories. Its bundled HRIS offering sometimes displaces the need for outsourced HR infrastructure work, though it does not address senior advisory needs.
• TriNet: TriNet is a PEO offering HR services, payroll, benefits, and risk management to small and mid-market businesses, with strong presence among venture-backed startups. It overlaps with Dream Lab's target buyer (founders/finance leaders at scaling companies) but delivers HR primarily through co-employment/PEO rather than senior fractional advisory.
• ADP: ADP is the largest incumbent HR services and payroll provider globally, with a full stack including PEO (ADP TotalSource), HR consulting, and talent management. It competes with Dream Lab at the largest end of its client base and represents the dominant scale competitor any growth-stage HR firm must plan against.

Emerging players

• Toptal: Toptal is a fractional talent marketplace connecting companies with senior freelancers across functions including HR, finance, and operations. While not a dedicated HR firm, it represents the broader 'fractional senior talent' category and competes for the same buyer budget when founders choose between a freelancer and a dedicated fractional practice like Dream Lab.

Direct peers

• Bambee: Bambee is a tech-enabled fractional HR service for small and mid-sized businesses, offering subscription-based access to senior HR managers. It is the closest direct competitor to Dream Lab's fractional HR model, though it serves SMB broadly rather than the gaming/esports/creative vertical.
• Pilot: Pilot provides fractional CFO, accounting, and tax services to startups and SMBs on a subscription basis. While its domain is finance rather than HR, the underlying delivery model — embedded senior practitioners on monthly retainers serving venture-backed startups — is structurally identical to Dream Lab's approach and the most relevant non-HR comparables for the business model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dream-lab-consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dream Lab