What We Do Our Team Clients About Get Started
Fractional HR for Tech, Gaming & Creative

Senior HR leadership.
Built for your world.

For growing gaming studios, esports organizations, and creative teams. Work directly with experienced HR leaders who handle the people side of your business, from everyday operations to your next big change.

Previously at
Riot GamesMicrosoftMetaScopely
RAID BASEDONUT MEDIAAZRA GAMESPHATMOJO
“Their practical, no-nonsense approach freed our leadership team to focus on growing the business instead of managing people problems.”Kyle McCarthy Co-Founder, PhatMojo

People support that takes work
off your plate.

Senior advice and hands-on execution, sized to your team.

01 / FOUNDATIONS

Get the essentials running.

Build the systems your team relies on, so HR administration stops landing on the founder’s desk.

  • Payroll, benefits & HR systems
  • Onboarding & offboarding
  • Policies & compliance support
02 / GROWTH

Help your people succeed.

Give managers practical support and employees a clearer path as your organization grows.

  • Compensation & leveling
  • Performance & manager coaching
  • Organizational design
03 / CHANGE

Navigate the hard moments.

Bring experienced judgment to sensitive people issues and consequential business decisions.

  • Employee relations
  • Leadership transitions & reorgs
  • Change planning & communication

Meet your HR partners.

You work directly with KC and Chris. Our experience spans enterprise tech, game studios, and the realities of building smaller teams.

KC Hicks
KC Hicks
Founder & Principal

KC brings senior HR judgment and hands-on people operations experience from gaming and tech to growing teams.

Previously at
Microsoft Riot Games Meta
Chris San Mateo
Chris San Mateo
Founder & Principal

Chris combines strategic HR leadership with practical execution for early-to-mid stage startups and game studios.

Previously at
Microsoft Riot Games Scopely

A conversation first. A clear plan next.

1

Free discovery call

Tell us about your team and what’s getting in the way. We’ll discuss whether Dream Lab is the right fit.

2

Evaluate & prioritize

A 2–4 week evaluation identifies your HR gaps and produces a prioritized roadmap and scoped engagement proposal.

3

Get to work, together

We take on the agreed priorities through a monthly engagement that adjusts as your business evolves.

Scoped to where you actually are

We don't do packages. Every engagement is scoped to exactly where you are — and evolves as you grow.

Stage 1 of 4
Just Founded
You're a newly funded team building from scratch — no real HR infrastructure yet, founders wearing every hat, and a handful of hires on the horizon. We come in and build the foundation: payroll, compliance, your first policies, and an onboarding process that actually works.
Payroll Setup Compliance Basics Offer Letters Onboarding Flows Employee Handbook

Wherever you are, we scope to fit. No guesswork, no one-size-fits-all.

Let’s talk

Trusted across gaming, media & beyond

We've partnered with studios, esports orgs, media companies, and digital brands at every stage of growth.

Gaming Studios

Azra Games Raid Base
BRINK BOUND Games
Bitshift Entertainment
MAESTRO Interactive
Story Games
GAMING247

Media & Entertainment

eCommerce, Web3 & Consumer

What our partners say

We measure success by the outcomes our clients achieve — and the relationships we build along the way.

“KC and the team have been an invaluable ‘secret sauce’ to keeping our fast growing company on-track and ensuring we are gaining strategic insights, as well as, hands-on HR implementation and feedback. KC’s willingness to sit back and listen, and then respond with intelligent, strategic advice and guidance is truly appreciated. He is always a thoughtful and measured voice all while keeping the employee at the forefront. He has been an amazing partner and great resource for us.”
Chris Kindt
CMO — Gaming Community Network
“We brought the Dreamlab team into Donut during a critical juncture in our growth. As a fast-growing startup, we needed proper HR support for our business and employees, but were not at the size where we could justify the budget to get a top quality HR staff. That’s where Chris and KC stepped in. They were able to give us the level of support, infrastructure, and knowledge that is usually only available to top tech companies. It allowed our executive team to focus on growing the business with the comfort that our people operations were the best they could be.”
Matt Levin
Donut Media
“KC has been a pillar of wisdom, practicality, and candor for me as both a member of my team at Riot, and as a consultant at Phoenix Labs. KC is pragmatic, efficient and effective across a wide array of people related topics. He’s the first person I call when I have people related questions and is a delight to interact with. I am grateful to learn from and work with KC as a person and a professional.”
Sean Bender
Phoenix Labs (formerly Riot Games)

Let’s take people ops
off your plate.

Start with a free discovery call. Tell us a little about your team and what you need help with.