Technology
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Entrepreneurship
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NFT
Web3
Startups
NFTs
Work-life balance
Challenges
Business Challenges
1) Fuck it. I started a business and NFT project back in January. I thought I was prepared. God was I wrong. Here are the challenges and secrets that a lot of project founders face, but refuse to talk about.
This is a 🧵
This is a 🧵
2) Time
For some reason I thought that because I could trade and be active in web3 while working a job, I could start a project in my free time. Nope. Had to quit my job and go full time in less than a month. I now work 12+ hours a day and often with little to show each day.
For some reason I thought that because I could trade and be active in web3 while working a job, I could start a project in my free time. Nope. Had to quit my job and go full time in less than a month. I now work 12+ hours a day and often with little to show each day.
3) Money
Very few projects are equipped for angel investing or VC funding. Most projects (like mine) are bootstrapped which means not only do we not make money until mint, we have massive expenses such as contract dev, marketing, moderators, etc. Things are always tight 😬
Very few projects are equipped for angel investing or VC funding. Most projects (like mine) are bootstrapped which means not only do we not make money until mint, we have massive expenses such as contract dev, marketing, moderators, etc. Things are always tight 😬
4) Buying Followers
Any founder that says they never discussed buying followers is full of shit. There is this weird cycle where you need followers to get into alpha groups and collabs but you need the collabs to get the real followers. So everyone buys followers, and moves on.
Any founder that says they never discussed buying followers is full of shit. There is this weird cycle where you need followers to get into alpha groups and collabs but you need the collabs to get the real followers. So everyone buys followers, and moves on.
5) The Market
Nobody knows what the market sentiment will be next week. We’ve had to pivot 10+ times from cancelling a DA to changing our mint price. People love and hate different things every week and it’s impossible to predict or plan for.
Nobody knows what the market sentiment will be next week. We’ve had to pivot 10+ times from cancelling a DA to changing our mint price. People love and hate different things every week and it’s impossible to predict or plan for.
6) Mission vs Value Prop
We assumed that helping solve world hunger and saving lives would be an enticing reason for people to buy our NFT. Again, NOPE. People want value, often equating to money or stuff. It’s sad but it’s real. Value doesn’t always mean doing good 😭
We assumed that helping solve world hunger and saving lives would be an enticing reason for people to buy our NFT. Again, NOPE. People want value, often equating to money or stuff. It’s sad but it’s real. Value doesn’t always mean doing good 😭
7) Team Conflict
Any healthy partnership or coworker relationship is going to have back and forth. There have multiple times my partner and I have gotten into it about a trait or mint price, and overcoming that in a healthy way was something new I had to learn @notstringcheese
Any healthy partnership or coworker relationship is going to have back and forth. There have multiple times my partner and I have gotten into it about a trait or mint price, and overcoming that in a healthy way was something new I had to learn @notstringcheese
8) Art
No matter how much you think you understand generative art, there are gonna be hiccups. Trust me. A lot of trait combinations need to be reviewed. ALOT. And there are always debates on what looks good or has mass appeal. Nobody really knows 🤷🏼♂️
No matter how much you think you understand generative art, there are gonna be hiccups. Trust me. A lot of trait combinations need to be reviewed. ALOT. And there are always debates on what looks good or has mass appeal. Nobody really knows 🤷🏼♂️
9) Contract Development
We’ve gotten quotes from $500 to $65,000 from developers to write our contract. I’m not a dev. How do I know who is trustworthy. Not something you can skimp on but reputable people say we overpay. On-Team devs would want massive portions of our mint.
We’ve gotten quotes from $500 to $65,000 from developers to write our contract. I’m not a dev. How do I know who is trustworthy. Not something you can skimp on but reputable people say we overpay. On-Team devs would want massive portions of our mint.
10) Advisors 1/2
OOF. We’ve spoken with 40+ NFT “advisors” and 90% of them are…🤦♂️. What they are really meant for is to help guide web2 brands that want to branch into web3 but know nothing. Not for veterans in the space wanting to start a project for the first time.
OOF. We’ve spoken with 40+ NFT “advisors” and 90% of them are…🤦♂️. What they are really meant for is to help guide web2 brands that want to branch into web3 but know nothing. Not for veterans in the space wanting to start a project for the first time.
11) Advisors 2/2
What project founders REALLY need when they say advisor, is a public face to connect them with big projects for collabs and to blast the shit out of your NFT on twitter and in spaces. But people pretend like they need to be a “consultant”.
What project founders REALLY need when they say advisor, is a public face to connect them with big projects for collabs and to blast the shit out of your NFT on twitter and in spaces. But people pretend like they need to be a “consultant”.
12) Fucking FUD
Only takes one influencer or one viral tweet to severely impact a project nowadays. Founders often feel like they’re walking on eggshells. It sucks.
Only takes one influencer or one viral tweet to severely impact a project nowadays. Founders often feel like they’re walking on eggshells. It sucks.
13) Mental Health
Working so hard to please so many people with an organic process has a severe toll on mental health. I sleep less, I worry more. While I’m having fun, it’s draining. And the worst part is if founders talk about it, it could be perceived as weakness. Real talk.
Working so hard to please so many people with an organic process has a severe toll on mental health. I sleep less, I worry more. While I’m having fun, it’s draining. And the worst part is if founders talk about it, it could be perceived as weakness. Real talk.
14) Legal
Luckily we have a good legal consultant but there were a lot of intricacies that came with starting an NFT “the right way” that we didn’t account for. Such as contracts that are valid overseas, proper incorporation, tax stuff, etc. DONT GET WRECKED. Protect yourself.
Luckily we have a good legal consultant but there were a lot of intricacies that came with starting an NFT “the right way” that we didn’t account for. Such as contracts that are valid overseas, proper incorporation, tax stuff, etc. DONT GET WRECKED. Protect yourself.
15) These are just a small handful of things that we weren’t planning for (to this extent). We haven’t even minted yet… but we refuse to quit. No matter what. Just keep pushing forward. And pray that someone notices the hard work and vibes with the mission or art. 🙏🏻
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