Weekly Learnings #18

Hi fam,

Today, I'm walking you through 10 things across NFTs, Web3, and creator economy that I’ve learned and found fascinating this week.

Enjoy!

🎙️ Spaces I spoke in this week:

10 things I’ve learned & enjoyed this week:

1. Beasty & Beany celebrates their first month!

It’s been one month since Beasty & Beany officially started their journey of sharing happiness and optimism throughout the world. I'm absolutely grateful for all the support from the Web3 community. Beasty & Beany’s stories are now on X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok: all accounts are growing, and I remain excited with my buddy, Answer, about all the ways to make you smile every day.

2. Made By Apes: a game-changing campaign.

I really enjoyed Joker's take on incentivizing collectors to build around their IP. Yuga Labs recently launched Made By Apes, a licensing platform where over 1000+ projects applied—all centered around the Yuga IP. This will be followed by the launch of The Bodega, a marketplace where everyone can browse projects, products, and startups born from the Yuga ecosystem.

It’s an excellent opportunity for builders, but what fascinates me most? It’s perhaps the greatest free advertising campaign in history. Participants not only root for their products but also for Yuga. The same goes for their employees, coworkers, partners... Huge marketing lessons right in front of our eyes. 👏

3. Korea is warming up.

Blockchain Week in Korea starts today, and most major NFT projects are about to show up. Many predict the next bull run will start in Asia due to ongoing innovation and the willingness to spend big on luxury goods, art, and collectibles. My mutant made it to one of the events in Seoul that connects NFTs, culture, and streetwear. Wen bull?

4. Coinbase founder shares business ideas.

The founder of Coinbase shared 10 startup ideas he would pursue today if he had the time. These are big Web3 ideas, not easy to solve. But they're also great hints at the smaller problems that will need solving if these ideas become a reality. Great for builders. 🫡

I always think: every big idea leads to a cascade effect where new niches, needs, and opportunities emerge. Google didn’t just create a search engine—it enabled businesses focused on SEO, PPC, Affiliate marketing, and niche websites. Apple didn't just build an AppStore; it gave rise to an ecosystem around app development and more. Shopify didn’t just democratize e-commerce, you get the idea… 😉

So whenever I see big ideas likely to become reality one day, I ask myself, what other industries will emerge because of this? What new problems will arise? How can I solve them?

5. Artists, share your work.

Reuben has a great tip for artists. We often feel that sharing our work is bragging. As a result, we keep it to ourselves, waiting to be discovered. If you’re a creator, please share your work with the world. Do it frequently. It’s okay if someone sees it twice. Given the fast pace of the attention economy, most won't mind. And you never know when you'll reach that one person who'll love what you do. Never stop sharing your work. 💙

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6. The future: small personalized marketplaces.

Services like FirstMate represent how I envision the future of marketplaces. Once NFTs are ubiquitous, I don’t think we'll primarily shop from just a few giant marketplaces (e.g., OpenSea). I believe each brand, project, and creator will have their personalized smaller marketplaces for shopping. Sure, you can get your iPhone on Amazon, but isn't the experience of the official store better? I think Web3 won’t be any different in this regard.

7. Tokenized RWAs big in the next bull.

I believe tokenized real-world assets (RWA) will play a significant role in the next bull run. These include tokenized physical goods, commodities, and even government treasuries. How do we use them? Once tokenized, they provide instant liquidity accessible from anywhere in the world. Moreover, protocols and DAOs will use them to back up their native tokens. Big opportunities for big brains.

Below is a great example from this week, someone secured a $1.1M loan using tokenized Supreme T-shirts as collateral. Wild!

8. Selling NFTs secretly and what Creator League teaches us.

Creator League paid Mr. Beast and other influencers to promote their upcoming game. Players have a choice: play for free or drop $20 on a digital pass granting voting rights, prize unlocks, Discord access, and more. Not too bad for twenty bucks, but it's still a tough sell. Why?

Aside from Creator League’s questionable marketing tactics, people are still wary of the term NFT. Many still see it as a scam with no real utility. How to break this perception? Show them the real use cases. In gaming? We need a title that's inherently more fun with NFTs. I mean, forget prizes or voting options. That's not enough. We need a game where people engage with NFTs because it amplifies the fun. Once we have that, the NFT skepticism will start to fade. We just need that one title that players dive into purely for the love of the game.

9. Great 10 steps on social media growth.

Well-written, genuine tips by Kieran on how to grow on social media authentically. Check his tweet below or TL;DR

• Go all in

• Overdeliver

• Be different

• Learn in public

• Keep consistent

• Study copywriting

• Share more stories

• Create connections

• Launch a newsletter

• Make content effortless

10. Support one another.

Justin Welsh has it right. We often see the glamorous part of entrepreneurship but not the years of sweat and sleepless nights that preceded it. If you’re on your journey as a builder, creator, or entrepreneur, don’t give up. The world is built by builders, and I'm convinced the hustle will eventually be worth it. Let’s cheer for one another and keep going, fam.

Hope you enjoyed this newsletter and learned with me.

Have a great new week.

Beast