Weekly Learnings #21

Hi fam,

Another week in the books. Here’s what I learned and found fascinating this week!

🎙️ Spaces I spoke in this week:

Pudgy in Walmart - good or bad?

Luca Netz’s strategy could serve as a playbook for NFT projects.

He has turned a project rugged by its founders into a success in a year.

But will presence in Walmart amplify Pudgy’s success or damage the brand?

Here are two opinions:

Take 1: Pudgy might suffer a brand damage

Placing new characters in a mass market like Walmart can devaluate your brand.

David explains that you don’t want to go to Walmart to be discovered.

You should avoid mass markets like Walmart completely.

Why?

You want to be found in places that hold meaning for your future fans (tribe members) and grow your brand through culture.

Doodles uses this playbook with Camp, Crocs, and Shibuya Parco.

Walmart can work when you’re already a love brand… but not before.

Take 2: Pudgy starts onboarding masses

Luca Netz has completely opposite point of view — and he’s confident.

Being in Walmart is a small step for Pudgy, but a giant leap for Web3.

Web3 IP and blockchain technology are now in the world’s biggest retailer.

How does Luca build the brand?

He calls his playbook — 7 touchpoints.

1. 6 billion views on Giphy

2. 50 million accounts reached on Instagram every month

3. 5 million accounts reached on Twitter

4. 5,000 retail stores by the end of this year

5. Pudgy in Roblox (launching 2024)

He didn’t mention the 6th and 7th touchpoints but you got it:

Views, impressions, and followers are what quantify the awareness.

The awareness develops an interest in Pudgy products.

This interest leads to a desire to be a part of the Huddle.

The desire leads to… your first NFT purchase.

What’s my take?

Pudgy Penguins is one of the best IPs in the NFT space.

Luca is a successful entrepreneur — $50+ million in revenue in his previous eCommerce businesses — who mastered social media to dominate his niche.

“When someone thinks a penguin, I want them to think of Pudgy Penguin,” he says.

“We don’t have 10 years to do it the standard way,” he points out how the NFT space works.

The bull market comes at some point, and he believes people will buy into projects already established and known by millions, not the new ones.

IMO, these are all fair points, and I wish Pudgy the best of luck!

Starbucks revolutionizes loyalty through NFTs

Starbucks Odyssey could serve as a blueprint for NFT loyalty programs.

They build in silence, but the use cases are already evident.

Here's how they did it this week:

Starbucks fans could complete journeys to celebrate National Coffee Day.

As a reward, they received an art by the talented Vinnie Hager.

It’s on Polygon with an average sales price of $14 — not bad for a gift.

That lets me think:

Wouldn’t it be awesome if loyalty rewards were not limited to physical items?

It’s nice to get a free mug or a cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte, but…

What if artists could make art that fans of brands could collect and own?

This is precisely what’s happening, and I’m excited to see the use cases!

How to 10x your growth?

I watched this podcast with entrepreneur Alex Hormozi, who gave advice for builders and creators that resonated with me:

Whatever your thing is… if you’re like:

I want to have more clients. I want to be a great creator.

Whatever it is, the 1st thing you must figure out is the input-output equation.

What do I have to do that takes me closer to where I want to go?

It’s step 1 — otherwise, you’re working for no goal.

Once you find that, then you 10 times more.

Then, you grow.

Readings I’m going through:

• Variant Founder Fellowship: Meet Our 2023 Cohort. This article shows 24 early-stage web3 startup pitches — to see what others are building.

• Free + Valuable: Why I'm Excited About Zora Protocol Rewards. This article describes how Zora’s groundbreaking art mechanism works.

• The Rise Of Long-Form Generative Art. This is a series of essays by Findenza’s creator, Tyler Hobbs, recommended to me this week by a Shopify founder.

• The Casino on Mars. This is an essay by Paradigm’s founder that explains why he believes in crypto and why speculation can be actually productive.

• Mark Zuckerberg: First Interview in the Metaverse | Lex Fridman Podcast. This shows how far ahead Meta actually is (to my surprise!) with their VR headset.

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and learned with me! 💙

Have a great new week.

Beast