To really bring about mass adoption for NFTs, those who are already in the space need to think of ways to make participation more inclusive. This is what Andrew Klein and the team at Sweet™ are doing. In this episode, Andrew explains how Sweet™ works with some of the world’s biggest brands to create authentic experiences for creators, collectors and fans alike. The work that they are doing in this exciting venture is set to bring a huge chunk of the masses into Web3. Join in as Andrew explains his role in all of this and shares his insight on where the whole industry is going with regards to mass adoption. Plus, on this episode’s hot topics, we are joined by Matthew Hoffman of Trusted Advisor to talk about the huge gaming event that’s coming up this November in LA and more!
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Listen to the podcast here
Andrew Klein Of Sweet™ On Creating Authentic Fan Experiences For The World’s Biggest Brands, Plus: Matthew Hoffman Of Trusted Advisor, And More…
Stay tuned for this episode and find out how our guest is working with some of the world's biggest brands to bring the masses into Web3.
What you get when a bear, a kiwi, and an NHL hockey player hop into a McLaren and step on the gas.
Why the gaming and LA event coming to LA on November 14th, 2022, is a can't-miss for anyone in Web3 gaming. All this and more on this episode.
Don't forget that we put a gathering together at NFTLA that brought out thousands of the world's most innovative doers in the NFT space. Head to NFTLA.live to get tickets to our bigger, bolder, and better but also just as intimate and impactful event happening in Los Angeles from March 20th to 23rd, 2023. See you there.
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Our guest is Andrew Klein, the VP of NFT and Metaverse brand experience at Sweet, a highly flexible and experience-driven NFT platform and marketplace used by top creators, sports, entertainment, and consumer brands worldwide. In his role, Andrew, AKA JRR Token, leads the creative strategy and ideation for branded NFT and Metaverse experiences. A native to the Web3 community, Andrew's specialized role combines his ten-plus years of creating innovative and award-winning brand campaigns.
With his passion for NFTs and digital collectibles, Andrew has developed and launched the first NFT experiences for brands such as Dole Packaged Foods, Campbell Soup, and Macy's. Andrew co-led the development of the record-breaking Samsung 837x: Experience in Decentraland. Prior to joining Sweet, Andrew was the VP of Creative Technology for Spark Foundry, where he developed bleeding-edge and innovative solutions for top brands and Fortune 500 clients. Andrew, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here. That sounds like a lot of stuff. This seems like forever but it has only been a little bit of time.
We are pumped to have you on. We want to dig right in on this thing. Give us the TLDR on Sweet and why you believe in its mission and culture.
Sweet is an unbelievable company. We are a marketplace for digital collectibles, specializing in bringing on some of the biggest brands, sports leagues, and entertainment IPs. It’s making it easy for people to come in and collect NFTs and digital collectibles without having any type of need for what we have been doing since NFTs came to market, which is needing to get a crypto wallet and fund it with cryptocurrencies. Some things take about 30 to 50 steps, perhaps, to set up. We have eliminated all those steps and made it about three steps to get to an NFT. We are looking to bring on the next billion digital collectible consumers into the space.
How did you find your way to Sweet? How did this all come about?
It was cool. I was working at a media agency called Spark Foundry. It's part of Publicis Groupe, one of the big global media entities. I was there for ten years focusing on innovation and emerging technology. My job is always to find what is the next big thing, how consumers are using new types of technologies and platforms, and how we make connections with those consumers and the brand.
I'm always looking for what's next. NFTs came into my purview. I certainly was looking at metaverse and AR/VR stuff for years but when Web3 presented itself as this amazing opportunity to connect with audiences in new ways, I started exploring with different brands, myself, and my Web3 degens about this, "How do you do drops, mint, do everything in the space, and deploy that?"
It took a lot of learning. It's not easy but when trying to make these launches with campaigns, we realized that it's a little bit hard to go a very traditional route with OpenSea or Rarible. We tried that. It was doable but it was hard to get a normal audience engaged. I was on the hunt, "What is that awesome marketplace that's going to help me with these solutions?" I came across Sweet. They had all the tech that I needed to make it easy and frictionless to collect these experiences for consumers to come in and collect these digital collectibles and have these experiences with brands.
We have talked about this over and over. We need to make things easy. We talked about the analogs with Web2, other things, and technologies coming along. This is one of the key levers. Smart people in entrepreneurship are pulling making things simple and accessible. Speaking of accessibility, this is funny. We have talked about Build-A-Bear on the show a few times. It's a very accessible brand that I've heard about for years. You've got an exciting release with Build-A-Bear. What does this collection rollout look like?
I'm very excited. We have rolled out digital collectibles for Build-A-Bear. It's their first but they are eager to get into the Web3 space. They are looking to innovate and also be pioneers in what is the inevitable journey that we are all taking as digital experiences like the digital internet experience. They are driving into Web3. We are helping them get there. We are doing this through a couple of phase drops.
First and foremost, what we are doing is celebrating their upcoming anniversary with a limited edition one-of-one auction of a Swarovski digital 3D bear that you will also get a lot of awesome utility. The winner of this auction for this gorgeous 3D Swarovski-encrusted Build-A-Bear will be able to get that bear. It's going to be a one-of-one. It's a super exclusive physical collectible that their prime audience is certainly going to be eager to get.
There's also a trip for two to their gala, which is something that their collectors look forward to year after year. This is going to be an expense-paid trip to go to the gala, flying the winner and the guest to the event. It has a great charity component as well, giving back to the Build-A-Bear Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars in their causes to help to spread those smiles.
The auction is going to be the first drop. We are going to be having in the near future limited edition drop to get some access to some cool experiences, content, and limited edition bears, and then a generative drop that we are looking to have at a later date in December 2022. There's a lot of cool stuff on the roadmap for Build-A-Bear. I'm super excited to work on that project and bring them into the future. We have a huge long roadmap and journey for them. I'm pumped.
If it's not already on that roadmap, Build-A-Bear has been very appropriate for the bear market. If you've got the ear of Build-A-Bear, we need to put Build-A-Bull on the roadmap coming up here soon.
That's what got us so excited as well as all the potential extensions and fun that we can have with this. Where do you go when you can create? It's already a collectible company from a physical and historical sense, but now, we are going to have some real fun with digital collectibles. That can take many forms. We are certainly looking to push the boundaries with them.
I don't know if you said the percentage. Is it correct that it's 10% that you are giving back from the sale price on Build-A-Bear?
I believe so. I have to double-check if its' not more than that.
It's a big nut. That's pretty amazing. Is there a collectible set historically of Build-A-Bears? Have they gone down that path at all?
They are collectibles. They have fans that span multi-generations that are collecting those bears. Many of them are limited editions. Some are with different IPs that they associate themselves with. There are hardcore collectors that want certain attributes or traits, as we call them. It applies itself quite naturally, which is cool. They have an adult Build-A-Bear market.
It's called the Vault, which is a very limited edition. It's geared toward older collectors. We are not necessarily looking at young kids for this project. It's certainly looking at the older collectors that are NFT collectors as well that have been collecting these Build-A-Bears their entire life but looking to get more out of it. We want to get access and utility and get even more limited edition products from the brand.
Speaking of iconic brands, you partnered with McLaren. McLaren is no doubt the epitome of cool among race car enthusiasts around the world. Their cars are fast and technical masterpieces. They dropped this NFT with you back in July 2022. What was that experience like? Tell me about that.
It was pretty wild. We have been doing multiple drops with them. That's what I love about what we are doing here at Sweet. It's not just creating a drop and then moving on. We are certainly looking at long-tail continuity with these brands and things that bring the fans on a journey. We started with this fun set collection experience where we took a McLaren livery vehicle and exploded it in glorious 3D into all the different components into 35 different pieces.
The first collectors to collect all the different components and get those pieces together would complete and form a full F1 McLaren livery vehicle. You had the chance to go to a Grand Prix. It's something important. It's a huge and potentially priceless opportunity for many collectors who want to get closer to these experiences. We have been doing drop after drop with them all in different components, testing the waters, and trying to push boundaries.
We have been doing some fun stuff like engaging on-site attendees. You are paying a pretty good price for that ticket that you are going to a Grand Prix. If you come around to the merch areas, you can start seeing more QR codes, allowing you to come in, scan, and collect awesome digital collectibles from McLaren but that also could give you almost immediate gratification and utility to get an instant win to go on a tour or a hot lap.
It's rewarding the fans with some incredible experiences that come with this and pushing into different boundaries. We were doing a drop with their Shadow livery team. That's their eSports stream content on Twitch. We are like, "Let's start engaging this crew, putting up QR codes that allow people to easily collect NFTs that could get them into another drop, and going into a different audience, not your live race audience. This is your eSport. It's very much focused in the video game aspect but there's certainly a lot of skill involved in there."
We are engaging them that way to bring them into this greater experience. We have launched a new comic collection with McLaren, which is awesome, the adventures of Kiwi, their mascot. You are able to collect any one of the pages to start getting access to some awesome McLaren prizes, merchandise, and even an opportunity to video chat with the CEO of McLaren Racing, which is pretty awesome. This is all aligned and tied to the races that are happening throughout Asia from Singapore to Hong Kong. If you get all seven different additions, you will be able to get the physical comic as well.
We are packing in as much utility and value as we can for fans. They love it. I saw a fan. She probably doesn't want to know I saw her. She was crying. She loved it so much. It was a life-changing moment for her that she won, bought an NFT for the first time, and then ended up winning the opportunity to go backstage into the pit and the garage. For her, it was a life-changing moment. I got a little teary-eyed because we were helping make those moments. This is where NFTs can be big and life-changing.
NFTs can be life-changing. Click To Tweet
What about the process of working with McLaren? It's such an iconic brand. It has been around forever. They care deeply about that brand itself and how it's reflected in the world. What was that process like working with the team and making sure that it was carried through consistently with their vision of the company?
We work hand in hand, almost as a Web3 NFT extension of McLaren at this point. They are unbelievable partners. We work hand in hand together. There are many races, so much content and opportunity but what we want to do is make sure that we are delivering the best experience for the collector and their traditional fans and continuously trying to bring in their fans as they are learning more about this space and what the power of these collectibles can do.
We are making sure that they see and understand this value and that it's true to the brand and true to what they desire. That way, this doesn't come out of the left field or weird. This is something awesome. You are going to want to collect it and probably not only collect it but hold onto it because of the things that it can unlock.
It's interesting to see the broad swath of brands and different elements that you are working with at Sweet. This is a little bit of a sidetrack here. In the process of how this all comes together, do you have reps from the company that is out looking for opportunities? Is this happening at conference events? Is this happening over Zoom calls? Are there people reaching out to you? Are you reaching out to them? It's fascinating to see all these things coming together with so many brands.
It's a lot. My first connection to them was from the agency side. I was looking all over the place for the right solution. It came across Sweet. That's where I ended up identifying an opportunity to work personally with Macy's. We did the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NFTs. They were so wonderful to work with. They are creative and open-minded. They had the right technology and mind for solutions. There are things that we are trying to do. We are trying to achieve a brand goal at the end of the day.
Maybe that's creating awareness around a product, engagement, community, and loyalty or maybe they want to get in the news. They want a big PR headline but at the end of the day, what we are trying to make sure of is that not only can we help you get to those goals but make it very authentic to the collector experience and also to the user experience. When I had the opportunity to come aboard to Sweet, I took that because I was like, "With the technology that you have, I saw that there's an immense opportunity and vision that they had as an organization that got me excited."
When I did start working here and do this every morning when I get an email alert that I have a calendar invite and see that we are going to talk to this brand about creating their NFT experience or they want to learn what we can help them do with the NFTs and digital collectibles, I scream inside. It's so exciting for me. It's a dream come true that I get to touch and engage with some of the biggest brands in the world that are coming to us. It's unbelievable.
We have a sales team but for the most part, most of the activities are inbound and coming to us. They love seeing what we are doing. They have heard about what we are doing. They are collectors themselves, they are on the brand side or the licensing side. They are very excited to see what we have done and learn what they can do with us. It's different for each brand strategically but that's what makes it super fun as well. We are helping these brands problem-solve and create great experiences at the end of the day.
We have seen that ourselves too. We have to pinch ourselves every once in a while with the different folks that we come into contact with. We had someone on the show who was like, "I was working with Death Row Records all of a sudden. If it wasn't for NFTs, I don't know whether I would have made that connection so quickly and easily." It's fun. Let's cover another one before we move on to some of your general partnerships. Sweet has an NHL program. We would love to hear about that.
We are super excited. I wish I could give you all the details. We have been working on this for some time with the NHL. It is the largest encompassing digital partnership for digital collectibles to date. This is a five-year deal that we have to start. It's all-encompassing. This is the league, teams, players, name, image, and likeness. It's about everything you could ever dream of being either a collectible fan or more importantly, an NHL fan as well. We have a lot of fun things that we are preparing. There are more things that we are doing on our side.
Everyone is on the edge of their seats but we can't even wait to tell you what the name of the collection is. It's going to blow everyone's minds. It is super fun. All I can say is to try to sign up. You could follow up for some updates at Sweet.io/nhl. Get ready to go on an amazing collectible journey, whether you are an NHL fan or a sports fan in general, you are going to be into this. We are excited. I wish I had more details and more specifics to share but it is coming. We will follow up when we can. Follow our socials and get on board for updates, so you could be the first to know.
That's a nice big chunk of time to have a relationship. It sounds quite broad. That's exciting. There's a lot to be developed.
I want my Zambonis. I will be good with that.
You worked with Tezos on the McLaren drop and Polygon with Bears. Is there anything you could tell us about what chain you're collaborating with on the NHL one or other chains that you are working with going forward in general?
I can't go into the specific chain for NHL but what we do is we are blockchain agnostic at the end of the day. That was a big key piece of why this is the right company, marketplace, and mindset. It's not limiting yourselves and being able to provide true digital collectibles utilizing blockchain and NFT technology to create these experiences.
Sweet™ is the right company in the right marketplace. Click To Tweet
In some cases, based on the collection's goal or how they want to engage, is it a very limited premium piece? Maybe it should be Ethereum. We would do an ETH drop. We don't want to look pre-merged. This was certainly the hot topic of climate and how much energy is this using. Many brands were not into Ethereum. Polygon and Tazos were more eco-friendly on paper.
We are in the post-merge blockchain world now for ETH. That point of the climate has diminished at this point. It's now a much lighter load on the carbon footprint. It changes the game and the conversation about how we select the right blockchain or what is the appropriate path but if you want something scalable where you are doing gamification, how many units and quantities? A lot or are we talking about very little?
All of these are different things that we look at specifically to determine before we even make the decision. What is the appropriate blockchain and strategy that we should be looking at for our clients? More blockchains are coming out. More technology changes. We want to make sure that we are open and ready to participate, not be blocked or hindered with future-proof for everything.
Having that flexibility and North Star around who you are working with is great, especially in such a fast-moving industry. There's evolution happening in such short periods. As we think about that too, let's talk about your roadmap for a second. There are partnerships, collaborations, and feature sets within the Sweet universe. What else is out there we haven't touched on that you could share with us?
One of the things that excite me the most is this Access Pass feature that we will be rolling out. It's something that we have all been excited to look to solve. One of those is when we look to engage the audiences of these traditional brands. It depends on which brand you are talking about but if you are looking at legacy blue-chip brands, many of their audiences are not in Discord.
We talk a lot about NFTs and the community. How do you connect communities? How do you engage them? For NFT and Web3, Twitter and Discord are those places but when you look at a normal audience who's not into collecting and has never collected before, maybe they have never been in Discord. They don't even know where to start and how to set up, "What do you mean my username, a hashtag, and then four numbers?" It could be daunting in itself to engage and have that ongoing connection.
What we have been working on, which is so awesome, is this Access Pass feature that's allowing collectors to be able to engage with reward functions and access fulfillment, either opting in for rewards and sweepstakes or even claiming merchandise or a physical item all at the token level, which is unique. They don't have to go to Discord to click the little celebration icon or necessarily have to do a collab Lanlink with a wallet to get that access. They are able to sign in, have the token, and be able to participate.
We think this is going to be important to be able to show that value to normal collectors. I say normal not like we're abnormal but our degen audience. When we are talking to brands, they are trying to reach people that have never collected before but are somebody who has been buying their products, engaging with them, and following them across their loyalty and membership experiences, maybe for over twenty years.
Learning a new technology could be a hindrance but they want to participate. These are basketball fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have been fans. They are season ticket holders. They want more cool stuff and access but maybe they are not technologically proficient at getting there. We are building tools to allow them to be part of the community and engage with the technology but doing it in such a way that is easy, familiar, and fun.
Not technologically degenerate is the appropriate term. You gather a lot of inspiration outside of your small world. You saw what Sweet was doing. All of a sudden, you are deeply involved in what they are doing, having seen them from the outside. It's an interesting question to ask you, what other projects are you inspired by in the Web3 space? I'm sure that there are still quite a few that get you excited.
I collect it all the time too much because I have so much fun participating. I'm probably one of the worst traders in the NFT space because I barely sell. I love identifying and finding the utility, the connection, and the experiences. I'm collecting them because I want to continuously participate and see what's going to come next. If it rugs, it rugs but hopefully, that's not the case for a lot of the things that I have been playing around with. It's finding new types of how projects are gamifying the experience and how you are interacting with it, being more than, "Click this button. Hit mint. You got it," coming back, and playing a game with it.
I was playing around with the Sutuverse from Sutu Eats Flies, who's an amazing artist and collector that has been building on Tezos, which has made metaverse experiences probably one of the first Tezos metaverse experiences I've ever participated in. It started as a PFP project and then went into a full-blown video game. I'm so glad I hung on but it's also so fun to be able to use an NFT in this technology to participate in an exclusive game that I'm able to alpha test myself, go forth, experience, and start playing around with.
Modifying NFTs, being able to change them, and being able not having a generative collection that's pre-made but being able to select what you want and then mint it gives you as a collector even more choice about what you want. A lot of cool projects are out there inspiring me. I'm dabbling, collecting, and certainly making some unbelievable connections across the space with the creators and some of the developers that are making some of this amazing stuff as well.
It's hard not to be inspired by all the fun stuff going on there and all the building that's happening. We say it all the time but the stage that we are at is so early. It's great to draw so much inspiration from people out there. They are chopping wood and making it happen. Andrew, we appreciate it. Thanks for sharing with us all these fun happenings at Sweet. Every week if we touched base, there would be a slew of other ones. We are going to keep a close eye on what you are up to then.
Please do.
We wanted to shift gears a little bit, though, and get your personal perspective on some questions we call Edge Quick Hitters. It's a fun and quick way for us to get to know you a little bit better. There are ten questions. We look for short, single-word or few-word responses but we might dive a little bit deeper here or there. Question number one, what's the first thing you remember ever purchasing in your life?
It had to be a Nintendo game. I think of retaining a real memory by asking for that. It would probably be that Gyrobot, which was a robot that automated your little gameplay. I'm pretty sure I also destroyed it but it was fun.
I get a lot of stuff like that.
It's the early metaverse days.
Are any of those cartridges laying around back in the day?
I begged my parents not to throw them out, "These are going to be collectibles one day." They were like, "Mectables." I'm like, "Trust me. This will be my career one day."
Did it legitimately help to blow into the cartridge to help it work? Was that a superstition?
The magical wind made anything work. That was the trick.
Question number two, what's the first thing you remember ever selling in your life?
The first thing I sold first thing was Magic: The Gathering cards or it could have been X-Men collectible cards. Those probably were simultaneous phases along with POGs as well.
That's all the DNA that was forming.
It's the mind of a collector.
Question number three, what is the most recent thing you purchased?
It's an NFT. It's a pretty fun one. It was a free mint. It's for supporting the protests that are going on in Iran. There's a whole bunch of amazing artists who got together. They are doing some free mints every day. You could mint it for free up to three and collect. I did it because it's beautiful art. I'm making sure I get all three, so I could share them with some lovely people who need to get into the space. The donations go to support a good cause as well.
Question number four, what's the most recent thing you sold?
The most recent thing I sold would have to be another NFT. I shouldn't have held onto it. It was called The Stoics. It was a very cool art piece. This guy looks like he makes almost Picasso-styled art. I'm a huge art fan, so I went for it but ended up seeing, "This went from almost nothing to a good amount." I kept one and sold the other but it was a good decision.
You've got a hedge there. You never know.
Once in a blue moon, I will get rid of some stuff.
Let's go to question five. What is your most prized possession?
Besides my children, it would have to be my Robot CLONE X DNA. I love it. This was my forever PFP moment, so much so that I ended up getting a matching DNA and trait for my son for his birthday. Instead of getting a government bond, I got him a CLONE X. Hopefully, it will pay off at the end of the day. My robot CLONE X is my current most prized possession, especially out of the NFT collection.
There's a quote in there, "Instead of getting him a bond, I got him a CLONE X." Question number six, if you could buy anything in the world, digital, physical, service or experience, that's currently for sale, what would it be? What do you have your eye on?
I would buy a beach house in Bali. My wife is from Indonesia. We were there over the summer. It was so great. They are lovely people. It's a lovely country. Having a beautiful beach home on an island sounds pretty nice. I will keep dreaming but for now, I will just hang out here in Jersey.
There's the Jersey Shore. Eathan, have you been out to Bali? I've never made it out that way, but I know you have been around the world a lot.
I would love to go. I haven't been to the East much. I have been back and forth down to Latin America and a little bit of Europe. That is something I would love to do.
There's an unbelievable blockchain and NFT scene going on there. They are focusing on bringing people to the island to focus on working there. If you don't mind a reverse twelve-hour time difference, then you are all set.
For some of us, that would work. For others, it wouldn't. Moving on to question number seven, if you could pass on one of your personality traits to the next generation, what would it be?
Be chill. Be happy. I'm not sure if that's a personality but take life as it goes and then be good to others. It comes back. Trust me.
Karma is a real thing. Here's the flip side of that. Question number eight, if you could eliminate one of your personality traits from the next generation, what would it be?
I'm a little too crazy sometimes with my ideas of what I want to do. Tampering down my insanity is going to be something that will be very helpful. I try to every day.
That's a first for our personality traits. Question number nine is a little easier. What did you do before joining us on the show?
I was on a call with an awesome brand talking about building out their metaverse experience. Hopefully, we can set this up for them. It's cool. It's going to be unique. We get to not only look at NFT digital collectibles but also figure out how we can make a brand completely rock the metaverse. I'm excited to see how that progresses. I will follow up after the call.
Here's the last one. Question number ten, what are you going to do next after the show?
I am going to release my family from the quiet chamber I've put them through while I'm doing this. We are going to feast together. They will be free. We will be a family again. That's what we are going to do after this.
I've got a bonus question. Would you rather have this Bored Ape or this CryptoPunk?
I would take the CryptoPunk, no question.
There's no hesitation.
I'm going with the CryptoPunk. I would die to have one. That would be amazing.
Which one do you think sold for more?
The Bored Ape went for more.
This one went for 82 ETH, and this one went for 62 ETH. It looks like there's a bargain basket sale on CryptoPunks.
Now is my chance. Although 3D glasses or a VR headset is a mandatory trait for me. I can't be too picky but that would be the clinker.
We appreciate you sharing here with us during Edge Quick Hitters. You embody the idea of aligning who you are with what you do as happiness. It comes through in all these questions.
Thank you so much. I love what I do. I love evangelizing the experiences, the products, and the technology. It's inevitable future that we are all going on this path. It goes in different phases but this is it. This is what's happening. There are no ifs and buts about it. I'm excited to keep going and pushing.
I want to head over to segment three, which is Hot Topics. We are going to be talking all about the Gaming LA event that's going to be happening on November 14th, 2022, in LA. We've got a couple of special guests joining us to share all the details about it. We've got Zack Sekar, who is our Head of Events. He heads up NFTLA, along with a ton of other events, as a part of Startup Coil out in Los Angeles. We are blessed to have him on our team.
In addition to that, we have Matthew Hoffman on the show, who's the Founder and CEO of Trusted Advisor. He founded the company in early 2020 with a mission to be the best resource for advisors with high-net-worth entertainment clients. These clients and their advisors have unique needs from a technology, investments, cybersecurity, and risk perspective. He knew he could fill those needs, and he has.
Prior to Trusted Advisor, Matthew was the Founder of Empire Software, a venture-backed FinTech company. Matthew, who's also a trained architect, first entered the world of Ultra High Net Worth individuals or UHNW advising through his work with family office clients while at Hollwich Kushner, an architecture firm in New York City.
Since then, Matthew has built a career working with business managers, family offices, and UHNW advisors, bringing his multidisciplinary problem-solving approach, business acumen, and tech-savvy to the unique challenges in this space. Matthew, that's quite a background. You are bringing all kinds of goodness to Gaming LA. Let's talk about it. Welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
We are super pumped to be co-hosting this thing with you. November 14th it’s coming at us very quickly here. Give us a summary of what's coming together and what you are excited about.
We have a long history of working with all sorts of entertainment advisors. When folks think of Hollywood, they think of Tinseltown and traditional film, TV, and music, which is the background of a lot of the folks that we work with. In particular, we at Trusted Advisor have done a deep dive into all things crypto and blockchain. That has led us to gaming in the blockchain space but even larger than that, there has been a long tradition of entertainment folks looking into the gaming space, whether that be Web3, blockchain-based gaming or more traditional gaming like Roblox and Fortnite.
Especially through the pandemic, all sorts of artists were shut out of touring. Everything was disrupted. They were looking at other ways to reach fans when everyone was trapped at home. It was the perfect timing for a lot of different things. There have been all sorts of interesting activations with artists in the space and then also from the video game studios and the Web3 gaming platforms. They need to reach audiences. It's very competitive for them. Frankly, what's better than leveraging the name, image, likeness, and audience of big celebrities?
It's the perfect hotpot pulling all of these things together. We are bullish on the space. Every wave of crypto over the years has had a different hook. NFTs arguably is the one that might be dipping a little bit but a lot of people are incredibly bullish in the gaming space, which is why we are looking at it. We are excited to be partnering with you all for this event. I went to NFTLA. We were sitting there and the audience, learning a lot and absorbing a lot. We have been working with you since then behind the scenes. I'm excited to talk about it a little bit more and then, ultimately, host that event.
You will be in Santa Monica trying to elevate information, inspiration, and connections for folks in the entertainment space, the music space, and the gaming space and drawing people into this amazing thing that's happening in Web3. A lot of folks are heads down and building. It's an exciting time to expand knowledge, information, inspiration, and relationships. It's great stuff. Tell us a little bit more about the concept here. We are talking about a one-day summit to bring these folks together under one roof. What should they expect when they come?
We cater to folks that are very deep in the space, which could be a couple of different things, folks that are deep in the gaming space, developers, and studios. Our background and audience are the CPAs, the attorneys, and the executives in the music business. That's who attends our events, and that's who our membership is made up of. With what we do with events like Gaming LA, maybe not everyone, especially on the entertainment side, is as familiar with gaming. In a way, it is gaming 101.
We will have a couple of panels that present the eSports industry and Web3 gaming at a relatively high level because these might be more traditional music, film, and TV folks. On the other hand, it gives us the opportunity to go very deep into topics that are more pertinent to the advisors, which are legal aspects, licensing, and how royalties and copyright work in the space. These are the topics that allow us to get a bit more technical in our programming. They are also super interesting for everyone in the Web3 and the gaming space as well because that's what they need to nail when they are pulling together these projects and building these partnerships in this space.
It will be looking at name, image, likeness, deal-making, and the business model in general, which is quite different from music, film, and TV. There's a ton of investment. We look at things like movie budgets, which are hundreds of millions sometimes. Video game studios, especially AAA-rated video games, are massive endeavors. We will be diving into aspects like that and some of the more hard-hitting topics that are sometimes not always seen at conferences.
People don't realize how much is necessary to bring a project to life. You have to form a real company behind it with systems, processes, and best practices that are rooted in fundamental business. A lot of folks don't necessarily realize that when they move into space. You can get caught up pretty quickly around issues of IP, HR, and other issues that are so freaking important. People don't realize it because maybe this is their first venture as an entrepreneur.
There are two sides to it. Number 1) Is as somebody in this space, an artist trying to do something in this space, a developer or an entrepreneur, what do I have to think about from these other meaningful foundational categories? Number 2) Is we need more folks in those foundational categories like the accountants and various attorneys of the world, thinking about these things and being familiar with how Web3 is applicable to their particular subject matter.
That, in turn, will then feed the engine more accessibility to people that are knowledgeable about this stuff and can help with this stuff and speak about it or are comfortable speaking about it. It's hard to find somebody that can talk about IP in Web3 confidently and is even willing to do so. We had Marta Belcher, the Chairman of the Filecoin Foundation, on the show. She's an attorney that's very well-versed in copyright-related issues in Web3.
She was willing to talk about it but we have so many folks we have tried to get to talk about it. They are either not comfortable with it because they don't know enough about it or are a little bit concerned about liability and whatnot. We need more of those people on one side than the other side. We have to get that information to folks that aren't exposed to these important foundational elements.
One of the folks that we work with is on our advisory board. She would be an excellent guest for you all. We work with her a lot. She comes from the music space. She has been consulting with large labels, folks like Roblox, and stuff like that for a long time. She formed a group with a bunch of other heavy hitters in the royalty space around royalties in the metaverse.
There's a handful of people that have put themselves out there that are diving into these spaces from a legal perspective and understanding the back end of the music business, which is incredibly complicated. I'm sure Vicky would be the first to tell you that we are all figuring it out as we go. That's why she puts herself out there. She is incredibly bright because she has that back-end knowledge and does understand the music business.
Since the metaverse and all things Web3-related are so incredibly new, there is a lot of trial and error. We are seeing what sticks and what doesn't and thinking through these things. A lot of it is very collaborative too, which is interesting. That's why we like hosting these events. It's not just the speakers but it's getting everyone in a room together, discussing these things, and figuring out what some of the best paths forward are.
Let's talk about that because there are many opportunities for artists in the world of video games. Through Web3, in particular, these opportunities have escalated. They are blowing up. You can reach new fans through all kinds of things like virtual concerts and investing in the space as a collector or a community member. Plus, artists can create equity deals or partner with a video game studio against stuff that a lot of artists aren't going to have much experience at all with but the opportunity is there. Talk about that landscape a little bit and why you see that as being important.
This, to me, feels like an exact mirror of what happened over the last couple of years through 2020 and 2021. Maybe it's not a bubble but this last big burst of activity in the blockchain space. What we saw was that there were a lot of projects that were created in some capacity by celebrities. Some of them worked well, and then there were also a lot of failures. What happens is that it's relatively easy, especially for fans, to understand if an artist, a big actor or an influence is devoted to their projects, and also if the project and however they are putting it together matches the brand of the artist.
We will see the same stuff in the gaming space. You can tell in a lot of ways, especially an entire fan base, when these projects are well-thought-out and developed and when it makes sense for whoever the artist might be, what they are after, and when it doesn't. Specifically, we deal with a lot of artist managers. We hosted an event. That was evident with the artists' managers and the artists in particular. They know that there's a ton of opportunity here but they also need to think very carefully about the projects that they take on, their partners, and who they work with.
There's a big opportunity in events like this to bring everyone together because it does take folks with deep knowledge in the blockchain space. It takes the artists and their teams to come together, think collaboratively, and work through that. It's not an easy process by any means but most people know at this point that it can't be half-assed because be it will be evident immediately. It applies 100% to the gaming space as well.
I'm so pumped about it. We always think about putting on events and throwing events that do grab you, inspire you, build real meaningful relationships, entertain, and educate all this fun stuff. From your perspective, how are we bringing that to the table as part of the Gaming LA event?
As Matthew alluded to, this is an important discussion because if you know, you know what a lot of people don't know. In the entertainment industry, from film, TV, and music, many people that work and have worked in that industry their whole lives don't realize that gaming is bigger than all three of those combined and in terms of how much revenue it makes. Some of them don't even realize how many of the innovations that make modern entertainment possible started there.
Some of them are obvious like special effects in movies or the way that music is done. A lot of storytelling is experimented on in video games first and then makes its way into some more mainstream areas. As Matthew was talking about, not everyone knows that. Not everyone is participating. That parallel exists even more in Web3. Only a small subset of people are even paying attention yet and using that giant behemoth of gaming.
It's a world where other than Netflix, you are not going to see VC dollars pouring into film and TV but all day long, you will see that in video game technology companies, which are multibillion-dollar firms right here in LA mostly because this is where entertainment and technology are being built at the same time. You will feed the giant companies like Riot Games and Activision Blizzard. Where are their headquarters? It's in Southern California, for sure. This is the story. This is the place to tell it.
It's amazing how much awareness there is around gaming and the opportunities there. By that, I mean how little awareness there is overall relative to the opportunity there. This event will be a step in the right direction in raising that awareness among people that can move the needle. We want to make sure that folks know where to go to learn all about it and follow it so they can attend, participate, and follow along. We have some information up on the Gaming LA link on TrustedAdvisor.la. You can also follow all the fun happenings that Matthew and the team have going on over at @TrustedAdvsrLA on socials.
You can keep an eye out there for all kinds of fun announcements about what is forthcoming here on November 14th, 2022, in Santa Monica. In honor of this amazing event that's forthcoming, we also have a little giveaway lined up that we wanted to queue up here. That is three free tickets to the event. That's going to be on November 14th, 2022, hosted at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Keep an eye out on our socials for all the details that you need to be able to score those tickets. That's amazing. That's very generous of our team here to put those up for grabs. Before we break, are there any final words here for our readers?
We hope to see you all there in November 2022. We are very excited to work with you and put this together. It's the first of many. We envision this as a series. We are planting the flag in the ground there.
Follow along. If you are smart, register for tickets now. We've got some cool announcements coming. This will be an interesting event. It's not a huge-capacity event. We expect to sell out. Do expect some cool announcements around names you will recognize both from the entertainment and investment communities.
Head over there, register now, grab a ticket while you can, and be part of this train that has already left the station. Matthew and Zach, thanks so much for joining us here.
Thanks for having me.
See you next time.
For the next segment, we wanted to take a moment and give a little love to somebody in your orbit, Andrew, or somebody that moves the needle for you, Sweet, and the community at large. This has made an impact on the folks that we have been able to elevate on this show. We want to give the floor to you to share a little bit of love.
Thank you so much. I love my Sweet family. It's an amazing organization. Everyone there is an absolute rock star day in and day out. I have to give props to the Sweet team. They are unbelievable. I have to give some love to my homies, CryptoNovo, and beskARx. The three of us have been pushing the boundaries since day one as far as the NFT space is concerned. We make up The Novoverse.
We have been developing amazing relationships and creating super cool technology like the AR PFP headsets. I saw your guest GMoney. We made his, Spottie WiFi's, and a bunch of others. There's more to come there. Those two have been my foundation for being authentic to the Web3 space, continuously making these connections, pushing the boundaries, meeting people, and people helping people every single day because of those relationships and moments. I get to bring that to my work.
It helps as we establish these important brand experiences, making it as authentic as it can be to the Web3 and NFT audiences but also being very grounded in how they engage and have their audience participate and go on this journey with them. I have to give it out to my homies in The Novoverse for helping me stay on top of my game every day, bring that to my day job, and make it all work. It's The Novoverse, CryptoNovo, and beskARx.
Much love. We appreciate it. Your influence on Andrew is very obvious and much appreciated.
We need to get some of those AR headsets. We need one fridge with our faces but every once in a while, we switch faces. It could be fun.
I know two guys. Let me know.
We are barking up the right tree. Before we wrap the episode, we have to make sure we are directing people to the right place to follow you, Sweet, and all these amazing projects that you are working on. Where should we send them?
For all things Sweet, you could go to Sweet.io. That's our website and marketplace. All of our collectibles and programs that we are running can be found there. There are tons of great stuff. You could also follow along on Twitter, @Sweet. It's easy to remember. We have a Discord as well. It's very robust. We also help almost all the brands that we work with in their Discord. You will find your like-minded community in there as well. Please feel free to come along. We are a super fun community. We embrace all walks of life at all different levels of collectors. If you want to follow my Web3 journeys personally, you could find me on Twitter, @JRRTokenNFT or @JRRToken on Instagram.
Well done with the name too. It's a good one.
It's getting popular, thanks to Amazon Prime. People are getting it. They didn't get it before. They are like, "I keep hearing your name." I'm like, "I wrote a book a very long time ago and a hit film series."
We have reached the outer limit at the show. Thanks for exploring with us. We've got space for more adventures on this starship. Invite your friends and recruit some cool strangers that will make this journey all so much better. How? Go to Spotify or iTunes, rate us, and say something awesome. Go to EdgeOfNFT.com to dive further down the rabbit hole. Look us up on all major social platforms by typing EdgeOfNFT and start a fun conversation with us online. Lastly, be sure to tune in next time for more great NFT content. Thanks again for sharing this time with us.
Important Links
- NFTLA.live
- Sweet
- Build-A-Bear
- McLaren
- Shadow - Discord
- Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NFTs
- NHL
- Sweet.io/nhl
- Tezos
- Polygon
- Sutuverse
- The Stoics
- CLONE X
- Gaming LA
- Startup Coil
- Trusted Advisor
- Marta Belcher - Previous episode
- Filecoin Foundation
- @TrustedAdvsrLA - Twitter
- CryptoNovo - Twitter
- beskARx - Twitter
- The Novoverse
- GMoney - Previous episode
- Spottie WiFi - Previous episode
- @Sweet - Twitter
- Discord - Sweet
- @JRRTokenNFT - Twitter
- @JRRToken - Instagram
- Spotify - Edge of NFT
- iTunes - Edge of NFT
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