The Up And Downs Of Being An NFT Project Founder

disclaimer:
this is just me sharing my personal experience as a founder. the ups and the downs. the crazy emotional rollercoaster, which ultimately lead to a panic episode.

full intent to share behind the scenes so you know what to expect, the story behind the glory. 

The Launch

– mths working around the clock on all aspects of building a project. from artwork, to marketing, to tech, to logistics, to community.
– everything needs to be perfect for a flawless launch.
– once you pass the finish line, things become real. 

– what may seem like a time to celebrate quickly became a reality call.
– i now have the responsibility of a 5k+ community.
– instead of cutting back on time, im now needed double time.
– starting a project is like having a baby, requires attention ard the clock. 

The Expectation

– within days/weeks of launching, all the wen moon, wen roadmap, wen wen wen starts pouring in.
– its very important to manage ppl’s expectation and not over sell. otherwise ppl get rekted and u’d be under immense pressure to deliver flash in a pan work. 

– its also very important to understand what type of project you are building. whether its a platform, an ip, a game, a metaverse, etc.
– each type has very different timeline and updates.
– despite sharing our project as an art based project, there are still unrealistic exp. 

– at times, i feel like caving in and just sharing what we have built thus far. however, knowing that things change every minute in nfts, i know any shares will have a huge impact if i can’t actualize it.
– which is why i often reach out to my critics and have 1 on 1s to share. 

The Operations

– with a big vision, comes the need for a very talented team.
– finding talented ppl is VERYYY difficult.
– without talented ppl ur process breaks, works becomes subpar, u fall behind.
– with the limitation of web3 professionals, you’d need to convert web2 ppl 

– this often times is an uphill battle as you try to convince talented ppl to leave their safety net to a money laundry, right click save jpg, industry.
– at the same time, talents are needed as of ytdy.
– feels like no matter how fast u work, u are still falling behind.. 

The Optics

– the nature of the industry is all abt narrative, which means optics matter, a ton.
– u can try ur best to be as straight up as possible, but afterall, we are still human.
– ppl can still make mistakes, actions can be taken out of context. 

– no one is perfect and i’ve def been reminded as well.
– case in point, previously i’ve allotted some allowlists for my irl team as an incentive to onboard them.
– optics doesn’t look good, so what do you do?
– all u can do is try to do better.
– premint/metalink ftw. 

The Pressure

– in this industry, the pressure to perform is soo in your face.
– new projects launch on the daily, new innovation is happening every day.
– noise happens every minute.
– as much as you try not to compare, u would. 

– despite our community been as supportive as ever, the pressure to perform at my highest lvl, every day never goes away.
– feels like im not fast enough, never doing enough. 

The Lack of Time

– with discord, slack, twitter, whatsapp, TG, emails, all on at the same time. alongside with meetings after meetings…
– with vendors, partners all around the world, there is really little to no time. 

– work life balance becomes non existence.
– seems like theres a thief out there to get me, on the daily, stealing away precious time.
– scary thing that caught up to me, is when i looked at my 2.5mth son… and was shocked at how big he alrdy is… what did i miss out on. 

the thought of achieving every thing i’ve ever wanted, yet missing out on the very thing that mattered…

this was when it happened.

on a sunny saturday – was when i cocooned for hrs in bed, completely handicapped and lost. this was when i knew i needed to take care of me.

i need to unplug.
i need to time block.
i need to find therapy.
i need to set boundaries.
i need to hire executives.
i need to realign my priorities.
i need to treat this like a marathon.