Stop shoving crypto down people’s throats — CEO of Pudgy Penguins on NFTs

The CEO of Pudgy Penguins — a non-fungible token project that recently launched a series of “phygitals” on Amazon despite the bear market — has given sage advice to budding projects: Stop talking about crypto.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, 24-year-old entrepreneur Luca Netz said many NFT projects overwhelm people with Web3 jargon and information, making it almost unapproachable for newcomers:

“When you look at the other NFTs in space, can everyone really understand? […] I think they are trying to drown crypto and Web3 down people’s throats. That’s not what people want. People want great products.”

Since acquiring Pudgy Penguins in April 2022, Netz stated that the project has adopted a Web3/blockchain as a “back-end, not front-end” approach.

This essentially comes down to paying as much attention to the IP as possible, in an easily digestible way, he said, adding:

“So our focus is really, how do we create a sweet character that everyone loves? And as the space evolves as the technology matures, you know, teach that user base that we’re in NFTs.

“All we do and all you’ll see us do is ‘how do we get more exposure and brand awareness around our characters?’ and that’s really the top of the totem pole for us,” he added.

We’re doing everything we said we would do. The best part? We’ve just started.

— Luca Netz (@LucaNetz) May 20, 2023

Cuddly chubby penguins

One of the main initiatives Netz has introduced is the physical or “physical” Pudgy Penguins collectibles, which are designed based on the IP address of about 16 different NFTs from the collection.

Each toy comes with a scannable code that people can use to unlock blockchain-based digital penguin customizations to create their own unique NFT. All in a user-friendly way.

In a Twitter Spaces post in late May, Netz claimed that within two days of debuting on Amazon on May 18, the toy made $500,000 in sales from about 20,000 units.

Waking up to see Pudgy Penguin’s record-breaking numbers on Amazon really makes all my losses in the Web3 space worth it.

If you didn’t know, the owner of these penguins all receive royalties from these sales.

Utilities. This is really useful. pic.twitter.com/fbRGGig5Im

— Moose (@JoeyMooose) May 19, 2023

In particular, hodlers of those particular NFTs get a share of the revenue.

“So for us, you know, my main goal — looking at the successes and failures in the space so far — is how I can add value to my NFT holder. I think if that’s not your main goal in running of an NFT company, you will unfortunately find yourself in a difficult position.

“So we believe when we make a product and we make content, we want to pay our community for that and it’s kind of how we look at it,” he added.

From bear… to penguin

By the end of 2021, Pudgy Penguins was essentially in tatters as its bottom price plummeted, while promised roadmap milestones such as blockchain games were nowhere to be seen.

Then questions were asked raised about the past of controversial founder Cole Villemain, who was eventually voted out of the project by the community in January 2022.

A few months later, the project was acquired by Netz for $2.5 million, and since the announcement on April 3, 2022, the floor price for Pudgy Penguins NFTs has jumped from around 1.3 Ether (ETH) to around 5.05 ETH at that time. moment. of writing.

On top of that, the Pudgy Penguins recently closed a $9 million funding round in early May, along with signing a Hollywood representation deal with WME to expand the IP into areas such as TV, film, and gaming.

Revival under Luca Netz

While it may have seemed like another dead NFT project to some, Netz emphasized that he saw a diamond in the rough with a strong community that wanted to see the project flourish again:

“I think it had all the ingredients to be the face of NFTs. And I felt like nobody [else] had the same value proposition at the time.”

“I decided to buy it because I saw it had those ingredients, and they just needed the right person to cook it.” he added.

Looking forward to spreading love across the Meta ❤️

— Luca Netz (@LucaNetz) April 3, 2022

Explaining what he saw in Pudgy Penguins, Netz stated that he felt it had a culture that was “unparalleled” along with a “universal IP” poised for growth.

“So what I mean by universal, you know everyone, and everyone can understand a chubby penguin, it doesn’t matter what your ethnicity is, or your gender, or your religion, as you all get and understand a chubby penguin,” he said .

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