Name: Balancing the Ledger: Steve Aoki launching NFT collection based on 'Neon Future' comic book
Uploaded: 2021-04-23
Duration: 16 min 28 s
Description: He teamed up with Impact Theory’s Tom Bilyeu and artist Maciej Kuciara.

He teamed up with Impact Theory’s Tom Bilyeu and artist Maciej Kuciara.

Balancing the Ledger: Steve Aoki launching NFT collection based on 'Neon Future' comic book

Fortune's Robert Hackett and Lucinda Chen with Steve Aoki and Tom Bilyeu

Fortune_Crypto

He teamed up with Impact Theory’s Tom Bilyeu.

Steve Aoki launching NFT collection based on comic book

Steve Aoki launching NFT collection based on 'Neon Future' comic book

Hello and welcome to balancing the ledger where tech and finance intersect. I'm robert Hackett and I'm losing a son and we're here today with steve Aoki, the electronic dance musical mastermind, and Tom Bill, you co founder of the Digital Studio Impact Theory. They were going to be talking about N. F. T. S. Or non fungible tokens, the latest Blockchain collectible craze, steve. What got you excited about this? What was the moment that really piqued your interest and got you into this whole, this whole field? So when I found out about N. F. T. C. Last summer, 2020 and um I at the same time, this was like a few months after, you know, I was like, okay, we're bunkering in, we're staying in our homes. Um I was locked in the studio for a few months because I didn't know I thought this would, this would end shortly, but when I knew that we're in this for the long haul, then that's when different things started happening and changing. like the way I was like, well collectibles cards, all these things started coming out at the same time. Like I started collecting uh sports cards, Pokemon um And I was on Ebay all the time I was looking for like, like you know, unique vintage rare one of one this that and the other, I'm already an art collector. So I was expanding my collectible reach at the same token. Um My my management was also managing an artist called Blau and an artist called R. I. C. And they were already doing the N. F. T. S in like May april may remember I was talking to Justin around that time and he's telling me about, he's always telling me about what he's working on early. He was already pretty early of crypto and he's like, I'm doing this N. F. T. Thing are I see the same thing, he made a cassette tape and he was like I'm dropping this N. F. T. With a cassette tape that people will buy. The N. F. T. A. You know a digital asset of the cassette tape and it will trade on its own in the in the digital space in the crypto space. That tape ended up selling, started $20 to end up selling as the highest uh sold cassette tape in history beating prince. So I remember all this was happening while I was getting into cards. And I'm like well of course, you know this is right up my alley. I'm a collector, I'm an art head and almost obviously I'm a creator. So that's when we started looking to how um we can make something be disruptive, do something different and add to the community. And in october of last year we found the platform and we spent five months developing the very first collection. We dropped it. It was overwhelmingly successful. And um and so much fun to do so tom and steve the two of you connected over neons future. So tell us a little more about what that is and how an N. F. T. Fits into all of this. It's all about how we view the convergence of humanity and technology where we're going with A. I. Um and the expansion of creativity really its expansion of our species in a way in a positive light. Um And and we built a whole comic book story around that. And we're building a lot more to this I. P. Um But definitely the evolution of this right now to go deeper is is building out this collection is an empty collection with this incredible artist Mashaei who we absolutely love. We worked with before tom brought him in and and he just blows our minds and I created exclusive music to all the different pieces. And tom myself, Mashaei went into detail um on every single piece, looking at the intricacies of the technical detailing of the art, to the feelings that is supposed to provoke and make you feel when you're looking at the pieces. Um we expect the people to be looking to pieces to be looking at the same way that we're looking at with that same kind of detail and and it's all about feeling. You know, these are these are pieces that have uh different perspectives. I mean, the whole idea is how you look at this piece can be so many different ways and but in each way it should make you feel what we feel, where we're getting chills, where we're like, wow, this is a moment. Part of what we wanted to do is really bring to life the I. P. That we created a neon future of the comic book in a new way two really get a chance to take these images to a. Level that you could never justify doing at the comic book level. Their speed is so much of the issue and obviously the narrative needs to be in the driver's seat. But the concepts are high concept enough that you don't need to have background in the comic to enjoy the pieces. So we felt like we really walked that line well of taking a sort of irreverent look at the ip. But making these standalone statements that um you know we refer to as a futuristic Rorschach test where depending on who you are what's going on in your life, you're going to see something different than other people which is really an exciting moment. So we've created something that is both um married to the I. P. And clearly born out of neon future of the comic. But also something entirely new that people will be able to just enjoy for the quality of the art and the artistic statement that we make with each piece tom on twitter. You said that you want to build an N. F. T. Marketplace or animate web comics films. It's your agenda to make the next Disney. So that's not small ambitions there. So tell us a little more what does that mean? What does that look like? Yeah. So it definitely is not a small ambition that is for sure. Uh And impact theory as a company. Our goal is to tell stories that empower people and you know when my wife and I have worked in the inner cities a lot and that's really what gave birth to the desire to create a studio and we realized that the way to get people to really make change because we've seen a lot of people, they were smarter than us, there were people that had more entrepreneurial instincts and we had but they just weren't gonna do as much because they don't have the right frame of reference. And so we offered what we called at the Time Quest University now Impact Area University and we said, we'll teach you anything you want to know about entrepreneurship And by telling people think like this act like this. There were radical transformations in about two of the people, But I'm somebody who's obsessed with scale. And so I started asking the question, what does it take to get the 98 and when you want to have impact at that level, which is of course exactly what it's called impact theory, um, telling stories is my theory on how to impact people at scale. And so looking at who's done this well, and Disney becomes the clear example. They have the discipline to only tell one kind of story and they told it over and over and over from 1000 different angles and in doing something, they established the brand to mean something. And so we want to do that same thing with impact theory, where we want to tell stories that empower people over and over and over from 1000 different angles, so that ultimately the brand of impact theory means something. The way that kids were taking in stories back in the day are very different than the way that they're doing it now. And so the whole idea in business Wayne Gretzky is famous quote of skates where the puck is going to be, rather than where the puck is, and if you're going to skate to where the puck is today, then sure you go, oh Tt you go streaming, and we will do some of that, but where the puck is going to be, the puck is going to be where technology is leading it, and N. F. T. S are really a clear signal about how the Blockchain is changing everything. Um and then just consumer behavior in terms of how they get their stories in is radically changing. And so we're making a big bet on N. F. T. S with the marketplace. Um, as I learned a very powerful lesson in my last company, um, which was whoever controls the audience, controls the negotiation. And so a platform moment is really a moment for you to build a much deeper, richer connection to the audience. Um so that you have a a longer relationship with them, high touch and can really build a community. And so that's our focus and that's why we're building the NFC marketplace and that's how it fits in the grander vision of building the next Disney. There was a recent Bloomberg story were quoted in Tom and it was talking about how sales of entities have sort of been on the decline recently. I mean it's hard to top people's record $69 million Christie's sale at auction. Um So it's not terribly surprising that maybe there's a dip, but you mentioned that humans are prone to getting overly excited and you think what's happening is a bit of an early correction. Um So I'm wondering why continue to pursue N. F. T. S. Right now, if there is a market tip you know if what we're entering is potentially a little bit of a bear market for it. Are you concerned about that? No definitely not. Um So Warren Buffett I think sums it up best when everybody else is panicking is exactly when you want to buy um and when everybody else is buying that's when you want to be conservative. So what we're banking on isn't that the numbers are just going to keep going up and up and up. What we're banking on is that more and more customers are going to want this highly interactive relationship with the properties and projects that they care most about. And so we're very bullish on the technology. We're very bullish on the vision of people continuing to pour into the ecosystem. We're not betting on a coin or anything like that. We are simply asking one question is the transition to the Blockchain going to be exciting and new and different enough that people will continue to pour in and expect that level of um decentralization and interactivity with the um the projects and intellectual property that they're most excited about. And so we believe that that is absolutely going to happen, that we are definitely betting heavy on but has nothing to do with the need for the cost of each item to keep going up. And that's all people are really talking about coming down and as a company were primarily aimed at kids, so we don't want to be just doing ultra high end art. There's a lot of pr to be gotten from it, a lot of amazing art to create their, but our primary focus is going to be um lower cost items, higher volume and that's just again, all of it on, we think a lot of people are going to pour into the system based on the technology and not just wanting to be flippers, but actually wanting to buy something that you love and think is amazing and want to hold onto. Um and as long as we're right about that bit of psychology I think will win in the end Steve, I want to ask you about one that you sold as one of the highest selling to date. Uh a piece called Harry, I believe. And it was sold for 880 8000 $888.88 significance of all those eight. But I did notice that the former Ceo of T. Mobile bought it john legere, do you know you have a, I don't know john he's he's an old friend of mine and he's been very supportive of of just of me and um just a really good guy and he's also believes in the future of N. F. T. S. And he's collecting art by our estimate. He loves, I think if you follow his wallet, because that's the great thing about this space and the great thing about crypto and the whole thing is all transparent. You see you show like you can call one thing that you can flex or you show how you support, who you support. It's all it's all in your wallet. What like how we identify yourself to the world, it's going to be not just your instagram profile, That's what it is now, that's 2021, but in the future it will be your wallet, it'll be like all these different things that will be like, oh that's what you know, so and so loves this kind of music. Where is this kind of clothing? And he, like, they spend so much time in this kind of thing, and they love these kinds of things, and that's how that's identifying your interest in who you are. So, I think um You know, like, I know I'm digressing here, but uh with John, you know, I think he's just like, I want to support artists, I love that, that, you know, that moved him in a certain way, and, you know, he uh he went in and just spent $880,000 on that piece. The piece is incredible. It's absolutely an interesting, unique. It stops you in your tracks. Um but, you know, the eye, the eye of the beholder, and this one is john steve, I'm curious as we're talking about investing in supporting artists and f keys and and more broadly, cryptocurrencies are generally considered pre volatile assets. And so when you're thinking about how to invest and how to build your portfolio, do you think about risk aversion? Do you think about putting in a certain amount of your network because their currency and leaving it there? Or do you think about um kind of limiting your exposure? Yes. Good question. So I have a team, I have a money management team, investment team, business managers have a lot of managers. Uh It's good for me because I am like, I follow my heart almost too much and I'll just go, we're going in and uh and and then they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. And actually a lot of them are very conservative and don't really understand. I have to explain them, lock them through why I'm investing so much in certain things, certain assets, um certainly as volatile speculative assets. Um But at the end of the day, it's my money. So, you know, they could they could talk me down off the ledge, but um I just I just I just jump off the ledge at a lower level, you know, um you know, without them, I'd probably be doing like swan dives um into unknown pools that I don't know the depth of. But um yeah, I get very excited. I'm I'm very high risk in certain cases because I follow my heart and you know, obviously, like when you, when you hit on those, you reap large rewards, I jumped into Gamestop 11 week before that thing blew up. I couldn't believe it. Uh You know, I mean it's crazy like when those things happen, right, my team is like, what, what, how do you know this stuff? You know, I'm like, I mean there's like five other things that flopped but like it wasn't so disastrous for me, you know, so it's like about testing the market following it boom. Um You know I also put into dodge coin as well, you know like before that went up and I pulled out I got made a little money, it wasn't like a lot. Um But I've been very lucky with a lot of investments, like being very early like first round of stock acts uh early with Spotify um early with Uber. So it's across the board, but I'm my ears are open to things that are part of culture, you know, I follow the culture and of course even if it's popping in culture it still goes down of course, but that's you know, you can't be afraid of of the rise and falls of these things are everything has to correct everything has to like go down a little bit. Um, and some yes go to zero, but that's very rare unless you're you're you're just going blind and just betting on a bunch of different things that some wise financial advice follow your heart, follow the future, ignore the volatility and most importantly be lucky. Lucky, I love that word. Oh well, excellent steve and tom. Thank you both so much for joining us today on balancing the ledger. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having us. I'm robert Hackett, this is lisa Anderson coming to fortune dot com for more balancing the ledger.