NFTs stormed the art world with sales and headlines, but they’re now facing a major correction. The ongoing economic downturn caused a significant loss of market value, with 75 per cent of the market value disappearing at one point.

However, experts believe the NFT market will persist and play a crucial role in shaping a decentralised, equitable, and creative economy.

Snowcrash, an NFT trading platform formed in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, is one such effort that aims to empower artists and collectors to create and trade unique digital assets on the blockchain. The firm was founded in 2022 by Walter De Brouwer, Chief Scientific Officer at Sharecare and an adjunct professor at Stanford University School; Jesse Dylan, Founder and CEO of Wondros; and Jeff Rosen, President of the Bob Dylan Music Company. 

By using cutting-edge technology, Snowcrash seeks to push the boundaries of the NFT world while also fostering a vibrant community of creators and supporters. Its infrastructure is based on a secure, environmentally responsible Solana blockchain with easy, consumer-friendly, green methods for acquiring and interacting with NFT art.

Recently, Snowcrash announced the launch of National Geographic’s Genesis NFT Collection, GM: Daybreak Around the World in a blind drop. This is expected to attract collectors and investors alike, eager to own a piece of National Geographic’s stunning visuals in the form of NFTs.

In this interview, De Brouwer speaks about the current state of the rapidly-evolving NFT space, his dynamic leadership approach at Snowcrash, and the cutting-edge digital innovations that are on the horizon.

Edited excerpts:

How do you see NFTs changing the art and collectibles markets?

I believe that NFTs have already brought about significant changes. However, as we are currently in a bear market, we may see some people attempting to manipulate the system until regulations are put in place, and the real market emerges.

NFTs are not only about collectibles and art; they represent a larger movement towards tokenisation. This involves placing physical and digital assets on the blockchain, including pictures, movies, money, and even houses. By tokenising these assets, we are creating an Internet-native payment realm that transcends the legacy structures of traditional finance and payment rails.

As the world becomes increasingly digital and virtual, we require a new infrastructure to enable frictionless transactions of currencies, properties, and even identities. Some refer to this as the metaverse, but I believe it is more accurately described as a new infrastructure that facilitates seamless transactions across various asset classes.

How does Snowcrash ensure the authenticity and uniqueness of NFTs, and what measures do you take to prevent fraud or plagiarism?

Our investors, Sony and Universal, have the expertise to help us with copyright management. They have established copyright systems, and we work with their intellectual property. We are already utilising zero-knowledge proofs in our systems, which is poised to revolutionise the entire on-chain movement.

Can you walk us through the process of creating and selling an NFT on your platform, and how do you regulate pricing, royalties, and ownership rights?

Our approach depends on our clients’ needs. They tell us their requirements, such as KYC/AML compliance and the use of specific currencies. We then create a white-label solution tailored to their specifications, allowing them to conduct their business seamlessly. 

We cater to a diverse range of clients, from those who require complete freedom to those who prefer walled gardens. Our clients are primarily large corporations in the media industry.

How do you balance the desire for decentralisation and democratisation of NFTs with the need for regulation in the industry?

I believe that everyone desires regulation, but it’s important to strike a balance between centralisation and decentralisation. Both extremes are not ideal, and we need to move towards the middle of that spectrum. 

In the evolution of technology, we cannot simply adopt a one-size-fits-all approach of either centralisation or decentralisation. It takes time to strike the right balance.

If I could create an ideal world, it would be decentralised, open-source, and peaceful. Unfortunately, we have to work with the reality we have.

If Snowcrash is an invite-only platform, doesn’t it make it exclusive and not democratic?

I don’t think our platform is invite-only. Some clients may prefer to make their NFTs invite-only, and we accommodate their requests.

The media and entertainment industry is vast and complex, with Hollywood, Bollywood, and many others. Our company is just a small part of that industry, serving our clients. We’ve noticed that most of our clients are moving in the same direction, which is exciting. I believe that 2024 and 2025 will be good years for our industry. 

Currently, we’re focusing on building our platform, and as someone with a background in AI, I’m thrilled to see that we can integrate AI into the blockchain and use cutting-edge technologies like zero-knowledge proofs.

There’s no lack of innovation in our industry. Like many things, there was a hype cycle in the beginning, and now we’re at a point where the tourists are leaving, and things are settling down. However, the underlying potential is still there.

Your profile says Snowcrash is working on the Web3 strategies of Sony Music and UMG. Could you please tell me more about it?

Sony and Universal are our investors, and we work closely with them to navigate the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment industry. Hollywood is a bit like a cowboy trail, where someone may shoot in the air to signal a change, but it takes time before someone takes out their gun and shoots. These are large corporations that move slowly but surely they are adapting to new technologies and trends. 

The nice thing about Hollywood is that when they do take action, they do so quickly and decisively.

I came across an article that says your company will release NFTs for Bob Dylan and Miles Davis as its initial offerings in 2022. What’s the status of that?

We’re still waiting! Working for large corporations means going through a lot of meetings with innovation groups, product groups, artist managers, artists, and legal teams. It takes patience to navigate these processes. 

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to be more patient, even with my students who all have their own journeys. Sometimes it takes two or three years of work before something finally comes to fruition. Success is not just luck — it’s a result of hard work and persistence.

This year is not a good time to launch new products; not much is selling in the market. Others are waiting for next year to focus on building more dynamic NFTs, streaming NFTs, community identity, and soul power tokens. Everyone is just working hard to build for the future.

The industry seems to be in a period of building and innovation, with many large corporations moving slowly but surely towards new developments such as dynamic NFTs, streaming NFTs, community identity, and soul power tokens. 

While it may not be a good year for launching, there is a sense of anticipation for what the future holds and many are focused on building for the year to come.

What happens when an artist releases an NFT of their song? Could you explain this using an example of a Bob Dylan song or album? Does a user on your platform get to own the publishing rights to Blowin’ In The Wind?

Well, Dylan has already done that. He made a special version of Blowing In The Wind and sold it for US$1.77 million as a collectible. While everyone can listen to it, only one person can own it. 

As someone from a time when we owned physical music, I think there will be a market for owning music as an alternative asset category. People used to discover new music in stores and take ownership of that discovery, and I think something like that could happen again. There may be a market for owning music beyond top hits. 

There will be changes in the music industry, such as dynamic NFTs and streaming NFTs, and community identity. After Soul Power tokens, everyone is working to build for the future. There will be new forms of music, such as generative music created by AI, and derivative songs will become even easier to make.

When The Matrix movie was being made, the directors asked every actor to read a French book called ‘Simulacra and Simulation.’ The book introduces the concept of simulacra, which refers to a copy with no original. In contrast, a simulation represents something else, like a photograph of a book. 

The idea of simulacra is relevant to our world today, as we increasingly rely on models and simulations to create reality. Instead of basing our understanding of the world on an original, we first create a model and then use it as a reference for reality. This way, we are moving towards a simulacra first world. I have seen several pictures of people during my journey at Midjourney, and they seem to look at me as if they want to live. However, they don’t exist as originals, only as simulacra. This highlights the growing importance of simulacra in our modern world.

The film industry will also be affected. We’re moving towards a world of simulacra, where we first make the models and then create the reality. Software like Midjourney and Runway allows people to make their own video productions from scratch. 

Hollywood’s production sets and bureaucracy will disappear, and all the locations, sets, and clothes will become digital repositories. Actors might act against a screen, and faces can even be deeply faked onto them. These changes will revolutionise the industry, and it’s exciting to witness it all.

I can understand people wanting to buy a Bob Dylan song, but why would someone be interested in buying the NFTs of a debut album or a single from an artist who’s just getting started?

It’s true that there are many music lovers out there who enjoy discovering new music and discussing it with others. While you may not be an expert in music, you still have an appreciation for it and understand that others may use different techniques and tools to create their music.

In terms of investing, people are always searching for alternative assets that can potentially provide a return on their investment. Wine and sneakers are examples of alternative asset categories that have become popular among investors. It’s important to take risks, but it’s crucial to combine them with something that you are truly passionate about and enjoy. Otherwise, the risk can become tedious and unfulfilling, and you may end up losing in the end.

What is your approach to community building and user engagement?

This is a difficult one! Some clients come to us without an existing community and ask us to create one for them. However, we cannot pretend to be the artists themselves who are responsible for creating their own community. It’s important for artists to continuously engage with their fans and be in conversation with them. 

This is where Web3 comes in. It offers a more fluid conversation with fans and allows for a deeper investment in getting to know the artist. For example, fans can buy an artist’s book, songs, and even tickets to their next event all in one place. Ultimately, we all invest in things we like and share those stories with others, which makes us feel special in our own way.

About your partnership with Nat Geo, NFTs have been receiving a lot of flak from purists. In the end, isn’t a buyer only paying for bragging rights to signify ownership?

It’s bragging power! It’s understandable that owning rare or valuable items can provide a sense of pride and status. Additionally, discussing and sharing opinions on art and collectibles can be a social activity and a way to connect with others who share similar interests. As for investing in art, art can indeed be a valuable asset category, with prices often increasing over time. And owning NFTs, including digital art such as Apes, is becoming increasingly popular in the art world.

There are many reports that crypto is dead in America. What does the crypto winter mean for the NFT space? When do you think the market will kick off again?

We have been in a bear market since 2010, experiencing one winter after another. We’ve weathered many seasons, and even though my focus is on AI now, I’ve made a joke about it, saying that when I was in the summer of my life, I lived in the winter of AI, and now that I’m in the winter of my life, I live in the summer of AI. 

But the truth is, everything is cyclical, and people will eventually start focusing on something else. As AI becomes more centralised, people will need decentralisation, provenance, and more. Crypto is not dead, but not every coin will survive. 

As a shameless Bitcoin maximalist, I believe that Bitcoin is the future, and I think that the upcoming Bitcoin halving next year will make it even scarcer. In addition, there will be presidential elections in 2025, which will be a great year for Bitcoin.

How is Snowcrash positioning itself to navigate the current bearish trend in the NFT market and emerge stronger in the long run?

We have a great team, a low burn rate, and fantastic investors, so I believe we can weather a few winters while building and developing our platform.

It’s true that the younger generations will inherit the world that we leave behind for them. And it’s exciting to think about what innovations and advancements they will bring to the table. The convergence of AI, blockchain, and the Metaverse could indeed create some fascinating new possibilities.

However, it’s important to remember that these technologies also have their potential risks and challenges, and it’s up to all of us to ensure that they are developed and used responsibly. As for the ageing of previous generations, it’s a natural part of life and hopefully, we can leave behind a world that is better for future generations than the one we inherited.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like connecting with investors, visibility through the platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image credit: © TEDx Brussels/Scorpix

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The Sony World Photography Awards had an unusual winner in April 2023. Photographer Boris Eldagsen won it with a photo called “Pseudomnesia: The Electrician” which was fully AI-generated. This happened just a few months after artist Jason M. Allen won the Colorado State Fair’s annual art competition in August 2022 with a painting called “Space Opera Theater” which he created using a text prompt on the generative AI tool Midjourney.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT art series, a collection of 10,000 apes drawn in a quirky way, reached a new milestone in January 2023 when a Bored Ape fetched 800 Ethereum cryptocurrency, equivalent to almost US$1 million. This happened at a time of a “crypto winter” or waning interest in cryptocurrencies and crypto art, and after the peak hype cycle of Bored Ape Yacht Club had passed.

The first is an example of Generative AI and the second is an example of Web3, but given the avalanche of technology news related to creative industries, it’s understandable if all of it blurs in our minds. It feels like we are living through an unprecedented era of technology in creativity and we’re often afraid of being left behind.

The intersection of technology and creativity: Embracing the power of human ingenuity

Amidst all this change, there’s one thing that has not changed. That’s the role of creativity in unleashing the power of all the tools available to us. As I discuss at length in my new book The Creative Human, the logic of Generative AI, Web3 and Data needs to be married with the magic of creativity.

Also Read: Get creative in your customer retention strategies with these insights!

Let me bring this to life with an example of the creative use of data. A few years ago, Spotify leveraged its data to uncover unique anecdotes and used them as the basis for a series of billboards. Some of these billboards were, “Dear person who played ‘Sorry’ 42 times on Valentine’s Day, what did you do?”, “Be as loving as the person who put 48 Ed Sheeran songs on their ‘I Love Gingers’ playlist.”, “Exercise more conventionally than the 46 people who put ‘Slow Hands’ on their running playlists.”, and “To the person in NoLIta who started listening to holiday music way back in June, you really jingle all the way, huh?”

Just like data, AI offers creatives incredible new tools. Turkish artist Refik Anadol specialises in a creative medium he calls Machine Hallucinations. He feeds data of various forms into AI and lets it create trippy visualisations.

In May 2022, he placed sensors around the iconic Barcelona building Casa Batlló to pick up real-time environmental data and fed this into AI to create otherworldly machine hallucinations projected onto the building’s façade. This then became a dynamic NFT sold for a whopping US$1.38 million.

While technology was critical to both of these impressive works of creativity, they wouldn’t have been possible without human ingenuity.

As we take our creativity into the future, armed with exciting new tools, it’s vital to remember that these tools are great instruments for our orchestra, but the human brain continues to be the conductor of this orchestra.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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The COVID-19 pandemic had multiple ramifications, not just on people in their personal lives but also their relationships with their jobs.

Company culture matters

Previously, many people stayed at a job just for the sake of staying. However, the pandemic brought about a special kind of uncertainty that led many to question the way they live and the way they work. More employees are looking for jobs that offer better pay, work-life balance, or just flexibility in which they can have the autonomy to choose where to work out from.

Indeed, co-working spaces grew in popularity across Southeast Asia during the pandemic. But they were driven by movement restrictions, which forced traditional companies to follow tech startups’ lead, and offer hybrid work arrangements (if not outright work-from-home ones).

Now that restrictions have been lifted, however, the flexibility factor seems to be sticking. A questionnaire conducted by US nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership in late 2022 found that just 13 per cent of over 2,000 Asian companies surveyed expected their staff to work full-time in an office.

In short, this means that if companies from any industry across regions want to retain their talent, they would need to adapt. Of course, there are “hard” factors like compensation, which reliably move the needle when convincing an employee to stay. However, they’re not always the best long-term strategy.

Also Read: Gen Zs, Millennials, and Baby Boomers: When are they most productive at work?

The more abstract concept of corporate culture comes into play. Flexibility plays a big role here, and it’s more than just about where the work is conducted. As a McKinsey and Company study found, when and how an employee’s work can be done is also part of the package.

 Establishing a new culture for a hybrid workplace

Building corporate culture has never been easy, and establishing a new workplace culture considering the current extenuating factors, has its own challenges. Many are gaining a new sense of self-awareness and worth, and they will not easily forget if they have felt undervalued, especially in an environment with less physical visibility, as occurs with more remote work, and where it can feel much more difficult to be seen.

People are motivated when they believe they are valued and have an impact (and commensurate pay is part of that equation). People, it turns out, want recognition, growth opportunities, and to feel valued, trusted, and empowered.

The epoch of the employment contract, in which a worker provided services solely for monetary compensation, has passed. While monetary compensation is necessary for survival, deeper relationships, a strong sense of community, and purpose-driven work are required for thriving. This is the value that employees expect from their employers.

Research already proves that recognition is fundamental to engaging and retaining top talent (and, ultimately, making profits). Recognising their efforts and thus rewarding them accordingly is also a relatively seamless and frictionless way to keep employees feeling validated amid times of macroeconomic troubles, where organisations from any industry are resorting to cost-cutting.

But much like how apps like Zoom and Slack became commonplace as everyone started working out of different places. However, the way companies give out rewards and recognition also has to evolve digitally.

For instance, in a Singapore-headquartered company with over 2,000 employees across the Asia Pacific, its Chief People Officer, who sits at the HQ, wants to ensure that every single employee gets rewarded with US$50 on their birthday, complete with a personalised message from the CEO.

How should you go about this? Do you send physical gifts to everyone, which is costly and impractical? Do you do a soulless, impersonal bank transfer? 

Going digital

The above were some of the issues that encapsulated the thinking of digital platforms for employee rewards and recognition.

Also Read: How AnyMind Group achieved profitability through its approach to human resource and leadership

A digital platform can help build team bonding and camaraderie for a hybrid workforce. Employees can receive instant recognition and appreciation on the app from their colleagues, which everyone else in the organisation can see.

Using a recognition platform powered by the latest AI technology, such as GPT-3, companies can eliminate the friction involved in appreciating colleagues. Expressing gratitude can be challenging, especially when finding the right words. However, GPT-3 can help resolve this issue effortlessly by generating beautifully written messages of appreciation.

Having a digital platform could also allow employees to choose their own benefits. It’s simply impractical for a company to cater to employees’ varying preferences, that would mean piling up thousands of different vouchers or products.

Usually, companies give out money or buy one product in bulk, say a gold coin or a pen for a long service award, and give it out annually. While employees won’t necessarily decline these gifts, details matter if you want your employees to feel genuine appreciation.

For example, instead of a free lunch for a job well done, an employee can choose a daily transport voucher instead. It’s a win-win: the company still spends the same amount it would have previously, while it leaves an impression on the employee, as they get what they actually want or need.

To sum up, what’s clear is that a balanced hard-soft approach matters when it comes to employee rewards and recognition, which facilitates the creation of everyday moments of joy, a very easy and simple thing that a company can do, but enough to make a difference. Making an employee feel seen, and that their effort matters.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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LiveIn, which provides “affordable” long-stay rental solutions in Malaysia and Thailand, has acquired KT Management, a student accommodation and long-term rental solutions provider in Malaysia’s northern region.

The details of the transaction haven’t been disclosed.

According to a press release, this merger aims to provide LiveIn’s flexible community living solutions and a better online-to-offline (O2O) experience for KT Management’s thousands of tenants. This means that after students graduate, they will be able to have access to any accommodation within LiveIn.

“Malaysia and Thailand are key markets for us. The market conditions in Southeast Asia are perfect for LiveIn with its young people population, massive numbers of young professionals moving to the cities and the huge property overhang. We are now aggressively pursuing acquisition opportunities there and around the region,” said Keek Wen Khai (Khai), Co-Founder and CEO of LiveIn.com.

Also Read: ‘Introducing the concept of co-living was the biggest challenge for us’: LiveIn CEO Keek Wen Khai

“This (deal) means a lot to us as a company. By ensuring our tenants stay with us in different stages of their student and professional lives and in different cities, we ensure a level of continuity that is rare in the rental market. We learn so much from them. We earn a higher level of brand loyalty. And we enjoy a much higher life time value (LTV) from each and every one of tenants,” Khai added.

Formerly known as Hostel Hunting, LiveIn focuses on addressing the urgent issues of young people’s living needs in the central cities in Southeast Asia by transforming existing properties into affordable rental homes via its O2O-managed platform.

The company was started in 2015 as an online marketplace for property owners and potential tenants to match and pivoted to a long-stay rental solutions provider in 2018. Since launching, it has raised about US$4.5 million from Jungle Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, Aucfan Co, KK Fund, Incubate Fund, and Cradle Fund.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like connecting with investors, visibility through the platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

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In the global startup ecosystem, the struggle that female founders had to go through to secure funding is well-documented. Even in late 2022, various reports–including one by Nikkei Asia–highlighted that women-run startups raise staggeringly less funding at lower valuations, despite the high returns.

Harriet, a platform that aims to empower female founders to secure external capital and accelerate their business growth, was founded in 2022 with this issue as the background.

The platform facilitates strategic connections between female-founded companies and venture capital funds, with a focus on bridging the gender gap in the industry. There are two key components on the platform: Connecting Harriet, which offers female founders access to essential tools and resources to support their growth, and Funding Harriet, which serves as a bridge between leading venture funds and female-founded companies.

It was founded by Tanya Rolfe and Anna Pearson who had been actively investing in female founders for a number of years. The platform is the third collaboration between the two co-founders and the first they founded.

In starting Harriet, Rolfe and Pearson conversed with various female founders from around the world and discovered the universality of the problem.

Also Read: Don’t be the noise, be the value: Kavita Gupta of Delta Blockchain Fund to aspiring female VCs

“It was just obvious to us that they needed a space, a way to connect, a community. And they reached out to us primarily because, in many instances, there is no one else,” Pearson says.

“They will reach out to us for support on their business, growth and development, and also on their fundraising. So the product development came just from extensive conversations with these female founders about what they want.”

Rolfe further explains the gravity of the problem that Harriet aims to tackle with its solutions. Back when she and Pearson worked at a venture fund and had to raise funds for female entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia (SEA), the challenges that she faced were “quite shocking”.

“It was also quite ironic that there I was, trying to raise capital to help female entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of fundraising, but I was also facing those very same challenges as a female fund manager,” she says.

“Furthermore, all of my investors, the LPS that were coming forward were men. There were almost no women. So, one of the big issues and challenges in securing funding for female entrepreneurs is that we just don’t have enough women investors.”

This is crucial as investors tend to put trust—and eventually, invest in—founders that “look and sound like them.”

“Everything hinges on convincing people that this is also a great financial opportunity. We have not even spoken about the outperforming investment returns of female entrepreneurs,” Rolfe says.

Also Read: How can female founders become the new normal in Asia?

Bringing female founders onto the platform

Harriet has a wide variety of female founders on board the platform, from their ages to the industries that they are working on.

Since the company is based in Singapore, there is a strong Asia Pacific lens in its reach with these founders operating in Southeast Asian countries and Australia.

When asked about the strategy that Harriet uses to acquire users, Pearson states that the process has been completely organic since the platform was introduced–about a few weeks before the interview was done.

“We have about 45 different female-founded companies who reached out to us and wanted to join the platform and have been waiting for it to go live. We are planning to add between four or five companies a week; that is really just bandwidth at the moment,” she explains.

The co-founders see this enthusiastic response as proof of the urgency of the solution that Harriet provides. “If we advertise [this platform] tomorrow, we will be completely inundated.”

This year, Harriet aims to focus on growing the platform, especially in its two main areas of focus. For its Funding Harriet feature, the company wants to push for the number of companies securing the investment and to showcase these companies in their Female Founder showcase series, with the goal of featuring three companies in a quarter. They would also like to further expand the community within Connecting Harriet.

“The idea is to just to create that brand awareness and credibility in the market in terms of the quality and calibre of the founders … But, at the end of the day, it has to translate into people writing checks. So, the main focus for the rest of the year will be on Funding Harriet. We will probably run another Female Founder series in Singapore and Hong Kong. We have also been asked to run them in Australia,” says Pearson.

But the focus of the company’s work goes beyond pushing for numbers.

“To change mindsets and get people to invest in female entrepreneurs are really the number one focus for us this year, where we are going to see change come about. And that is not easy. That is probably our biggest challenge,” Pearson stresses.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here.

Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image Credit: Harriet

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