How Zeneca Built a Community by Doubling Down on Education

Everybody remembers the one who launched them to Web3.

Web3 builder and advisor Zeneca has crammed that position for a lot of newcomers to the area, providing a variety of academic choices by way of his flagship ZenAcademy and extra intimate 333 Membership communities.

At the moment (Aug. 30), Zeneca took the following step in growing his ecosystem by the Denizens of ZenAcademy drop. After resisting the temptation of releasing a PFP challenge for almost two years, he lastly determined to make the leap by a non-dilutive token swap for current group members.

“What modified for me was now we’ve got a group; we have already got that basis,” he explains. “We now have people who find themselves enthusiastic about this PFP and need to signify the group on social media, Discord, and construct the model with us. By way of that lens, it began to make sense to strengthen and improve our current group quite than use it to fund and construct a group.”

In a candid nft now podcast interview, Zeneca dives into his Denizens challenge, affords worthwhile recommendation for content material creators and group builders, and provides his unvarnished opinion on the present market.

Matt Medved: Let’s hear the backstory. How did you get into Web3?

Zeneca: I used to be knowledgeable poker participant for 15 years. That’s all I did. I went from highschool to poker. After which I dabbled in crypto in 2017, like many individuals, but it surely was actually like, I simply had my cash on exchanges. I used to be buying and selling, and it’s enjoyable when the quantity goes up, after which [the market] crashed. And I used to be like, ah, that was a enjoyable experiment, and let’s return to actual life. 

However in early 2021, clearly, the bull market was taking off once more. And I got here again in, and a few mates instructed me about crypto and DeFi. And I used to be like, there’s stuff now you possibly can truly do stuff on Ethereum, there’s purposes, and it actually blew my thoughts. I noticed it and requested, “Why is everybody on this planet not speaking about this?” Then I simply fell down the rabbit gap, and I’m actually nonetheless falling and simply received obsessed. 

You launched the Zen Academy in November 2021. For many who might not be acquainted, what’s the Zen Academy, and what was your imaginative and prescient behind beginning it?

I used to be doing a whole lot of buying and selling in 2021. However then, midway by June, I began creating content material. Publication writing, lengthy Twitter threads, and it simply sort of all blew up. And I feel an enormous a part of that clearly was the bull market— proper place, proper time. And only a few different folks had been creating NFT content material. 

Then it began like blowing up, and I noticed, ‘Hey, I really like this. I get pleasure from creating content material. I like writing. I like educating. It’s fulfilling. It’s rewarding. Wow, can I do that full-time? I don’t need to be buying and selling anymore. I don’t need to return to Poker. And then you definitely consider the standard fashions for monetizing as a content material creator and author; there’s Patreon, sponsors, and affiliate hyperlinks.’

And I used to be like, You already know what? I’m all in on NFTs. I’ll promote an NFT that acts like a membership token, and that can be it. We’ll have royalties eternally, and everybody can be completely satisfied, and it’ll work. Clearly, that didn’t fairly pan out that approach, but it surely was an experiment, and I mentioned, “You already know what? That is what I need to do.”

[My token] was comparatively reasonably priced on the time. A number of thousand folks minted, and we’ve spent the final two years figuring it out, creating programs, placing out newsletters, and simply typically attempting to coach folks. That’s the complete thesis of our group. I imply, it’s there within the title “Academy.” It’s all about creating academic content material and serving to.

Let’s dive into Denizens. That is your first PFP challenge. What’s it, and why now?

“Why PFPs?” is an effective query everybody ought to reply earlier than launching a group. Even in 2021, not to mention now. 

After I first launched Zen Academy, I used to be extraordinarily intentional about not doing PFPs. As a result of everybody was doing it on the time. This was the height bull in November 2021. At the moment, I felt there have been approach too many PFPs. We don’t want one other PFP challenge. Clearly, we’ve had a billion extra come out since then and now. 

What modified for me was now we’ve got a group; we have already got that basis. We now have people who find themselves enthusiastic about this PFP and who need to signify the group on social media, Discord, and construct out the model with us. By way of that lens, it began to make sense to strengthen and improve our current group quite than use it to fund and construct a group. We’re not promoting it. We’re not making a public sale. We’re not making any cash once more, maybe to our detriment. Burn your earlier token and get a PFP. That’s the mechanism; it’s non-dilutive. It’s landed properly with our group.

How will the Denizens play into the general ecosystem of Zen Academy, 333, and many others.?

Yeah, so mainly, we’re a membership group with three tiers. So, I might say 333 is the highest premium most 333 tokens. Denizens are like the center tier 10,000 PFPs. They’re like members of Zen Academy: they get the identical utility that they all the time have and can sooner or later, which is, you understand, entry to programs. I create reductions for issues, newsletters, free academic supplies that most of the people may in any other case pay for, and issues like that. That’s our approach of attempting to ship tangible worth and utility.

As a substitute of going and paying $200 or $300 for a 15-hour video course, you should buy our token and get a course totally free and issues like that. After which we’ve got the extra accessible inclusive tier. We now have the scholar IDs, that are the Soul Certain Limitless provide of NFTs that anybody can go to an internet site now and mint. That will get you into our ecosystem. It’ll get you right into a Discord, and you understand, you possibly can be part of our mailing checklist, and also you’re nonetheless very a lot a part of the household, and also you don’t should spend, you understand, a few ETH for a 333 go.

Many individuals evaluate these markets to a on line casino; you had been a poker participant earlier than coming into Web3. I’m curious— how has that have given you perception into navigating this area?

It actually is sort of a on line casino. Most individuals within the area are playing a method or one other. I see folks on a regular basis who clearly have playing issues. Perhaps they don’t consider it as that as a result of it’s crypto or NFTs and never the on line casino or lottery. However my background has ready me tremendously for this area as a result of I’ve spent 15 years making and shedding numerous cash briefly intervals of time. 

Mentally, I’ve discovered methods to take care of these swings and never take them too severely. In addition to put collectively methods to not do foolish issues, not succumb to dependancy, not chase my losses, and all that sort of stuff. For individuals who may come from a extra conventional background and even an 18-year-old who doesn’t have that a lot life expertise, it’s really easy to get on the flawed path on this area. I genuinely don’t encourage too many individuals to enter and splash round with cash.

What ideas do you will have for Web3 content material creators?

It’s a brand new period. The world is altering round us, and it’s sustain or get left behind to a sure extent. There are two distinct colleges of thought. You’ve got the individuals who deal with rising an viewers and content material creation as a talent with instruments, methods, and ways, like construction your threads, write a hook to get folks to learn the following one, bookmark, retweet, and go to your publication. Within the different camp, you will have the extra real and natural creators the place you must discover your voice and ship worth. Some folks simply need to hear uncooked, trustworthy fact from somebody with expertise founding a challenge.

No matter your path, being real and discovering your voice can be more and more vital as a result of the area has grown, and there are ten instances as many content material creators now, a lot of it’s simply the identical stuff rehashed. Are you actually standing out? I attempted doing it the primary approach, signed up for programs, and created a systemized method, but it surely wasn’t for me. So, I’m returning to what I’ve all the time completed, hoping it’ll be extra sustainable in the long run. Don’t lose your self within the course of.