Interview: Meet Dartroom Founders David and Stef
Dartroom is an NFT marketplace for the Algorand blockchain built by Stef and David. Their smart NFTs have royalties built-in which makes it easier to handle secondary sales. Artists have to apply to become a verified artist on Dartroom, making it a more exclusive marketplace. Let’s learn more about the founders’ motivations, intentions, and beliefs.
Can you introduce yourself, and how did you get interested in blockchain or NFTs?
(David) Hi, I am David, Dartroom’s community manager. I first got into blockchain when I became involved with Decentraland. I’ve been building virtual art galleries for artists and collectors who want to showcase their art in the virtual world.
(Stef) Hey, I am Stef, the developer of Dartroom. In early 2020, I started my developer career and searched for an exciting portfolio project. At the same time, I also started investing in crypto and saw that one of the coins I invested in also had developer documentation. This drew my curiosity to learn more about Algorand.
After a while, developing on Algorand seemed like the ideal portfolio project, so I started building a wallet app for Algorand. I never finished that app because I came across David’s question to build an NFT marketplace while searching for answers in the Algorand Discord. One message thread later, I rolled into building an NFT marketplace.
What was your first NFT purchase, and why did you decide to buy that NFT?
(David) My first purchase was a plot of LAND in Decentraland. Actually, the first purchase I considered was a CryptoPunk, but I decided that $100 was too much at that time.
(Stef) My first purchase was not that interesting, just a test purchase on Dartroom.
The first personal NFT purchase was “Chill” from rutac pbw, which at the time was one of my favourite pieces on Dartroom. I really liked the art style. And even though it might not have been the best purchase from a trading standpoint, as the artist was not selling that well, I am glad I bought it and supported the artist to continue their work.
What’s your connection with the art industry?
(David) Art has always been a part of my life. I come from a very artistic family. During my time working with Decentraland, I fell in love with the concept of art-based NFTs. Whether we like it or not, the metaverse is getting bigger, more and more people will start to own virtual spaces. Art-based NFTs are here to stay, and we want to be part of the journey.
Why did you decide to build Dartroom? What motivated you?
(David) At the time of conception, Algorand didn’t have an NFT art marketplace, and gas fees on Ethereum were high. High transaction fees were stopping lots of talented artists from minting their art. Therefore, Algorand’s low transaction fees coupled with the blockchain’s low impact on the environment felt like an ideal place for an NFT art marketplace.
I initially learned about Algorand when listening to Silvio Micali on the Lex Fridman podcast and was very impressed. From then on everything, I found out about the Algorand blockchain I liked.
Can you explain a bit more about the smart NFT technology Dartroom uses?
(Stef) The Smart NFTs is our attempt at making sure artists are always fairly compensated for their original works. NFT prices of some artists increase tenfold over time, yet artists often don’t see any additional gains from this. Also, royalties are often not respected if NFTs get sold outside of specific marketplaces.
Creating an NFT made up of a smart contract rather than a token allows us to build royalties right into the NFT. These built-in royalties ensure they are always paid regardless of the marketplace the NFT is sold.
When we started, the ARC-0003 standard was not lined out yet by Algorand. That is why we used a relatively simple custom standard (Smart NFTs). But now that ARC-0003 is completed, we will switch our system over to this standard.
Why did you choose to have an “apply page” for artists?
(David) We are a curated art marketplace. The main criteria we look for are that the person applying is a dedicated artist and can verify that the art they are making is their own.
In the beginning, we approached artists to onboard them to the platform. Now, we mainly have artists apply for the platform.
What’s your opinion on collecting digital art?
(David) I am a collector of digital art and I think it is a cool thing to be involved with. I see virtual and virtual reality galleries/spaces being highly popular in the near future. I think tokenised art and media ownership will just get bigger and in turn so will the platforms surrounding the ecosystem.
Do you plan to add any additional features to Dartroom?
(Stef) Yes, we have a packed feature list that we are going through one step at a time. New features coming in the short term are improvements to artist discoverability and collections. In the longer term, we are planning on adding more methods of selling NFTs in the form of auctions, both regular and Dutch auctions. And we will be working on bringing more advanced ways for artists to collaborate on NFT collections.
