Non-Fungible Tokens: ‘One’ of Billionaire Zombies Club On The 5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry

Get in the right room. Go to the conferences, join the discords, go deep. Many of these people will shock you in their prominence in the near future. (For me it was the founders of platforms like MetaMask, Binance, Litecoin, Celsius and many others that grew larger than anyone would have imagined or believed at the time). Maybe you’re next!

Many have observed that we are at the cusp of an NFT boom. The thing is, it’s so cutting edge, that many people don’t know what it is. What exactly is an NFT and how can one create a lucrative career out of selling them? To address this, as a part of our interview series called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry”, we had the pleasure of interviewing “One” of Billionaire Zombies Club.

“One” is the beloved anonymous captain of the Billionaire Zombies Club movement. This NFT project and community launched from humble beginnings into a rising star among NFT and token powered metaverse projects, with One at the helm.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?

Because of my anonymity I can’t go into great detail, but I have been in finance and tech my whole life. Growing up I built my first computer in elementary school, was coding games in AppleScript and Java by middle school and was an early adopter and advocate for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I really like the new film “Free Guy” as I think it brings concepts around the future of AR, AI and metaverse games to the mainstream in a pretty entertaining format.

Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in this new industry? We’d love to hear it.

Honestly, I just really understand the space and saw an opportunity to help an amazing community (BZC) bring their characters and dreams to life. Our community is my inspiration.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?

I remember taking the Binance founding team out when they were just getting started. Never would anyone have guessed they would grow to power around 70% of all crypto exchange based transactions in such a short time. It’s amazing to see how companies can grow beyond your wildest forecasts in this space.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Well, none of the mistakes seemed funny at the time. I think my friend throwing away a free voucher for 2,500 ethereum after an early conference saying they would be worthless is a little funny? Or Billionaire Zombies Club team member, Adryenn Ashley losing 2,500 Bitcoin before seed phrases existed. Funny? Maybe more painful. But we live and learn and all prove to be learning costs and foundations we can build on from decades of cumulative blockchain experience.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have one particular person who always believed in me when no one else could see it. You know when someone knows you better than anyone and still thinks higher of you than anyone, that really builds your belief in yourself. But eventually it’s going to be you and God and your going to have to believe you can do more than even you thought because if God believes you can do it- who am I to disagree?

I’d also like to thank my children for being a constant source of joy and kindness.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We are rolling out so much right now we are thrilled about! Our own marketplace for our NFTs, a decentralized exchange for our token, and most exciting is our metaverse “Play to earn Game!” Hanging with our community in the metaverse is going to be a dream come true.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. I’m sure you get this question all the time. But for the benefit of our readers, can you explain in your own words what an NFT is, and why people are spending so much money on them?

To make a technical thing simple, an NFT is a digital record of ownership. People aren’t spending money on NFTs, they are spending money on THINGS- the record of ownership of those things are stored on the blockchain identified as an “NFT”. The first major boom of these items being purchased was in art but we are quickly seeing this expand into metaverse lands, music, IP and eventually more directly into physical assets. Why wouldn’t we hold a permanent digital record of ownership for things like the title to your home or car? It’s just better technology- and better tech always wins eventually.

The NFT industry seems so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? If you can, please share a story or example for each.

I am excited about being able to meet and transact in the metaverse. Especially during these restricted times of travel and gathering this is a huge need for community and business.

I am also excited to see the advances in more integrated AR/VR experiences that can bridge the gap between what’s possible for you in the “real” and digital world. An example of this would be having a “live” performance that is totally immersive and sensational in our metaverse clubs or even in one of our privately owned castles! Just so much fun.

Finally, I’m excited to see how blockchain and NFT’s will continue to empower individuals directly. In the past your efforts, value and attention were directed largely by centralized authorities or large brands. Now you can control your assets and the value you deliver through your time, energy, efforts and attention, and it can now be fairly accounted for and rewarded.

An example of what I mean: in the past you could spend thousands of dollars and unspeakable hours playing a game like Minecraft or an MMORPG like Fortnite.

At the end of the experience, users end up poorer and the company richer.

In our game users grow their own personal value as they grow their Intellectual Property, within our game and metaverse, they are rewarded fairly by the community.

What are the 3 things that concern you about the industry? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?

1. Ponzi schemes. Flippers passing the bag up a chain of “investors” with no real substance or value mechanics are just another ponzi. I see a huge portion of the early industry projects this way. A very bad look and something to be avoided. I remember when I talked years back with another large social platform founder who said “it’s not your money, it’s the community that trusted and believed in your visions resources you must steward”. This is the solution. We are all One and must care about each one.
2. Regulation. I welcome transparency and clear rules around tokenization , exchanges , tax issues etc. I do worry though that regulators and legislators will not take the time to fully understand the industry.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about NFTs? Can you explain what you mean?

Same as blockchain- the myth is it’s not real or it’s just numbers. This could not be farther from the truth. It is a tangible math breakthrough. These are applications based on solving something in math called “the Byzantine Generals problem.” This affords us trusted peer-to-peer transactions and to hold deflationary records of accounts. The only difference to your Bank of America’s record of accounts of “just numbers” is they are centrally hosted, privately maintained and use a rapidly increasing supply (meaning they can just print more numbers).

What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they enter the NFT industry? What can be done to avoid that?

Don’t just buy a new mint because of hype. Look for a long term project and team you can buy into. The NFTs, just like tokens, should ideally have real utility. Unless you’re just buying the art, then beauty and price are in the eye of the beholder.

Also, be careful about gas fees and stuck transactions. We built on the back of the polygon blockchain that makes gas super low (usually one cent or less). You still have to pay gas to get onto the polygon blockchain- but once you “bridge” from Ethereum you’re not going to want to go back. So take the time to learn how to get out of the gas wars. Our discord community is great for helping people out that way.

How do you think NFTs have the potential to help society in the future?

Permanent and auditable ownership, deflationary currency backed and totally unhinged metaverse possibilities? Potential is limitless. Coinbase said NFTs could be bigger than crypto. I say you can’t separate the two.

Ok, fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Become an expert first, offer advice second.
2. Stay humble and ever learning. This is a very fast evolving space with the world’s greatest minds coming from every corner of the planet.
3. Don’t skip legal. Regulators may be slow to catch up but laws are there to protect consumers and you won’t win long term without playing fair and honest.
4. Get in the right room. Go to the conferences, join the discords, go deep. Many of these people will shock you in their prominence in the near future. (For me it was the founders of platforms like MetaMask, Binance, Litecoin, Celsius and many others that grew larger than anyone would have imagined or believed at the time). Maybe you’re next!
5. HODL. The markets are growing at a break-neck speed. We are condensing 100 years of industry growth into 5–10 years. The volatility is real. But if you don’t try to time the market, put your money into long term projects with fundamentals then you should come out huge. Time in the market beats timing the market.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Human Kindness. Love looks like something. I think the more separation that technology creates in the real world the more we need to lean into a community that will actually stop for the one, and be kind. I know it’s crazy simple but that’s it. Selfishness is a self defeating purpose and if people realized how much more they get by giving I think kindness and compassion could be the human revival we need.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

I have been blessed to know many of my personal heroes. One guy I really connect with in some personal ways but haven’t run into yet is Will Smith. He is also making some great metaverse content. So Will, how about it?

Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!