Jun 2, 2020
Meet the people behind LUKSO, the blockchain network that sets out to transform the worlds of fashion, lifestyle, media & design
October 2008 marked the beginning of a new digital era — Bitcoin was born. The big hype surrounding cryptocurrencies went hardly unnoticed by anyone even remotely interested in tech. It’s fair to say the internet is in the middle of a profound transformation fuelled by blockchain technologies — from centralized, regulated platforms to decentralized, collectively owned networks. Besides Bitcoin, thousands of tokens have emerged and the numbers keep on rising.
Currently, popular blockchain networks have a few things in common: they’re tricky to comprehend, complicated to use, are tech and finance-oriented and are mostly male-dominated — all of which limit their use and application to a small number of IT-savvy experts.
LUKSO in a nutshell
LUKSO is on a mission to bring blockchain technologies to a more diverse and inclusive audience. The technology behind LUKSO is an Ethereum sister network (it is using the EVM in its core and is therefore compatible with Ethereum’s smart contracts and tools), but opens the technology to a whole new audience. Specifically, LUKSO set out to tackle some of the most notorious issues that continue to be problematic for blockchain. These include:
- Usability: LUKSO makes it easier than ever to create and utilize blockchain technology, and aims to make it available for everyone.
- Investor-safety: There’s a history of fraud and over-investment with ICOs. LUKSO is the first network to offer rICO (reversible ICO), a brand-new technology that allows automated investments stretched out over time.
- Sector: Unlike other crypto-networks, LUKSO was specifically developed for creative economies — fashion, lifestyle, media & design. Its userbase includes influencers, creators, artists, YouTubers and other social communities, as well as brands and the coming virtual social world — opening up blockchain as a viable solution for many more demographics that haven’t been taken into account by the current landscape.
“A big reason why we are creating LUKSO is to open the blockchain to everyone”
Marjorie Hernandez
Let’s meet the people behind this vision:
Marjorie Hernandez
Marjorie is an entrepreneur with a background in architecture, brand development, strategy, and innovation consultancy. For the last 5 years, she has been actively working in the Blockchain space. Before starting LUKSO, Marjorie built and led the EY’s Innovation Lab in Germany, where she got to work on several Business Implementations using Ethereum for large companies. On top of that, she was an early advisor for the IOTA Foundation on a product developed and implementations within the automotive industry. Marjorie is a divergent thinker, bringing interdisciplinary understanding of creative economies to the project.
Fabian Vogelsteller
To anyone familiar with the blockchain universe, Fabian is a known thought leader and innovator. After learning about blockchain in 2013, the former web developer became fascinated with the technology. In 2015 he joined the Ethereum team and immediately threw himself into developing some of the most important technology the network uses to this day: the Mist Browser, web3.js, the Ethereum Wallet and the ECC-20 standard, initiating the global ICO fundraising rush. Since the very beginning of his career, Fabian has been an advocate for Open Source, an approach that democratizes digital technologies.
LUKSO is being advised by a number of leaders in fashion and technology. To name a few:
- Dr Berndt Hauptkorn — luxury fashion enthusiast and President of Europe at CHANEL Europe
- Rajeev Aikkara — an customer experience technology & strategy expert and Vice President of Digital Technology at Burberry
- David Fischer — whose brainchild Highsnobiety is one of the leading lifestyle platforms on the web with more than 21 million unique visitors
- Evelyn Mora — a globally reknown entrepreneur, strategist and sustainablility consultant. Evelyn a long-time advocate for sustainable fashion and the founder of Helsinki Fashion Week
- Daniel Heaf, who combines a digital marketing & retail expertise with his passion for sporty shoes as Vice President Digital at Nike
- René Célestin — luxury fashion expert, accomplished TV event creative director and founder & CEO at OBO
- Péter Szilágyi — who loves to bring people together through digital networks. Péter is the Lead Core Developer at the Ethereum Foundation
- Caroline Drucker — a digital brand strategy veteran with a long list of innovative companies in her history. Now Caroline is Head of Strategic Partnership EMEA at Instagram
- Dennis “Denyo” Lisk — a German music Gold/Platinum icon. Denys is a soul singer, hip hop artist and a radio presenter
- Dr Ana Trbovich — thought leader, policy advisor and entrepreneur. Ana is a Cofounder of Grid Singularity & Energy Web Foundation and a Managing Board Member of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT)
A dream team
Marjorie and Fabian met while both studying at the historic Bauhaus University. Right away they started collaborating on film and art projects — marking the beginning of a promising interdisciplinary partnership.
“We’ve been working together pretty consistently for the past eleven years. During my time working as a consultant, I brought Fabian on as an expert voice in my projects.”
— Marjorie Hernandez
Collaborations of the now married partners have always spanned multiple disciplines and mediums, creating the perfect ground for LUKSO to emerge. Fabian brings advanced technological skills and expertise to the project while Marjorie understands the dynamics and nuances of creative economies.
To an exciting future
Together they share a vision of a truly decentralized and participatory web that empowers creators through safe, intuitive and user-oriented blockchain technologies. LUKSO marks a major step towards that vision, setting the ground for a bright digital future.
Participate in the rICO: https://rico.lukso.network/
Join the conversation: https://t.me/LUKSO
Follow us in Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukso_io
Follow us in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukso/
Check our news: https://www.reddit.com/r/lukso/
