Everything You Need to Know About Buying Your First NFT
Here is how I purchased my first NFT and why I chose The Doge Pound NFT project
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Lately, I have been writing a lot about NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). I believe NFTs are the next big thing for all content creators and the community that supports those creators. But I realised that all the excitement and conviction around NFTs is just an illusion if I watch the show from the sidelines and do not invest in it myself. So, I decided to invest a sum of $500 into NFTs, hoping to learn through execution, a sum I can afford to lose.
I always wanted to own a VeeFriends but missed the bus, and it got expensive. So, I started looking for an upcoming NFT project with a sound vision and high-quality art that I could buy at lower prices, just like an IPO. Here is the step by step process I followed to identify and decide on which project to invest in:
- Follow some of the active NFT influencers on Twitter such as GaryVee, Benjammin.Eth and NFTNick.eth
- Extensively study their tweets to identify upcoming NFT projects
- Connect with the founders on Twitter and talk to them to understand more about the project
- Join their Discord group — read all the announcements, roadmap, FAQs etc. and engage with the community
- Check out their artwork and try to understand their long term vision
- Make a decision and buy your first NFT
After extensively following some of the NFT stalwarts on Twitter, I stumbled upon The Doge Pound NFT project. Let me explain how and why I decided to invest in them:
1. The Artwork Is Incredible
The moment I saw their artwork, I fell in love with it. It’s simply mind-blowing. I am not a big-time dog lover. As a kid, I was bitten by a dog once, and since then, I have been scared of dogs. But The Doge Pound doggies are so unique and hilarious, it makes me fall in love with them all over again. Check out two of these hilarious and beautiful artworks (NFT) that I purchased.
A complete collection of all the Doge Pound NFT artwork is accessible here.
2. The Doge Pound Team Is Hungry to Grow
The team comprises four friends who had set an aggressive goal of building up this project from scratch in three months. The Doge Pound NFTs are a collection of 10,000 art pieces drawn by their artist, popularly known as Crypto Babe. Each artwork is unique and designed with various permutations and combinations of features such as the image background, clothing, earring, eyes, eyewear, mouth, fur, and hat.
I was able to talk to their artist, Crypto Babe to understand their long-term vision. According to her, the idea of The Doge Pound artwork originated from a vision to combine the love of dogs with an already thriving dogecoin, a crypto meme coin, community. Their long-term focus is on building a highly engaged and supportive community. I believe that a team focused on building a stronger community, and not just profits, is destined to succeed.
They aim to push the boundaries with what they produce in the future and have been actively working on convincing some of the top NFT influencers to join the Doge community. At the time of writing this article, Tony Spark, the second-largest holder of the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project had agreed to join. They are also in talks with the Polychain Monsters, another popular NFT project, for potential collaboration opportunities starting with a free NFT to all the early adopters of The Doge Pound NFT project.
3. A Supportive Community of Dog Lovers
In preparation for the launch day, The Doge Pound team had set up a discord channel for the NFT holders and dog lovers. I have been part of the discord group, and I must say they are a bunch of fun-loving people. Quite a lot of them are buying NFTs for the first time, so there is enough support for the beginners. There is even a separate page called “dogs-irl” where members can post cute photos of their pet dogs, a delight for all dog lovers. As part of their future roadmap, they also have plans to partner and donate to charities that work for the welfare of dogs.
Their artist, Crypto Babe, has a Pitbull and is a big-time dog lover. She told me that they also have plans to expand this project to design apparel for dogs and grow a YouTube channel for dog lovers. She wants to invest the profits from the NFT project into building a community for dog lovers.
4. Potential to Grow With the Team
The Doge Pound team is young and dynamic, with a hunger to succeed at any cost. They are new to the NFT world, and that’s what makes them more appealing from my perspective. Crypto Babe works as a corporate recruiter but has been a digital artist for the last ten years. She and another friend named John Lemon also have a background in the mobile gaming space. They want to make things better than what exists currently in the NFT world. They plan to release 3D doge masks in Metaverse, which could be a status symbol for anyone who loves dogs. Metaverse is an upcoming technology that I do not understand well at this stage, but given it’s on their roadmap, it sounds promising.
A team that is starting from scratch will go to any length to bring their project to fruition. As a first-time NFT buyer, I wanted to be associated with such a team. The community is super helpful, and it’s an opportunity for all newcomers to learn from each other and grow together.
Final Thoughts
NFTs are still in a nascent stage of their evolution, as a tradable asset, and investing in them is highly risky. They are volatile, and one must do proper research before making any investment decisions. It’s like investing in the cryptocurrency market in 2015. It could be a highly lucrative investment if you do your research and invest smartly. But make sure you only invest what you can afford to lose.
I invested $500 that I can afford to lose in hopes of learning through execution. I cannot guarantee if The Doge Pound NFT project will be a successful one. But based on what I have seen so far, it looks promising. In any case, NFTs will be the next big thing that all creators and entrepreneurs should explore. This is Web 3.0. Get in before everyone else.
Check out Why NFTs Are the Next Big Thing for Content Creators
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