Starting Your Own NFT Project: Conversation with Kumulus
Find out what it’s like to launch your own project
The Tezos blockchain has become a breeding ground for NFT platforms, NFT projects, collectors, artists, and influencers. Most notably, OneOf launched NFTs on Tezos with celebrities and influencers such as Doja Cat, iHeartRadio Music Festival, and The Game, amongst others. Hic Et Nunc has minted almost 480k NFTs and platforms like Kalamint, Bazaar and Objkt have continued to gain traction and user adoption. In the last few months, objkt.com has become the go-to one-stop-shop platform for Tezos NFTs, a.k.a. objkt’s. As of writing, Tezos has more than 23.3 million contract calls and Temple wallet now has over 80,000 downloads! With the rise NFTs on Tezos, dozens of new projects have been launched such as Tezzards, PrjktNeon, PixelPotus, GoGo’s, Teztopia, Kumulus, TzColors, Interpop, Art Cardz, Neonz Sutuverse, and many more.
If you are a creator and want to launch your own NFT project, this article is for you. I jumped on a call with Vianney, founder of the Kumulus NFT project. Kumulus launched on October 15th, 2021, selling 1,100 pieces with a current total volume of 4,700 XTZ. 30% of all the Tezos collected goes directly to cleaning the world’s oceans. Token holders will be selecting the NGO in the coming days. They plan on doing community events like quizzes, NFT airdrops, virtual gallery opening, treasure hunts, and eco-friendly merchandise. Vianney chose to make 5000 unique hand-drawn pieces because cumulus clouds develop 5000 feet above the earth’s surface. Before their launch, they had 1,000+ followers on Twitter and a community of 3,000 on Discord. After the launch, two of the more unique Kumulus NFTs were resold for 725 XTZ and 285 XTZ. Kumulus is now giving roughly 8,000 XTZ (roughly 50k USD) to the NGO that the token holders will choose. When I asked Vianney what the future is like for Kumulus, he said, “this is just the beginning.”
What made you want to start this project?
I wanted to help counteract the negative effects of pollution and wanted to make this change as soon as possible. I’m passionate about cleaning the oceans and about a year ago became very interested in NFTs. An NFT project that contributed to this effort was the perfect combination. After speaking with designer Antonin Brousse, Kumulus was born. Vianney said, “If this project can make the oceans a better place, let’s do this!”
One thing that makes this project so unique is how every single artwork is completely hand-drawn. Vianney, how long does it take to hand draw 5000 pieces of art?
Antonin, our designer, finished all the NFTs in about 6 months with more than 300 hours of work. The most painstaking part was inputting each NFT file with characteristics and rarities into a 5,000 rowed Excel spreadsheet. Though time-consuming, it was well worth it.
Where did the idea for the clouds come from?
Most people learn about the water cycle at a young age and forget about it. We know how clouds form and that they help to filter the water we drink and use daily, but we rarely think about it. Water evaporates into the clouds and rains back down into our oceans and streams. Kumulus is a throwback to this cycle we learned about in elementary school and reminds us that we have a role to play in supporting it. As it says on Kumulus’s website, “Oceans and seas represent 97% of the water on Earth. They connect people, supply food, oxygen, and water to millions of species including us. Still, UNESCO estimates that 1.8 billion people lack safe drinking water. So, we need to act!”
Why Tezos?
Preservation of the environment and protecting the oceans is something I’m very passionate about. Building Kumulus on Ethereum would be counterintuitive to the mission of the project. Ethereum, like many proof-of-work blockchains, consumes massive amounts of energy and depletes our resources, which further damages the environment. By building on Ethereum, collectors would contribute to pollution by minting the NFT. Tezos was the obvious choice for its NFT ecosystem, infrastructure, and eco-friendly blockchain. It was a no-brainer.
How did you handle the technical parts of launching a NFT?
Though experienced as a front-end software developer, NFT smart contract development was foreign to me prior to starting the project. I worked with objkt.com (really great people!), and they helped me greatly with the launch. They made the minting smart contract and handled the displaying of NFTs through their platform. I built and designed the front-end application that called on the mint function of the contract. I could not have done this project without objkt’s help, and I appreciate them very much.
What is your best piece of advice for someone launching their own NFT project?
The most important thing is to be original. Create a unique project that brings value to its collectors, and don’t build what everyone else is building. Make sure the project is something that you are excited to work on and build.
Secondly, you need to identify your goals and reasoning for launching your own NFT project. A good question to ask yourself is “What am I doing this for?” and “Is it for the right reasons”? This will help align your project to be community-centered and founded on the correct values.
Finally, don’t take the haters personally. I truly built Kumulus from the heart. When managing social media accounts and spending hours a day developing your project, seeing hurtful comments can really make a dent. People will say your project is a “rug pull,” a “scam,” or a “cash-grab.” It is crucial not to take these comments seriously. As long as you are building for the right reasons and with your values aligned, keep building!
We are excited to see what NFT projects you launch! Make sure to follow @KumulusP on Twitter! If you have any questions as well, please feel free to reach out to me @AdShinder on Twitter and make sure to follow @TezosIsrael on Twitter!
