If you had absolutely no knowledge on how to swim, the last thing you would do is jump into the deep-end of a pool, just as you wouldn’t try to play a complex riff with no idea how to even hold a guitar. So, if there’s one piece of advice we have for brands looking to make a start in Web3, it’s this: don’t jump straight into the Metaverse! You will only find yourself miffed and confused; instead, try to focus your energies into the basics of NFTs and, given time, you will be able to master all things Web3! It will change the way you think about not only the internet, but how we can handle data in a more ethical and just way.

In this episode of the Building a Better World podcast, host Hrish Lotlikar is joined by Sara Simeone, CEO and Co-Founder of Niftyz, the NFT platform for business and the first no-code minting platform for the business ecosystem. She is also the Co-Chair Startup working group for Crypto Valley Association, and is also a Founding Member of Il Digitale è di Strada. Previously, she was an Expert Mentor for CV Labs and was an Associate Lecturer of Digital Marketing at The Manchester Metropolitan University. 

Building a True Web3 Platform - Sara and her Co-Founder were so passionate about Web3 that they decided to build a true Web3 platform, one that would blow the others out of the water and would fit into a certain niche. From there, they launched their platform and the rest is history. With the future of Web3 looking so fruitful, of course she had to seize the opportunity… wouldn’t you?

A More Ethical Method of Handling Data - It’s fairly well-known at this point that Web2 has had its share of controversies in regards to how companies handle their users’ data. So what makes Sara’s method in Web3 any different? Well, instead of selling people’s data off randomly and without thought, she insists that she goes through the data and makes sense of it first and foremost, only then does she sell access to it. This way, data is more carefully curated, rather than just selling it all off in messy clusters. 

The Power and Validity of NFTs - If you were to win an award, you could probably go around and tell people it’s yours, but you’d have no real identifiable way to prove it; it’s the same with pieces of writing, art, music, websites – a lot of these things are open to being stolen and passed off as someone else’s. But with NFTs, you can mint something, and if anyone ever asks you to prove it’s yours, you would have the coding to prove it. It’s an indisputable way of claiming ownership to what’s yours on the internet.

How a Brand Can Utilize Web3 - Web3 is still fairly new; not a lot of people (nevermind brands!) understand exactly how it works. But, whether they know it or not, Web3 is the future, and brands need to start making the shift into using it! Sara says that there are brands using Web3 in very interesting ways, Gucci being one of them. But they still need to master the shift in mindset from Web2 – this space is open to everyone, just make sure you do your own research!

Everyone Wants in on the Metaverse! - The Metaverse is fantastic (we would know), but a Web2 brand jumping straight into it is akin to someone with no knowledge of swimming diving into the deep-end of a pool. Sara suggests that brands should first wrap their heads around NFTs before anything else, otherwise they will find themselves very lost. It’s like anything: always start with the basics!

The Building a Better World podcast is hosted by Hrish Lotlikar. In each episode, Hrish interviews people who are involved or interested in the Metaverse, VR, and Web3, and are actively using technologies to improve people’s real-world lives in a practical way.