NFT Accelerator Launchpad Luna is Helping Creators Reach New Heights

Brinc and Animoca Brands are working together to offer a program that advances the state of NFTs.

2021 is the year NFTs took over the world -- or at least the collective imagination of investors.

August has been another record-breaking month for NFT sales. On August 18, NFT sales hit a record-breaking $897 million from the past 30-days according to NonFungible.

The Launchpad Luna accelerator will identify and foster NFT innovation in the fields of culture, art, entertainment, media, gaming, streaming, collectibles, insurance, finance, and data management; DeFi and additional verticals will be added in the future.

Just one doom-scroll through Twitter will show you that anyone who can get involved -- as a platform or as a creator -- is getting on board the NFT trend.

Venture accelerators Brinc and digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification company Animoca have joined forces to enable the flood of new NFT projects with their new NFT Accelerator Launchpad Luna. Early-stage projects and startups accepted into the acceleration program will receive practical training, a launchpad, and investments of up to USD$500,000 (or equivalent) in exchange for equity and/or tokens in the project.

The new accelerator offers support from mentors and corporate partners working in the NFT space, including AppWorks, Blockparty, Dapper Labs (the company behind CryptoKitties, NBA Top Shot, and Flow Blockchain), EllioTrades, Featured by Binance, Gabby Dizon (co-founder of Yield Guild Games), Harmony (ONE), Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), Mai Fujimoto (Miss Bitcoin), Mateen Soudagar (DCLBlogger), Metakovan (Metapurse), Mindfund, Sebastien Borget (co-founder of The Sandbox and chairman of the Blockchain Gamer Alliance), Virtually Human Studio (creators of ZED RUN), WhaleShark, and various others.

NFTs have captured the collective imagination of an interesting cohort of creators, blockchain enthusiasts, and investors. The desire for new content is palpable -- and there is a need to help new NFT projects get off the ground.

We spoke to Manav Gupta, founder and CEO of Brinc and Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, to get their perspective on Launchpad Luna and what it is bringing to the NFT space.

Manav Gupta, founder and CEO of Brinc (Left) and Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands (Right)

What is the mission of Launchpad Luna? 

"Launchpad Luna is a collaboration between Animoca Brands and Brinc with the mission to invest in blockchain-focused startups that are shaping the future of the Web, driving digitalization, and enabling a more inclusive digital economy," Siu said.

Who is your ideal partner for funding?

"Ideal partners for funding are those that align with our mission to support an inclusive digital economy, who believe in the impact that NFTs can have on industries like art, music, culture, and finance, and who share our drive to support climate-conscious solutions," Gupta said.

Do you mean to encourage creators by supporting art and NFTs? What do NFTs mean for creators? 

"We definitely want to encourage artists and various other creators. For the first batch of investments, the program will identify and foster NFT innovation in the fields of culture, art, entertainment, media, gaming, streaming, and collectibles.

In terms of what NFTs mean to creators, NFTs are radically changing ownership, attribution, and remuneration. Primarily, NFTs represent true property rights for a digital asset, and the total control over an asset that comes with those rights: creators are truly the owners of their NFTs and can sell or trade them as they see fit. NFTs also have the potential to allow creators to receive a royalty-like payment every time that the NFTs are traded by other people after the initial sale by the creator.

NFTs also allow creators to provide much richer experiences to fans -- for example, you could have a single NFT that is a collectible, that can be used in one or more games (or similar products), and that has DeFi utility, all in one single NFT. A popular example of this is Animoca Brands’ REVV Motorsport ecosystem of racing games, where game assets are NFTs that have both collectible value as well as various utility. For example, the “1-1-1” is a famous Formula 1 NFT bought by Metakovan. The 1-1-1 has collectible value as the first-ever official Formula 1 NFT, it can be staked to generate rewards over time, and of course is a very powerful car that can be used to race in the game F1 Delta Time," Siu said.

Can you share any NFT creators you are working within your accelerator program?

"We work with a number of the top players in the industry. The accelerator has extensive support from various mentors and corporate partners working towards the advancement of the NFT space, including AppWorks, Blockparty, Dapper Labs (the company behind CryptoKitties, NBA Top Shot, and Flow Blockchain), EllioTrades, Featured by Binance, Gabby Dizon (co-founder of Yield Guild Games), Harmony (ONE), Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), Mai Fujimoto (Miss Bitcoin), Mateen Soudagar (DCLBlogger), Metakovan (Metapurse), Mindfund, Sebastien Borget (co-founder of The Sandbox and chairman of the Blockchain Gamer Alliance), Virtually Human Studio (creators of ZED RUN), WhaleShark, and various others," Gupta said.

For aspiring NFT creators and artists, what advice do you have?

"See if you qualify for the Launchpad Luna program! This is where we really drill down into how NFTs should be made and used. In terms of general starting advice, all creators should carefully consider the smart contract that their NFT will use, and select the one that’s right for them. A unique (dedicated) smart contract is usually preferable to a cookie-cutter contract because it’s easier to establish ownership and to build in the features you need/want. If you are planning to sell your NFT as art, then make sure you know exactly where the actual image/video file component of your NFT will reside - solutions like the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) are better hosting solutions because they are more likely to preserve your image than a random file host. Finally, consider what utility you can give to your NFT in the rapidly growing world of blockchain products - this may require you to talk to different parties," Siu said.

Is green consciousness important for the continued mainstreaming of crypto? Is it a prime consideration with Launchpad Luna?

"Climate consciousness is one of the key requirements for Launchpad Luna. We want to shape the blockchain industry to embrace awareness of environmental concerns, especially climate change. 

Admission to the program is prioritized for climate-conscious projects that drive digitalization, that place emphasis on proof-of-stake protocols and sidechains instead of proof-of-work, and that have lower overall physical footprints. 

Accepted entrants will receive training in optimizing a blockchain business to minimize energy use and carbon emissions," Gupta said.

It seems like art and collectibles are just the cherry on top of NFT use cases -- where do you see NFT use cases going and how will Animoca Brands help support the growing range of uses?

"Art and collectibles represent only a tiny fraction of the potential applications of NFTs. We are especially excited about the applications for the world of gaming, an industry worth about $180 billion last year. Gamers already understand virtual goods and can appreciate the value of the property rights that come with NFTs. NFTs in games basically allow gamers to truly own their game assets instead of merely licensing them from game publishers. We expect this to be a major revolution in how gamers consume content and game publishers will need to adapt to a future scenario in which they no longer hold all the power," Siu said.

Anything you'd like to add?

"At Brinc and Animoca Brands we are all very excited about our joint Launchpad Luna program and we continue to strengthen the partnership between our companies. Brinc has made over 160 investments and is one of the world’s leading venture accelerators, while Animoca Brands has made over 75 investments in NFT-related companies, making Launchpad Luna an ideal combination of market-leading expertise in our respective fields," Gupta said.

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Startups, creators, and projects that are looking for funding and support are invited to apply to the program here.

Creators and artists who want to get involved with the program as mentors can inquire by emailing [email protected].

Cover image by metalandrew from Pixabay 

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