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Show Notes

[00:02:04] - [First question] - His backstory and becoming a professional baseball player

[00:03:34] - Who inspired him to pursue a professional career in baseball

[00:04:38] - Whether he had any moments of doubt in his pursuit of the big league

[00:05:16] - Where he found time for painting outside of baseball

[00:06:17] - The origin story of Aku and stepping into the NFT space

[00:08:17] - Making the transition from physical to digital art

[00:09:27] - The power of his message and the reach it’s had

[00:10:42] - Symbolism of the astronaut mask and where the name Aku came from

[00:12:02] - How much is planned out in advance when releasing art in chapters

[00:13:59] - The size of the team when they started and where it is today

[00:15:02] - How much revenue they’ve generated and IP wealth

[00:16:12] - The Aku IP structure and how it works

[00:16:49] - What’s worked for him when it comes to community building

[00:18:02] - How different levels of ownership contribute and govern the project

[00:19:10] - Go-to-market products and how community impacts the creative vision

[00:20:37] - Adding value to early adopters and believers in the project

[00:22:01] - Worries about a lack of community engagement and constantly delivering

[00:23:12] - NFTs as a tool in native Web3 companies and how the business model works

[00:24:06] - Receiving movie offers so early and community driven IP

[00:25:42] - How he’s learned so many skills over his lifetime and thoughts on training

[00:26:34] - Trying to remove money as a target and what success looks like for Aku

[00:27:21] - Lessons that can be shared with new creators in the NFT space

[00:28:14] - Projects that have inspired him that cross over from web3 to media

[00:28:55] - Examples where he’s overridden community decisions and why

[00:29:40] - Surprising ways Aku has impacted the lives of different people

[00:30:56] - Intimate details and Aku as a diary of his lived experience

[00:32:45] - What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years