How I Got Into NFTs and Why They Were the Perfect Teacher
A social media career, a pandemic pivot, and a crash course in web3 community building.
It all begins with a successful start to my career in social media and marketing communications. On Upwork, I was a Top Rated Plus & Expert-Vetted “talent”. Meaning I was one of their most capable and sought after freelancers on the platform.
From 2014 to the present, I have worked with dozens of different companies and brands which has allowed me to develop strategies for so many different audiences.
2020
In the middle of quarantine, nearly all of my regular clients—and even prospects—disappeared overnight.
The only ones still hiring? Tech startups, AI builders and crypto developers.
Clients like Pregiotek, Kirio Inc., Cognizer.ai, and CRATOS kept me afloat and unknowingly led me toward a new direction.
2021- February
Chris Heller of TopShotToday asked if I could help build a social presence for his new media entity focused on something called NBA Top Shot.
This was my introduction to NFTs. It made sense—digital, verifiable & collectible. As someone who had always loved sports cards and comics, the concept clicked right away.
But the golden ticket?
How easy it felt to grow a community. It reminded me of the early days of Instagram and Tumblr—raw, exciting, and full of momentum.
TopShot’s summer of low morale in ‘21 opened a pathway to Ethereum NFTs.
I spent most of May & June deep in research, trying to understand why someone would pay $150 for a Twitter PFP. By July, I minted my first NFT—and the rabbit hole only got deeper from there.
Once you join your first community, you realize how quickly support forms and how connected your network can become.
In July, I got a DM from someone named John (anon, of course), asking if I’d be comfortable helping him build a community around his project, The BirdHouse. I knew how to spend money as a collector, but the chance to help build something? I wasn’t going to turn that down.
— July 2021
From kickoff to launch, it was about 45 days. Every day mattered—and so did every mod and admin we brought on. What drove our day-to-day growth was simple: the value we delivered and the authenticity we showed up with.
— 45 Days
Unlike building a startup or crypto token over months, where you eventually feel confident saying, “we have what we need,” this project felt good from start to finish—but I had no real benchmark for what a bare minimum successful community looked like.
Until launch day.
Those 24 hours before sellout—and the few hours after—taught me everything. The difference wasn’t hype. It was the strength of our community, the quality of the network we’d built, and the product we were proud to stand behind. That’s what brings it over the finish line. That’s what made it repeatable.
— Sold Out in 15 minutes
One sold-out launch turned into an obsession with building communities & now we’re here.
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Big Head Club
Web3 & NFT Social Media Consultant
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