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Doodles is one of those projects that seems to have a little extra magic. In the NFT space, especially in 2021 when the market was saturated with project after project, it was hard for a new 10k project to stand out. Just in case you’re new to NFTs, a “10k project” refers to a project structure with a total supply of 10,000 individual tokens that was popularized by flagship projects like the Bored Ape Yacht Club and Crypto Punks. After seeing the success of those initial 10k projects, lots of projects have been modeled after them and there have been a fair amount of copy-cats as well. Selling out such a large amount of tokens is a feat in itself, let alone sustaining interest in them for any amount of time thereafter. Doodles was a 10k project that was rapidly accepted and continues to enjoy virulent success. So what were some of the elements of the Doodles’ triumph? They may have had a few sneaky advantages working in their favor.
Doing something for the first time is HARD. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned and if you’re just starting out with no support, you’re bound to be learning them the hard, slow, and costly way. That’s where the Doodles team comes into play with some crucial advantages to other projects out there in the team department.
Art is a cornerstone concept in NFT land so let’s start with the artist himself, “Burnt Toast” aka Scott Martin. Scott is a professional illustrator, animator, and designer (and muralist to boot) from Canada, who’s worked with big-boy clients like Whatsapp, Google, and Snapchat. That’s huge because companies like these are looking for graphics and design work that is conducive to engagement. Engagement leads to more viral marketing success, which is critical in the NFT space. All art is valuable to someone and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this dude knows how to make art for business, and that’s a whole different ball game. Business art is art that’s designed to sell, and that background gives the Doodles a competitive edge worth noting.
Next we’ll look at Evan Keast (aka “Tulip”), who fills the role of marketer, and Jordan Castro (aka “Poopie”) who is the web 3 developer. Poopie’s been doing his thing since 2013, which in the crypto world is FOREVER and Evan isn’t some “marketing guru” selling space dust: he’s a down and dirty product marketer who knows how to sell stuff. With the Doodles project, that “stuff” happens to be delightful little rainbow NFTs and he’s doing an excellent job.
What really makes these two excellent assets to the Doodles team beyond their raw skills and talents, though, is the fact that this isn’t their first NFT rodeo. They both used to work at Dapper Labs, the company that’s behind the wildly successful and renowned Crypto Kitties. Tulip and Poopie have done it before and know what a great project looks like. Nothing in life (or the NFT space) is ever a 100% sure thing, but the past experience of this team really stacked the odds in their favor before their October mint date in 2021.
What happens when you take an experienced and business savy artist and pair him with a marketer and blockchain expert who both intimately know the NFT world (and have tasted success therein)? You get Doodles.
Simple is clean. Simple is catchy. Never confuse simple for boring or lazy. Some of the most recognizable art in the world is simple (think: Nike’s Swoosh or Verizon Wireless’ check mark). The Doodles NFT project took a simple concept, refined it, and created a crisp visual front for their project. The color pallet is matte pastel and unique, differentiating it from many other projects out there already. With just over 100 traits, there’s plenty to make each one unique, without creating too busy of a scene. Burnt Toast (the artist) did quite the job on these.
There’s a fun, cheeky atmosphere surrounding the art as well. With an initial mint price of 0.123 ETH in October of 2021, minting was as easy as 1-2-3 from the site. In addition, that price allowed them to fund a community-directed treasury with 420 ETH: another one of our favorite adolescent numbers. Almost everyone can remember doodling in grade school and I think the colors, numbers, and attitude of this project do an excellent job of reigniting some of that nostalgic, child-like feeling for the grown-ups that are a part of the project. The NFT space often focuses on creativity and the features and traits of the Doodles ooze a care-free, slightly rebellious, creative spirit.
Lastly, the Doodles team shows an exceptional level of transparency. Many NFTs in the space before Doodles seemed to thrive off of anonymity and many projects make it exceedingly difficult to get any real information on who’s behind them. Doodles plays off of this faucet of NFT culture by having each team member have a fun and playful pseudonym, but builds credibility by making it easy to find their real names. This is a relief for potential buyers and helps build trust with the project: when someone attaches their reputation to a project, they’re much less likely to “pull the rug” and steal the investors money. They’re also more incentivized to do everything they possibly can to ensure that the project succeeds: if it fails, it becomes a scarlet mark on their personal name and can follow them around for years.
In addition, this is a team of experienced professionals and not a group of hobbyists. That aspect shows in their ability to break-down and share expenses, which they often do in the Forum. The Doodles community knows exactly where the treasury funds are flowing, and the community is expected to be vocal and participate. In fact, the website has only three tabs at the top: “Opensea” (so people can easily purchase a Doodle), “Forum” (where projects are pitched for the community fund) and “Docs” (where important project-relevant documents are easily accessible). Even though I’m not a holder, I can see in the Forum where the flow of funds are going and the discourse that the community is having regarding those funds. I’ve yet to find another project with that level of competency and transparency when it comes to creating and managing a “community directed fund”. Kudos to the Doodles team on that front.
The Doodles NFT project has some lessons to teach about the NFT space and how to run a successful project of any kind, whether it’s in crypto, business, or even in school. Simple, clean, and fun images are catchy. Childhood themes are relatable. And real-world experience doing the exact same thing that you’re trying to do matters when you pick people to join your team. What aspects of this project’s success stand out most to you?
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