First Steps for an NFT Start-Up
I thought I’d share a brief look at how I set the stage for the Invisible Wonders Project, my sole proprietorship (one-person business) focused on the NFT space. I hope this can be helpful to anyone looking to create, share, and sell their artwork as NFTs. I must also preface that I have little to no business experience, but a definite commitment to stick with this long-term.
As I’ve mentioned in my first story, I have an artistic background, but aside from that, I’m starting with very little — I have a laptop, software to suit most of my needs, and an internet connection. That might honestly be all anyone needs to get started. At minimum, my goal is to be profitable enough that this could be my main source of income.
I will assume you know enough about NFTs and won’t get too deep into how the sausage is made. For anyone that could use an explainer on NFTs, or wants to get into the more technical aspects, here are a couple of great reads to build up your knowledge base:
This story is based upon a checklist I kept on my phone, so it can be viewed as my step-by-step process of getting situated.
So starting from square one, I looked into setting up my online presence:
- Twitter: @invisiblewgroup
- Instagram: @invisiblewondersgroup
- Reddit: @invisiblewonders
- Discord: @invisiblewondersgroup
Web 2.0 still rules the day as far as reaching people. In these early days, NFT Twitter and Discord are really where everything happens — airdrops, knowledge drops, any kind of drop! Immersing yourself in online communities is really a part of the culture.
Then we move on to setting up on the marketplaces. So many to choose from, but I’ll be starting with some essential ones:
- OpenSea (opensea.io/invisiblewonders)
- Rarible (rarible.com)
These are all mainly Ethereum-based, so I have a Metamask wallet I use to connect to each marketplace. Metamask is the most established, but keep in mind, there are a lot of options for crypto wallets.
I’m choosing to mint my artwork on Polygon rather than Ethereum directly, with OpenSea and Rarible both supporting the network. Subsequently, I’m looking to establish a presence on marketplaces operating on eco-friendly blockchains. These include some essentials and some sleepers:
- Solanart (solanart.io)
- Solsea (solsea.io)
- Bubblehouse (bubblehouse.com)
- Showtime (showtime.io)
- Binance NFT Marketplace (binance.com/en/nft)
I’ll be downloading Phantom as my Solana-based wallet, so I will need to load up on a little bit of SOL and BNB to support minting fees for their respective networks.
Curated marketplaces require an application process, and here are the most notable ones:
- SuperRare (superrare.com)
- KnownOrigin (knownorigin.io)
- Nifty Gateway (niftygateway.io)
- Foundation (foundation.app)
My creative output will be on 1/1 art pieces. My background is geared towards visual effects and gaming, so it’s a combination of 2D/3D. Most of these ascribe to subscription models, but Procreate can be purchased off the App Store for $10. All of these are worthy investments:
- Procreate
- Photoshop
- After Effects
- ZBrush
- Unity
This is a business venture, but it’s just as much a creative outlet for me. My advice to other creatives is to create work that is genuine to you. Web3 looks to empower creators of all shapes and sizes — don’t be afraid to offer something different from trends and norms, and share your own unadulterated creative vision.
Lastly, continually learning about the NFT space itself is important, especially since it seems to be evolving by the day. For me, podcasts have been a great way to gather insights from many different perspectives. A couple of my favorites are the nftnow podcast (Twitter: @nftnow) and Freedom with NFTs (Twitter: @freedomwithnfts).
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you next time with more insights.
-The Founder
