Web 2.5 - Shondra Washington, Black@: Powering New Ownership Opportunities for the Black Community

Shondra Washington, Black@: Powering New Ownership Opportunities for the Black Community

12/20/22 • 34 min

How can the blockchain power new ownership opportunities for Black creatives, investors, and entrepreneurs?
Our guest on Web 2.5 this week is Shondra Washington, the Co-Founder & CEO of Black@, a token-gated private community for Black creatives, entrepreneurs and investors.
Black@ first took shape at Art Basel 2021 – and since then has grown into a full-blown digital community with token-gated chat rooms, member-only events, coordinated NFT group buys, and a burgeoning roster of technology apps that the community builds and monetizes. Black@ also recently announced a partnership with Andreessen Horowitz to support Black artists.
On the show, host Dana Hork talks with Shondra, a former Investment banker and fractional Chief Financial Officer, about how Black@ came to be, some of the unique ways they are activating their community, their very Web 2.5 products like token-gated emails, and some universal lessons and insights for anyone looking to build and foster a thriving digital community.
Show Notes:
0:00 Show Intro
1:47 The origins of Black@
3:44 How the Co-Founders came up with Black@ at Art Basel
4:34 Why Black@ made the community token-gated
6:01 How Black@ priced their initial NFTs
7:05 Benefits of an open minting window
7:45 Black@ current activations & activities
9:21 Unpaid vs paid membership at Black@
9:55 Membership benefits around access and education
10:31 Membership benefits around group buys of NFTs
12:10 Why product development matters to Black@
13:57 Token-gated emails with Gated
17:08 About Payroll3
19:44 About the Black Digital Art Collective & partnering with a16z
22:04 Lessons on building a thriving digital community
23:34 Black@’s business model
25:41 The hardest & easiest part of Black@
27:36 Shout-outs
29:19 What’s next for Black@
31:33 Shondra’s hope for Web3 at-large
32:20 Shill
33:35 Wrap-up
33:51 Closing
Resources:
Black@’s Website: https://www.blackat.io/
Black@ on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blackatxyz
Shondra Washington on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shondradanielle
Gated: https://tokengated.co/
Payroll3: https://www.payroll3.xyz/

Show Website:
https://www.web2point5.io
Subscribe to Show Newsletter:
https://newsletter.web2point5.io/subscribe
Show Credits:
Dana Hork (Founder, Host, Producer)
Ron Passaro (Co-Producer/Editor)
Seton Rossini (Brand Design/Cover Art)
DISCLAIMER: This show is strictly educational. None of this is financial, tax, or investment advice — and not a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please always do your own research. For important disclosures, see web2point5.io/disclosures.

Previous Episode

Michelle Reeves, Mavion: Unlocking Economic Rewards for Women Through Fashion

How could the blockchain make fashion more social, more interactive, and drive new economic opportunities for women?
This week, host Dana Hork sits down with Michelle Reeves, the Co-founder and CEO of Mavion, a leading Web3 company focused on empowering women through fashion.
Mavion’s first NFT collection has been a pioneer in the physical meets digital realm, where NFT holders have access to the physical jewelry pieces featured in their NFT. Plus, Mavion teamed up with iconic fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff this fall to create NFT collections for fans who want exclusive access, perks, and a seat at the design table.
But beyond their work today, Mavion has a big vision for how NFTs and gamified shopping experiences can empower women and enable them to participate in the financial upside of their digital fashion purchases. We get into that and more, on this week’s episode of Web 2.5.
DISCLOSURE: At the time of recording, host Dana Hork owned 1 Mavion NFT. For more information, see web2point5.io/disclosures.
Show Notes:
0:00 Show intro
1:25 Michelle Reeves introduces her early career
4:06 About the Accessory Junkie and the challenges of scaling
5:15 When Web3 was just gaming
6:06 The beginnings of Mavion
6:34 Overview of Mavion
7:28 How Mavion holders could earn rewards and royalties
8:36 How Mavion NFTs cross over into both physical and digital realms
9:33 An overview of Mavion's NFT collections including their collaboration with Rebecca Minkoff
12:08 What Web3 enables
13:32 Mint recap, minting strategies, and the mindful mint
16:18 Customer targeting strategy
19:03 BYOC Bring your own customer
19:39 Advice for companies exploring Web3
21:41 Reaction to Rebecca Minkoff’s experimentation philosophy
25:30 How Michelle would use her Web3 “magic wand”
29:03 How to find Mavion
29:46 Question I didn’t ask
31:28 Wrap-up
31:50 Closing

Resources:
Mavion’s Website: https://mavion.world/
Mavion on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MAVIONworld
Mavion on IG: https://www.instagram.com/mavionworld/
Michelle Reeves on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Michellejreeves
Michelle Reeves on IG: https://www.instagram.com/michellejreeves/

Next Episode

Justin Breton, Walmart: Building Deeper Brand Engagement With Customers in The Metaverse

Why does the world’s biggest company launch into the metaverse? What’s their approach? How does it go? What are they learning?
This week, our guest on Web 2.5 is Justin Breton, the Director of Brand Experiences & Strategic Partnerships at Walmart. Justin and his team are responsible for driving meaningful engagement with Walmart customers via brand engagement programs, including shoppable livestreams, augmented reality activations, and now, Walmart’s presence in the metaverse.
Justin was behind the launch of Walmart’s first foray into the metaverse with two immersive experiences on Roblox — Walmart Land & Walmart Universe of Play. Across both spaces, Walmart converted its store “aisles” into virtual “isles” with the ability to explore fashion, style, beauty, entertainment, toys, and more – all in a virtual world shaped like the Walmart logo.
In this episode, Justin gives Dana Hork, the show’s host and the former head of Walmart’s social media, a behind-the-scenes view into everything from what Walmart’s doing, why they are doing it, and what they’ve learned along the way. It’s jam-packed with insights helpful for brands big and small exploring online virtual experiences.
DISCLOSURE: Host Dana Hork is a former Walmart employee and, at the time this episode initially aired, owned Walmart stock obtained during her tenure at the company. For more information, see web2point5.io/disclosures.
Show Notes:0:00 Show intro
0:53 Dana shares her experience working for Walmart
1:15 Justin explains his role and his team’s remit for driving brand engagement
1:56 About shoppable livestreams
2:13 About virtual experiences like Roblox
2:42 How the metaverse came into consideration for Walmart
3:27 Why Walmart decided to partner with Roblox
4:49 Former Walmart CMO, Barb Messing, is now the CMO at Roblox
5:34 Justin shares his Web3 journey (he’s a newbie)
6:37 Walmart’s exploration of NFTs, DAOs, and other dimensions of Web3
8:15 An overview of Walmart’s Roblox activations
9:48 Walmart and Roblox’s goals for the launch
10:53 An overview of Walmart Land
12:00 An overview of Walmart Universe of Play
12:31 How Justin’s team tackled merchandising
14:27 Connecting (or not) the virtual world and physical goods via transactions
14:57 How customer acquisition works in the metaverse16:29 An overview of the quantitative and qualitative performance of Walmart’s Roblox experiences
19:31 Justin explains what drives favorability and unfavorability
20:44 Walmart’s partners for the Roblox activations
21:35 How platforms are attracting brands (or the other way around)
23:41 Walmart’s Decentraland + Sabrina Carpenter partnership
25:12 The insights that drove a partnership with Roblox
26:02 Justin compares his expectations with the outcomes of the activations
27:20 Justin shares advice for other metaverse builders
28:30 The flexibility of the metaverse for brands
29:25 How to access Walmart’s Roblox experiences
29:50 Wrap-up
30:20 Closing
Resources:
Walmart Land: https://www.roblox.com/g