At the Blockchain Economy London Summit, Cryptonews had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Tenner, the founder of Pledg3r and GrantTree, to discuss the game-changing potential of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the world of startup funding.
During the interview, Tenner shared his expert insights on how NFTs can offer a unique fundraising model for businesses, and how this innovative technology can benefit both startups and investors.
NFTs as a Startup Fundraising Tool
Tenner’s experience in the startup world led him to explore NFTs as a fundraising tool for businesses. As the founder of GrantTree, a company that helps tech startups get government funding, Tenner had been deeply involved in the startup ecosystem for over a decade.
After leaving GrantTree in 2019, he rediscovered himself through crypto and NFTs, and realized that NFTs presented a powerful fundraising model for startups.
Despite the fact that most NFT-based startups were not successful, Tenner saw the potential in the fundraising model itself and noticed that no one else was tapping into this potential.
As such, Tenner decided to build his own NFT-based fundraising platform.
Benefits For Both Startups and Investors
Tenner explained that NFTs differ from traditional fundraising methods like equity crowdfunding or venture capital in several ways.
For investors, NFTs provide more liquidity, which is a huge advantage compared to traditional startup shares that can be very illiquid.
In addition, NFTs can offer investors more engagement and fun, with benefits attached that can be more exciting than just getting a report once a year or quarter.
“From the startup perspective, NFTs can offer the benefit of having investors who are also customers, which can help turn early investors into super fans and evangelists who can help with marketing” he said.
Another advantage is that NFT-based fundraising can be “global from day one”, instead of being limited to local fundraising efforts.
According to Tenner, the NFT space is also less discriminatory than equity fundraising, with female founders being statistically more likely to be successful yet less likely to receive investment from VCs and angels.
The Importance of Investor Education in Making Smart Investment Decisions
Tenner emphasized the importance of investor education in making smart investment decisions. He has been making YouTube videos and writing threads for a year and a half, with the goal of educating people to be better investors.
According to Tenner, there is a “huge flaw in the education system, with people having basically no financial education when they come out of school”.
He believes that people should be taught how to balance a budget and how to invest, as these are “critical skills to building wealth”. Indeed, without proper education, people can fall prey to scammers.
Tenner hopes that either people like him or governments can fill this educational gap.
Bring the Benefits of NFTs to One Billion People
Tenner sees a bright future for NFT-based fundraising, hoping that as Pledg3r continues to succeed, more people will copy what the company is doing, providing many more options for fundraising through NFTs.
Although some people see NFTs as a big thing, Tenner thinks that, in reality, it is “still a very tiny space” so there’s plenty of room to grow.
However, he believes that in the future, “people won’t even realize they’re using NFTs”, as everything will have become an NFT in one way or another and the user interface will be completely seamless.
For Tenner, the ultimate goal is not to onboard one billion people to NFTs but to bring the benefits of NFTs and Web3 to one billion people.
As the NFT space continues to evolve and grow, Tenner’s efforts to educate and expand the market for NFT-based fundraising could play a pivotal role in shaping its future.
Tenner’s vision for NFT-based fundraising is ambitious yet practical, and he is confident that Pledg3r’s success will pave the way for more innovative ways to fundraise through NFTs, ultimately bringing the benefits of this technology to a much wider audience.
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Margarete Buresh