Below are thoughts and perspectives from BigHatLevi on their experiences in web3, collaborating, and bringing ideas to life.

Anaroth: Tell us a little bit about your career before and after NFT’s?

BigHatLevi: Before NFTs I was studying at a university for my computer science degree — in software. It’s very important to have a substantial portfolio when applying for developer jobs, and I saw an opportunity to add something unique to mine in the form of a NFT project. This project was “Lamb Duhs”, and was successfully launched in August 2021. At the time I was inspired by developer focused communities and the open source learning environments being fostered there, it invoked a vibe reminiscent of what we as a collective today have defined as the web3 ethos — community governance and mutual growth. I admired what I saw being done here so much that I actually made it a part of our initial roadmap to open source the code for our launch and share what we learned from our experience with the community. Funnily enough, to even further solidify the pairing with what you could call the collaborative developer inspiration — the title of the collection is a pun of the word “lambda”, commonly used as a term in computer science. Even today, I can trace back the fundamentals of my web3 technical understanding back to this initial project, and I would recommend anyone looking to get their hands dirty to do the same — it’s an incredible experience that will teach you so much as you work through creating all the components and piecing them together!

Anaroth: Sometimes we only think of inspiration in forms of artists, but those that help build are often inspired as well. Who / what has been a source of inspiration as you continue creating in the space of NFT’s?

BigHatLevi: I have quite a few sources of inspiration, most of them I work with on a daily basis — I would say the two people that immediately come to mind are @_0xbEEF, my brother and co-founder of Lamb Duhs / Duhverse, who works another job on top of all the software related web3 shenanigans we get ourselves into, and @ArtMcArty, my good friend and co-founder of Asteria Labs, whose work ethic impresses me every day as we continue building our company!

Anaroth: What have you learned about collaborating with artists? How do you approach working with a project artist now, vs when you first started? What’s changed?

BigHatLevi: I’ve learned every artist is different, and every scenario is different. It’s important to tailor the approach a little differently for each one, and that can include a lot of variables that starts with figuring out what the quality/speed ratio of the asset creation process looks like, how much creative freedom is/should be involved, management styles, and even payment methods. If I needed to encapsulate it, I would say the most important thing you can have when working with artists and people in general is flexibility and open mindedness, I think it would be prudent to assume rigidity in a working environment like this likely won’t lead to the most desirable of outcomes!

Anaroth: While projects may have overlap, maintaining their identity is always important. How do you organize and structure your day that allows you to be present where the communities need you?

BigHatLevi: Identity is very important, and we’re proud to say that each project serves its own purpose. With that said, we haven’t been able to form a solid thesis yet in systematically dealing with the chaotic environment we’ve found ourselves in. While we do sequence the major projects in an order that makes sense, our day-to-day workflow consists of wearing many different hats in an elaborate juggling act of tasks. However, I suspect this is somewhat typical of start up companies, especially so when factoring in the level of complexity we work with every day — I look forward to moving towards smoother and more stable operating conditions!

Anaroth: Can you share one of your proudest moments in your career and what it taught you?

BigHatLevi: I think the proudest moment of my career so far was the launch of Lamb Duhs. The project taught me a lot of things in a short amount of time — these things include software development, community building, and social media marketing. It taught me I was capable of leading a team and coordinating them together to achieve something extraordinary as a collective force. It was some of the most intense personal development I’ve ever undergone, and its success gave me a sense of confidence and accomplishment I didn’t have before that I believe has contributed significantly to who I am today.

Anaroth: What advice do you have for those looking to build their first project in this space? What advice do you wish you had the first time around?

BigHatLevi: I would advise people looking to build that they should be prepared to be in it for the long haul, and to treat their project as a business with a strong vision, mission, or objective that is capable of serving as the backbone on which the project can really focus and lean on for the forseeable future. Without that foundation, you don’t have much of anything past a short term marketing hype play.

Anaroth: Tell us a little more about what you are working on at Asteria?

BigHatLevi: Over at Asteria we’re currently working on Lamb Duhs PX, a fully animated pixel art collection serving as an expansion to the original. We’re planning on having LDPX play a big role in accessing the P2E component of our upcoming NFT Worlds build, and we’re excited to show off more of what that will look like over the next couple weeks as the launch gets closer and closer. If you’d like to check us out and learn more, you can find us over at http://duhverse.com. To everyone that made it this far, thanks for reading!