How do you create an event where everyone involved is happy? Javelin's Jim gets together with the ever-creative Nick from Story Protocol delve into the diverse communities he's been a part of, the secret ingredients for hosting successful events, and a fascinating vision for Web3 education. Nick's journey, spanning from the culinary world to the heart of Web3, sets the stage for an open discussion about community connections, and shares a brilliant idea for a Web3 livestream show.
J: Which communities do you love, and spend a lot of time in?
N: I've worn many hats in the culinary and entrepreneurial scene in Detroit, both as a sushi chef for over 15 years and a business owner. I was deep in the local Detroit culinary and entrepreneurial communities where we supported each other, shared resources and food, and enjoyed each other's events. Simultaneously, I was deeply involved in Detroit's underground electronic music scene during my 20s, organizing raves, playing in bands, and experimenting with music. These two communities have been at the core of my journey. I feel like I was nurtured here in Detroit, and now I'm kind of expanding and going out there. Haven't completely lost touch with those communities, but I'm very less active in them.
Today, a lot of my focus has shifted to Web3 communities. Friends With Benefits (FWB) was my gateway, where I learned about Web3 for a year before securing a job in the industry at Serotonin's events team via the classifieds channel. For this reason I remain loyal to FWB and believe in its potential to transform lives in the global network of creative technologists. I also engage with Web3 communities like Refraction DAO, Water & Music, and Nina Protocol, and other online communities such as New Models, Mineral Disk.
J: You've organized events for FWB in the past, could you share a bit about those experiences?
N: I organized an FWB gardening event in Detroit, at a spot where we’re transforming a vacant plot of land into a native garden. We hosted the entire FWB crew in Detroit and it was a great day of weeding, socializing, and enjoying some good food and drinks.
Then in South Korea, I helped organize a dinner for local FWB members and those in town for Korea Blockchain Week. It was a great opportunity to meet the locals in Seoul via the FWB network and the DAO bought us all dinner.
J: What, in your view, are the key ingredients for a successful event?
N: The recipe for success varies with each event, but it often starts with a mix of good people, good food, and good music. It's about creating an atmosphere where people genuinely enjoy themselves while making meaningful connections. The key is to make sure the event is not the same old, same old – it should offer something unique.
Ensuring attendees feel comfortable and welcomed from the moment they arrive is essential. Greeting them, engaging in conversation, offering drinks, and guiding them to the food are all part of creating a positive first impression.
J: How do you go about finding the right people for your events?
N: Collaborations and partnerships are my go-to approach. When organizing music events, I curate lineups that bring together different communities, fans, and members of different projects and cultures. It's about ensuring that the attendees have a diverse and enjoyable experience, often with each act drawing different crowds but still blending seamlessly.
For tech-focused events, it's all about finding like-minded individuals and projects that align with the event's theme. Building a community that supports and promotes common goals while still being diverse in its offerings is the key to success.
J: Could you share a memorable recent event and what made it special?
N: One of the standout events was the ETH Warsaw opening party I organized for Aleph Zero.
The unique aspect of this event was our approach in uniting various projects that are all building on Aleph Zero's technology stack. These projects, despite their common foundation, hadn't necessarily met in person before. So this event served as an opportunity for them to connect, share ideas, and form collaborations.
But it went beyond that. We delved deep into the uniqueness of each ecosystem project, attempting to bring their use cases to life during the event. For instance, we had a gaming project, and the event took place at a venue with crazy games everywhere - shuffleboard, mini-golf, skeeball, and more. Even karaoke. We set up a retro gaming station for the gaming project, and it was an absolute hit. We had AZERO.ID registering on-chain IDs, the ArtZero NFT marketplace had a gallery on the screens, really fun.
J: What kind of music is in your rotation nowadays?
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3i6Yzy7JPYQNgaBV8txmNE?si=ada219c4a40641df
J: What's exciting you about your recent work?
N: As part of the launch of The Platform, we shipped an app which feels similar to twitter or reddit but it's a curated invite-only group with guided access to Serotonin's resources and professional network. It’s optimized for Web3 builders, developers, and founders. Upon being accepted, members are matched with small groups of peers and given access to experts, tools & resources, press, exclusive events, and things like that. It’s all designed to help them and their companies succeed. We’re planning a bunch of IRL events for platform members and generally helping them navigate the wide world of blockchain events.
J: If you all have an interest in educating people on specific concepts, let's just work together and create actually cool and interesting content that people can consume to learn about it, right?
N: There's all these shows where the idiot goes out, and experiences something new, and learns about it. I think it'd be really fun to have kind of like a “Bozos Use Web3” kind of thing. It's a live stream show and you’re watching someone try to figure out how to use Web3 who's never done it before. Play around, see how much someone can set up in 1 hour. Get your dad or your mom to come out and be like: ”All right, mom, here's what you're going to do. You're going to learn Web3. We're giving you $100. Now go out there and stake ETH somewhere.”
J: Fucking love that. Time to end this with a lighting round of questions. Summer holiday or winter holiday?
N: Winter.
J: Jazz or Metal?
N: Jazz.
J: Normal call or FaceTime?
N: FaceTime.
J: Small get together or large scale event?
N: Small get together.
J: Read books or listen to books?
N: Read books.
J: All time favorite DJ?
N: This one's a bit harder, but Jeff Mills.
Javelin
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