Music, Fashion NFTs and Never Stop Learning
Music, Fashion NFTs and Never Stop Learning
PoolTogether Community Interview #35 Hollywood Henry
Hello,
Welcome to the latest edition of the PoolTogether Community Interview series.
Today we have Hollywood Henry who will give us an insight into his career, success in crypto and in life plus the new project he is working on.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Describe yourself in a few words/facts:
I am an ex-music industry executive. Most of my professional life thus far has centered around working in the music industry and related fields, from event production at concerts to marketing/A&R at a prominent indie record label to working at the largest film studio in south Florida. Its always been the entertainment industry for me. I started my own digital marketing agency 6 years ago, which I've been doing since.
How long have you been into crypto?
I had heard about crypto for a while, being in the digital space, but never really paid attention to it until Covid hit. Having more time allowed me to explore the rabbit hole of crypto. The more I learned, the deeper the obsession became. More or less around November of 2020 is when I seriously would say I was in crypto. Then as art became really big in the space, I started learning about that side so I could help my girlfriend, who is a fine art artist.
Do you want to tell us about the main lessons you have learned since then?
This space moves faster than anything I've ever witnessed. The speed of its growth and evolution is just breathtaking. Working as a digital agency, it always felt like we were on a treadmill since Google algorithms constantly change, and so do social media algorithms.
You can never rest on tried and true strategies as they become obsolete in short time frames. The crypto space is a hyper version of that. It's constant change, everything changes. Even on protocols there constantly evolving and trying out new things. Yield drops, and platforms and traders adapt, which changes the whole dynamic
Another big lesson that sticks out is DYOR. With the anonymous nature that crypto works on, from online personalities to anon teams working on platforms, it takes some digging to be safe in the space. To know who to trust or what coins and protocols to use. You can't trust big accounts without knowing if their account was botted or if they have some ulterior motive for recommending something.
This whole self-custodial thing is a trip, man.
What was your best crypto moment?
Coming into the space during the bull gave me opportunities to make some money trading. Once I got comfortable with the space, I started buying coins into projects I saw growth potential in.
Made a good amount on $DOGE, $ENJ, $COMP, $SFUND, $ETH
It helped to see the similarities between crypto and the stock market, which I started dabbling in right at the beginning of the pandemic. Real companies with products that people really want to use and a team that can execute. Though $DOGE was just a momentum play as I picked up on people's hysteria about it. Though I always felt it wouldn't last, there was no use case for it.
And your biggest fail?
Missing out on Bored Ape Yacht Club. I had heard about it very early on when they were a few hundred bucks, but at the time, since I had only been in the space for a few months before that, it just seemed crazy to me to spend that on a jpeg.
I didn't fully grasp NFTs beyond the jpeg, what value they would hold, not just BAYC but all NFTs at that point, I looked at it as a pure collectible, and it seemed overpriced in that context.
Fail Whale!
Now I've spent way more than just a few hundred dollars on jpegs. Go figure.
How did you find out about PoolTogether?
I actually found PT very early in my journey into crypto. As I was learning about crypto and didn't know what protocols I could trust, I went to the Ethereum Foundation website to learn about their ecosystem, and DAPPS and PT was listed in the Defi category. So joined the discord started reading the governance board, and jumped in.
What made you stick around?
It was perfect for my risk tolerance. Being new to crypto, I wanted to participate but didn't want to put my funds at risk. A no-loss savings account was very intriguing, with a good upside with little downside.
Once I learned about the team and how secure it was made me comfortable increasing my deposits. It was also an excellent first experience dealing with DeFi and its potential.
How are you involved in the community? Tell us about it.
I am an active participant in the weekly calls and the governance board. It's fascinating to me as a case study of how a DAO operates. So from that standpoint, it keeps me checking in to see what potential and execution a DAO can have.
You can always find me in the weekly calls. Aside from that, I'm always recommending it to new people getting started. It is a fantastic way to learn about DeFi safely.
Would you recommend PoolTogether to others? How would you describe it to them?
I constantly bring up PT to others. For example, I was at Miami NFT Week and networked with several investors and newer people in the space; PT came up in all my conversations.
I tell them it kind of works like a lottery; a winner is drawn daily, and prizes are based on how much has been deposited, but instead of buying a ticket, you just deposit your funds for a chance to win. Then, since your funds are never spent or at risk, you can withdraw the entire amount you deposited at any time.
Again, tons of upside, minimal downside.
Are you involved in any other projects or communities?
I own several NFTs and am part of various communities. My discord account looks crazy with the number of servers I'm in. I went deeper into the NFT sector than I did DeFi.
Coming from the music industry, I have creativity and art in my DNA, so NFTs appealed to me once I could wrap my head around beyond the jpeg. What it can mean for community engagement and experiences.
I'll mention some projects I like that are less known. JRNY Club - the guy lives and breathes this space, and I watched a lot of his YouTube videos when I was starting out. Remember, just like the stock market, bet on vision and team.
Keg Plebs - not a well known project, but I love the utility. It's creating a network of breweries around the US where holders can access free and discounted beers. My girlfriend and I enjoy breweries, and one local to us is part of their network.
NFT.com - a new NFT marketplace, the domain is gold, and it is going to be entirely run by a DAO. The team has lots of experience in starting and growing companies.
Tell us about your own project - “House of Fashion”
Personally, I co-founded an upcoming PFP collection of 10K NFTs called "House of Fashion."
An NFT project all about art, fashion & technology. House of Fashion's vision is to blur the lines between the physical and digital fashion space through activation's, virtual experiences, real-world & metaverse fashion shows, redeemable fashion items, & community engagement.
Since the founder is a fashion designer with an existing clothing line. This allows us to do some really cool things, physically and digitally.
An example is our upcoming phygital drop, where we are releasing a 50 limited edition NFTS that unlock a redeemable matching physical piece and a Decentraland wearable.
In addition, half are being given away for free leading up to the launch of the PFP project. So now, the same real-world fashion item you wear on a Saturday night out, your avatar can also wear in Decentraland!
And that's just one example. We do IRL fashion shows already, which opens up many opportunities to get our community of holders involved either as attendees or as designers showcasing their own fashion pieces.
I can go on and on but check it out yourself. https://houseoffashion.io/ https://twitter.com/HouseFashionNFT
Do you have any other thoughts and comments you would like to make?
The PT DAO is one of the best ones yet. However, being in many discord servers, I've seen the disadvantage of projects using the DAO format. Moving the ball forward in an organization with no structure and contributors spread worldwide can be challenging.
PT does an excellent job of this; a lot of it has to do with a core team of contributors. So a big thank you to those core players that play such a vital role in the protocol.
Which books would you recommend people read? And why?
Rich Dad Poor Dad - Getting your finance game on point is a must. Unfortunately, I didn't come from a background that taught me financial literacy. So learning the fundamentals early can be a game changer.
Eat That Frog - With the digital world came a lot of wasted time, scrolling endlessly on social media and notifications and pings constantly vying for your attention. So getting stuff done will be vital in the future as people's attention spans continue to diminish.
The E-Myth Revisited - Learning processes and systems is crucial for your business to succeed if you're a small business owner, this is a must.
What are your thoughts on how to be successful in life?
I think there are two major keys to being successful. First, never stop learning. Soon as you do, you lose your edge. If you continue learning, reading, and figuring out new things, there's always an opportunity to catch another wave and hit your success goals.
Second, be disciplined. Ideas are not the difficult part. It's the execution, doing the dirty work, whatever it may be, it's getting it done, setting small goals that lead to bigger outcomes, and tracking your progress. The self-feedback will let you know how disciplined and focused you're really being. That's what has helped me personally and the pattern I’ve gathered from the numerous books I’ve read. The ones that made it got sh*t done.
We hope you have enjoyed today’s interview.
Please join us for the PoolTogether Community Call on Fridays at 1.45pm on the PoolTogether Discord. Plus, to deposit into PoolTogether and to learn more about the protocol, please goto https://pooltogether.com/
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