PoolTogether Community Podcast #36 with Lonely Alien Space Club

This is the PoolTogether Community Podcast. PoolTogether is the world's number one no-loss prize savings account. You can visit pooltogether.com to deposit.

You're listening to the PoolTogether Community Podcast. It's your boy Hot Mike, AKA Tim, AKA Guess what this sound is? And I'm here with the Lonely Alien Space Club head alien. What is that, like alien czar? Suds, thanks for being here.

Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

What's your, what's your official title, Suds?

Uh, just like captain. You know, a lot of the lore that we have, it's just sort of like an alien mothership. So gotta be a captain of the ship. So that would be me.

Got it. You're the captain. You're the captain. Uh, I, that's weird. Actually have a, a mutual friend, your brother. So I know, I know your brother IRL and, uh, and it turned out that through, I guess, mutual friends, I found out you have an NFT project and I was also in crypto. And so we just started talking. Can you tell me your origin story? Can you tell me how you became the captain of the Lonely Alien Space?

Yeah, sure. So it was a project from, it's gonna be maybe a little, hopefully not too long of a story, but it was a project that launched in July 2021. So it was still early. I mean, not like a 2017 early, but earlier to that bull run. So maybe it came like a couple months after Apes or Cool Cats, like, so it was super early. It was a project that I was actually at a, so I also like, I'm into like sports cards, like baseball, football, basketball. And I was at a convention with my cousin and he was like starting to talk about NFTs. It's also like, you know, collectibles. And he's like, oh man, you know, have you heard of Bored Apes? And I was like, what's that? You know, he was, I was sort of getting the rundown and he was like, hey, do you want to split one? You know, maybe, I think they were like 5 ETH at the time, which is still a lot. And I was like, ah, I don't know. I don't really know. You know, that's a lot. Like, I don't really know what I'm doing. And, you know, I'm looking into having to get a MetaMask wallet. And, you know, before I would do like super basic crypto, like just buying Bitcoin, you know, stuff like that. So I kind of passed on it. And then I was just doing research. I was like, man, I'd love to like kind of get into something that's just like a, maybe a little bit on the cheaper side, you know, price entry point. And I was just like browsing around and I saw these aliens, Lonely Aliens. I was like, wow, that's really cool. Like, it was sort of refreshing because a lot of the stuff that I was seeing was like animal themed. So like after apes, you know, of course, like it was like the rest of the animal kingdom. Everyone was kind of coming with some sort of animal project, which is fine. But I was like, wow, like I haven't really seen like an alien project. So it was, I think it was like one of the first just like separate alien projects. And I bought a bunch of 'em and then like things started getting crazy. It got up to like a 1 ETH floor about. There was a 60 ETH sale, 20 ETH, like it was, you know, people thought it was on a trajectory to be the next Um, you know, the next big thing. Um, it kind of, that didn't end up happening. Um, the team, you know, did the best they could. I mean, it was sort of like new. So like there wasn't, you know, they were already talking about launching like a secondary thing, you know, like a couple days after they came out with Alien. So it's like there was things that you gotta sort of also have some, uh, understanding too that like things were early. So it's like obviously, um, People, you know, might not, you know, it's not like the experience that people have now. But anyway, there were some execution issues, I would say. But then things started retreating. You know, it got a little bit salty in the Discord. And, but there was a lot of like hardcore people that got into NFTs, got into Aliens, was like their first NFT. I was one of 'em. I became a mod. We rode through the dark times and then it was the bear market and I just sort of made the recommendation to them. I was just an unpaid mod with a couple guys and just saying like, hey, I think you guys should sell this thing and just give it like a fresh start. And that's what ended up happening. I threw my hat in there and they, kudos to them. I mean, they wanted to sell to the right person. They weren't really trying the highest price or anything like that. And they were like really easy to deal with and they still have an interest in Aliens doing Well, but yeah, so it kind of, you know, someone had to do it. I bought it out. I'm still working with the same like mods that, you know, were in place before and the same, you know, we just sort of have our own team. We call it like transition team. And yeah, we're like super hyped and trying, you know, going on, you know, reviving it. And then the vibes are still there and, you know, we're on the next part of our journey.

So how did that, how did that feel with the whole, like, you know, hitting the 1/8 floor and just be like, oh yeah, 'cause in one When was that? Like what was the timeframe as far as year goes?

The 1 ETH floor or close to it, maybe it was like 0.9 and change. And it was definitely like a spike to that amount. It's not like it sat there for 3 weeks. I'd say that was like August. That was like late August, maybe mid-August. That was the time.

Yeah. And so you had a portfolio of Lonely Aliens. That's exciting. And you just kept holding, right? That's what you, that's what you did. You're the mod, you're the volunteer, you're part of this community, and you diamond handed those aliens, and now you've got a whole NFT collection.

Pretty much. I mean, running it. Yep. Running it. And, you know, still like it's a community in mind approach, right? Like, you know, crypto is very, it's like a lot of people coming together. It's not, it shouldn't be just like one person. It's not like, You know, it should be like a collective effort and everyone bringing their talents in. So I mean, yes, I am the captain, but I kind of see it as like more so just controlling all of like, or, or pulling together everyone's sort of talent and ideas. And that's the cool, cool thing is like we're super responsive. You know, some projects like the devs or the leaders don't even like pop into Discord. It's a couple weeks go by and, you know, we're in there every day getting ideas and implementing things. So. So yeah, I mean, so keeping that in mind too, that it's, you know, it's not just one person, you know, and I think they kind of saw that, that it wasn't someone like trying to selfishly like buy it, you know, for like the flex effect or something, you know?

So did you, so did you get involved with any other NFT communities or was it like you wanted to do NFTs, you found this one and this is your world now? Is that, how did that, are you experienced elsewhere in the other communities?

Yeah, I mean, I, you know, another Another thing that I got into early, just 'cause like a lot of us were kind of bummed and it was another Alien project there. Everyone was like, this is the time before the buyout. We were all in like so many different side Lonely Alien chats. Someone was like, hey, you should check out Alien Friends. Sounds like a really good vibe. Like I got into Alien Friends at like 0.02. I think they went up, went up to like 4 ETH at one point. I mean, obviously it's the bear market now, but that's another great project. Corkis. You know, just as a holder. Corkis, World of Women, NFT Worlds, you know, like stuff, or Bored Apes or anything, but some like really good, you know, other projects that are just sort of community.

Okay, so you were just holders, but did you also like, did you get into the communities at all? Like, 'cause I really admire the way that you run the Loli Alien Space Club Discord and all the activity that's going on and all the events and like different collabs that you're having. Twitter Spaces, stuff like that. Were you also like getting experience with these communities or were you just like, okay, this project's cool, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get into that?

As far as, like, as far

as taking the collabs or modding or like, you know, chatting, I don't know, like being in their Discord and stuff.

Oh, it's like the projects that we're collabing with you're talking about?

No, I'm just talking about when you were exploring these other things like Alien Friends and all these other projects. Oh, were you in their Discord? Were you like, Were you like chatting it up? Were you vibing with—

Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's usually when I do make a purchase or I'm going to, I mean, it's something that I'm gonna like to learn about it. So I'm going to Discord first and seeing what the deal is. So yeah, typically if I own it, typically have a Discord presence in there. So I mean, it varies, you know, Alien Friends, like it's something that I really like. I went to their NFT NYC event and met a bunch of people. That was also before the buyout. But yeah, I mean, that's like one that I'm really also like just a part of from a community member.

So what did, what did, what are some things that you had noticed in these communities that, that like really worked for you? What do you look for when you're checking out an NFT project in their Discord? I

mean, during the bull market, I mean, it's like kind of different than now, but some of them, like I couldn't even type like Quirkies and Alien Friends. It would be like, hi. And then like your text was gone. You couldn't even say anything. It was just so much activity. And that's when, like, you know, when I see that and like a low OpenSea price, it's like, okay, this obviously has a ton of engagement. You know, you look at like the demeanor, like how the team handles criticism, stuff like that. Like see like their level of like kindness, I guess, and their demeanor. Like maybe if things don't go right or there's someone coming in FUDing or something. So sort of those sort of things. And I also have to like, like the art. also like have a connection to it. Um, and it's also fun, like finding like, you know, um, things that, you know, you can identify with, I guess. Um, so that's why, you know, I was definitely drawn into Lonely Aliens. Like I just, you know, you, you know the feeling when like you kind of get something that you're super excited about.

What surprises you? Like, have you been surprised or been like, oh, that's weird. Or, um, Or, you know, any, yeah, any, any sort of like things that you didn't think would work but have worked, or vice versa, things that you thought were gonna work but didn't work. 'Cause I totally relate with that whole, like, that actually turns me off when I see a Discord that's just like, I can't type. But yes, I should totally then go look at the floor price and see how low it is. And then like Invisible Friends did that. Like they, they, I just, I was like, oh my gosh, the amount of scams that are built around this. before their launch and their Discord was just like insane. And then like that you had to do all these like different missions and stuff and I was like over it. Anyways, oh yeah, back to the question. What about like, so what surprised you? Have you seen any surprises in the NFT community in the Discord?

As far as like from what stuff surprised me, stuff that worked and didn't work, that's a good question. As far as like what led to sales or what led to engagement, like what do you— Yeah.

I mean, just anything like, you know, that, that stands out to you. It's not my question, it's Andy Kaufman's question from the chat. Uh, I'm just, uh, I'm just a messenger on this one. But yeah, just things that you're like, oh, that's really interesting. Yeah.

That's a great question. Um, I mean, I'll just kind of speak on something that we did recently, um, which was we just launched a couple days ago. Sort of like an add-on feature to your alien. So you go to art.lonelyaliens.com and then it like, you know, checks your wallet to make sure you own, you know, what, you know, such and such alien. You choose your alien and you choose like the add-on. So like one of 'em's like a good morning coffee cup. There's like a Vulcan hands, like from Star Trek. Then we're, we have a couple other things we're gonna add on, like a blaster. It just gives like another look and more engagement for Twitter and Discord and other things. It's like a way to kind of like a low-cost way to bring more engagement. So like, that's something that like worked for us. Um, that looks like people are pretty hyped about and it's like nothing that, you know, it was just sort of like a development type thing. Um, but I guess in general with other stuff, like people that do, um, also like subgroups, like, um, in Alien Friends there's like the red aliens, they're called Olus. So I'm in a group Called like the broloos. So there's like a bunch of people are super passionate about that specific trait or the abstract hoodie group. And then like Quirky's has like the skate group, you know, with like skate or surfboard. So it's like anytime there's like some groups that people are passionate about, it like kind of creates like this almost like, um, it's like a sort of like cult-like thing where it's like a, like a superfan. group. I'd say like that and like, um, a lot of like Twitter engagement and Spaces and that sort of stuff. I think Discord's becoming a little bit of like an echo chamber in some ways. Um, so I'd say seeing a lot of like Twitter stuff working, um, and some like small things that, you know, ended up turning into something big.

What, uh, what, so, so then, then bring me back to your strategy of like, uh, like Well, I guess you said you check out their Discord. What else are you doing when you're looking at new NFT projects? Like how else are you scoping them out? Or how, yeah, maybe a better question or a secondary question to that is how do you want people to like happen upon Lonely Alien Space Club? Like who's your ideal NFT holder?

The ideal holder is just like someone that understands sort of, I guess like what The value proposition is, I guess, which is like, I guess to answer your question too, it's, I don't like, I don't really like, I don't look for like gimmick stuff, stuff that's like, hey, we're going to make a game, or, oh, we have this like staking thing, or it's like, like a reason to buy it that's like not a unique utility or like, you know, for Lonely Aliens it's like, okay, you have to like the art and, and vibe with it. You have to respect that it's like an OG, sort of like not 2017 OG, but it's an OG project. And a lot of people kind of talk about like, oh man, there could be like good IP potential with it. You know, like, does it, does it feel like a potential brand or a brand in the making or not? Which, I mean, like a very small percentage of projects are actually going to make that leap, but there will be some that people will say like, you know, like, oh, did you know that was like an NFT project? You know, like World of Women, it's one that I bought into. Like I could totally see that being like a makeup line, clothing line, you know, I could see that. And you know, as more women enter the space as well, hopefully, you know, I think that could be a great project. But yeah, I guess just like less gimmicks and more, more like something that's just more like True and more authentic, I guess.

So then, yeah, what counts as a gimmick? Because there is like this NFT financialization that's happening with like SudoSwap or collateralization or like even treating NFTs less like NFTs and more like tokens.

Yeah, that's something that, yeah, that's something that I kind of steer away, you know, because I feel like If, you know, when there is regulation, which there's going to be, it's going to be, I would assume, you know, going after like fractionalization and stuff that looks more like an investment product rather than like art or a brand, you know, stuff that's too much like staking and tokens. And, you know, it's, you know, at that point it's like, I would just rather buy an altcoin that's like established, you know, like a real crypto. Yeah, I like to see people buying NFTs and then it's like you could see it being a brand, I guess. That's just my take on it. You know, but the end, the end, end of the day, a lot of NFTs are just like tokens, right? With like an image associated with it. But

altcoins with JPEGs.

Yeah, pretty much super altcoins.

Well, and I know I've talked to you about this, like, and you're not going to hurt my feelings or anything. Please don't, don't be afraid of that. But You know, with PoolTogether, there's the, there's, you know, it's a prize savings account, OG DeFi. You can delegate your balances to your friends and they can win USDC. So it's a way to onboard them into crypto. And I've been approaching like certain like NFT projects and it's like, hey, you have a treasury, why not put that treasury to use and add like a DeFi utility to your holders? So if you have, an NFT, like you would be able to have a portion of that treasury delegated to you through PoolTogether as like, you know, a DeFi bonus. But, you know, what I'm hearing you say is basically like, no, it's art and it's brand and like, don't mess with that. And I know that like LootMart— oh, go for it. Go for it.

No, I'm saying it's a little different though. I mean, it sounds like PoolTogether, I mean, again, it's something that I have to wrap my head around a little bit more. I mean, lately I've just been going like 24/7 Lonely Aliens, but it sounds like it's something that kind of like works in the NFT ecosystem. Like it's not an actual NFT itself, right? It's like something that's sort of working with the general larger picture of NFTs. I think that's different. I think that's cool that it's like an add-on to everything in general. I was just saying like when a specific NFT project, which does have art, it just gets kind of away. It just becomes too much of like a staking and we have a coin and we have, you know, like, you know, and it's very hard to make it with like that as part of an actual like PFP project. But PoolTogether being like a larger, like almost ecosystem type thing, that's completely different. I, you know, I don't know if I'm really saying that right, but— Okay.

So you love the idea. Awesome. I love that.

Yeah. No. Yeah, for sure. I was just saying like, when it's like someone's like, I'll just make up something, you know, oh, we're the zebras and then we have, you know, staking and zebra coin and, you know, that's like a little bit of like a harder, you know, like a lot of people are doing that. So it's like hard to have that be the main attractor. You know what I mean?

Yeah, totally. Totally. And then, and then like with these play-to-earn NFTs, I'm seeing like, it's, it's almost like the game itself is too Burn. It's to burn gas basically. Like it's just to amass transaction fees, which, which I get it, but I also, it's kind of like, anyway, so, so what I'm seeing with Lonely Aliens is like, you've got, yeah, play to earn was a gimmick. Andy says, yeah. I mean, I love ice poker. I love poker. That's great. But you're not like, like I, I love play to earn when it's not about the gas, like the, when the, when the game itself handles the gas. and you can actually play the game. But Lonely Aliens kind of feels like a game right now because, Suds, you have this beautiful art, these really cool aliens. There's like people who prefer like the clean ones and people who prefer like the wizard hats. And it's not even about like rarity, it's like about the look and the vibe of the NFT, which is also unique, I think. I've only seen that in a couple different communities, but not all of them. It's very much, Usually about the traits and the rarity. But you've like, these aliens come with planets now, and then now you got like coffee mugs and Vulcan stuff. What else is in the pipeline for Lonely Aliens? You said you're working 24/7. What are you doing?

Yeah, so I mean, well, the buyout happened about a little less than, I'd say like 7 weeks ago, or it's, I guess you could call it, you know, coming into September, it'll be 2 months. Um, but, um, yeah, basically, you know, that was like one of the main things was the, the add-on feature. And then like, um, in the beginning when we moved everything over to IPFS, it was on like the prior team's like server. So it was like anytime someone revealed up, so they ended up doing planets that was on the old team, which was like kind of like, I mean, the art's cool. Like the artist is great. He's still kind of, he's still working with us. Um, But it didn't really, no one was gonna rock like a planet as a PFP. Right. So it's like, it's not like Bored Ape and then Mutant Ape. And it, you know, I thought it could have been cool as like a Twitter background. But anyway, you know, like trying to like fix some stuff, bring utility to stuff. But, you know, one of the problems was trying to like reveal someone and be like, hey, I minted 5 planets, but they're not revealing. You know, so going to IPFS, which is like a decentralized server. It sort of cements the project and it was like auto, auto reveal on the planets. But, um, yeah, sort of just, um, you know, we just finished up a collab with Beyond Earth, which is like a new upcoming, which was a free mint, which is like a new metaverse/game, which actually is really cool. Now I'm jumping around, but it's someone that built a game that took 5 years and then completed the game and then announced, hey, we're rolling this out. Versus someone that was saying like, hey, buy our project, we're going to build the game eventually. But yeah, it's basically just sort of getting vibe, vibes back and, and, you know, executing on some of these things. And we just sort of like are just executing instead of like saying what we're going to do. But yeah, we're just sort of focused on, you know, building through the bear market and, you know, increasing engagement. You know, and that customization, um, machine as we call it, you know, does just that. And we're looking for other stuff, you know, to do as we kind of build through the beta.

So then how do you decide what you wanna work on and what you, the direction that you wanna take the project? And then also how do you decide on partnerships that are, that are beneficial to the project?

Well, I mean, the last one was cool because they, it was a long time in the making and the Lonely Alien is a playable character and the Vyondr is, um, Which was a no-brainer for us to team up with them. And it was like sort of like a deep partnership. We just did a Spaces. So it'd be something that, and also brought a lot of value because it was a free mint for all the holders. And then, you know, next thing you know, I mean, not like, not like you're looking to sell, a lot of 'em didn't, but you know, the floor price on the cheapest one, you know, is like somewhere around like 0.08 and then some of the rarer ones are like 0.25, you know, so pretty cool from like a free mint perspective, but I guess we're going for like quality over quantity. I'd rather have like one every once in a while that's like super solid than, you know, 5 in a row that people are like, what is this? Or, you know, looking for something that's more like of a deep connection, I guess, and something that makes sense from a synergy standpoint, I guess.

And then how much does the community play in these decisions? Like, are you getting these opportunities from the community? Are you posting it to the community and they're like, yes, no? Are you pretty much making the decisions? How does, how does that decision tree work?

Um, I mean, this last one was like dated way back, but going forward, uh, usually someone reaches out and then it's like the, there's the 3 of us, um, myself, Lonely Boy, who's, who's like the beast. Um, he has like in real life friend that's also the dev. So we have like an in real life connection. And then Trunk, um, who is the community manager. And, you know, the lead mod, Lee, we just sort of like amongst ourselves. And then if it gets past that point, you know, we might, we have a thing called Pi Council, which is a group, you know, a separate group and a separate role where, you know, they might weigh in on stuff. But overall, like we do listen to the community, like what ideas people have. So like someone, it's very idea-centric. You know, I know in a lot of other projects it's like the community like makes, you know, they say stuff, but you know, is it really implemented? Like we definitely listen to ideas and, you know, it's something that if someone brings something to the table, we look at it and, you know, we take it super seriously.

And then what do you, like, I know you're full-time on this project, I, but I feel like the, the way of Web3 is to do multiple things. So do you feel pulled to other things? What else is on the horizon for you?

I don't know. I mean, I'm open-minded, but I mean, you know, I don't know. I mean, I kind of thought of something. I mean, you know, we also have, you know, not to like bring back talking about the project, but we also have a DJ that's like in-house for our project and we hold, I think you went to one of them, the events in Decentraland, DJ Astro.

Yeah, I was there. Yep.

Yeah. So we're having, we have more wearables coming and another event coming, which I thought was great. I mean, you're like, ah, Decentraland, a DJ, like, but then like you got your speakers blaring, you know, it's like, you're like, wow, this is actually really fun. You know, you're, you're interacting in there. So I kind of thought maybe, um, you know, expanding on that and, you know, maybe like if I did other ventures, maybe it would involve some of the community members that are there. So like maybe, teaming up with DJ Astro and helping him branch out to other communities and maybe branding like a music label somehow that had DJ, just try to take certain things and like run with it maybe that like are sort of touching what I do on a daily basis. That makes sense.

Yeah, totally. Totally. And I do, I mean, the metaverse pull is very strong and I do have my alien helmet, pumped about that. That was very fun. emoting all over the dance floor. It kind of seemed exclusive too, because it was like you had to find the elevator or whatever. And like, you can't just, you couldn't just like teleport in. It was very fun. And I love the whole DJ live music thing. But Suds, you got this project. There's the floor is always, you know, ever-present. Although I think that based on what we're talking about here and what I've seen is you're very You care about the culture, you care about the vibes and the community, which is like huge. What is, what does like success for you look like with this project? Like, when are you like, okay, hit it, nailed it, this is great. I don't, I mean, obviously it could be floor, but is there, are there other, yeah, what are, what are your success metrics even just for yourself when you got this project?

Yeah, I mean, one success metric that a new holder or new person looking into it wouldn't be able to tell is when we were going through the dark times when people were just like, you know, 'cause there's so many people that had like, and I wouldn't have tried to buy out, like it would have to be a really special project and have a lot of potential to be worth buying something out versus starting over. But I just saw the potential and the amount of people that are just so attached to aliens and lonely aliens and You know, the art and everyone being like, oh, the art's so sick. One of the most disappointing things when we were in the dark times was not only was the floor low, but it's like some of the really clean, nice traits, like quote unquote grail aliens were like thrown on the floor. Um, and now, like, I mean, beauty's in the art of the older. You could still find something nice or something that you relate to, but you have to scroll, scroll quite a ways to find something that People in the community might deem like, oh man, that is a sick alien. You know, you, you might, you know, you can get lucky and kind of wait or do WETH offers. There's a lot of that going on in the market in general. But at least one thing we're really happy about is like, you know, the grail aliens or the really clean ones or like, or those ones that have a lot of like cohesion, cohesive, the floor on that is much higher. So That's, that's kind of like a nice thing. But, um, what would be like ultimate success? Um, I would say like taking a big step in the branding direction. Um, I already like the, one of the past founders, he created like a wine label for Aliens and he's doing like a, um, a wine company. Um, which is, you know, sort of known that he always spoke about in the Discord, which is kind of cool. But I'd say it would be like someone like a, A way that Aliens really took a step in the branding direction, um, would be, and, and something was like a big hit. I think that would be like a really big thing for us. Um, I would say.

So wine, then, then like sneakers? I don't know what that next thing would be. You got wine.

Yeah, I don't, I don't know. I mean, I feel like, I mean, a lot of people are doing like, I mean, the merch thing is merch is whatever. I mean, that's like, you know, everyone's trying to do hoodies and stuff like that. I mean, we, we do that too. I mean, we've made stuff available at like no markup, so it was like pretty nice hoodie for $35 or whatever it was. I mean, that's, that doesn't really count in my book. It'd have to be something like pretty unique, like, um, like a TV show or, you know, like something major. Um, would be, you know, or some sort of crazy collab with like a major brand. Mm-hmm. You know, someone that would have to be like, wow, like we really like this IP and we really like this. You know, we really like the proposition of Alien and Alien art.

Yeah. So IP is a big issue in the NFT world. What is it? Where does Lonely Alien fall on that? It's not CCO, right? What is it?

Yeah. So it's like anyone that owns an Alien has the right to that NFT, that specific NFT that they have.

Okay. So there's not going to be like— It's

not like in the public domain or anything.

Right, right. But Lonely Alien Space Club branded wine, it wouldn't be that. It would be like that specific Alien branded Or

yeah, that person has a collection of aliens and used his specific aliens to make the, to make his, his brand, to make his thing. He was, he's using specific alien NFTs that he has. You know, no one has rights to like the name and the, like our logo. I mean, that's like, you know, with falls under, you know, the LLC that I'd set up. But, you know, people using their individual aliens in their brand.

What are some of your favorite alien traits? So, um, well, Can you even do this? Is this allowed? Will, will the lonely aliens hear this and be so upset that you picked one trait over another?

They kind of know what I had. Just tell you what I had in my wallet beforehand. I like matching. So before, you know, I'll tell you what I had before. I like matching traits a lot. So I had the first one I ever bought had a Bitcoin chain, and then I started matching laser eyes with Bitcoin chains. So I like that combo. I like glow aliens a lot. So pink glow, teal glow, green glow. I like fishbowl trait. I mean, everyone likes DJ helmet, like the wearable. I mean, that's like sort of like an elite. I mean, I'm not sure if it's his wallet or not, but it's like the Cosimo Medici, which some people think is Snoop or someone close to him. I mean, he has a DJ helmet alien. So, you know, that's sort of like a grail trait, I guess. Who knows if it's really Snoop or not, but yeah, I'd say those are like a couple things that I, that I like myself. What about you when you've looked through the collection?

Yeah, I, I, it, it all kind of, cuz you've, I've talked to you before, Suds, and you've given me like, there's the nuns traits, or you want to have like ones that have few traits, but like a couple of 'em. You know, or like they're, they, and you always say like, oh, that one looks clean. And it's just, I'm not in that realm. So it's really interesting for me to hear like, and I'm like, oh yeah, that does look clean. Or you did this, um, the, the, they had basically a, a competition of which aliens were the, the, the coolest or which, which were the ones that you liked. And I, I was, I got my feelings hurt. My aliens didn't make it past like round 2 or round whatever. I'm like, I like my aliens. Uh, but it was like this favorite, what, I don't know what you called it specifically.

Yeah, we,

yeah,

we have, we have an, it's called the Abduction Bot. It's like a Twitter sales bot that was branded with the prior team's alien. And we said, hey, we should switch this PFP up. So we were like, hey, it would be cool if we held, like, I'm a sports fan, like let's hold an NCAA style bracket, like a 64 alien bracket. We didn't seed it. It was all random off But, you know, one alien will go against the other and there'll be emoji votes. You have to be an alien holder to vote, which actually like works out great 'cause you can't have like fake votes or bots or anything. And then whoever has the most votes in each round moves on and the bracket goes from 64 to 32, 16. And it's just voting on just like cohesiveness, what people like, not necessarily traits. That's the cool thing is like other projects, it's like, oh, I, You know, they're using like IC tools and it's like, oh, you know, rarity 69, you know, number 69 I bought for this and now I'm gonna flip it to the next guy. A lot of people just buy what they like and then they just don't give it up. Like a lot of people try for WETH offers on like some really nice looking aliens and people are just like, nope. Like it's just sort of like, 'cause everything's random, right? So I mean, you might have, there's some that really work together and some that don't. I mean, like a trait that people don't like would be like, A cigarette alien with an open mouth. So it's like, technically that doesn't really make sense, you know? Um, so like there's some traits that people don't like. Um, but of course it's a computer generator. There's some things that really flow, like with the right, like, uh, a glow alien with a white background, you know, that really pops. So it's like, it's kind of cool when the project was going nuts early on, uh, in the early inception. And I think if there was a bull market again, it could come back to that. Like people were just, there's so much chatter about like, oh, that's a really nice one. That's a really nice one. You know, like people genuinely do like the art. You know, I don't think they, people were ever buying because they were like, oh, this is gonna be worth more in the future, or I'm gonna, you know, I think it was just, they really just vibed with it. And there's a lot of alien PFPs out there. There's some, you know, there's some people, one person has 6 million followers. And has a, um, an alien PFP, you know, Hex. So there's a lot of people that represent, you know, as strong PFP art.

I don't want to, uh, not answer your question because rarely do I get questions, but you asked me one, my favorite trait, and I was going to say like Wizard Hat. I really like Wizard Hat, but then I just was scrolling and I found this single-eyed alien. So a cyclops or whatever. Let me see what the, we got one eye alien with the hoodie, with the black hoodie. That looks real nice with the gold chain. So yeah.

Oh yeah.

I don't, it just speaks to me, right? Yeah. These kind of just like, as I'm scrolling, I'm like, oh, that one's sick. Oh, that one's sick. You know? And then, and then I'm like, is it outta my price range? And then, and that's how I evaluate. So I have 2 lonely aliens right now, just ones that were like in, in my price range and I thought were sick. But, but, uh, I, I now I want to have an open mouth cigarette, uh, you know, whatever the ones that are the least popular and I will, I will love them. I will give them a warm, loving home while it holds

up. Oh, you can, uh, abduct a lonely alien, one that needs a home.

That's right.

Yeah. The hoodie traits are, yeah, that's another one that people really liked. Um, you know, that, you know, there was at one point there was somebody like right before the end of the year that was just like dumping I don't know, super, you know, just for like a sale, you know, just like as to harvest loss, I guess. He was dumping like grail aliens, like on the floor and like, it was like unbelievable. Um, and a bunch of us scooped some up. That was like in December. It was like hoodies and DJ helmets. And there's also like 4 trait aliens. Like, uh, my, my Twitter PFP is a 4 traiter, so it's like super clean. The, like the green, um, that was previously bought for $48,000. And I got that, you know, before the buyout, obviously, for like 0.2 ETH or something. But someone had paid $48,000 for that previously. Geez. Wow. That just shows the energy that people had. They were just like, these are sick, you know? Like,

yeah,

I remember looking at them like, I mean, you don't know, you know, like, I was like, oh my God. Like, these are, you know, These are awesome. I mean, of course it was like full-on bull market at that time. And then when things start, that's what happens. Things start kind of souring. That can happen quickly. But I mean, we're definitely getting a lot of compliments from people with the buyout and the vibes and the floor. Even the floor is like super thin. I mean, it wouldn't take much if someone like You know, swept or, you know, it's just, there's, the only difference is now is like, there's not, whenever we do get new people popping in, there's like, they'll buy, you know, 4 or 5 aliens. You know, one guy bought like 15. You know, in the bull market you're having, you know, 5, 6, 7 new people a day. Like, hey, I'm new here. What should I buy? You know, I'm noticing across all the projects that I, that I'm in the Discords, there's just not Right now there's just not a lot of new people. I mean, even in some of the great projects that are, you know, still doing really, really well, like there's just not a lot of new people coming in. So looking forward to that, like catching fire and more people coming into the community.

Is there like a support group for, you know, like NFT project acquirers? Is that a thing? Like, is there like a, like the Second Life NFT Project Club or something, or the Resurrection? Oh, like Scenic.

I don't know. A couple people have reached out to me. I mean, there's a couple of things, you know, just asking me questions, but I mean, like, look at, I think Pudgy Penguins was a buyout and look at them. They're up like 4 ETH. I mean, they had a similar thing. I think there's a couple other projects. So like, it is possible. I mean, that's like an extreme case. I mean, that's like super, they're doing super well. But, um, you know, it can be done. I mean, people always ask me that, like, so what was the process and what did, you know, how did you do this? Or how did you, you know, people are very interested in that.

What was the deal with the pudgy penguins? Like, what was, do you know what like caused that spurt? 'Cause it was like 2 days ago it happened.

Um,

and I know there was one purchase for like 400 ETH for the left-facing penguin.

Yeah. I don't know. I think things just really, um, catch fire like on Twitter. And things like, you know, there's just groups that are really viral and things, you know, like, like there's some projects that are really good at that. I'm not really too sure. I don't own one, so I can't really like speak on it. But I think they always were pretty good, you know, in the bull market. And then, you know, I think maybe the person that bought it is like super legit, super connected also, and has bringing a lot of value to the table. I'm not really sure, but I know like probably just catching fire, you know, and you never really know too, like something like you look at Goblins that went up to like 6 ETH. I don't think it's the case with Penguins at all, but it's like someone wrote like, you could always know the next project to pump, whatever's gonna piss people off the most that it went up. You know, like, oh, there's like Goblin piss or something, or I don't know what some of these projects are that just like pump and go crazy. But no, I don't know. Pudgy Penguins look super legit though.

Yeah, it's a great project. And there's, but there are like, you hear these stories of like these, there's avid holders of these NFTs that just hang along. They just, they're like roaches, right? Then the nuke has dropped, there's nothing left, and they're still there with their NFTs like, this will succeed. And it does. I mean, at the time, at least sometimes it does. So what's your advice for somebody who would want to do what you did? Like, what would you, what would you, how would you coach them through? Or do you have any like, sort of like, if you really care about this project and it's, and it's been, it's a rug or whatever, here's what you, here's my advice to you as Suds of Lonely Alien Space Club on how to live your dream of, you know, resurrecting an NFT project.

My non-financial advice?

Yes. Not financial advice. This is not about finances. This is about legend being legendary.

I would say that you have to make sure that like, it's not a total rug where it's like the community should have just been handed, you know, you don't want to like pay for anything that should, was just like a total disaster. Like that's number one. Number two, you know, I would make sure that it's a project that A certain amount of volume already. Like Lonely Aliens had 5, over 5,000 ETH volume. It had a 33,000 Twitter count. It had, you know, a 60th sale. So it had a lot of good history. So I'd be like, make sure that it's something that has had a good track record already. 'Cause like there's a lot of energy that goes into it and like sometimes just starting something new maybe would yield better results. You'd have to like make sure it's the right candidate. That's part one. Right. So it'd be like, you know, Putting something like looking into like an LLC and making a contract and making sure you're not liable for any of the past stuff, having an attorney, um, you know, then also having people in place that will do it with you. That was like, um, a, a thing that I, I was super happy about is the guys that I was modding with have stepped up. Like they're just so passionate, passionate and like, I don't know, like there's no way I would've been able to do it myself. Um, and I'm just like blown away by these guys. Um, especially, I mean, you probably don't know him, you've probably seen him in there, but Lonely Boy, he's like the right-hand man. He's just like so passionate, just so responsive. Like, make sure that you have people to do it with because it's a lot. Um, but if you can do all those things, then it's also like the price too, right? You don't want to overpay for something. And then there is some like You know, all right, well, how much royalties is it bringing in per day? And then like at its current trajectory, how long would it take to recoup the investment? You know, so you have to like be smart about that as well. But you know, and another thing with Lonely Aliens as well that I did is like, I saw it as a learning experience too in Web3. Like there's not that many people that could say that they run a project. You know, of course I think it's gonna be super successful, but it's like, there's always that too of like, hey, like You know, we wanna learn, we wanna, you know, this is like a new frontier. So it's like at, you know, having, you know, the experience I think can also help in, you know, if you end up adding something else in down the road.

And then how do you figure out like, what, what are your NFT tools? Do you have like a toolbox of like, you gotta use IC Tools or what are you using to like keep track of the market, keep track of even like Lonely Aliens and like when, when somebody You know, gets rid of these elite NFTs and how you can jump on 'em. Do you have any tips on that?

I haven't really done that. I think some people use IC Tools or there's some stuff that people use. I think in general though, in this market, I saw that like on the negative side, it was one, like recently it was one of the worst days volume-wise for NFTs. And then also it was a record amount of like WETH offers being accepted. My advice to people that are looking to get something that they think that they maybe not be able to get, you could throw a lot of WETH offers out there or even a collection WETH offer. You get people that are just like, they're looking for some liquid and they're just like, all right, fine, I'll just accept it. And there are some that'd be like, wow, I can't believe that person accepted that. I mean, and then you could choose to keep it or you could choose to, you know, sell it down the road. The power of the WETH offer, I think, is also something that is overlooked.

And then what about OpenSea versus the rest of the world? Any thoughts on like where to shop? What you're excited about with platforms for NFTs, that sort of thing?

Yeah, I mean, there's the other one, I mean, LooksRare, then there's X2Y2, there's a couple others. There's a couple other like DeFi ones that like are, you know, I don't, you know, some community members know about or talk about, but yeah. I mean, OpenSea is like the dominant one, but, you know, sometimes you find something on one of the other ones, like LooksRare, you know, I used in the past. But yeah, I don't know. I feel like it's still so early. Maybe like another player's gonna emerge that's gonna like wow people. But yeah, I think the majority of people are, I'd just be careful of scams. That's the thing. So just, you know, That's like the one thing in NFTs, it's like heartbreaking. You see people like trading and it's just, they get scammed or they buy something fake. You know, that's like the main thing is just being safe. Yeah,

that's good advice. Yeah. 2 more questions and then we can wrap up and please feel free to share anything that we might have missed or I might not have asked you about, Suds. But I'll give you these 2 in rapid succession. The first one is, how can we as PoolTogether poolers, how can we be good NFT citizens? Like when we, you know, like I have 2 Lonely Alien Space Club NFTs and I'm not active in the Discord as much as I'd like to be, but there's, you know, we have like 1,000 Discords or whatever, but how can we be good NFT community members? And then the second question is, I'm thinking about with PoolTogether, we give prizes every day. Like you get a prize. You know, you check to see if you have prizes based on what you're saving. But I would love there to be NFT prizes. So thoughts on that? So how do we be good NFT citizens? And what about pull together NFT prizes where say Lonely Alien Space Club one week, we gave away one a day as a prize to somebody who has deposited in the pool?

That's cool. I mean, the, I guess I'll, I could answer maybe backwards, but the, NFTs as a prize, I think is a cool concept. I think it's like exposing people to something that maybe they didn't know about. I think that's cool, especially something like Lonely Aliens that could become someone's, you know, I mean, it's sort of like a lower tier branding, but I mean, someone could, you know, make it their PFP or it's, you know, it's at least it's like strong, you know, it's some, it's like a good candidate, something that's like a lot, you know, a more affordable entry with, you know, good upside maybe. And Nice art. I think that's cool. It's like a nice surprise. And looking for stuff like that. And then how to be a good citizen in Discords and stuff. I think just being positive and, you know, also think just, you know, like you were doing, like alerting people with scams and report, you know, like trying to just be like making sure everyone's staying safe and teaching other people. best practices. That's the biggest thing. I think a lot of people in crypto, especially NFTs, you know, people always, you know, that are new are always getting scammed and it's scary, you know, because some people will carry super expensive NFTs in a wallet that's interacting with all sorts of things and click a bad link and then, you know, forget it. So I think, you know, brushing up on that and helping others with that, you know, is something good.

And I know that Leighton at PoolTogether, like he, He's done this before. I've seen him do this and I want to do this. I want to give them as gifts. I think NFTs make great gifts. It's just at this point, my friends, my normie friends, I give them an NFT and they're like, what did you just give me? You know? But I can see a day where I get an NFT gift. I'm giving NFT gifts. It's Christmas. It'd be beautiful. And I think Lonely Island's a great, is a great gift, just like you said with the prizes. I think there's a little, there's tons of upside. They look so sweet. They have good PFP. You can get your little, you get your hexagon on Twitter if you want. So Saj, thank you so much for joining us on the PoolTogether podcast. This is fun. Love your project. I love your moxie and your, your, your shipping and, and how much you care. And it is a, it's an example to me, so I really admire that.

Yeah, thanks. Thanks for having me. And, you know, it was great. I mean, the questions were great, you know, great questions, well thought out. I mean, I haven't been on many podcasts, but I've been on a, you know, a couple of Spaces and stuff. And like the, this was great. It was fun. Time flew and love what you guys are doing at PoolTogether. You know, I'm going to dig more into it, but yeah, it's definitely something that's super exciting and can't wait to see where things go from here with you guys.

Thanks for listening to the PoolTogether Community Podcast. You can visit pooltogether.com to deposit. And we'd love to hear what you thought about today's episode. So visit the Pool Together Discord and let us know.