First off, I'll be the first to admit I'm no NFT expert. I haven't successfully launched my own NFT project (although I'm working on it and going through the mechanics from the ground level up). And I haven't sustained one as a project owner or manager. In fact, my first venture was a bit of a dud, but it was also an experiential trial run just to get a better idea of what it took.
That said, I've been involved at the support level in a number of launched, winning, failing and ongoing NFT projects, and there are definitely some patterns that really stand out among the winners.
Key Factor #1 - Commitment
There is no question that the NFT projects that are successful have a core group and team that stay committed to the original cause and overall direction of the project. While they may add or restrain flexibility on the daily level, they have a mission and it is a clear path forward. For most outside viewers, this is expected in the project white paper details. That said, there's a lot more involved than just the NFT business plan in the white paper. It's a fundamental and personal drive that the project is going to succeed and there is a personal stake involved. Each and everyone of the folks who I've met with successful project has this specific element in place. In fact some have made the project their current life career, 100 percent.
Key Factor #2 - Capital
It's a bit like launching a business; you have to put money in to make money. Everything from artists to developers to licensing and fees all cost money that has to be paid to make things come together professionally. The above item, #1, helps tremendously in keeping things on track versus just spending willy-nilly and losing a lot to waste or unnecessary aspects. Where the capital is solid and provided as needed, the project moves forward instead of just being a cogitation-bate game going around in circles.
Key Factor #3 - Dedicated Fan Support
Solid, successful projects have a dedicated following. There's no question that in between drops and program expansion, fan and member support are the bread and butter that keep things going for a viable project. Discord has clearly been the primary feeding ground for developing such support groups, easily accessible and tailored for gaming, NFTs, and crypto. A number of other platforms are trying to come online as a pay-to-play model of more exclusive NFT project participation, but they have a long ways to in terms of beating what Discord already has done. The one weakness the current leading platform has, however, is how easy it is to hack or pull off fraud attacks. Similar to the big league De-Fi losses, Discord NFT projects continue to be plagued with hack bots and link attacks that people fall for and then see their accounts wiped out in quick thefts.
Key Factor #4 - Beyond the Investment Game
Finally, many NFT projects go through a fast burn. There's a ramp-up to full release, a base building, whitelisting, the big release and then everything rushes to the secondary market to sell as fast as possible and make an ROI return. Then the less-than-stellar projects fall down after the big drops, the crowd leaves, and what's left dwindles quickly into obscurity. This has been an increasingly common problem as NFT developers keep pushing projects to create cash flow but never focus on a sustainable model. I've probably only seen two in the WAX environment that are an exception to date.
For me, at the beginning of my own project, it's all been a tremendous learning curve studying other projects and how they play out for the last year or so. I'm in no rush to push something out. Instead, I'd rather build my team slowly and in a solid manner, and then begin to develop the project as a grassroots level, leveling as needed when we are ready. I don't expect to be a big breakout, but I do really want to focus on creating a very sustainable NFT project for years to come.
