Gmoney's experience working with big brands has been a mixed bag.
While the iconic NFT collector certainly sees opportunities for collaboration and innovation, he acknowledged that larger organizations can struggle to pivot quickly in the fast-moving NFT space.
"There are certain things a legacy brand can't do that a crypto-native brand can," he told Decrypt at this year’s NFT Paris. "I can do stuff that a major brand can't do because they're too big."
The key to successful brand partnerships is being "as crypto-native as possible," while still keeping in mind the brand's goals and KPIs, he said.
Still, not all brands are willing to listen and collaborate, and he avoids partnerships that are not mutually beneficial.
"A lot of times brands come in and want to bring you on as an advisor just so they have somebody to blame if something goes wrong,” said Gmoney. “They don't necessarily want to listen to you, and those aren't the partnerships that I want to be a part of.”
Ultimately, he believes that the NFT space is still driven by experimentation and iteration, and brands that embrace this ethos are likely to have the most success.
"People in the community know I'm not going to get everything right. You're going to learn, reiterate, and hopefully come back with something better," he said.
Creators need to ‘own’ the narrative
The NFT world is constantly evolving, and according to Gmoney, even a bear market can't slow it down, adding that today's market is an opportunity to drive innovation in the space by prioritizing the needs of creators.
“Creators really need to take back the narrative and own it," he said. "The marketplace has nothing to trade without creators."
Gmoney envisions NFTs moving towards exclusivity and limited access, akin to luxury goods, where "the wallets that pay creator royalties get high-level access to further drops—since everything is on-chain, you can track this.”
His vision extends beyond the current NFT marketplace, with an emphasis on redesigning the OpenSeas and Blurs of the industry to fit different needs.
He implemented this vision with 9dcc, his Web3 luxury brand marketplace, where buyers can purchase assets with the knowledge that creator royalties are being paid and there are no marketplace fees.
Gmoney aims to reshape the NFT landscape by prioritizing creators' needs and giving them greater control over their work.
"I don't have a marketplace to make money, I have a marketplace for my ecosystem," he said.