Non-Fungible Tokens: Elsa Jean Of The Elsa Jean NFT Community On The 5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Do your own research by looking into the creators, founders and engaging in the community.
Many have observed that we are at the cusp of an NFT boom. The thing is, it’s so cutting edge, that many people don’t know what it is. What exactly is an NFT and how can one create a lucrative career out of selling them? To address this, as a part of our interview series called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Elsa Jean.
Elsa Jean, known as the “sexiest woman in Web3,” is using blockchain technology to revolutionize the way women can monetize their brands. At 26, the former adult film actress has built a multi-million dollar brand, The Elsa Jean Community, and established herself as a leader in the Web3 space. Her Elsa Jean NFTs launched in November 2022, giving her fans lifetime ownership of a limited number of digital keys that unlock access to her exclusive Web3 community. Elsa is flipping the traditional subscription-based payment and distribution model on its head.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I am a small town girl from Minnesota. I had to provide for my family at only 16 when my mother, who battled mental illness, left me and my sisters. After working multiple jobs, I joined the adult film industry and built a brand that established me as one of the top adult film actresses in the world. After leaving the industry over a year ago, I am now pioneering Web3 business models and helping to onboard users into the space.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Legally blonde : it sounds like a cliche that I would say this , but this movie teaches women that brains and beauty are not mutually exclusive in the realest way to me. I love it!
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in this new industry? We’d love to hear it.
I heard of a former adult performer who had promised fans a safe place to invest in their community and then they did not follow through, really losing trust in their community and tarnishing a new and promising way to do business. I couldn’t sit by and leave the space tainted for fans and not see the light for millions of other creators in web3 to flourish and utilize all the incredible tools blockchain technology offers.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
The outpouring of love and support from women. Coming from the industry I do, I’m not used to such beautiful support and feeling so welcomed into a new space by other women. It’s a wonderful feeling and a testament to how inclusive the web3 space is slowly becoming.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Someone sent me 10M fake Shiba tokens. I told everyone some guy had taken a liking to me and quickly came to the realization when I transferred them that they disappeared into thin air. Let’s hope they weren’t real anyway!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I had a mother-like influence with my first agent: Sandra from ATMLA. I was very lucky to have such a nurturing space to start my career and be kept on the right track.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I recently launched my Elsa Jean Community NFTs, which give my community the most exclusive access to me, my content, IRL events and so much more to come that we are currently building out. I think NFT technology is revolutionizing the traditional subscription-based web2 model for creators, and I certainly want to be at the forefront of that. I’m using this new technology to give my audience long-term value, a worthwhile investment, and as a business owner it allows me to have full ownership of my community and freedom over my content. I love onboarding other women into the web3 space and teaching them how valuable this technology is for their community and their business.
I’m launching my brand new podcast, “Heartbreakers with Elsa Jean & James” very soon, which will give a unique take on relationships, sex and dating that I hope will be helpful for people in a really compassionate way. I’ll also be releasing a line of merchandise in February with a portion of the proceeds going to charity, and my NFT holders will get first access.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. I’m sure you get this question all the time. But for the benefit of our readers, can you explain in your own words what an NFT is, and why people are spending so much money on them?
An NFT is a digital collectible that is totally unique and non-fungible, meaning there is only one of that NFT that exists and it can’t be interchanged. In the case of my Elsa Jean NFTs, the NFT acts as a membership pass to the Elsa Jean Community. There are only 1,000 Elsa Jean NFTs in total, so by owning one of my NFTs, holders get unique long-term access to the infrastructure we’re building in web3 and beyond.
The NFT industry seems so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
I’m excited about so many things in this space. First of all, the fact that I’m able to give my fans something back that has the potential to increase in value while they enjoy perks and can trade at a later date. Building a new fan base that integrates nicely with my existing fan base, and learning all together as we go. Seeing web3’s integration onto social platforms and real world products excites me. The fact that buyers are able to use credit cards to purchase NFTs now and they don’t need crypto was such a foreign concept not long ago. I love seeing web3 agencies and divisions being implemented in top financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, talent agencies like CAA and WME and studios like Warner Bro’s. It’s really exciting to see the leaders in finance and entertainment making room for web3 — it means we aren’t batting into thin air!
What are the 3 things that concern you about the industry? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Celebrity endorsement and gifting. Specific rules and guidelines need to be established for anyone endorsing a product. If something has been gifted, it will have a cash value and that needs to be disclosed like any other paid endorsement.
I’m also worried that an over-course-correction from the initial ‘Wild Wild West’ approach people took in web3 could get in the way of what we’re trying to build and give freedom to. There needs to be a happy medium without overregulation. And there must always be very clear messaging about not investing what you don’t have.
The safety and protection of web3 assets. It’s so important for anyone onboarding into the space to learn first and foremost how to protect their assets. And also to do their research before investing in any project.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about NFTs? Can you explain what you mean?
“NFT’s are a scam. NFT’s don’t hold value. NFT’s are difficult to comprehend or participate in.”
The web3 community is so inclusive and wants to succeed and help others do too. And the only way they are able to do so is to reach mass adoption and be able to cross over into the mainstream for them to make a ROI and grow what they came to build. Millions of people in web3 are on Twitter, Discord and other social media platforms ready and waiting to educate and help people onboard. And to learn web3 is actually a lot easier than people think. It can feel over-complicated by some of the content that’s out there, but that’s not the truth.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they enter the NFT industry? What can be done to avoid that?
Starting too big!!! Start small and grow with your community. Educate them and go every step of the way hand in hand and you will succeed. You can always level up but it will be a lot harder to come back from a massive influx you are not able to control and deliver in a real way to each individual.
How do you think NFTs have the potential to help society in the future?
NFTs give creators ways to have their work seen and made come to life in ways they wouldn’t have had in traditional mediums. The window used to be small and the bar was set very high by a select few. Whereas now, creators have been given a safe space to play in the sandbox . No pun intended.
Ok, fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry?”
Do your own research by looking into the creators, founders and engaging in the community.
Create allies with other creators. Collaboration is KEY.
Host Twitter Spaces to have transparent conversations with your community and other web3 creators.
Create touch points with your NFT to keep your community engaged. An example of this could be delayed reveals, real world interaction, perks tied to your existing materials like brand deals.
To create a successful NFT project, my best advice is to start small but think big. Grow meaningfully and intentionally every step of the way.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I was severely bullied my whole life right up to present day. If I could change the mindset of bullies and shine a light on people’s reactions to their own trauma, that would be my chosen movement. I would have people post their experiences of regret from saying something nasty to someone. Perhaps share a story from when they were in high school and go back to a moment to re-experience where they were at that time mentally and emotionally through a new lens and see how they’ve grown. Hindsight is a beautiful thing.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Julia Haart. She’s a success in every facet of her life in my eyes, and the fact she was able to get to the place she is today from where she came from and the suppression women face in her original community makes her legendary in my eyes. Bad Boss Lady!!! And a great mother.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Non-Fungible Tokens: Elsa Jean Of The Elsa Jean NFT Community On The 5 Things You Need To Know To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
