EP 49 | A beginner's guide to NFTs with Harold Hughes

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are currently the hottest buzzwords in tech. What is the big deal about NFTs and why should you care about them? If you want to learn about NFTs but find the concept confusing or overwhelming then this episode is perfect for you. Today on the show, Grace chats with Harold Hughes the Founder and CEO of BandwagonFanClub, a venture-backed identity infrastructure company that helps its customers transparently manage, aggregate, and store valuable consumer identity data They chat about NFT basics, risks vs benefits of investing in NFTs, and the wealth creation opportunity for Black & Brown communities in the NFT space. Harold Hughes is the founder & CEO of Bandwagon – a venture-backed identity infrastructure company that helps its customers transparently manage, aggregate, and store valuable consumer identity data. A rising star in data, identity, and experience space, Harold has had his ideas validated as a graduate (and now mentor) of the Founder Institute Greenville chapter; graduate of Capital Factory – Austin, one of the inaugural companies in Google for Startups Black Founders Exchange Program, and most recently the inaugural cohort of the IBM Blockchain Accelerator in 2019.   A man of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Harold is actively involved in his community participating on the Board of Directors for Rebuild Upstate and Visit Greenville. He also serves as a board member for Women@Austin, a non-profit that focuses on the advancement of women entrepreneurs as they grow their companies. To that end, Harold is also an active angel investor, investing in women, people of color, and Black founder-led companies. Most notably, he has invested in Partake Foods, the Jay-Z backed CPG company making allergy-friendly, healthy snacks, and HireKanna, a marketplace and training platform for the gig economy in the cannabis industry. As a strong believer in mentorship, he makes time to speak with youth and his peers about his journey to entrepreneurship and how he has found success along the way. Harold Hughes is a graduate of Clemson University where he received Bachelors degrees in both Economics (B.A.) and Political Science (B.A.). As a “Triple Tiger”, he also completed his MBA at Clemson, before pursuing a graduate certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Stanford University.   What you will learn: Wealth creation opportunities for Black and Brown in NFTs What is an NFT and how they are created How to become a creator in the NFT space The risks of investing in NFTs Difference between Ethereum vs Bitcoin What does it mean to mint an NFT How to decide if an NFT is worth buying How to secure your  digital wallet using cold storage How to earn crypto for free (via coinable) How DAO, Web3, and NFTs are shaping the future of the internet   Resources: Fractional Ownership is Ownership (Part 1) — My intro to NFTs Fractional Ownership is Ownership (Part 2) — Creating Community with NFTs Bandwagon Proof of Experience NFT handbook by QuHarrison Terry https://mashable.com/video/beeple-explains-69-million-nft-success   NFT sites:   https://opensea.io/ https://mintable.app/ https://foundation.app/ https://rarible.com/   Follow Tech Unlocked for updates and career tips: Substack Twitter Instagram   Connect with Harold Hughes: Website Twitter Linkedin Instagram Connect with Grace: Twitter LinkedIn Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe and leave a review on iTunes and Spotify. Tag us @techunlockedpod on Instagram or Twitter too! Questions about sponsorship? Email us [email protected]