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Listen in as groundbreaking leaders discuss what they have learned. Discover the books, podcasts, presentations, courses, research, articles and lessons that shaped their journey. Hosted by: Kevin Horek, Gregg Oldring, & Jon Larson.
Kevin Horek: Welcome back
to the learner.co show.
Today we have Seree Raju.
She's the co-founder at One Rare Sape.
Great to chat with you
Supreet Raju: again.
Oh, thank you so much
for having me, Kevin.
Always a pleasure.
Kevin Horek: Yeah, I, I really think
what you guys are doing at one rare is
really, really innovative and cool, and
finally gives some really good context
to blockchain and N F T and, and I think
could give our listeners some really
good advice and thoughts around that.
But maybe before we get into that, let's
get to know you a little bit better
and start off with where you grew up.
Supreet Raju: Uh, I grew
up in New Delhi, India.
Uh, I did my schooling, my college there.
I'm actually a design graduate, so
very left field for this industry.
Uh, but yes, I love that . I
think, I think the industry
needs that, to be honest.
I think every industry needs
a bit of everyone to come in.
Totally.
So, yeah, I kind of come from a design
background and, uh, just been doing
a lot in that all my life till I
landed up in the blockchain industry.
Kevin Horek: Okay.
So what made you passionate
about design at an early
Supreet Raju: age?
Uh, I was actually, um, one of
those kids who knew exactly what
they wanted to do when she was six.
Uh, and so I decided I wanted to be
a fashion designer and that was it.
And, uh, I kind of geared my
entire school life to do that.
You know, behind every notebook
was a sketch, an illustration.
I was so sure I gave only one
entrance, uh, to the best fashion
college there is in India.
I got into that and I
thought I was set for life.
Uh, except that my first
semester into that course I
realized this is not what I want.
So, yeah, I was, I was one of those
kids who knew exactly what they wanted
to do till they didn't know anything
about it, . So I, I was the one
struggling much later in life, I guess.
Kevin Horek: So what made you
dislike doing it and being in school
Supreet Raju: for it?
I think I just read school and I realize
that there are people more creative
and more passionate about it than I am.
And I'm a strong believer that if I,
uh, if I would not enjoy what I'm doing
or if I feel I'm inadequate at it,
it wouldn't be the best fit for me.
I think we come, uh, we are
from a generation where the
opportunities are immense.
There is no clear structure anymore
to education, to professions,
to professional streams.
Uh, and I just, I thankfully came from
a backing where my parents understood
that it's better for me to find my
forte than to fit myself into one.
Uh, and so, yeah, I think, uh, just
being in the passion industry told
me that I wouldn't be the best at
it, and there would be somewhere else
that my skillset would perform much
better, and I would enjoy that journey.
Kevin Horek: Interesting.
Okay.
So walk us through the rest of your
university and then let's dive into your
career and coming up with the idea for
one
Supreet Raju: rare.
Okay, perfect.
So, yeah, so I mean the, I did not
want to be a fashion designer, but
uh, I am, uh, I was fairly confident
I wanted to do well, so I'm actually a
gold medalist from my college as well.
Uh, but I ended up
specializing in textile design.
Uh, and I then gradually got into
something called exhibition design,
which was to organize events and spaces
for companies, uh, created design
experience, which is based on visual
interaction and um, also, Be able to,
um, pass the message on, you know, what
a company's trying to build to, uh,
help the com, uh, company communicate
with the community, with an audience.
So I was doing that for, um, 10
years, uh, up until Covid hit.
And then everything we knew of our lives
and our industry, uh, shut down overnight.
You know, being in the exhibition
sector, uh, meant that, you know,
there were no more public interactions.
There was nothing happening anymore.
It was a standstill.
Uh, and that's when I started
thinking about the next step.
Uh, for me, that was actually a much
slower transition into blockchain.
I actually built an EdTech company
first, which I ran for about a year.
Uh, and around that time, NFT
started heating up as a word.
So I had done a bit of blockchain
consulting before and when Crypto
punks came on the horizon towards
January, 2021, uh, it felt like.
Something creative is finally
coming to this industry.
Uh, and that's kind of how we
started even, or at least that's
how I started thinking about how I
could be relevant to this industry.
Kevin Horek: Very cool.
So your co-founder, I think.
Is interesting who you chose.
I want to dive a little bit deeper
into that because I think there's some
pros and cons and I'm, I'm curious
to know the pros and cons of working
Supreet Raju: with your type of co-founder
Yeah.
I, I, I think I, I, I don't know if I
chose him as my co-founder first, but
I definitely chose him as my husband
before that . Uh, and I think, um, over
the pandemic, it just became easier
to actually be working with your own
husband because you're in the same space.
Uh, you don't have to go to work.
Sure.
Uh, and so it does have
its own, uh, positives.
The main reason why we partnered
up was actually because, uh,
we were consultants, all right?
For 10 years.
He was a consultant and so was I.
We could have, we ran,
uh, different startups.
We could have partnered before,
but this was the first time when
our skill sets fit in perfectly.
So I think, uh, rather than choosing my
husband, what I actually chose for Wonder
is the best fit for me because I strongly
believe that if you're trying to run a
company, uh, your co-founder should have a
very varying skillset from what you have.
Uh, and in our case, God is an
engineer and he has an extensive
background in marketing.
And I come from a design industry
and I've worked on experiences.
So, uh, when we fit together,
there was a bit of a gin and
yang that worked well for us.
And I think, um, any company, whether
it's in web two or web three, um, should
really focus on getting founders that
can bring different things to the table.
Because otherwise you'll be
very strong at one thing and.
The company will have a major problem
in something you both are not good at.
Kevin Horek: No, I, I think
that's really good advice.
So how did you come up with the
idea for one rare and what exactly
Supreet Raju: is it?
Okay, so with one rare, like I said,
we were looking up NFTs, you know,
suddenly January, 2021 was the era of
crypto punks and a bit of buzz starting
about, you know, how a 32 pixel piece
of art can command a million now.
Uh, and that was fascinating and to
me as a designer, it was even more
fascinating because, um, not, that's
not something people talk about, but,
uh, crypto punks are actually bap art.
Uh, they're pixel art and it was
completely, um, you know, pushed out of.
Popular design history because we
were moving towards digital art and
it was changing at another level.
And I think, uh, crypto punks ha it has
actually had much more social impact
than we realized because, uh, the idea
of pixelated art has now transcended into
our regular fashion clothing accessories
as well, which nobody talks about.
But that's how huge the impact
of crypto punk has been.
Uh, and I found that very
interesting when I saw it.
So this was around Jan and we started
thinking about how NFTs can be used to
bring more people onto the blockchain.
Uh, and then when we
started talking about.
The industry, we realized that, you know,
being such a technical industry doesn't
really encourage a first time user.
You know, as a woman, as a non-tech
person, as a a teenager who's
interested, there isn't enough clear
information for people to understand.
There aren't enough projects
building for the, uh, new user.
Everybody's building
for the existing user.
You know, if you go and try out a
game today, uh, they auto expect you
to know how to connect your wallet.
They expect you to understand
what staking means.
They expect you to, uh, you know,
know the whole risks and rewards
of playing a web three game.
Uh, and I thought that was a bit.
Uh, too much because we are a
very new industry at the moment.
Uh, and so with One Red, the idea
was to bring in food, uh, as a very
simple verbal tool for communication.
You know, with the, when we look at
food, all of us have a favorite food.
We have something that,
you know, our moms made.
We have a travel memory.
Um, there's just something so
special about food that helps
people feel more comfortable.
So we thought, okay,
let's, we can do this.
Let's bring out food NFTs, but instead
of just putting out NFTs for the heck of
it, um, let's do something a bit more.
And so we came up with a very small
game initially about how, uh, we
need to collect ingredient NFTs
to actually make the dish nft.
So let's say you want to get the french
fry nft, uh, you need to collect cooking
oil, potato, and salt, which is the exact
same way we would do in our kitchen.
. And of course in the pandemic everyone
was cooking . So everybody was very
well aware about what each thing needs.
So that was kind of the start of
one rare where we thought that
here's food, people understand it.
Um, let's do something fun around
food that allows people to kind of
just see the basics of blockchain.
Kevin Horek: Okay.
So maybe do you want to give us
the difference between an N F
T, how that ties to blockchain?
And then I know you don't really
do crypto, but do you want
to talk about that quickly?
Just how, like the three parts of
it, because I think some people
understand it and some people
don't understand it at all.
And then some people understand
itand bits and pieces
Supreet Raju: of it.
Absolutely no worries at all.
Uh, I was actually that person who
would not understand any of it.
And so now I started creating, uh,
simple life examples to kind of make
things easier for people and for myself.
Uh, so the most simple of terms,
uh, blockchain essentially is a
new technology, uh, that allows you
to actually document a lot more.
It's type of a ledger.
You know, let's say you have a diary
at home where you've been noting down
your groceries of every day you've been
noting down each thing that you do.
Uh, it's simply a record.
So with that record, we can now
harness more technology because, you
know, you don't have to go storing
things, it auto stores them for you.
Um, and so that is blockchain as a te.
, when we talk about blockchains today,
we hear the word Solana, polygon, uh, b,
s, C, you know, so these are all chains.
Uh, and so what happens is that let's
look at blockchain as a world, you
know, a virtual globe, if I will.
Uh, and then there are different
countries, you know, so
there's the polygon country,
there's the Solana country.
And so you can choose which city
you want to go build your house on,
you know, so you can build it on
Polygon or Solana, whichever you like.
And as any city in the world as where we
are, uh, we then become inhabitants of
that city where we follow their rules.
We, uh, pay taxes, which we
also call gas fees in our world
as that, uh, we basically.
Do our transactions in their
particular currency, which
is the crypto that we have.
And tomorrow as we go along,
let's say we are trading with each
other or we want to exchange any
assets, uh, those will become NFTs.
So, uh, with regards to the
world, that's how they connect
at a very, very simple level.
And t can.
Anything digital that can
be recorded on your phone.
It could be a photo, it could be a land
deed, um, it could be a piece of music.
Anything that we have on our phone,
a contact card, as simple as that.
If you simply go punch it into the
blockchain, you know, if you go
and note it into that diary that
I mentioned, it becomes an N F T.
So the key here is that every time
you're going and punching it into the
blockchain, you actually get a token id.
So there's a unique id, uh, which
means that tomorrow in the world,
wherever it may go, it'll continue
to hold that identification number,
which allows us to always spot it.
So when we talk about crypto, let's
say, uh, you and I, Kevin, we put,
uh, one Bitcoin each into a wallet.
Now when we want to take it out, You
know, we don't know whose Bitcoin was.
What, when we withdraw one each from
the same wallet, so that becomes
fungible because we don't really
know who put in which part of it.
Right.
It's kind of going mixed up.
So those are fungible tokens.
NFTs are non fungible tokens.
Uh, the exact opposite, wherein
if you and I put in the same, uh,
let's say the same, um, crypto punk,
of course they're not the same.
So I'm looking for a better example.
Let's say we put into one red
french fries into the wallet.
Uh, even when we take them
out, their token ID would hold.
So I would still know whether I
have picked out the french fry you
put in or the one that I put in.
So Right, you're giving each
particular piece of specific
identity, which makes them an N F T.
Kevin Horek: Got it.
No.
Very cool.
Okay, so how has one rare
evolved over the last year to
launching to what it is today?
Supreet Raju: So actually it's been
a very, very interesting journey
because, uh, now I can briefly say
that we have ridden the bull and we
are now learning to ride the bear.
Uh, and awesome.
Across these one and a half years.
Uh, one red has evolved
a lot as a product.
So, uh, like I said, we started
as a very small N F T game idea.
Uh, the core focus then became to
develop an MVP because, uh, this
industry is a lot more about words
and a lot less about deliverables.
Uh, and so we wanted to go
to the market with something.
We actually have, you know, not
just a white paper that says that we
will build this in 2040, uh, which
we wanted to make something now.
Uh, and so we built an MVP out by
July and we took it to investors.
We started showing it around to
get feedback, uh, and then that's
how one, you know, brick by brick
started building and expanding.
As we got more angels and investors,
we realized that, uh, you know,
firstly, , the NFTs that we are creating,
the french fries or, uh, the pasta.
We need a use case for them.
They need to be useful to people.
Somebody needs to know why they're
going to make this particular dish.
And so we came up with the idea of
our playground, where you could go
play more games or access membership
clubs using those NFTs, uh, get
the user more benefits essentially.
Uh, as we went along, you know,
because of our angels and some people
around us, knowing other chefs and
restaurants, uh, we started getting
pinged by the food industry about
how they could come into this.
And so we started building a program
where, let's say in stock french fries,
they could be McDonald's french fries,
you know, incorporating brands and
bringing the signature dishes as well.
Uh, so that's how we started
collaborating with chefs and restaurants.
Then as we kept building it
more and more, we realized the,
um, the immense opportunity of
bringing a traditional industry to
something as radical as blockchain.
Uh, and so after all the iterations
and all the confusion I have just
created for you, , uh, I can just
reword one where as the World's First
Food works, uh, which basically allows
people to come into different zones
and interact with the food industry.
So we have our gaming zone, which is the
first zone, which is currently already
live, uh, wherein you can come, you can
collect NFTs, you can play different kind
of games and interact with other people.
Uh, following that, our other zones
would include a celebrity chef zone
where you can basically be part of a.
Copper Chefs Private club, uh, you
can attend their virtual cooking
classes, hold their N F T releases.
Uh, thirdly would be the virtual
restaurant zone where you can come in
and, uh, experience restaurants, place
online orders, check out their new menus,
and which is essentially great for home
delivery kitchens and cloud kitchens
and, you know, people who want to, uh,
showcase their brandy ethos without
being restricted by a physical space.
Uh, and then of course we would have an
event zone, which is for our competitions
and special events that are time-based.
Uh, as well as having a community area
where the community can come in, they
can build their own food experiences,
they can, uh, contribute recipes and
be a part of one rare as a whole.
So what we are building is
essentially all things food in
the blockchain on our planet.
Food works.
Kevin Horek: Very cool.
So can you give us some examples of
some of the games on the platform today?
Supreet Raju: Yeah, absolutely.
So we are actually already
live, uh, right now.
We have, we are completely audited.
Uh, if, uh, I mean for your audience,
just in case audit is a third party,
uh, certification that you get that
you basically cannot be hacked or,
you know, you, you worked hard to keep
the security of your platform impact.
So we've already gone
through that process.
We are audited by cert, which is
one of the best nice in our field.
And, uh, so we are actually ready
to go to main net and, uh, depending
on, you know, market conditions and
depending on, uh, how we can structure
it, we'd like to, you know, have a
nice little launch into our main net.
Uh, so what you can go and
explore right now are four
different areas on our platform.
One red.io.
You can check out the farm
where you can stake your tokens.
So we have.
Pools, uh, based on different themes,
you know, the same way we shop, uh, or
you know, the way we get ingredients.
So we have farm fresh, which
is fruit and vegetables.
Uh, we have sunshine dairy, which
is daily based products and so on.
We have six pools.
You can go and speak the
order token in any of these.
Uh, and as your reward, you
actually get ingredient NFTs.
So we've actually created the world's
first NFT staking contract wherein
basically you can stake the token and
instead of a token reward, uh, you know,
just getting more and more tokens, you
actually get ingredient NFTs so you can
use those and harvest those in our farm.
And after that you have two options.
You can head to the farmer's market,
sell them to other builders, to other
shoppers there, bid the price you want
to, you know, earn your money and maybe
go back to the farm to steak more.
Or you can go to the fa uh, the
kitchen where you can check out all
our recipes beside what dish you want
to build, uh, and build that out.
So once you have your dish,
you can head to the playground.
Uh, we are actually just about to go
live with our testnet for the food
truck ball game as well, which is
our first game in the playground.
So what you need, what, um, need
for that is a dish and it's like a
three player game where you need to
earn the most for your food truck.
So as we go along, we will just keep
adding more layers and more dimensions
to this game as well with booster
cards, with more days and more options.
Uh, but the idea right now is to
kind of show people an MVP there as.
. Very cool.
Kevin Horek: Can you quickly explain
what staking is just for people
that don't know what that means?
Supreet Raju: Yeah, absolutely.
My bad.
I'm really sorry for . No, no, no, no.
It's good.
It's not bad , but, uh, staking in
the simplest of terms, if you know
anybody who's not been a part of
blockchain, I can say is the same as
getting a fixed deposit at a bank.
You know, uh, we have all these offers
and all these schemes that happen at
banks wherein, you know, if you come and
lock in an X amount of money, that is
good for the bank, that is good for the
economy, and they reward you for that.
So in the same way in our world of
web three, if you're staking a token,
that means you're locking it away.
Uh, it does not decrease, it
does not increase on its own, but
there is a reward program for it.
So traditionally what we've seen for
all these past years is that when you
stake a token, uh, the same as the bank,
you just get more of the same currency.
Uh, what we have changed is that
instead of, you know, getting more
tokens, you'll actually get NFTs now.
Kevin Horek: Got it.
Okay.
So how long does that staking
process take in one rare.
Supreet Raju: So the staking is actually
very dynamic and it'll completely
depend on how many other people are
staked in the pool, what their stake
proportion is like versus yours.
Uh, so there would be a time calculator
that will tell you as to the speed at
which your crop is being harvested.
So you can basically harvest
one ingredient at a time.
So there would be a chart that would
tell you, uh, whether you are at 40%
or 70%, or you're done, uh, and keep
transferring that to your claim section.
So, uh, it could gas fast as 10 minutes.
It could be as slow as a day.
Um, that will completely depend on
who else is in the pool with you.
Kevin Horek: Okay.
So it's basically similar to you're
trying to, it sounds like you're
trying to recreate kind of things
that happen in the real world.
, but just basically all
digitally in the food space.
Mm-hmm.
, is that a fair comparison?
Comparison?
Supreet Raju: Absolutely, absolutely.
I think that the biggest lesson or
the biggest, um, sort of outcome of,
you know, whatever is happening in the
market right now and what we do know of
the blockchain industry is that we need
to stop using, uh, heavy-handed words.
We need to stop using, you know,
uh, dowsing it with heavy tech words
and making our projects unappealing.
You know, at the end of the
day, what we are is a food game.
What we are trying to build is
a good experience for people.
Yes, it's built on blockchain
technology, but every game, every
software, every website that we
access is built on certain technology.
We don't go into the backend of those, you
know, we don't go around asking if PUBG or
Call of Duty was built on Unity or unreal.
So I think, uh, the biggest outcome or
learning for me, even from the recent
conferences I've been to is to actually.
Focus more on the consumer
enjoying the experience rather
than, you know, trying to force
blockchain tech heavily onto them.
So I think with us, the idea is to tell
people about this one food game that
has come, um, tell them things that they
can relate to rather than daunting with
them, with the task that, oh, you know,
here's your class eighth exam paper.
Go and study it and otherwise you fail.
Kevin Horek: No, I, I actually think
that's really good advice cuz, and
for the crypto one that I always
use is, well, it's like, have, do
you have a Starbucks card and have
you used it in another country?
Then it was purchased, like, that's been
basically a cryptocurrency for years.
I know we don't call it that, but
it's like, I've used my Starbucks
card in, you know, Canada America,
I, I've used it in Europe.
Like it's the same, right?
It, yep, absolutely it does.
And it absolutely right.
And so when you use
things like, oh, go ahead.
Sorry.
Supreet Raju: No, I'm, I'm sorry.
Please, please go on.
No, no, no.
Go.
I was just saying that that
is the whole point right now.
You know, if you look at, let's say a
first person shooter game, you know, like
let's say we have Call of Duty and players
are going and they're building their skins
there, they're buying guns or you know,
whatever are the assets in that game?
Uh, all we need to do is we need to give
them an option that you can get this
asset out of the game, uh, becomes an nft.
But that detail is not important.
What is important is that you
can get this gun out of the game
and sell it and actually earn a
profit on that, or, you know, earn
some money from that on the side.
It shouldn't take away from the
game experience of the player's
ability to enjoy the game.
, you know, um, this discussion of later
round, even play to earn, um, has kind
of now fired back, especially with the
downfall of Axi into, uh, you know,
if they're earning, are they really
playing, you know, maybe they're just
doing this, maybe the game is horrible,
they're not even enjoying it, but
it's, when you're saying something is
to earn, that means they are looking
at the monetary motive more than
the actual enjoyment of the game.
So it is still work to earn because
they're putting in those hours,
even if they don't like the game.
Kevin Horek: No, I, I a hundred
percent agree with you and it
well, but you're also coming at it
from kind of like a designer user
experience type mindset, right?
Where I think like a lot of people
in the blockchain, crypto space, N F
T space, just don't think like that.
Is that fair to say or is that
your kind of experience so far?
Supreet Raju: Yeah, I think, uh, the
industry is so new, to be honest, that
everybody right, including us, we,
everybody's trying what they think
and work and, uh, you know, what they
foresee to the best of their abilities.
But at the end of the day, uh, you
know, I always laugh when I go to these
conferences and somebody shakes my hand
and says, we've been around for 10 years.
And I'm like, that is not possible.
Cause been around for 10
years, . So where were you?
So, yeah, it's so new.
All of us are beginners,
to be honest at best.
I mean, uh, anybody who thinks
they know it all, I would
love to meet them after Luna.
But, uh, yeah, it's,
it's such a new industry.
We think, uh, we are doing a
good job at what we are trying to
build and the messaging we have.
Some people have different
opinions on, you know, the
approach they're taking for theirs.
Uh, I.
it, it'll take some time, but the focus
or the prime motive everybody has right
now is adoption from the real world.
You know, like for example, if I
focus on just the gaming aspect, the,
the gaming industry is a billion,
trillion dollar industry at large.
And that, I mean, not even 1% of that
is the total, uh, crypto industry, you
know, the total blockchain industry.
So, uh, we are so small in comparison
that even if we encourage 1% more, uh,
regular gamers to try a blockchain game,
you basically disrupted the whole market.
Kevin Horek: Yeah.
Interesting.
No, that's, that's a
really good way to put it.
So, I, I'm curious to get your
thoughts on, obviously blockchain
and cryptocurrency and everything
is kind of getting a bad rap
in, in the news right now.
Like, what is your honest
thoughts as somebody in it and
building something in the space?
Supreet Raju: So I think, uh, , a lot
of words are used interchangeably,
uh, in news and in general media.
Uh, and that does cause
a problem sometimes.
You know, uh, inherently
blockchain is a technology.
It's not going up, it's not going down.
It's just, uh, right.
Particular technology to build on.
Uh, people understood the word crypto
the fastest out of the blocks, you
know, because they could associate with
crypto with quick gains, which made
it sound a bit like the stock market.
Uh, and so then people took to that really
fast because they're like, oh, so today
I put $20 and it became 40 tomorrow.
So that means it works like a stock
and an advanced stock at that.
So I think people understood that
the fastest, and, uh, that's kind
of the reason why Crypto did well
and has been doing well for the
last four years as a, as an asset.
I don't know.
I hope it's an asset, but, um, sure.
The second thing people understood
fast was NFTs, because again, so
simple a digital piece of art, and so
they understood the word NFT first.
So I think people, uh, in the
general audience pick and choose
whatever is understandable to them.
Obviously, nobody likes to lose
money, and, uh, there are a lot of
people who, you know, will not put
money today when it's at its lowest.
But would, you know, when the industry's
thriving would really believe in it?
They would invest a bit more
than they should have, maybe.
Uh, and that of course leaves
us our experience for anyone.
Uh, in terms of crypto or speculation,
I, I can't really go deep into.
Someone's personal reasons of investing,
but blockchain as a technology is here to
stay, you know, whatever we are accessing
today in our lives, something as simple
as medical records or our, like I said,
our real estate agreements or, um,
you know, just the virtual, uh, social
media, you know, like the metaverse is
essentially nothing more than 3D social
media for the next couple of years.
So the technology is definitely
gonna be all around us.
Whether the market is up or down, uh,
the technology is not escaping us.
And in terms of the bad rep, I think.
. It comes from two things, like I said,
the first is the unwillingness or, um,
you know, the closed club that we have
created within the industry wherein,
you know, if we would, people here enjoy
making somebody else feel like they
don't get it versus helping them get it.
Uh, and that mm-hmm.
does cause a problem, you know,
when the market goes down.
Uh, and the second of course is people
not really reading the right materials
or understanding the base, the, you
know, taking the gravitas from it.
You know, uh, they, they would read
in a random article that, you know,
flashed on their sponsored feed
that Dodge Coin is doing well, and
they would run after that without
really reading about why dodge exist.
Uh, is there a use case?
Is there a purpose?
Uh, . And for some people the money
they invest in crypto is money.
They can't spare.
It doesn't matter to them.
Uh, but it would pinch someone
where the money does matter to
them and they were just looking.
Um, you know, it's like going
to a casino in a way and Right.
Yeah.
You can't sure that you gonna enter with
$500 and walk out with a thousand dollars.
You don't do that.
You know, it's an investment tool.
You study your risks and of course,
, it's bad on my part to compare it to
a casino, but what I mean is that, you
know, if you're not really studying
up an industry, don't expect what,
whatever media says or what your
friend told you to always be correct.
Kevin Horek: No, that's fair.
You're right though.
I think everybody, well not everybody,
but a lot of people went into crypto
thinking they'll put in $20 and
come up with 40 and take that 40 and
make it 80 and it so on and so on.
And it's like, well sure that can happen.
But you can also go to zero too.
Yeah.
Just like you can at the casino.
Right, exactly.
Supreet Raju: Exactly.
Because nobody's studying
the tech part of it.
You know, the people who are
building have way more faith.
The use cases that are coming
out at this point in time.
There is actually so much blockchain
technology being developed by governments
all across the world, you know, uh,
by B2B systems all across the world.
So the technology actually is getting
a bad rep for no reason at all.
No, that's
Kevin Horek: fair.
So I'm curious, you are, obviously, you
move around the world, um, quite a bit.
You're in Austin now, I think
when we last spoke you were
in Dubai, and I, I'm curious.
Through your travels and just interacting
with people in, in the space, do you
see different perspectives on NFTs
maybe based on location or culture or,
or any of that kind of stuff, or, or
what are your thoughts around that?
Supreet Raju: So I think right
now the blockchain industry is
definitely a little segmented.
Okay.
Uh, I think the more collector interest
comes in from Europe and North America
wherein there is, uh, a bit more
collector mentality as to, okay, this
asset will do well for me tomorrow.
Uh, and towards the, towards
Asia and towards Africa, we see
a lot more interest in the games.
So they are generally more interested
in the game NFTs because they
believe games would hold more value.
And of course the playto and angle
that was created by everyone.
So, uh, I think there is a bit
of difference, of course, due
to economic reasons as well.
You know, right now where crypto
punk is at, uh, it's not something
all of us can afford, you know?
Uh, when we look at a Bull Day yacht club,
Whole set of NFTs, which are like really,
really high in value at the moment.
So I think, uh, finances do matter,
but in general we, we see the Asian and
African communities have a lot more time.
Uh, and so they are more active, I
would say, within the communities,
within interacting in the gameplay,
uh, and you know, AMAs and things.
Whereas with towards the West, we see the
mentality of long-term investments more
Kevin Horek: fascinating.
Okay.
No, that, that's interesting.
So you mentioned earlier in the show
that you obviously didn't understand.
This stuff and you come at it
from kind of a design background
and your husband was an engineer,
obviously technical background.
Is there any advice or learning resources
that you could recommend to somebody
that's maybe a bit more technical or
somebody that came at it less technical
like yourself to help them understand
and learn more about the space and
maybe they can start building something,
you know, in the N F T blockchain?
Supreet Raju: So, I mean, the,
the most controversial thing I
can say here is to never buy a
hard copy book on the industry.
Uh, not because the book is not
good, but most likely the book has
become irrelevant by the time it's
published and received by you.
So I think the industry moves fairly fast.
Uh, and so in this case, newsletters, um,
you know, following people online, there's
an excellent newsletter called Bankless,
which I highly, highly recommend.
It's a very good Dow as well.
Uh, we, we, I was using that extensively
before we built one rare, and there's
generally very good information there.
Uh, and then, yeah, I mean, essentially,
uh, looking at people and, uh, you know,
seeing what they're reading there, there's
a lot that happens even within medium now.
A lot more crypto influencers are there,
uh, but in general, Various kind of DAOs.
Don't believe anyone, blindly, don't,
um, follow one person's advice.
I would suggest to study the
market, uh, at a more broader level.
Take your own understanding from it.
Uh, and yeah, again, a lot of, if you're
in the tech field and looking to get
inside this, a lot of self tutorials
and a lot of self-learning as well,
because it, like I said, it's so new.
You're unlikely to find a four year
undergrad course on this that would have.
You know, technical expertise in terms
of the faculty there or something.
There are a lot more people building
courses and structured ways to
study and get inside this field.
Uh, but that would likely happen
in another two years or so.
So at the moment I would just
stay to stay as aware as possible.
Um, if you feel like attending
conferences online, go for that.
Otherwise, follow thought leaders,
you know, people who are leading
exchanges, people who are leading, uh,
you know, uh, venture capital funds or
creating some kind of grant programs.
Uh, their thoughts and what they
talk about will be more time
relevant than, uh, hard copy book
that was published last year.
Kevin Horek: No, I think
that's really good advice.
So I kind of wanna circle back to one
Rare, and can you give us some examples of
how maybe some chefs and brands and maybe
like, Restaurants and stuff are actually
gonna leverage the platform because you
quickly touched on it, but I think it,
I'm, I'm really fascinated to get your
thoughts and maybe generate some listener
interest around things that are possible
on one rare and kind of in the space.
Supreet Raju: Absolutely.
I, I, I wish I could show you,
but I will, I'll try to be as Yes.
It's hard with audio , , sorry.
So essentially when we look at any chef
or restaurant, uh, we are looking at
creating four types of experiences.
Uh, I'll split them up into the four.
The first is Connect experience.
So when Connect, we basically
look at, like I said, the Food
works or the Metaverse being
a kind of a 3D social media.
You know, right now with any
particular brand, you're interacting
with them in different forms
and formats across 2D apps.
Uh, and what we can do is we can
leverage those, bring those in.
So you can come in and you can check
out their social media feeds or
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, uh, you
can check out their YouTube videos.
You can catch their live streams and,
uh, you know, Uh, a special kitchen video
that they want to do, uh, and also come
in and buy their existing cookbooks,
their recipe books, uh, you know, have
their cookbooks as NFTs, for example.
Uh, and sort of create that,
connect with the brand.
Uh, the second type is
the restaurant experience.
So, like I said, you know, we want to
be working with cloud kitchens, virtual
restaurants, and existing restaurants
as well to help them create an
experience in the metaverse that truly.
Represents their brand.
You know, right now a restaurant, let's
say in New York City has to be like five
feet by seven feet because of restrictions
of space and where they're placed.
Uh, we want to completely disrupt that
by letting people create what they want.
Uh, wherein a user can come in, they
can order online, they can check out
the new launches, new menus, uh, check
out all the food in 3d, know what
their order is going to carry out for
them, uh, in a very simplified manner
and sort of have a better experience.
Maybe book a meal for
someone else as well.
Look up table reservations and so on.
. The third section that we have would
be the game section, because right
now, of course, gaming and interaction
is a large part of any metaverse.
So brands and chefs can come
in and create a unique gaming
experience based on their brand.
So for example, we have been working
with a UK based chain called a ruler.
Wherein we are creating a burger war
for them, wherein two players can come
in and work on creating the most number
of burgers in our, uh, and then another
thing we are doing with them is where
players can come in and suggest recipes.
And every month one recipe would be
selected and incorporated into the
menu, uh, and the winning player
can get a portion of the pro, uh,
of the number of burgers sold.
So bringing the community into the
kitchens, into the gaming experiences.
Uh, and lastly, of course, as I
said, the membership club program.
So with chefs and restaurants right
now, they're only able to monetize
at a very local level, and we are
changing that to more of a global level.
So creating membership programs for
larger chains of brands within themselves,
or helping bespoke restaurants and.
Connect worldwide.
So let's say our burger shop, you know,
it's, it's a small burger shop in the
uk, but they can connect with other, um,
chains, not other chains, but other burger
shops from all across the world that
have the same ethos and come together to
create a membership club program wherein
if you're eating at any one of their
member pro uh, locations, you would get
a 10% off on your burger, for example.
So with membership clubs, what we are
trying to encourage is more patrons,
more, um, you know, uh, event-based, um,
interactions with chefs or restaurants,
being able to attend their virtual
events, uh, and just having a more sense
of belonging in the space, I guess.
Kevin Horek: No, very cool.
Uh, the other thing too that I think would
be really useful is if I'm planning a trip
to the UK or New York or something, and
I, and when you're looking at restaurants
you want to go to or try, um, Being
able to see kind of some of that stuff
and be almost a part of the restaurant
before you even physically visit there,
I think is actually really cool too.
Yeah,
Supreet Raju: absolutely.
And I think, I think the food industry
is of course, uh, they're not the
fastest to take to tech, but I think this
time, right, uh, the tech will really,
really drive their business forward.
And so it's an excellent opportunity for
them to realize, uh, the virtual potential
of uh, not replacing the real experience,
but enhancing the real experience.
You know, if I come in, let's say for a
simple table reservation and I want to,
like you said, right, you wanna go to
New York and you want to sit on a table
that is facing Central Park because
that's the experience you want, uh, a
virtual restaurant can actually help
you make that table reservation booking
cuz you know where you want to sit.
Kevin Horek: Totally.
Yeah.
Interesting.
Yeah.
And then, well the other thing too is
I know so many people have those like
beer wraps that they track all the
different beers they've ever tried, right?
Yeah.
And you could do that at a restaurant
level or, or whatever, right?
Like you're trying to try every
burger in New York City or whatever.
I don't know.
Yep.
Absolutely.
It'd be cool.
It's just cool that you're
tying the digital world back
into the physical world, kind
of back into the digital world.
Like they almost.
Pass back and forth, right?
Yes,
Supreet Raju: yes.
Absolutely.
Like it's, it's something as simple
as, you know how, um, all of us have
that one friend who has been wanting
to open a food truck since they were
18, you know, and all of us have
friends and family who wanted to own
a restaurant, but it's hard, right?
So with N F T, you can have a community
owned restaurant or a food truck wherein
you, you know, you pitch in a bit of
an investment and you own a portion of
the food truck that gives you certain
benefits as a member and gets, gets
you a part of the profits as well.
So something so simple can actually
help a restaurant owner or a food truck
owner raise funds within one or two days
versus going through a year long process.
Kevin Horek: No, that,
that's, that's very cool.
And yeah, I, I think just that excitement
and getting people in more involved is,
is what I really love about what you
guys are building with one rare Thank you
Supreet Raju: so much.
Thank you.
.
Kevin Horek: So we're kind of
coming to the end of the show.
So how about we close with
mentioning where people can get
more information about one rare and
any other links you wanna mention?
Supreet Raju: Uh, yeah, absolutely.
So we are live on uh, www.one red.io.
That's our website and we are actually
very active across our socials as well.
So you can find us on Twitter as
one rare, uh, or catch up with our
Telegram or Discord communities.
And if, if I may share the
links with you, Kevin Sure.
If you can put there at the bottom
of the podcast info, uh, which should
help direct some people more easily.
But yeah, we are pretty much
active across our website and
social, so pop in to say hi.
If you don't get it at all, pop
into our Telegram community and
we will definitely try our best to
explain all this to you as well.
Kevin Horek: Very cool.
Well, Sipri, I really appreciate
you taking the time outta your
day to be on the show and I look
forward to keeping in touch with you
and have a good rest of your day.
Supreet Raju: Absolutely.
Thank you so much for having me, Kevin.
It's always super fun talking to you.
Kevin Horek: Thank you.
You as well.
Okay, bye bye.