•The article introduces Jaeson Ma and Sam Englebardt, the founders of OP3N, a startup focused on revolutionizing web interaction. Both Ma and Englebardt have extensive experience in the media and entertainment industry, making them well-suited for this venture.

•Their vision revolves around utilizing web3 technologies and NFTs to create a new form of engagement between creators and fans. They recognized the potential of blockchain and wanted to provide artists with new income streams and opportunities for creativity.

•With OP3N, they aimed to bridge the gap between web3 and web2 by offering a user-friendly interface while incorporating the benefits of decentralized platforms.

In this world of innovation. Technology is improving minute by minute and so does the apps on our phones. In efforts to keep that red color away from our storage and submit to the fear of using frozen phones, we are buying devices with more and more storage capacity.

I am not saying it is a bad thing or not. But before buying we always try to clean the phone storage and if you are like me. You try to save money by cleaning up the storage. But then you realize that all the storage is filed by your shopping apps, social media apps, and entertainment apps. That is one of the problems that Jaeson Ma & Sam Englebardt are trying to solve.

The platform serves as a one-stop SuperApp, allowing users to interact with their community, purchase NFTs, and engage in exclusive token-gated activities. OP3N has received significant backing from investors, including Warner Music Group and Galaxy Interactive, and has closed a successful Series A funding round.

Team

Jaeson Ma: Jaeson Ma is a serial entrepreneur, media executive, and most quality for the OP3N in him being an artist as well. Yes, he has founded and co-founded many successful companies. To name a few East West Ventures, Stampede Ventures, and 88rising.

The company behind the song that got featured in the official playlist of Marvel Studio’s Shang-Chi, my morning playlist can not be completed without their songs and their work with artists like NIKI, and JOJI, so you can really count on the artist part.

He has produced albums by himself as well and in 2014 he was included in one of Billboard’s  “40 Under 40”. He partnered with Phil Gellat the director of Netflix’s original Love, Death & Robot to develop a web3 series/game titled Ghosts of the Deep.

Sam Englebardt: He is the co-founder of OP3N and has the experience of over 20 years in media and entertainment he has several successful ventures as well and has been the part of the production of the Academy Award-winning film “The Hurt Locker”

They both are deep in the media and entertainment business and with their expertise in entrepreneurship, they are the perfect fit for this startup. Why am I so emphasizing on their being an artist and media business? Because to make their vision a reality they will have to comply with the needs of users, creators, and investors as well and they both do understand their game pretty well.

The Vision

Both Ma and Englebardt came together full of their entrepreneurship and expertise in the media and entertainment business. The collected ingredients fuel their imagination to create the vision of a new form of interacting with each other. By following the pattern of the past and acknowledging the future they came up with 3 of them.

The growing potential of Web3 technologies- They both saw the potential in web3 technologies and predicted that this is gonna be the future of our web interaction because of the rising complaints and exploitation of Web 2.0.

Threat to the privacy of the users and so more. They saw an opportunity that would help creators and fans connect using blockchain.

Demands of NFTs- They saw the NFT as a new medium of creation for the artists. Which can be a new way of engagement between fans and creators. This will provide artists with a new stream of income so they can fuel their creativity and take their art to new heights. They wanted to give artists new ways of gathering and having fun with the community.

Web 2.0 to Web3 Or Web3 to Web 2.0- In an interview with TechCrunch, Jaeson Ma said that when they launched version one they did an NFT drop but the consumers didn’t even know the difference between AVAX, Solana, Polygon, or whatever cryptocurrency it was and that caused so much problems.

So going forward Ma realised that he has to introduce web3 in the traditional market in a more understandable way. That’s why he wanted to create OP3N on web3 but with the interface and simplicity of Web 2.0.

Vision to Reality

OP3N is what it came into the world. OP3N truly is a platform that has been developed to provide the technological higher ground of Web3 but with the profound understanding and simplicity of Web 2.0.

It is a one-stop SuperApp where you can interact with your community via chat and buy NFTs from your favorite artist. That gives artists the freedom to engage with their fans in a more enjoyable and memorable way. They can keep exclusive token-gated access and activities to engage with their fans. 

Being a Web3 child

Being a web3 tool makes OP3N “open” to a lot of possibilities. You can add audio, video, and mixed media content to on-chain interactions so it is decentralized and nobody owns it.

Allows you to sell NFTs and create your own community. It is a one-stop shop for you to be at and enjoy time with the people you admire and have fun with them simple as that. A decentralized economy makes it more secure and easier for everyone to understand and use.

One of the biggest flaws of web3 is it’s not very user friendly and that’s the problem that was keeping web3 and OP3N not accessible from a lot of potential users but this was also solved when Ma and Sam decided to make the whole experience like web 2.0 so everybody can access it and understand it.

They even made a dedicated section to understand web3 and blockchain. They actually created every bit of what they wanted, and people loved it too.

In order to buy so you could ask them about that pen and the maker and talk to them and maybe make new friends with the same art supplies. The possibilities are endless, and I love it

Success

OP3N has been a hit since it was announced. Backed by investors such as Warner Music Group, Galaxy Interactive, Blue Run Ventures, Twitch, etc. They provided seed funding and participated in Series A Funding.

It got the green light from TechCrunch, dGEN Networks, and more. They recently closed Series A with 28 Million $ and a company valuation of 100 Million $. These numbers speak for themselves. I am really looking forward to having this as a common means of social interaction.

To a tech geek like me what’s not to like privacy checked, favorite creators checked, money Checked, and total fun? So I tried the whole experience myself. The first thing I noticed was the amazingly curated User Interface which led my excitement to spike like a bamboo tree in his later life.

Secondly what impressed me was the option to directly buy from your card (an option for buying NFT). Everywhere else you have to pay from your card and buy the currency in your crypt wallet but here no such thing you just go and buy from your card.

Last but not least is the option to chat with the community directly through the shopping experience. Imagine that you could talk to everyone who bought the pen that you are planning  I am rooting for this company and you?

Edited by Shruti Thapa