Xoogler, a community of over 10,000 ex-Google employees who collaborate to kickstart companies, will launch its first non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The initiative is in partnership with digital marketplace Rally.
The community was founded in 2015 by Christopher Fong to foster the entrepreneurship interests of former Google employees. It is a good place for startup founders to find guidance as other members in Xoogler have a similar background and likely went through similar challenges. Plus, it’s a source of initial funding as the Xoogler Fund has an investment syndicate with over 2000 investors and 60 companies funded to date.
To get the funding, the startups need to pitch their projects to investors. These pitches often occur during Xoogler Demo Days, where a series of different initiatives present their startups to over 100 investors.
Several unicorn blockchain companies have pitched during these events, including Solana, FalconX, and OpenSea.
Since Google has a reputation as a hub for nurturing entrepreneurs, presence at Demo Days is competitive for investors, startup founders, and general attendees alike. Ownership of a Xoogler NFT will grant priority access to these events, starting with Xoogler Demo Day Blockchain II, in November.
Attendees of the first blockchain Demo Day in July will receive a complimentary NFT.
The launch of the NFT collection is a fun strategy to determine priority access to Xoogler Demo Days. And it highlights the increasing use of these digital assets as ordinary add ons to a product or service as opposed to the primary offer. In this instance, for example, the NFTs awarded to attendees of the last blockchain demonstration event will likely motivate them to attend the second one in November.
“I’ve participated in a number of demo days, both as a founder and investor,” said Rally’s co-founder Kevin Chou. “Xoogler’s demo days showcase some of the most innovative and exciting projects in the world. It’s fitting that their community is adopting some of the most exciting technology emerging today to build community and create value. We’re thrilled to welcome them into the RLY ecosystem.”
The NFTs will be minted on Rally’s RLY sidechain on Ethereum, which has lower gas fees and requires less energy consumption.
Meanwhile, many brands are making use of NFTs as a way to promote products. PepsiCo Lay’s launched an NFT collection in Romania as part of the “Smiles” marketing campaign. Mastercard will award one NFT to a randomly selected cardholder. Warner Bros launched an NFT collection ahead of the launch of blockbuster movie Dune, and Bacardí is promoting a new rum brand through digital assets.
