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You've probably heard of the business reality show called Shark Tank, where aspiring entrepreneurs and founders from around the world pitch their ideas to investors in hopes of getting funding.
It features names like Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary and has shelled out millions in deals over 15 seasons. crypto just got his version of Shark Tank, sort of.
The orcas enter. Produced by Hello Labs and featuring a roster of cryptocurrency industry leaders and influencers, the web3 series showcases cryptocurrency and nft entrepreneurs and the stories behind their concepts.
Hello Labs focuses on creating intellectual properties (IP) in hopes of demystifying the web3 and exposing cryptocurrencies to the masses. The company's native HELLO token runs on the ethereum and BNB Chain networks.
Sander Görtjes, CEO of Hello Labs, told crypto.news how the web3 startup founded by Grammy-nominated MTV VMA creative director Paul Caslin started with a self-funded blockchain game called Doge Dash in 2021.
The company also launched its HELLO token, giving holders an in-game currency and utility with Hello Labs NFTs. Additionally, the token would eventually become a key part of the Hello TV streaming platform.
As cryptocurrencies gained widespread adoption and attention, narratives formed around protocols that promised to onboard the next hundreds of millions of users. But the question remains: who is actually going to build the entertainment intellectual property to attract these people?
Drawing on individual experience in television production, music awards, marketing, software, and business development, to name a few, Hello Labs set out to simplify cryptocurrencies and web3 through entertainment.
Naga Avan-Nomayo: How did the idea of the orcas come about?
Sander Görtjes: We said, let's go back to basics and create a TV show that highlights the best projects in the space, projects that are actually being built, that can get their idea in front of a group of key opinion leaders and get opinionated feedback. for them to bathe or swim. That was the general idea. We can put it on every streamer that wants to have it and we created a web3 streaming platform to make it easy. That's basically the beginning.
IN: Was there more than just entertainment? Or maybe there was a problem Killer Whales was trying to solve?
GS: Orcas give an honest opinion, but we take away the whole investment aspect. That's when you watch a real-life entertainment show, right? No investments are being made in orcas. Nobody is investing money in projects. Nobody is buying in the pre-sale. We are trying to solve that first point of contact with a new user base of web3 technology. These are unbiased stories of projects that you and I would have loved to hear when we started at web3.
The first season of Killer Whales has five episodes, and each episode revolves around a specific web3 sector, from real-world utilities to NFTs.
IN: Killer Whales has an impressive list of judges from the crypto ecosystem and the world of digital finance. How were these personalities chosen?
S.G.: Basically what we were looking for was that if you want to bring a web3 program to the masses, you at least need to have people who have been in the space for a while, who understand what kind of projects are out there, and who have an opinion, right? So we went out looking for KOLs who had a large following, venture capital experience, technology experience, or exchange experience. And, to some extent, also as a network of other orcas that we could then reach out to if necessary. We just carefully selected who we wanted to have on the show, plus we looked at entertainment value, experience and credibility.
IN: What was the production like working with this group of personalities as judges?
GS: All of the whales on the show have strong personalities, are experienced, and know what they want. But what I definitely have to say is that all of these people are super professional. Everyone knew that 'we're doing this to make the space bigger, it's good for our brands and it's good for the space.' Having had experience in high-performance marketing and television, I found that they were executed perfectly.
Görtjes also mentioned that some days there were 12-hour recording sessions, with the panelists sometimes working out of the back of a studio van, taking calls and working together in the process.
A central point in the development of Killer Whales initially began with building a business model capable of generating income through sponsorships and distribution income, in part from pre-sales linked to the Hello TV platform, the CEO added.
NAN: How long did this production take? What was the cost and where did the funding for this project come from?
GS: I think from start to finish it was about two years. Partnerships started around March 2022, with production in June 2023 and launch is now, February 2024. We started by bringing in Altcoin Daily as a partner, then CoinMarketCap and Hacken. Finally, we reached agreements with half a dozen crypto entities.
NAN: Was there a process for deciding which projects made it to Killer Whales and which didn't?
S.G.: We work with several partners together in the space, whether it's an official partner or a search partner. They send us projects that consist of a couple of prerequisites that we need these projects to have. For example, they need to have a legal opinion, a thorough business setup; Founders must be delusional, pass criminal and legal background checks, and have some funding and a working product.
All of that has to be in place, and then it goes through a selection committee made up of Hacken, CoinMarketCap, the production companies, all of our story producers, Hello Labs, and then also the legal department. We have a say, but we don't have veto control over who gets in. And there are no scripts. These founders walk into the studio and see the whales for the first time.
IN: What can the projects featured on Killer Whales expect after the show in terms of support and perhaps investment?
GS: Hello Labs will not make any direct equity investment in these projects, but partners and associated brands may decide to engage with founders they find interesting after the show. We have plans for a weekly
IN: Killer Whales is Hello Labs' inaugural show. What should we expect next and when?
GS: We started as a game project. Now we're very focused on television and creating these larger IPs. But in the future we will definitely revisit the gaming aspect of the company. We also look at orcas as something that can last 10, 15 or 20 seasons.
For comparison, Shark Tank is in its fifteenth season and the format hasn't changed much. Therefore, we see Killer Whales as a multi-season IP and a flagship product that, hopefully, Web3 natives can point to when they want others to get an idea of what the space is all about. It's a little faster, more modern. It's about technology and the people behind it.
Hello Labs has no investors, so we have complete creative freedom to develop new initiatives in the future and play with ideas.
NAN: Will the show be broadcast on non-blockchain platforms after debuting on Hello TV?
S.G.: This is a show made for the masses and we are targeting some major platforms but I can't comment on the streamers yet. It's a well-kept secret that Hello Labs will announce in the coming weeks.
IN: Will production on Hello TV remain an exclusive right of Hello Labs or is there a plan to open the platform to user-generated content?
S.G.: For now, there are no announcements about whether the platform will incorporate user-generated content.
IN: Can HELLO token holders expect some additional utility like staking or perhaps voting on which shows appear on Hello TV?
GS: We have several initiatives in development that further increase the utility of the HELLO token, but we never airdrop. Furthermore, we do not bet simply because we have many opinions on the matter. In our opinion, staking is probably the point at which your token crosses the line into being a security, and we are very happy not to fall into that category.
NAN: Who would Hello Labs consider as your competitor on and off the chain?
S.G.: Hello Labs is something of a multi-legged IP beast with activity in several categories. From the point of view of game IP, television shows and brands, a comparison can be made with Disney. If streaming technology and content production were the focus, perhaps you could compare us to web2 studios.
But I think what makes us unique is that we build the web3 narrative and put it in the web2 space. So yeah, we're kind of in the middle. And we like to think we're trying to set a standard for the entertainment category on web3. But it's up to people to define what that is and where we are.
IN: Would Hello Labs consider a cross between Shark Tank and Killer Whales?
GS: Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary coming out with Killer Whales, that would be the dream. I think the most important thing we can do as Killer Whales is set that standard for what the web3 space feels like. This is web3's Shark Tank, and I'm pretty sure popular celebrities will watch it and want to be a part of it. But let's see, it's a dream, right?
