Ep 46 — Turning a Dead NFT Collection into a $50M Empire ft. Luca Netz

Aug 27, 2025

01:00:57

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Episode notes

In this episode, Luca Netz shares how he took a failing NFT collection and turned it into one of the fastest-growing Web3 brands. We dive into his three-pillar model of ecosystem, attention, and revenue; and explore how Pudgy has sold over 1.5M toys through Walmart and Target, signed 45+ licensing deals, and built a business where culture and cash flow compound.In the episode, talk about:

• How 80% of Pudgy’s revenue comes from licensing (45+ active deals)

• Why arcade machines, toys, and games beat token drops in driving brand value

• What “tokenized culture” actually means—and how it becomes a moat

• The future of consumer crypto and Luca’s bet on Abstract’s Portal

• Why the next big crypto success might not feel like crypto at all

• How to fix crypto’s broken consumer journey

• How to turn IP into retail + social currency without losing the core community.

Chapters

0:00 – Intro

2:45 – Tokenising Culture, Memes & Influence

10:48 - The role of speculation

15:30 – The Three Pillars of Crypto Value: Ecosystem, Attention & Revenue