A team of Milwaukee entrepreneurs are developing a social network platform where people can buy and sell, or invest in, non-fungible tokens, a form of cryptocurrency used for digital collectible items like works of art and music files.
The information stored within the digital tokens, similar to Bitcoin, are protected by blockchain, the cryptic data-storing technology.
Spree, the name of the platform, is being developed by Adam Sarkis, Erin Magennis and Michael Kirsanov. Sarkis co-founded Cashdrop, an online store app, in 2019 and has a background in marketing. Magennis, a former Inno under 25 honoree, founded Calmlet, a wearable and connected smartphone app that helps people deal with stress and anxiety. Kirsanov co-founded Emparsaria Cosmetics and leads research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Disruptive Technology Lab that opened in 2018.
NFT is the future of where the internet is going to be, Sarkis said, and Spree could be a platform where social media influencers grow their brand and digital content is bought and sold. By the end of 2020, the NFT market had grown 705% to $338 million in value, according to Forbes.
"Anyone can become the next influencer," Sarkis said. "Our goal is to breed the next wave of social media influencers."
Content on Spree could also include images, videos, or even memes that are watched or listened to by users.
"We wanted to make an app where you share photos and it generates value," he said.
On the platform, people could buy trending content and promote it to increase its value as well. As an example, Sarkis said someone could buy 'stock' of a song made by a popular artist that's trending online. This technology has the potential to financially support artists, he said.
"Now you're talking about artists retaining ownership of their creation," Sarkis said.
Users on the network could also trade for other items using the asset value of the content they own. With NFT's, content can be used similar to a public offering, where people can purchase shares and grow wealth, Sarkis said.
"When you look at music, artists haven't really owned their music since basically 2001 when Napster blew up," Sarkis said. "It really isn't the same. You can't make a living off of just making music and people consuming the music."
Sarkis expects to have an minimum viable product for Spree ready by mid April, which would be tested by close friends.
