Azuki is a top anime NFT project, but what do we know about Zagabond? Well, Twitter user @PixSorcerer said they’ve spent 5 days trying to find the secrets of the Azuki founder’s success. @PixSocerer has written a Twitter thread with his findings of Zagabond’s untold story. In this article, we’ll explore the key takeaways from the thread. Let’s dive in!
The Rise of Azuki Founder, Zagabond
Azuki founder, Zagabond, whose real name is Alex Xu, grew up in New York. After earning a Business degree from UC San Diego, Zagabond began his journey towards success. Significantly, he spent time working at Liquidnet, General Mills, Amazon, and Google. Finally, in 2017, he was introduced to the world of crypto by a friend. Soon he joined 0x – one of the earliest DeFi protocols. After four years at 0x, he discovered NBA TopShot and BAYC, which reignited his love for Pokemon cards. Zagabond was inspired by Web3, and was determined to become a builder in the space.
Before the creation of popular project, Azuki, Zagabond launched three different NFT projects: Phunks, Tendies, and Zunks. Unfortunately, the projects did not go as well as he’d hoped. But despite the failure of his first NFT projects, Zagabond learned valuable lessons. These included the importance of storytelling, original ideas, and having a strong purpose. With these teachings in mind, Zagabond quit his job in September 2021 to launch Azuki. Markedly, Azuki sold out within three minutes of its release in January 2022. However, Zagabond’s involvement in his previous failed NFT projects caused a scandal. When the community found out about the previous projects, Azuki’s floor price dropped from 20 ETH to 10 ETH in just one day. Nonetheless, Zagabond worked hard to regain trust, and quickly transferred ownership to the Phunks community.
Despite the challenges, the Zagabond and the Azuki team created several groundbreaking features. These include ERC721A, a gas-saving open-source smart contract, Beanz Airdrop, Bobu the Bean Farmer, high-quality merch, events, and Revolutionary Scan-To-Own technology. Ultimately, Zagabond, is a trailblazer in the tech industry, whose story is a testament to perseverance, resilience, and innovation.
