Apeiron Interviews: Brunching with Avocado
Hey! Hello! Hope you all had a great mothers day and are now ready to start off the week with a unique interview piece! This week, we sat…
Hey! Hello! Hope you all had a great mothers day and are now ready to start off the week with a unique interview piece! This week, we sat down with Brendan Wong, CEO of Avocado DAO, as well as our very own LoreKeeper Frank Cheng, for a chat about web3, Apeiron, and delicious fatty fruits that may be spread on bread. And I have to say, this one’s chock full of tasty behind-the-scenes details.
Before we dive in, un petit reminder: the Apeiron Grand Prix is ongoing! It’s called “Grand” for a reason, as you can win your own Primeval Planet Core absolutely free. In fact, if you make something really special, you could even win up to FOUR! It’s all to play for in this one, so if you haven’t already, check it out HERE.
Righty-ho, with that said and done, let’s get this interview rollin’!
Foonie Magus: Hi guys! First of all, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedules to conduct this interview ^_^
Avocado: Our pleasure!
LK: Brendan, where are you right now?
AV: I’m actually about to hop on a plane soon haha.
LK: Again!? Well, thanks for making time to talk with us.
FM: So, Brendan, perhaps we could start with you introducing yourself to our lovely readers?
AV: Right! Well, I’m Brendan Wong, and Co-founder of Avocado DAO. So we started in July 2021 with the concept of finding opportunities for the overflow of scholars in the Axie community, to cater for those who didn’t have access to NFTs but wanted to, but as we realized how early we are in the web3 space we shifted our goals, with the idea to onboard people and really teach people about GameFi, aiming to become a major player — and by November 2021, we became the largest gaming guild, providing scholarships across games of different genres.
FM: :0 That’s a pretty meteoric rise!
AV: Haha thanks! So that’s a little bit about who we are, about me…I’m an avid gamer first and foremost, and I’ve operated multiple successful businesses. For me, I see us in the infancy of a new industry, and what I’d like to see is for us to boost the whole ecosystem by bringing in traditional gamers — to use gaming as a catalyst.
FM: “Using gaming as a catalyst.” I like the sound of that. If I may, I’ve been wondering…why are you called Avocado? xD
AV: Lol that’s something of a story. I sold a lot of avocados back in the day, and avocados…they’re very popular, but they’re also kind of weird, an industry disrupter: a fatty fruit that’s healthy, everyone has it for breakfast even though it’s expensive…the more we thought about it, the more it stuck haha. But you see our logo now, I love what they’ve done with it, the avocado has become a spaceship — a vessel — and that represents our commitment to onboarding users into the Metaverse, not just as an NFT lending guild, but as a vessel for the future.
FM: To the moon and back! So how did you guys learn about Apeiron and what were your first impressions?
AV: Well actually it was interesting because it was very organic. It was popping up on Twitter, and our connections started talking about it — so I decided to reach out.
LK: The funny thing about this was, I was actually trying to reach out to them all this time as well haha. I’d heard a lot about them, and then I saw an email from them and was like ‘wow, this here is one of the biggest gaming guilds out there and their leader is actually directly reaching out to game projects! To Apeiron!’
FM: It was meant to be! We found each other haha.
AV: Yeah haha. As for the game, you know, I found it intriguing, I loved Black and White back in the day, and it was clear that this is a polished project. I will say that it took a few conversations with Frank for me to understand it haha — I mean its not just a god game, but an evolution of the formula, it’s got card-based battle elements as well as this whole planet breeding system, it’s a lot to take in.
FM: It’s a complex game haha.
AV: Yes! After my first meeting with Frank, I asked James (Partnership Manager of Avocado): “Do you have any idea what he was talking about?”
LK: *Bursts into sinister laughter”
AV: Haha, it took a lot of explaining from James and several more calls with Frank to get a grasp on what Apeiron entails. And you know — it’s a great idea, but of course, there are a lot of great ideas out there. But talking to Frank was the difference maker. I always say: don’t bet on an idea — ideas can pivot and change — bet on a founder who’s willing to listen, to evolve, to grow with the idea. In web3, it’s a new thing for gaming: there isn’t some big publisher who’s going to carry you over the finish line, you have to be ready for the whole roadshow, start to finish. You have to have passion and enthusiasm for your project: and that’s exactly what I see in Frank. Through his AMAs, Discord community activity, chatting with him…he made me want to learn more about Apeiron. And that’s why whenever anyone asks us, we tell them we’re bullish on Apeiron. It’s a new idea, an innovative idea, and we trust that there’s a team behind it with a leader committed to the project, willing to put the hard work in.
LK: Thanks for the kind words Brendan.:>
FM: Frank certainly runs a tight ship, I can vouch for that! So what kind of collaboration do you have with us, and where do you see it going in the future?
AV: Well, first and foremost we’re raising awareness to scholars both in our own community as well as our wider network. That’s the obvious stuff, the stuff you can see. But also behind the scenes, we’re vouching for Apeiron to our industry partners, we’re throwing our weight behind this project and lending it our credibility. I’m also always talking to Frank, letting him know what’s going on in other projects, what’s working, what isn’t, talking about the geography of the gaming guild landscape and just generally providing what insight I can — sharing information to make sure we all have what we need to succeed.
LK: He was actually texting me DURING one of my AMAs commenting in real time, and I was thinking to myself, “Wow, this level of dedication and due diligence, this is what makes Brendan and Avocado the cream of the crop!”
FM: Yeah that’s great! Switching gears a bit, I also wanted to ask — what are you most excited to play about with Apeiron?
AV: I’m going to let my man James answer this one.
AV-James: Well, we have confidence that Apeiron is going to be a genre leader in terms of god games in the web3 space. These types of games have proven to be popular before, as demonstrated by an old past favorite of mine, Spore. There’s also something for everyone: there’s the planet breeding and elemental purity aspect, then there’s the casual gameplay, interacting with the Doods and shaping their world. Finally there’s the competitive side of it, getting the best skills, refining your strategies and all that for PvP/GvG… Not to mention the replayability from the planet resets and alignment system, being able to choose between good and evil. It’s truly a game first, built from the ground up and we’re excited to be a part of it.
LK: Good or evil for you guys?
AV- James: Oh, 100% evil haha.
FM: I’m too much of a goody-two-shoes to be evil in any game…anyway! Any final comments, gentlemen?
AV: Thanks James! Yeah I’d like to say — you know, Frank and I are very different people. But the thing that connects us is that we’re both very passionate. We care deeply about our communities. I talk to all of my scholars. I’m actually close to them — in fact, they’ll often troll me — last time they kept telling me to smile and throw me off during AMAs…
LK: They were telling him to smile and show off his good looks haha.
AV: Yeah they were haha. But yeah. It takes time to build those kinds of relationships, real relationships like that. But that’s the thing: we actually put in the hours. We work hard to know who the people in our community are, and to make sure that they’re benefitting from being a part of our community. And I see the same thing from Frank.
LK: Yeah and I’d like to build on what Brendan’s saying here. I meet a lot of gaming guilds — and I mean a lot, probably somewhere around 10 new gaming guilds each week. And I always jump into Discord, just to get a feel for the communities, a sense of the organization. And I was immediately impressed by Avocado. These guys have a super passionate community as well as a sustainable p2e scholarship model. The way Avocado is structured is exemplary — and even as they scaled up, they haven’t rested on their laurels, but keep restructuring and pushing their limits. Brendan has been able to evolve right in the middle of the space, and is just the kind of leader I want to work with: a partner we can trust, who we can grow alongside with, and adapt — because of course, flexibility is the key in this industry.
AV: Thanks Frank, we really appreciate it :)
FM: And thank you both once again for taking the time to chat with us. It’s been very insightful. Cheers!
LK (After the call): Like I said, there are lots of things one can learn from Brendan each time we speak!
…and that’s a wrap! Have any questions about Avocado DAO and their partnership with Apeiron? Well, you can head on over to our Discord, or drop a line in our Twitter or Telegram and learn more. And while you’re at it, head over to their Discord server and see what all the buzz is about. Don’t be a stranger, go and meet some of the Avocadians — they’re a cool bunch!
And as always, thanks for reading, Godlings. Have a great Mother’s day and we’ll see you next time~
To find our more information about Avocado DAO or to join the community, follow the links below:
Website | DAO Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram | Facebook | YouTube