London is still buzzing with the energy and excitement of the first-ever Metaverse Week, which took place Sep 12-18. This event brought together high-profile industry masterminds to discuss different matters around the Metaverse.
Balbir Judge (CEO – Metaverse Week), Dr. Christina Yan Zhang, Victoria Pallot, Surya Chowdhury, and Kabirul Islam were the pillars of Metaverse week which also saw the participation of top-notch industry experts from different sectors within the crypto and NFT space.
This much-awaited event was also attended by Tech Pioneer Alan Boyd, who reported to Bill Gates (35th Employee of Microsoft) and gave a great talk on the Metaverse. He claimed to "start work in Metaverse four years before Mark Zuckerberg was born." Boyd has also launched the world's first Digital Autonomous Lifeforms (DAULs), AI virtual assistants are "Born on the Blockchain, Live in the Metaverse."
The event kicked off with a panel discussion of the top Crypto investors like Kabirul Islam (CEO- Flaxbit Uab), Nassim Bouslama (CEO & Founder -SAFU.net & FOMO Research Labs), Ashley Shipman (CEO -Angels & Unicorns Network), Ozgur Kaplan (Founder -DLT lounge), Zul Ahmed (Director of product delivery- Bloktopia) and Marcus Sotiriou(Analyst-GlobalBlock).
They discussed various topics like the right time to invest in NFT, exciting areas for investments, and the most important factors to consider when investing. One panel member also mentioned that "raising funds is not difficult in the current bear market." He elaborated on this by sharing an example of his firm, which raised over $17M in just six months.
The next panel included marketing masters like Alan Boyd, Roxana Nasoi (CMO-MetaversusWorld), Charlie Apthorp (Co-Founder-Athena Labs), Theo Anthony (Growth Marketer-Zebu Digital), James Cochrane (Dyet Entrepreneur, Founder – Atlas Labs and Popp Popp) Eshvar Mepani (Director of Utility and product -Gluu Agency and Blockbuy), Carl Dawkins (Head of Growth -Tamadoge) and Tom Fiske (Editor- Immersive Wire).
These top-level marketers brainstormed on the difference between web2 and web3 marketing. The panel also opined that community plays a crucial role in marketing. These days, many Web 2 brands are transitioning to Web 3.0, which may not be required, but with a good strategy and the right team, milestones can be received. Lastly, the panel recommended hiring young teens with a creative and enthusiastic mindset, as it can be the best pulse for a great marketing strategy.
After the Marketing session, the creators of this emerging ecosystem tabled a short discussion. It included Kane Mearns-Smith (Founder- Dr. Death), Lydia Smith (Artist), Lucy Esdale (CEO- Aluce), Nanda Khiara (Fine Art Artist), Lain Drudy (3D Experienced Creator), Adriana Krawcewicz (NFT Artist) and Elena Nazaroff (Fashion Designer- MaisonDAO).
This panel discussed exciting topics, including NFT art, Fine Art, Fashion, and 3D scanning. They shared their life experiences of self-funding and how it helped them to achieve immense success. For instance, a panel member (artist) was born in a Ukraine-based village and raised funds by selling NFTs.
The Entertainment panel included Victoria Pallot (CEO- MusiciaXRD), Lara Assi (CMO-The Round), Sanjay Mehta (Co-founder – Sphere Metaverse), and Peter Bernard (Head – Powerstar Television). With extensive entertainment industry knowledge, the panel shared their thoughts on using blockchain technology in the industry and how creators can benefit by joining the Metaverse.
The members asserted that to date, Entertainment was only from one dimension, but due to Metaverse, Entertainment has changed drastically and is purely multi-dimensional. That said, Boundaries between getting entertained and entertaining are diminishing.
The Web 3.0 industry is slowing and steadily gaining the traction of many institutions. To help institutions and crypto enthusiasts to sail in this space smoothly, a panel of Web3 & NFT Leaders gathered and shared their opinions. The panel suggested that hopping on the Web3.0 bandwagon is not always necessary; the Web 2.0 industry also holds some potential that can work wonders.
The panel was hosted by Seyi Awotunde (Chief Visionary Officer- Deliciae), Oliver Studd (CEO- Valhalla Network), Abhishek Rajpurohit (Co-founder – Acknoledger ), Alexandra Wang (Partner-Pixie MISRoc), Matt King (CEO- Queue-Fair), Marty Wolf (CEO-Gaian Guardians) and Presence Plumb (Co-founder and CEO- Oken). The panel also focused on Blockchain technology, Advising brands entering web3, NFTs, Cryptocurrencies, and Blockchain Education.
The members of this panel were Martin Krupik (Founder-EMERSA.io), Indre Simuntyte (Marketing Officer- WizzKid Billionaire Club), Ana Domina (CEO & Co-Founder- Amata World), Amad Azam (Founder, Director, Business Concept Engineer- Pro Evolution Ltd ), Hari Ponniah (Founder-Aadiland) and Ameer Ali (Co-founder and CEO- KIP Engine). This panel majorly talked about Blockchain, Web3, NFT, Tokenomics, and Metaverse infrastructure.
The next panel talked about NFT, Blockchain, Web3, Fintech, and best Cybersecurity tips. The members believe that as online technology is evolving and the government is taking necessary steps, cyber crimes are getting lesser day-by-day. Recently, Binance recovered over $450,000 of the stolen assets from Curve Finance. They also recommended using blockchain technology for cross-border coordination and while tracking money laundering scams/cases.
Surya Chowdhury (Founder & CEO- Shine Academy Solutions Ltd), Kirill Slavin (Co-founder -www.rebrew.io), Catlin Egen (Founder-Independent consultant), Denisse Rudich (CEO / CCO & Co-Founder- Rudich Advisory / ElementaryB), and Lexi Liu (Senior Business Development Manager- Coinfirm) were included in this panel.
A panel of Social Influencers was next to stage the Metaverse week and shared views on safeguarding, child protection, benefits of Tech in healthcare, Blockchain for good and social impact. The panel suggested that Blockchain may be able to restore broken connections between centralized systems and the users they serve because of its monitored, audited, and publicly shared information.
This panel saw the participation of Jareth Mansfield (Founder-TRKFNFT), Simon Hooper (Founder-ReMeLife), Ryan Lavelle (CEO & founder-Mpowa), Akshata Tadapathri (Student), Bryan Yap (CTO & Co-Founder Amata World), Martin Krupik (Founder- Beamport Analytics Limited) and Lena Rantsevich (Co-founder and Partnerships officer -YourJustice)
Last but not least, blockchain experts headed the next panel discussion, where they talked about Blockchain Development & Smart Contracts and web3 apps. They asserted that blockchain is not only for the Crypto space; it is much larger than Cryptocurrencies and, therefore, should be considered as a separate entity.
This panel included Amaechi Okolobi (Blockchain Developer & Advocate -Chainlink), Joao Nina Matos (Founder-Minthouse.dev), Lavinia Osbourne (Blockchain & Webs3 Thought Leader & Founder of Women in Blockchain Talks, Women in Blockchain Talks Ltd), Elena Rivers (Co-founder and CEO -Unblockers), Leonard Anderson (Finance Officer- Convex Foundation and Tyrese Tetteh (Blockchain developer and advocate -CHAINLINK)
With over 80+ VIP speakers and nearly 400 pioneers, this action-packed Metaverse week ended successfully. The accelerated enthusiasm of the crypto investors hints at the next Metaverse hub building in London.
Balbir Judge wrapped the event by saying, "It was a wonderful week that has enabled many people to accelerate and explore Metaverse and Web3 development. We have covered NFTs, gaming, music, film, auxiliary services such as legal, and on top of that we were able to do a number of events in fashion as well."