We recently connected with Megan Cornelius and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I was extremely intimidated by the Web3 NFT space when I started my current position. I had never bought or created an NFT and didn’t know where to start. The first thing I did was buy a book called “NFTs for Dummies” to nail down some of the essentials. I then immersed myself in the space. I spoke with creators and people who had been working in Web3 for awhile. To speed up the learning process, I would have stopped letting myself get in the way. I was nervous to speak with others because of my lack of knowledge. I found that networking and speaking with others pushed me way further than a book ever could. The essential skills to getting in the space were curiosity, willingness to learn, and networking. I went through the process of creating my own NFTs and minting on several platforms to learn the different processes. I started joining different groups where I could learn and converse with people in the space. And then I also stopped being afraid to ask questions. Asking the question = more knowledge.
The main obstacle that stood in my way was time – there’s so much information to consume and so many communities to learn from! I definitely had to find my groove and the informational sources I could learn the most from.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I fell into my current position because my company saw that I enjoy creating and helping others. So what better position than helping others create? My company brings a legal layer to the NFT world. I was tasked with creating the specs for our Creator Studio by looking at competitors and figuring out how we can do what they are doing better. One thing I found was that I had to do a lot of research on what everything meant as I went along. It was a steep learning process! So in creating our Creator Studio, I decided I wanted to make our platform something anyone could use – from a newbie to someone who has created many NFT collections. Creator tools for everyone!
We are solving a few problems in the NFT space with our platform. The first being the legal layer. Currently there is no way to have a buyer accept terms of service when purchasing an NFT. Should you run into legal issues, you have nothing to show that the buyer accepted terms. We are solving that issue by building in terms of service to NFTs created on our platform. You choose the terms and upload them to your collection. Buyers will need to accept them in order to buy.
The other problem we are solving is the upfront costs that can be associated with creating a collection of NFTs. Many creators need to pay developers to create a website where buyers can purchase. Our platform will allow creators to use an API to easily allow purchasing on their website or creators can mint (the process of selling) directly from their collection page on our website. This ability makes creating NFTs more accessible for anyone – a large amount of capital is no longer needed up front to sell a collection.
*NFT pictures I am adding are from collections I hold, not my own artwork. Used with permission.*

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I believe NFTs are misunderstood. The vast majority of people think NFTs are just an overpriced JPEG that you could screenshot and use as you please. Why buy when you can do that?

In reality NFTs are so much more. The utility of NFTs is endless. Some of the best NFTs I have purchased have already paid off in utility. I’ve received educational utility, networking, and access to events/experiences from the NFTs that I have purchased.

There’s NFT utility and possibilities for literally any business or idea you might have. They can be utilized to create communities and generate revenue in ways that many people cannot even imagine.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

1. Remove barriers to creating. Share resources that help creators. Make introductions to people that have experience they can share.

2. Be inclusive of artists with different backgrounds and styles. Just because a type of art isn’t your cup of tea, doesn’t mean you can’t see the hard work and passion put into a product.

Contact Info:

• Website: aspenft.io
• Instagram: instagram.com/pushupsnpumps
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-cornelius-13541313/
• Twitter: twitter.com/pushupsnpumps
• Other: If interested in learning more about NFTs or creating your own collection: [email protected]

Image Credits
Picture with the dog and cat: https://twitter.com/GlobalKindNFT with art by https://twitter.com/amylilistudio Picture with the computer: https://twitter.com/CryptoTechWomen with art by https://twitter.com/gianinaskarlett