Andrew Pelekis, co-CEO of Claynosaurz and Heeboo, explains how a former private equity investor managing $500M in emerging markets went down the blockchain rabbit hole in 2017, reluctantly helped friends with "clay dinosaur NFTs" in 2022, and ended up running two companies trying to solve media's "uninvestable asset class" problem. From partnering with Sherry Gunther Sugarman, who literally invented the production methodology still used for animated TV shows and discovered The Simpsons, Family Guy, and the top 8 Cartoon Network properties, to building an entertainment economy that can compete with Roblox's multi-billion dollar GDP, he breaks down why 99% of Web3 tokens fail and what makes collectibles emotionally sticky across generations.

This episode covers:

- The fan platform gap: Why YouTube, TikTok, and social media are "creator-forward" but offer fans nothing beyond likes and comments, how Logan Paul built a following where early supporters got zero equity in his $multi-million dollar empire

- Media as uninvestable asset class: Why traditional investors won't fund original properties ("your mom thinks everything is great" doesn't forecast returns), how studios only greenlight Marvel sequels with "baked in audiences" because new IP has unpredictable outcomes ranging from Star Wars to complete failure, and why Heeboo's fan-creator model with blockchain rails makes the category finally investable

- From skeptic to believer: Starting as "NFTs, come on guys, this is crazy, you're nuts" to realizing he was the one being helped by getting whitelist access to the mint, going down the rabbit hole on how blockchain solves trust problems

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Investments in digital assets and Web3 companies are highly speculative and involve a high degree of risk. These risks include, but are not limited to: the technology is new and many of its uses may be untested; intense competition; slow adoption rates and the potential for product obsolescence; volatility and limited liquidity, including but not limited to, inability to liquidate a position; loss or destruction of key(s) to access accounts or the blockchain; reliance on digital wallets; reliance on unregulated markets and exchanges; reliance on the internet; cybersecurity risks; and the lack of regulation and the potential for new laws and regulation that may be difficult to predict. Moreover, the extent to which Web3 companies or digital assets utilize blockchain technology may vary, and it is possible that even widespread adoption of blockchain technology may not result in a material increase in the value of such companies or digital assets. 

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Ep.87 The $500M Fund Manager Who Became a Digital Economy Builder with TV's Greatest Hit-Maker