Gwei Gators: Founder
January 2020 - November 2021
Co-founded Gwei Gators, a blockchain project focused on empowering University of Florida students and athletes through digital ownership and smart contract technology. Drove all aspects of the product lifecycle - from smart contract deployment to front-end design, branding, and investor engagement.
Background
The NCAA's Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy opened new opportunities for college athletes. Gwei Gators was created exclusively for University of Florida students and athletes to help them monetize their digital presence through NFTs and blockchain, providing a platform for direct fan engagement and ownership. If you minted a Gwei Gator and were lucky enough to have it tied to a student-athlete's collection, you'd be locked into exclusive merch giveaways + tailgates, meet-and-greets, and more.
Approach
Led the end-to-end product journey: architected smart contracts, designed the user interface, built the brand, and pitched to investors. Integrated NIL compliance into NFT smart contracts, ensuring legal and technical robustness. Collaborated with athletes and stakeholders to refine the platform.
Impact
- Deployed NFT collection with integrated NIL functionality
- Empowered athletes with new revenue streams
- Developed a full-stack blockchain product from scratch
Technologies Used
Key Contributions & Highlights
- Developed full-stack Web3 dApp using React framework and JavaScript
- Engineered the Gwei Gator's smart contract with Solidity and conducted the contract's deployment to the Ethereum mainnet
- Led the design and creation of over 230+ attributes for the Gwei Gators
- Assisted in the metadata and JSON generation through the use of Python
- Properly linked and hosted the project's contents through IPFS to maintain a decentralized and impermeable uptime of JSON and image metadata
- Co-managed the project's social media pages (Twitter, Discord)
- Tasked with creating a community-driven impact by donating a portion of all proceeds to The Gator Collective as well as creating individual deals with student-athletes at the University of Florida
- Curated and managed a live NFT art exhibition at MIArt Space during Art Basel 2021
- Collaborated and made collections with UF football player Kamari Wilson, gymnast Leah Clapper, and many more student-athletes