This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Kline of DoinGud, an NFT marketplace building the future of the creator and giving economy.
DoinGud: The Origin Story
If we go all the way back, the story behind DoinGud really starts in 2012, when Andrew Kline was studying abroad in a small town in Venezuela. It was here that he met Manuel Gonzalez Alzuru, or Manu, who quickly became like a brother during his time in South America. The two stayed close after Andrew left, and as Manu began exploring the world of crypto and DAOs, he shared his knowledge and excitement with Andrew. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, after catching Covid himself, Manu started a project called FightPandemics (also a Panvala League member!) which serves as a platform to connect those who want to help with those who need it. Andrew got involved alongside 1800 others who ultimately built the platform on zero budget. (The site is still live at fightpandemics.com.) Upon reflection, Andrew remarked, “It’s really amazing what can be done with just human capital directed towards a strong desire to create something for social good.”
Ultimately it was the success of this project that got Manu and Andrew thinking about how our collective desire to create positive impact could be applied to other projects. “Infusing social impact into core business models is something that motivates people and should be the standard of how we operate,” Andrew stated. The two shifted their focus to the NFT space and dreamed of an NFT marketplace where every transaction does good. “With NFTs and royalties there is this clear and valuable link to be made, where every time a creator makes a piece of work to be sold, they can also program royalties in there for social impact organizations or community groups they care about,” Andrew explained. This model works for collectors as well, who enjoy knowing that their investments are generating positive impact. Thus in 2021, Manu, Andrew, and four other passionate individuals founded DoinGud.
“We’re a group of dreamers for sure,” said Andrew, smiling. Fortunately, these visionaries have a highly skilled team of nearly 50 individuals, (many of whom also worked on FightPandemics) to bring DoinGud to life. The team is currently getting ready to launch its first version, working hard to ensure a good user experience for everyone. “The first step is incorporating social impact into the core business model.” At DoinGud, smart contracts are set up to do this on a transactional level. For every transaction, the creator gets to choose a social impact organization where they want a minimum of 5% of the proceeds to go to. After the initial sale, every time a piece is resold, at least 2.5% of the sale goes to this social impact org as well. This alone is a powerful model, setting an example for other types of businesses to loop in social impact into their core functions. However, Andrew also hinted at a few other future features that would make this NFT marketplace irresistible to creators, collectors, and curators alike. “This is just the beginning, and we are pretty excited to see where it can go.”
Get Involved with DoinGud
DoinGud is built upon a collaborative community mindset, and they are always looking for ways to collaborate! If you would like to get involved with DoinGud, head to their Discord and explore their different channels to see where you might want to contribute. You can also visit their website, follow them on Twitter and donate on Gitcoin during the next grants round!
Thank you so much to Andrew Kline and the DoinGud team for setting an example for how to structure a business around social impact and for creating an NFT marketplace that we all want to see!