CEEDVERSE NFTs: Art. Culture. Value.

CEED is on a mission to influence 3M new Black, cannabis-aligned entrepreneurs into the industry by year 2052. As expected for such a grand vision, this journey is not without its obstacles. This is our journey from venture-backed startup to community crowdfunding through NFTs 

The Highs & Lows of Venture Capital

In June of 2021 we were awarded a scholarship into the Conscious Venture Labs (CVL) accelerator for Conscious Companies, beating hundreds of applicants. Week after week, we showed up, doing the work to strengthen our startup, pitching and learning from our investor mentors and accelerator cohort partners. This consistent dedication not only earned us high remarks and visibility amongst the investors behind the fund but also helped to better define our brand, mission and vision while enhancing us as individuals and as co-founders.

In early 2022, CEED Inc received over $100K from the investors at CVL to bring the CEED Black cannabis ecosystem to life. While we were overjoyed at the prospect of what this seed funding offered - funds to startup, credibility in the VC world and a network of support - we had to give up some of our ownership in exchange and that was the most difficult signature we'd ever laid on paper... Not our marriage license, not our mortgage, but to give away shares of the blood, sweat and tears we’d invested into building what CEED is today. Ultimately, we sacrificed a piece of our dream for money. And that shit sucked. 

The Pivot to Crowdfunding… But Roadblocks

We decided right then that that initial investment would be the only venture funds we accepted - we challenged ourselves to use that initial investment to build a supportive community and most importantly, to monetize and grow our startup from just an idea to a tangible dream -- a not too distant future. 

So we set out on a mission to gather support and build investment through crowdfunding when we faced yet another hurdle -- cannabis-related companies are blocked from using traditional payment gateways and processors such as Stripe & Paypal. Appeal after appeal, account after account, we kept getting denied, regardless of the fact that we are a tech company with no direct connection to plant-touching roles.

Enter NFTs

Though there is constant speculation surrounding blockchain & cryptocurrency - as there is with all new technologies - we are risk adverse rule breakers. With Mercy’s prior experience as an investment banker and Tre’s experience in cyber security, a bit of risk never deterred us. We are not a team bound by boxes nor fear; we were motivated to make NFTs work for us!

After much diligence and countless inquiries throughout our network, we finally struck gold with our Cloud Development team, The Zig, based in Zambia. The founder Christopher Chileshe is a Senior Engineer with foundational knowledge of blockchain technology and had not only an artist, Chileshe Temboh, to bring our vision to life but also a developer, Chileshe’s brother Daryl Temboh, with enough interest & experience to make this a viable project. 

Relationships are Everything

This connection was a game changer for us as most Web3 developers are exorbitantly priced and effectively unavailable as the market is flooded with so many projects that demand is high enough for them to essentially name their price and decline any work outside of that scope. 

Over the past 11 months, we’ve worked diligently to design our avatars, build the story line, develop the smart contracts, understand the inner workings of Web3 and construct the framework of our DAO to offer you, our community, a beautiful body of purposeful, value-added, culturally appreciative art. Our NFT holders are considered investors in our company and receive benefits such as exclusive access to projects and events, voting authority in our upcoming DAO community and future airdrops & partnership opportunities. 

The Age of Annihilation (AOA) NFT Collection

This initial collection, the Age of Annihilation, boasts highly trained, melanated warriors of an Earth-like alternative universe on a mission to save their people from various threats of damnation and hostile takeover. These utility-backed graphics depict a new reality, one wherein people of the African diaspora are free from all forms of oppression, supported by visionary, strategic leaders and all elements of life are enhanced by the unrestricted use of the cannabis plant. 

We hope that the Age of Annihilation brings you as much hope, pride and inspiration as it has brought us! Collect your favorite warriors and imagine a new reality in the CEEDVERSE.

-Mercy. CEO & Co-founder