The Griffin is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle. It represents strength, courage, and wisdom in Greek mythology. They were also believed to hoard and protect gold, according to stories from the Silk Road, as Pliny the Elder wrote, "griffins were said to lay eggs in burrows on the ground and these nests contained gold nuggets."

After working in the startup world for the last 12 years, the news of NFT marketplace MakersPlace's recent Series A raise got me thinking about the world of startups and what it takes for founders to be successful in such a competitive space: Resilience (Phoenix), Strength (Griffin), Imagination (Pegasus), Courage (Winged Lion), Creativity (Hippocampus), Magic (Unicorn in Color), and even Luck (Unicorn in Gold). And then, I realized that those are many of the same attributes of successful artists. So I created a new NFT collection, "Makers of Magic," that embodies what I see as the 7 vital qualities above of creators, artists, startup founders, and makers of all kinds.

Before NFTs, digital art was either free or in a supportive role to facilitate selling products in the business world. We all know it has intrinsic value, yet it can not be manifested without attaching to a business or product. However, the existence of NFT adds the financial layer to digital art. It makes the artistic content immutable digital collectibles, which can protect and help monetize digital creators' work. This digital asset class is empowering creators and revolutionizing how they can create real value from their work. NFT can change my life and other creatives like illustrators, animators, musicians, and even entertainers, to leverage digital collectibles to engage their community authentically, supplement their existing revenue streams, and truly become the makers of magic ✨🦄✨.