Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Derek Leiter, an Entrepreneur, Innovator, and owner of the Coastal Kong Club, based in Arlington, VA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Coastal Kong Club (CKC) is an eSports franchise that is part of the web3 video game. Rumble Kong League. CKC rents out the NFT Kongs to a multitude of markets that have an interest in playing the three-on-three basketball game. Our customers include gamers, NFT collectors, artists, P2E Guilds, hip-hop enthusiasts, and beyond. Think NBA2k meets NBA Jam meets the metaverse.
Tell us about yourself
As with most NFT projects, I heard it from a friend of a friend, seeing as many of the great projects focus on building and leaning on their community to market. I have been a holder of RKL for over a year, but what motivates me each day is the CKC community and the fact that we are building a name brand while RKL builds a great game. I know that this game release will be a banger...I don't see how it can't work with a AAA gaming studio. The experience of the RKL core team, CAA, Steph Curry, and Paul George are all behind the project.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
When it came time to purchase the "Club Tokens," which are essentially franchises within the RKL ecosystem, CKC was able to do our first raise completely in-house. Our core team, along with our members, believed in what we had built and were on our way to the building. Most clubs locked down one token, while we locked down three, and we are still working on acquiring more.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
As many entrepreneurs will probably say, the hardest thing that comes with being a business owner is a lack of time. There are only 24 hours in a day, and my doctor did confirm that I need to sleep. While you are building a brand and have multiple projects, you sometimes need to make the hard decision to put an idea on ice, even if it may be profitable, because you need to provide your time to the prioritized action items.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
My three tips to anyone looking to start, run, and grow a business today are as follows:
- Never stop performing customer discovery. It does not matter if your idea sounds great to you or friends or family. What matters is if that idea creates a demand signal in the market you are going after.
- Define your initiatives early on. You will be pulled in many directions, and while some are healthy pivots, some may be a distraction.
- Always be open to adding to your team. There are three variables any person has that is Time, Treasure, and Talent. You may have the time to run a business, and you may have the capital (treasure) to bootstrap a business, but never allow yourself to think that there isn't another person out there with enough talent to bring your company to the next level.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Be on the lookout for the launch of the Rumble Kong League around Q2 of 2023!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.coastalkongclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coastalkongclub/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/coastalkongclub
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-leiter/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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