Day 3 of posting pokemon interviews using @swaydotfun pudgy merch as my mic until they respond

Ok so anyway, how hot is the pokemon tcg market right now? 3 vendors in Singapore share their wins. Really so easy to make money ah? Flip like memecoins

Follow up to yesterday's article of what successful gachas did... This time, what they did which had low impact which newer gatcha entrants can avoid immediately x.com/i/article/2118…

One thing grok bot is very good at doing is to use its own computer and find new apps to open accounts with its google login and do daily check in tasks for you to earn points for free

I've been studying web3 tcg gachas for days to look for user behavior patterns.

One of my fav stories is how a project that started as a tcg nft marketplace was very meh until they added in the gacha dopamine element. Then it exploded. x.com/i/article/2117…

What is your current tcg investing strategy?

Learning some pokemon narratives and styles from 5 experts in Singapore at CAPS card show

It's a @swaydotfun penguin, not a piplup

TCG Field Report @ CAPS Cardshow
Singapore 31 Oct/1 Nov

Biggest takeaway this show was the larger representation for sports cards

F1, football, basketball cards are so valuable

One vendor was estimated to have $10, 15 million in one display case alone. There were probably only the display. Now estimate when you have an entire section in the expo dedicated to sports

Web3 gachas... Wen? Especially F1, cos I don't see this on the main gacha projects. Football, basketball, baseball, hockey - yes, F1 no. Who want to make the first move?

High value, high dopamine, if users >95% of the time dump it back to the platform at whatever the 90+% buyback rate is, it's going to be volume printing non stop

In Pokemon... yeah it's still cool

I go to the show and people ask where to buy that Piplup. No, it's a pudgy wearing @swaydotfun swag

Vintage and mid era soaring
Modern in a shithole
So just be selective

Poncho Pikachus (pre 2016) are the hot currency and store of value in Pokemon

While Pikachu Ex "Treekachu" raws from Ascended Heroes (2026) now trading at USD 600, down 50% from where it was middle of this year

30th Celebration pikas like the ones I'm holding here have fallen so much they are cheap enough to just buy outright, together they cost just a bit over a booster bundle yet the odds of you pulling these 2 hits from within a booster bundle aren't in your favor, so just get the singles and check it off your list

One major thing TCG investors need to note, compared to crypto, that makes the game different

What is the most important financial lesson you learned from TCG?

Spoke to 3 Singapore vendors. Business tips from outside the classroom and behind the booth

Crypto hiring activity is surprisingly brisk

That’s what I’m seeing first hand

Regardless of how the project layoffs and sunset situations may seem on X, startups are still scaling and adding headcount

In my experience this month a serious hiring manager would arrange for round 3 interview within the same week and might offer u 2 roles to pick from

There are also plenty of roles that aren’t listed but would be created for the right person whose work the founder liked

Even though my grok bot job finder agent hit rate was poor, it is only a numbers game and if I ran it longer and sharpened it further I would have uncovered more roles

Because there is no way I am filling up my calendar this fast if the job market was bleak

Not everyone can join a big AI lab for a 7 fig package, but crypto projects are still sniping talent and urgently trying to get u on a call

I am grateful for everyone who linked me up with someone else or invited me for a chat directly

The reality of getting a crypto job
... or any job for that matter

One thing I made my Grok Bot do is scan web3 job boards and give me a daily brief about vacancies in ops/marketing/growth/bd/events + remote

Then it packages a CV for me that prioritizes my experiences or achievements that match the role's requirements

And it sounds wonderful to be able to treat job application as an efficient automated lead generation funnel with outbound prospecting

But my hit rate was only landing 1 interview with a dex

On the other hand...

I post an open call here on X asking if there's anyone hiring and suddenly I have calls and interviews lined up till next week

So ya the warm intros and the environment here on X helped way more, maybe the algos and social proof or whatever too. Founders hang out here, whereas the ones filtering my application thru job boards are some other team

AI is cute but it is ultimately cold outreach and didn't get me the same volume of results, even if very often it felt like I was doing a lot to cast my net wide

Apart from TCG, what other assets do you invest in?

Very responsible answers from these Singapore vendors. Common theme is financial literacy, with TCG being one aspect of it

Gmgn at @binance 🧡

Hello I'm ready to join my next crypto team!

Anyone hiring a remote contractor in... growth/ecosystem/marketing?

Took a break early this year after layoffs
Practiced AI and used tools daily
Studied RWAs like equities and TCG
Expanded my competency
Now ready to build with the next project

I was previously at an RWA L1
Before that, an NFT minting startup
So, extremely experienced in crypto

If your company has an AI pro subscription for team members I'm able to do my best work

Token 2049 is over... Let's chat!

Token 2049 TCG Night

We organized an event and allocated 80% of the budget to free booster packs for community, instead of open bar

Hope you all had fun! Thank you for coming. Started as a little vibe check on X, and then it turned into a whole side event

Thanks for being zie @traded_gg @NextRare_cards !!

@0xDamien @figo_saleh @vtes369... The 3 of you behind the brands were extremely fun to work with, thanks for making it happen so smoothly

no alcohol, no loud music (no music at all lol), no fancy food, but the vibes were immaculate

thanks everyone for coming to the @Beezie event, we hope you had fun!

thank you @NextRare_cards @traded_gg for being great cohosts

and thanks @defisushi for everything!

- ♥️ damien

Here at @defisushi + @0xDamien's TCG night event ripping some @playriftbound packs!

Thanks for the free packs @Beezie @traded_gg @NextRare_cards 🥳

See you later at Token 2049 TCG Night
with @Beezie @traded_gg @NextRare_cards

If u see le wild dedenne u are in the right place. Looking forward to chatting with you tcg fans!

Hope u all get good pulls!

WHO’S READY TO RIP POKEMON PACKS TONIGHT!

30TH ANNIVERSARY FOR FREE!

If budget wasn't an issue, what pokemon card would you own?

Responses from 3 Singapore vendors

What about you? Might do interviews with some of you tomorrow at Token 2049 TCG Night

Tmr is TCG Night side event for Token 2049!!!
With @Beezie , @traded_gg , and @NextRare_cards

Because so many people have signed up, and to accommodate more attendees, priority for claiming booster packs will go to users who have opened an account on our sponsor apps, ok?

Hope so good to have people coming in to claim the free stuff in 2 mins then immediately dipping to their next event, then actual guests who are here to talk TCG end up empty handed

Apart from Pokemon 30th packs, there will also be a small supply of Riftbound Origins packs to claim if you're lucky/early

See you all tomorrow from 6pm onwards if you have been approved!

Light snacks provided, but cheap Singapore food is available right next door if you want to buy a proper dinner

If figuring out how to get to the place, take the train instead of Grab, the venue is right above the station