Vention app co-founders (from left) Elizalde Torres (marketing head), Julius Santillan (CEO), and Orly Empremiado (adviser)

Celebrities are finding ways to maximize their popularity, especially that the need to strike the iron while it is still hot can't be overstated.

You must have heard of actress Heart Evangelista coolly selling art stuff by way of the acronym NFT (non-fungible token). Or another star Bea BInene being into it as well.

Julius Santillan, founder of NFT marketplace Vention app, a first in the country, is certainly a guy who sees such development as merely the tip of an iceberg. He appreciates, too, the inherent advantage of popular figures when it comes to maximizing the strength of selling works of art.

In fact, when he formally launched Vention, he invited social media darling Ivana Alawi and rapper Gloc-9 to perform and urge people to try the digital marketplace he's promoting.

He shared, "I remember, YouTube started in 2005 pero hindi pa ganun kasikat dahil majority ng viewers ay sa TV at radio pa din. By 2010, may nagsabi na sa 'kin na may business daw in YouTube. Wala pang vlogger na Pinoy noon na sikat pero may ilang foreigners na ang nagvla-vlog sa YouTube. Usually ang nakikita lang sa YouTube ay mga music video."

He continued, "Ang sabi sakin ng kausap ko nun, in less than 10 years daw, malaki sa percentage ng Filipino ay lilipat from broadcast media to social media dahil sa sobrang hilig nating mag-cellphone at yun nga ang nangyari. Sobrang daming influencers ngayon ang sumisikat gamit ang YouTube at sa sobrang dami na nga, ngayon naman ang Spotify na dati puro music lang, meron nang podcast where you can listen to exclusive stories from artists and content creators. I heard that they will start featuring videos na din like YouTube para sa influencers or vloggers. Why am I telling you this? Dahil we anticipate that as the vloggers level up in their profession, their next platform will be the NFT marketplace kaya mas maganda ang laging nauuna. Start putting up your space in the NFT marketplace now via Vention app. That will be our job for you. We will help you how to start."

Vention brainchild Julius Santillan with social media star Ivana Alawi

A number of famous personalities idolized by fans here and around the world are exploring the possibilities of cryptocurrency by way of NFT. It is a way of selling an artist's work as unique items and through digital technology.

International celebrities who are into NFTs include Paris Hilton, Ellen Degeneres, Snoop Dog, Stephen Curry, among others. Locally, Evangelista and Binene are in the forefront of this community after posting on their social media accounts that they are into it as well.

Santillan noted, "Marami nang NFT marketplaces all over the world pero wala pa kahit isa na Pinoy ang gumawa kaya 'yun ang naisip naming simulan sa blockchain technology."

He further explained, "Marami tayong Filipino artists, well-known man or rising pa lang. At bilang pag-support sa kanila, ginawa namin ang Vention para maging platform to showcase their talents all over the world. Hindi kasi nagpapahuli ang Pinoy pagdating sa ganyan, katulad nung na-launch namin ang Vention app as Philippine's first NFT marketplace, naglabasan ang mga nakakahangang gawang Pinoy and we are expecting more to follow lalo ngayong mas lumalaki na ang ating Vention community."

VNT Vention is a global market site focusing on artists and their creations. It lets anyone create, buy, sell or even collect digital merchandise with minimal platform fees. The site's main proponent seeks to attract more local artists such as actors, musicians, painters, authors and the like to this unique marketing platform.

Santillan added, "The stuff best for NFT are paintings and collectibles or unique items. Non-fungible assets are not interchangeable. Mahalaga sa NFT ang identity ng item, yung story nito, history, or the owner that makes it unique. For example ay yung NFT ni Stephen Curry na digital replicas ng sneakers na suot niya when he broke the all-time three-point record in the NBA. Dahil may identity ang particular na sneaker na yun ni Stephen Curry, naging unique siya kaya ang value niya tumaas din."

As for the status of NFT here in the Philippines, Santillan can say only speak of positivity. He related, "Though starting pa lang unlike sa ibang bansa na very much aware na sila, we are going there na din at baka kapag talagang na-master na natin how NFT works, marami talaga ang makikinabang. NFT is actually a blessing for us especially during this pandemic. Since nagkapandemic kasi, almost everything online na and that's how NFT works in cryptoworld. Sa ibang bansa if you will watch international news, powerful countries have started using cryptocurrency. Kaya sa Vention app binibigyan na rin namin ng awareness ang mga kapwa nating Pinoy para makatulong tayo."

#vention

NFT: A new marketplace for Filipino celebs

Local artists, celebrities to benefit from Vention digital platform