Best times to post on TikTok, Peloton goss, how to make an NFT

Hey, this is Female Founder World. We show you what will help you start and scale a consumer business each week.

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In this week's email:

• 📓 Resource roundup

• 📙 How to mint an NFT

• 🚩 Investor red flags

• ☕️ What went down at Peloton

• 🎧 On the pod this week: Krumbled Foods, Sugarbreak, Tower28, Art of Sucre

• 🖥 Join the 'NFT Use Cases for Consumer Brands' workshop on 21 Feb

• 👀 NEXT WEEK 💰 Introducing Let The Ca$h Flow: Founder Finance diaries

Read till the end for access to our on-demand workshop library. 🤫

📓 Resource roundup

• The best times to post on TikTok have been calculated by Influencer Marketing Hub. They analyzed more than 100,000 TikTok posts to find the definitive answer. 🔗 Tell me more

• How to hire remote workers. 🔗 Tell me more

• Do you know about Tower 28's Clean Beauty Summer School incubator program? 🔗 Tell me more

• Search the email marketing campaigns your competitors are sending. 🔗 Tell me more

• Working at a startup before launching your own? Learn how to negotiate a life-changing equity grant when you land a job at a startup. 🔗 Tell me more

• Duolingo's TikTok strategy is wacky—and it's working. 🔗 Tell me more

📙 How to mint an NFT

This is not a 101 guide to NFTs (Forbes has that covered bbys.) Instead, we're jumping straight into teaching you how to create (mint) your own.

➡️ Create your digital file

Minting an NFT is about finding a ✨special thing✨ that you find valuable or aligns with your goals, and then converting it to a digital asset. NFTs can be created from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible items—think gifs, videos, art, music, designer clothes. The first step is to create that object.

➡️ Connect your crypto wallet to an NFT marketplace

Choosing the right NFT marketplace is key to locating your correct audience. Opensea, Rarible, SuperRare and Nifty Gateway are a few main ones. Get on the Googs, do some research, and pick your fighter. Most marketplaces will automatically prompt you to connect your crypto wallet when you join. Just follow the steps. Simple stuff!

➡️ Choose a blockchain

Which blockchain will you base the NFT on? Ethereum is a common choice.

➡️ Fund your crypto wallet

Selling an NFT costs a transaction fee which is known as a gas fee. To complete your first sale, make sure you've purchased some Ethereum (or whatever currency you chose in previous step). 

➡️ Upload your digital file

This is that ✨special thing✨ you created back in step one. Most marketplaces have a ‘Create’ button or something similar. You’ll be prompted to upload your digital file and give it a name. You’re nearly there, omg! 

➡️ Add some details

You will be prompted to give a description of the work, add a link for more info (like to your website), and select the blockchain to base the NFT on. We’ve already decided this, so input the info and you’re ready to roll. 

➡️ Finalize the terms

Next, the marketplace will ask you to set up how much you would like to be paid in royalties if your NFT gets resold later on. Around 5-10% of the secondary sales price is standard. Hit complete and then list the NFT for sale. You did it!

Thanks to the experts over at Boss Beauties for their help with this guide. The team flagged with us that while you don’t need a big budget to launch an NFT project for your brand, you do need to connect with the crypto community: “One of the amazing things about this space is that anyone with an amazing idea and the fortitude to work very hard can still create something incredible. Get immersed in the community, meet people you can collaborate with and let your imagination run wild!” 

🚩 Investor red flags for founders raising money

🚩 Can't give examples of how they've handled disappointing news from their founders. You want investors who can accept bad news and remain supportive and committed.

🚩 Asks about your family planning. They would never ask a man.

🚩 Asks for metrics when you're still a pre-launch business. Investors who do this may be inexperienced and not savvy. Not every VC is an expert: don't allow yourself to get bullied into believing otherwise. 

🚩 Doesn't align with the way that you want to build your brand. 

🚩 Only asks you standard questions. They either don't get your business or they don't care. Move on quickly and prioritize those who do get it and do care.

🚩 Seems only interested in the money and not you as a founder or your customers. Listen to what the investor ask, and what they don't ask, to get a feel for their priorities and motivations. You want someone who believes in you and in your business—and will stick it out in your corner through the good and the bad.

🚩 The vibes are off. Investors don’t need to be your besties, but if you get a gut feeling that something isn't right, trust it.

Thanks to our Female Founder World fam—Jacquelle Amankonah Horton (Fave), Katya Libin (HeyMama), Gina Gutierrez (Dipsea) and Sally Mueller (Womaness)—for paying it forward and submitting these tips.

☕️ What went down at Peloton

Peloton's been in the headlines. Let's recap.

6 May 2021: Peloton recalls all treadmills after one child tragically died in an accident and others reported injuries. After weeks spent dismissing the reports, the company finally issues a joint statement with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Peloton's stock price takes a hit.

4 November 2021: Folks are vaxxed and ready to head back to the gym. At-home fitness slows. Peloton reports that sales aren't meeting their predictions. 

9 December 2021: Big dies after riding a Peloton. The memosphere goes wild. Peloton's comms team unilaterally regrets accepting this job. After And Just Like That… kills off Carrie’s husband, Peloton plays down the bike’s role in the death. They even tap a cardiologist on the Peloton team to issue a statement. Peloton shares fall 11%.

10 December 2021: 😰 The punches keep coming. Credit Suisse downgrades Peloton stock, a move that can prompt traders to sell stock on the assumption that others will be doing the same. Peloton’s stock is now down nearly 75% for the year. 

8 February 2022: 2,800 Peloton staff lose their jobs and the CEO steps down. This is a clear signal that Peloton thinks mom's on her way home and the stay-at-home fitness pandemic party's almost over.

Why are you seeing this story? We know that people are starting to return to some pre-pandemic behaviors, including the gym. Some businesses that thrived during the pandemic are losing steam. What is shifting in your industry? Where's the opportunity for your business? What does this mean for how your customers and community spend their time? Weird times ahead. Buckle up.

🎧 On the pod this week: Sugarbreak, Tower 28, Art of Sucre, Krumbled Foods

Ah the weekend. A perfect time to catch up on this week's episodes that you missed.

• Ep 37. Sugarbreak's Reaching New Customers Through Roblox Games

• Ep 38. One Influencer Generated 1,000 Orders at Launch: Inside Tower28’s Launch

• Ep 39. The TikTok Formula That Got This Brand 1.2 Million Followers

• Ep 40. Keira Rumble Started a Global Food Empire From Her Home

🖥 Upcoming workshop: NFT Use Cases for Consumer Brands

 🗓 Monday, 21 February at 6:30pm - 7:15pm ET

Procrastinators, this is your last shot to register for Monday's free NFT workshop.

We're teaching everything you want to know about Web 3 as a business-owning baddie. How can the founders of consumer brands use NFTs as a marketing and community-building tool? How can you use them to generate revenue? Which brands are already doing this well? Who can help you get an NFT project off the ground?

Shirin Bucknam will lead the workshop. She's the co-creator of Crypto Witch Club, an inclusive and equitable space to learn about blockchain tech, and will walk founders through how NFTs can be used as a powerful tool in their business. This is an exclusive workshop for our Female Founder World coven. 😎

You will also hear from Emily Elyse Miller, founder of OffLimits (and OG Female Founder World pod guest). Emily will walk us through how she created an NFT project for her biz and what she learned in the process. Registration is essential and spots are limited.

👀 Coming next week 

🖥 NFT Use Cases for Consumer Brands virtual workshop on Monday at 6:30pm ET

💰 Let The Ca$h Flow: Founder Finance Diaries. A juicy new series is coming to the Friday newsletter. Eyes peeled.  👀

🌀 The Virtual Coworking Space is open every Tuesday from 4pm-5pm ET. Join us, go on mute, and get shit done. 🔗 Register for the portal.

🎧 Monday: Cyndi Ramirez, Chillhouse

🎧 Tuesday: Mady Maio, Camber App and the Okay Sis podcast

🎧 Wednesday: Lindsay Holden, Odele

🎧 Friday: Bridget Connelly, Luna Bay Booch

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