While many amazing projects rose and great IP was developed, 2021 and 2022 were chock full of profile pictures, metaverses, and play to earn games failing to live up to their full potential. We saw the rise and fall of Axie Infinity, Star Atlas nearly get wiped off the map with the FTX crash, Azuki drama, and plenty of other Web3 shenanigans that left everyone wondering - why are there so many promises and so little delivery?

This problem has multiple factors playing into it - from the technical side to artistic, business, and everywhere in between. Many projects were founded by friends/artists looking to bring their weirdly creative ideas to life and get paid for it, others had grandiose technical visions with little execution know-how, while others had all of the secret sauce to make it work but still fell short. While there are many facets that play into the success or failure of these projects - they all shared one difficulty in common: recruiting talent.

Why? You'd think everyone wants to be the pioneers of the metaverse - a new frontier. Well, from talking with talented artists and developers in the traditional film and game industries, you'd hear a very different narrative. It's a fad, it's ruining traditional gaming, it's a scam, Meta-this and Meta-that, and so on and so forth. Even if you made it past this mine field, you'd be hit with the cherry on top: what are the benefits like?

It seems very few of the most talented digital artists and game developers have the entrepreneurial spirit. I don't mean to say they aren't out there - but it seems a vast majority of them are very content in their guaranteed salaries at established studios where they can create until their hearts content, and who can blame them? Starting a company is hard work. Not many people know how to make a sustainable business, and even fewer succeed. Mix this in with the volatility of the Web3 market and it's a recipe for repulsion to those accustomed to comfy desks with good health insurance.

With all of that being said, the space has definitely piqued the interest of the most talented artists and devs, if only just a hair. And no one is too good to collect a paycheck that meets or exceeds their declared worth for a project they are excited about. So I've compiled these tips for the Web3 founders out there to help you acquire talented game designers and developers for your NFT, P2E, or metaverse project:

1. Don't use Fiverr or Upwork.

2. DO make job listings on ArtStation, 80lvl, and the like.

3. Conduct at minimum three interviews

4. Be extremely clear about the pay, and offer benefits if possible.

5. Don't use any buzzwords.

6. Use an agency that specializes in sourcing and directing talent for the Web3 space
   

Our team at GetCrspy is made up of creative directors and artists ranging in skillsets from working on blockbuster films to NFT projects and product visualizations - our freelance team is 20+ artists and developers strong with an extended network far beyond that. We curate the talent to your needs, but specifically we fulfill those needs while keeping your goals (and promises) in the forefront of our strategy development: and who better to do that then a group of Web3 degens?