Jett Tang, the executive producer of The Next Crypto Gem, a Reality TV series that premieres September 7, 2023, has shared key insights with Crowdfund Insider.
Jett Tang claims that he is focused on moving Web3 towards mainstream adoption. That’s why he has launched this initiative and aims to help the blockchain and crypto space move forward in a meaningful manner.
Our conversation with Jett Tang is shared below.
Crowdfund Insider: Can you tell us more about The Next Crypto Gem and how the idea for a ‘Crypto Shark Tank’ came about?
Jett Tang: Sure. September of last year, I was able to get NEFT Brands to join the Hourglass collective, a crypto project community I’m a part of dedicated to helping take Web3 Mainstream. The head of NEFT Brands, Jeff Mahony, is a very successful entrepreneur with ownership in over 20 companies. One of the companies he has ownership in, bspoketv, is a TV production company with extensive experience producing TV shows and partnering on global distribution deals.
Shortly after creating an incubator, we decided the ideal first project would be a competitive crypto reality TV show that combined some aspects of “Shark Tank” with the challenges of “The Apprentice.” By serendipity, bspoketv also already had a relationship with one of the original Shark Tank sharks, Kevin Harrington, who is a guest star on our show. We approached VC and entrepreneur Brian D. Evans about being a judge on the show and he agreed. Shortly after, we brought on popular crypto influencers Layah Heilpern and George Tung of the CryptosRUs YouTube channel. We spent several months in pre-production then shot our first season in March. Our show is now fully edited and “The Next Crypto Gem” premieres September 7th worldwide.
Crowdfund Insider: With the show being the first of its kind, what inspired you to bring cryptocurrency and blockchain projects to the mainstream TV audience?
Jett Tang: I am a big supporter of Web3 and believe blockchain technology has the potential to make all our lives better via transparency and decentralization. Of course, the entire space is still in its infancy and I would compare blockchain to the early days of the internet. I believe television and reality TV is a very powerful medium with the potential to attract new audiences to new developing sectors.
I tell the story all the time that the UFC was failing and losing lots of money until they decided to create the TV show “The Ultimate Fighter.” The finale with Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonner then went viral and led to an explosion in interest as well as growth. The UFC was recently valued at 12.1 billion and president Dana White frequently cites “The Ultimate Fighter” TV Show for the league’s success
Crowdfund Insider: How do you envision The Next Crypto Gem impacting the crypto industry and potentially fostering new innovations and investments?
Jett Tang: The masses connect better to stories and personalities than technical white papers – this is why I believe “The Next Crypto Gem” has the potential to be a gamechanger for the Web3 space. Entertainment like our show and the stories that come of it have the ability to inspire action and change lives.
I can certainly envision some young people around the world who know nothing about Web3 and crypto, watching the show, being entertained, learning about the space on their own and becoming inspired to grow into a future Web3 project leader.
Crowdfund Insider: Considering the show’s global reach, what strategies have you implemented to ensure that the content resonates with diverse audiences across different countries and cultures?
Jett Tang: Our show strongly caters to audiences learning about crypto for the first time and spends a lot of time explaining the basic industry terminology in ways that are easy to understand. We believe people who already have advanced crypto knowledge will still enjoy the show as well but our focus is in helping mass adoption.
With notable judges like Brian D. Evans, Layah Heilpern, and George Tung, how do you believe their expertise will contribute to the success and credibility of the show?
All three judges bring something different and special to the table and are great at explaining key crypto concepts in simple terms. They all have loads of charisma which comes out throughout the series. What’s also very entertaining is they often disagree, leading to quite a bit of drama.
Crowdfund Insider: Bitboy’s cameo appearance has created a lot of buzz. Can you give us any insights into his role and how it will enhance the show’s appeal to crypto enthusiasts?
Jett Tang: Ben “BitBoy Crypto” Armstrong has quite an entertaining guest appearance along with Poker Pro Tom Dwan. I don’t want to spoil it, but things get pretty wild.
The crypto market is known for its volatility. How do you plan to address any potential concerns from viewers who might be wary of investing in highly speculative assets showcased on the show?
There are of course disclaimers early in the show that our show is for entertainment and certainly not investment advice.
Crowdfund Insider: What kind of projects and startups can viewers expect to see on The Next Crypto Gem? How were these projects selected for the show?
Jett Tang: The field is quite diverse, and ranges from projects that are just starting to projects that have been at over a billion in market cap. We had an open call for contestants and they went through an initial interview with the producers at bspoketv. In the first episode, the field gets narrowed down from 16. 4 projects are ultimately chosen by the judges to compete in the live challenges and title of “The Next Crypto Gem.”
As a producer, how do you ensure that the content presented on the show maintains a balance between entertainment and educating viewers about the intricacies of the crypto world?
We’re fortunate that our producing partners at bspoketv were very experienced in producing reality TV. We gave them all the knowledge they needed about the crypto world, and they put together the show structure in a format that is both educational and entertaining.
Given the show’s association with networks like Amazon Prime, Verizon, and Samsung TV, what kind of partnerships and collaborations have been established to promote and distribute The Next Crypto Gem effectively to the global audience?
We have a distribution agreement with InsightTV, who will bring “The Next Crypto Gem” to over 178 platforms and 56 countries. Insight TV is a leading global millennial and gen-z broadcaster, distributor, and channel operator that broadcasts in Native 4k. You can see just some of the distribution InsightTV has globally here. In addition, bspoketv has landed additional deals with other platforms including a prime time slot on DirectTV. We are also working with multiple PR firms that will be involved with the marketing of the show.