The Future of Community

Chapter 2Three Men and a Pool

We promise that not every chapter will be a reference to a great comedy, but we couldn't resist this one. Three Men and a Baby is a 1987 American comedy starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson as three fun bachelors who find a baby girl on their doorstep one day. The baby is the love child of one of the bachelors, and now all three men have to learn how to take care of this baby. Hilarity ensues.

Surprise Delivery

The story of how Justin and I met is very similar to Three Men and a Baby, but instead of a baby it was a non‐fungible token (NFT)—just as cute and cuddly but no need for diapers or bottle‐feeding.

JOHN:

During the summer of 2021, I was at the rooftop pool of the downtown Soho House talking to a music agent about NFTs. We were having an amazing conversation but probably the entire rooftop pool could hear us because I have a tendency to talk super‐loud. After about 10 minutes of our conversation, I was interrupted by another loud voice. That loud voice was my co‐author, Justin Shenkarow. He had recently started an NFT company and was eager to jump in and talk about NFTs.

JUSTIN:

I was sipping a cocktail while lounging at the pool when I overheard two guys discussing NFTs. My ears perked up. This was the first time I heard someone else talk about NFTs in the wild.

I overheard a guy say he worked for an NFT company backed by Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher. He explained that he had left New York and was looking for a ...