Any degen worth their salt knows Memeland, the web3-native brand that bills itself as the “Community Company” and has rewarded its community with prizes ranging from $1,000 gym stipends and iPhones to free McDonald’s food for a year and 34-year-old Macallan whiskey.

Memeland was founded by the team at 9GAG, a Hong Kong-based online platform for funny user-generated memes and content that has previously participated in the 500 Startups and Y Combinator accelerator programs. 9GAG’s CEO Ray Chan also runs Memeland directly and says the company’s goal is “underpromising and overdelivering.” In an episode of The Nifty podcast, Chan said Memeland’s core mission is “to create a creator economy on web3” and to “build social media on web3.” This ambitious goal is part of their vision for Big Memeland, a venture studio and community built around social products and NFTs.

Memeland raised seed funding, which played a critical role in their progression from being a new startup to achieving a significant global audience and involvement in notable venture incubators like 500 Startups and Y Combinator.

Memeland’s advisors include Kevin Rose, CEO of PROOF and co-creator of Moonbirds; Gary Vaynerchuk, acclaimed entrepreneur and creator of VeeFriends; and the Animoca research team at Animoca Digital Research. 9GAG made its first foray into web3 by collecting NFTs from prominent collections, including Azuki and Bored Ape Yacht Club, learning from those communities and the broader community of collectors before dropping its own NFT collections.

After lining up an initial community and learning from prevailing web3 trends, Memeland launched in June 2022 and came out with the YOU THE REAL MVP collection, 420 Ethereum-based and animated “trophies of mythical power forged in Memeland.” Holders of the collection are afforded premium access to an “MVP Lounge” channel on Discord, IRL events, brand collaborations, and information on upcoming Memeland drops.

The collection was dropped via a blind auction mechanic, which drove the buy-in price to a mind-blowing 5.3 ETH.

What are The Potatoz?

One month following the MVP drop, Memeland rolled out The Potatoz in a free mint. The PFPs feature potato-shaped avatars in retro video game-style art, inspired by the 9GAG trend of ending long meme posts on the platform with pictures of a potato, featuring the words “sorry for the long post, here’s a potato” as a reward for their patience. The design of The Potatoz avatars is also inspired by pop culture themes, making them relevant and appealing to a broader audience familiar with contemporary trends.

According to the roadmap, Potatoz has six stages of development, which holders can progress through by “growing” them in a staking mechanic. The higher the level of the Potatoz, the higher their owners’ chances at reaping benefits from the Memeland ecosystem, such as IRL events or allocation of the $MEME token.

What are The Captainz?

Six months later, doubling down on the success of The Potatoz, Memeland released The Captainz, a collection of 9,999 evolving humanoid avatars that incorporates ERC-6551 technology, allowing their holders to customize the avatars’ appearance.

Holders of The Captainz are the governing body of the Memeland DAO, helping make decisions on how to use the treasury, establish partnerships, and more. Memeland has also teased that Captainz will be able to explore “Treasure Islandz,” which it purports to be some sort of metaverse experience. The Captainz collection aims to connect creators and foster community engagement through innovative social products.

Memeland community and culture

Community and culture are at the forefront of everything Memeland does. The team is passionate about creating innovative and engaging content that resonates with its audience. By harnessing the power of social platforms and blockchain technology, the project is fostering a unique and innovative community that celebrates the intersection of technology and art. Such a commitment to its values ensures that Memeland remains a dynamic and exciting space for all its members.

What’s next for the Memeland ecosystem

According to the Memeland homepage, the team is working on four new projects. It's still uncertain how big Memeland could become, but its journey and current achievements show significant potential for growth within the NFT and SocialFi spaces.

The first to launch from this list, Stakeland promises a new “social staking” experience with zero fees. Other projects include Petsland, GMGM.com, and a Tripadvisor-like experience for web3 dubbed Holders.com. There are no further details available yet for these initiatives but, based on past efforts, Memeland will likely make it creative and memetic.

Finally, Memeland launched the Asia-focused GM Show on X Spaces, which runs every Thursday at 9am Hong Kong time and brings in hundreds of listeners regularly.

Memeland is innovating and making things funny and fun in web3. The team tends to underpromise and over-deliver, ensuring that anything they put their hands on next will surely be entertaining and worth a watch.

Note: The mention of a token is for informational purposes only nor is it intended as financial or investment advice.