Before founding Niftmint, Jonathan was “involved in retail technology at various stages from SMB to Enterprise and building the technology to support. Right before Niftmint, I had been working on building Web3 communities with Brands.”

On the role of Startup Haven in his journey, Jonathan says, “Startup Haven is a place where I can be with other people like myself who are working hard to solve big problems.”

Advice to fellow founders: “Get your personal life in order first and make sure anyone who is along for the ride with you know what you are getting you and them into and is going to be a friend to you through it.”

What superpower would help founders the most? “Mind control. You could force people to like your product. Not sure how rewarding that would be though.”

If not working on Niftmint, Jonathan would “be a standup comedian. I think I’m funny! Not sure others do. Never said I’d be a good standup comedian.”

When it comes to choosing a co-founder, Jonathan would pick Walt Disney, and if he could helm any company, it would be Chipotle, “because I love burritos and I love the efficiency and simplicity of the product and process.”

On describing Niftmint, Jonathan says, “Commerce Infrastructure for Brands to digitally secure, authenticate, and program their digital and physical products to enhance and own brand experiences.”

He explains the importance of his company in today’s digital age: “The world is only becoming more digital and it is becoming more difficult to understand what is real and what is fake. Tokenization allows for the creating entity to digitally mark its goods in a manner that is immutable, secure, programmable, and maintains provenance.”

Jonathan says the hardest thing about being a founder is “Feeling constantly misunderstood and having few people who can relate. This is why it’s very important to have Founder friends.”

On overcoming obstacles, he shared, “Personal finances. Like many Founders, I have taken on a lot of personal risk to see my vision through.” His personal hack for dealing with the demands of running a startup? “Working out is an absolute must. It’s more mental than physical and the best part is you feel great.”

Jonathan’s “ask”: “Looking to connect with people who believe tokenization is the future.” And he offers his expertise to others, “I’ve been solving problems at the intersection of Web3 and Commerce for a long time.”

Jonathan shared his company’s biggest win: “We recently joined the a16z TxO accelerator and it has been incredibly helpful to our growth as a company.” He also reflects on a significant learning curve: The biggest mistake we’ve made along the way? “Trying to raise capital too early. Don’t even bother speaking to investors until someone is paying for your product.”

When asked about his favorite aspect of being a founder, Jonathan states, “Knowing that the success of the business is a direct reflection of your effort, grit, hard work, consistency, and luck comes from being prepared for the moment.”

Thank you Jonathan for sharing your wins and learnings!