Badfish
What was the inspiration for the Punkko character?

Punkko
Punkko was inspired by memecoins and NFTs that focused on building value through intellectual property, like CoolCats, Pudgy Penguins, and Nubcat. This observation sparked the idea of creating a unique creature instead of basing one off an animal. The name "Punkko" was chosen because it was catchy and easy to pronounce.

Badfish
Smart, love the idea of leveraging IP and the name definitely has a great ring to it. Recognizable and unique.

What does the Punkko team look like? How many people, roles, etc.?

Punkko
It started with just me, but I quickly became overwhelmed with everything you have to do to run a successful project by yourself, so I hired artists for additional help. We're also supported by eight admins on Telegram and Twitter to take care of the community so us creators can focus more on what we enjoy and do best.

Badfish
I feel that. Mag of Meme started the same way and I was lucky enough to connect with Sendi, our primary artist, very early on. We have a lot of community members who help in the Telegram, but I'm still running the Twitter, website, and general project direction on my own, though I can't downplay how critical the community has been in assisting me with everything. It's a great feeling to have people behind you.

How and when did you launch the project?

Punkko
Like a lot of projects on Solana today, I launched Punkko on Pump Fun, almost 3 months ago. We've experienced similar ups and downs to most projects that move from Pump to Raydium with the wild swings that follow that new project hype. Things have stabilized a bit since then but we still have our ups and downs.

Badfish
Not unlike us. We haven't had quite the same ups as Punkko, but I reckon our day is coming. Respect to you and the team for sticking to your roots and vision through the good times and bad. Punkko is a fantastic character and an inspiration for many that I've talked to.

How do you involve your community in the project?

Punkko
Today it's mainly by drawing them as "Punkkified" characters and trying to work them in as extras in some of our animated content. I think it's really important to give your community a place in your project wherever you can. I respect all our holders who raid Punkko posts consistently and am hoping to incentivize some Punkko art contests within the community in the near future.

Badfish
Very cool way to involve them. I find that's one of the harder aspects of running a project and keeping the community engaged when there's so much noise and so many other projects out there is a challenge I've spoken to others about as well. Love what you're doing there.

What are some obstacles the team has overcome throughout the project?

Punkko
Juggling everything is definitely a challenge. I think people assume I'm a machine since I can whip up content on the fly, but I'm human and have to manage things both inside and outside of Punkko. The biggest challenge is time management, working a job, and trying to find the right opportunities to post or catch the attention of influencers to further the project's growth.

Badfish
I hear you man. Balancing everything can be incredibly tough, especially with the constant pressure to produce new content. I've got a job and a family myself, and the demand in the space makes it a real challenge to balance. Efficiency and time management are key.

How do you decide what content to create?

Punkko
I really just try to flesh out Punkko with content, animations, and any other exciting development ideas that come to mind. A lot of it is spur-of-the-moment inspiration. We try to keep up with the latest metas and capitalize on those opportunities, but at the heart of it, it’s all about capturing that raw creativity in the moment.

Badfish
I think that sort of spontaneity leads to some of the best and most authentic content. That's something that comes to mind when I think of Punkko.

What are some exciting plans for Punkko’s future?

Punkko
We are planning more collaborations and developing a character development pipeline for Punkko. We're also focusing on scaling up by potentially hiring art assistants, finding manufacturers for physical goods, and improving our website. These processes take time, and while we may not be the fastest team, we are learning and improving as we go.

Badfish
Not gonna lie, I'd buy a Punkko physical. That sounds dope. I'm working on Mag of Meme merch myself, but nowhere near as cool as physical Punkkos would be. Not so shameless plug, I build websites for a living so let me know if you need a hand with that.

If Punkko could marry any other meme, who would it be?

Punkko
Probably John. Our recent collaboration with their team went really well, and they were a pleasure to work with. John is also a unique character that isn’t just piggybacking on metas but focuses on a similar style of spontaneous creativity. I’m looking forward to working with them in the future if given the chance.

Badfish
I've never heard of John to be honest. Will have to look into that. I'm personally more a fan of projects in the camp of originality than ones driven by metas or derivatives.

Any advice you have for other projects pursuing the original content meta?

Punkko
I'm probably not the best to give advice on this since I believe Punkko is still quite young, but I did receive advice from Leon, the creator of Nubcat. He said, "To keep it alive, you need to live for it." I think about that a lot.

Badfish
Great advice for anyone, not just those in crypto or memecoins, and something similar to what a lot of successful people preach. I'm a big fan of what Nubcat is doing — very cool that you've connected with him.

How has your vision for the project changed since it started?

Punkko
I've gotten better with animating since then and tried specifying a niche in the beginning. The vision has changed by trying to open the IP up more to be acceptable to normies and easier to market down the line.

Badfish
That's the right strategy. It's important to be flexible in your vision and approach while staying true to the values that got you here. I think catering to normies is going to be hugely important for the growth of crypto as a whole, and even more so projects in the meme space.

Well Punkko, it was great to chat and I really appreciate you making the time. I've been a fan of Punkko since it was brought to my attention and I'm excited to see what you come up with in the future.