Since launching Radix’s first-ever grants program in December, the projects participating in this round have made some incredible progress during their journeys to becoming core builders in the Radix ecosystem. 

Each week RDX Works will dive into the team behind the project, the journey to their Radix revelation, and what makes their project unique. So, without further ado, here’s all you need to know about Foton: The Radix-native NFT marketplace.

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What is Foton?

Foton aims to be a game-changing NFT marketplace that combines the familiarity of OpenSea for trading; a seamless community-building experience similar to Discord; provide the ease of Shopify for store-building; and the vastness of Amazon for tokenized digital assets.

Its goal is to simplify the world of NFTs and make it accessible and user-friendly for creators and traders alike. Say goodbye to complex crypto jargon and hello to a new set of cutting-edge tools designed to help you monetize your digital creations and grow your projects.

Foton will allow creators to build their own stores, similar to the Shopify model, providing creators with more control and creativity to build their brand and promote individuality.

Let’s look deeper at Foton and what differentiates it from the competition: 

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What makes it different?

Foton is a Modular NFT Marketplace designed to make creating, managing, and trading tokenized digital assets accessible to everyone. Its user-friendly interface and robust features make it a one-stop-shop for creators and traders; for more Crypto native folks, you can understand Foton as similar to OpenSea with its NFT trading functionality combined with the friendly community-building environment of Discord. Foton combines the best features of several market-leading websites and brings them into a full-service NFT marketplace.

Here are some notable features of the Foton marketplace: 

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Targeting a diverse range of creators

Foton caters to creators from various backgrounds, including artists, designers, small entrepreneurs, influencers, and even medium to large brands. The platform will empower these creators to monetize their creations as NFTs and build direct relationships with their fans or customers. By streamlining the entire process, Foton will save creators time and costs, making the experience of managing and selling digital assets as seamless as possible.

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Unique end-to-end solution

Foton stands out from other NFT marketplaces by providing creators with an easy-to-use, end-to-end solution for launching NFT collections. The platform handles everything from media file management and smart contract minting to monetization and asset management. This smooth, painless experience sets Foton apart from the competition.

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Individual store aggregator 

Foton's innovative approach also includes functioning as an aggregator of individual stores. Each collection of assets can have its own standalone store with a unique web domain name, much like Shopify. This feature lets creators showcase their content online while maintaining a simple and efficient administration portal.

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Versatile NFT types

Foton will offer an extensive range of NFT types based on their utility, including art-specific NFTs, avatar collections, event tickets, in-game assets, and access badges for gated content like Patreon. This diverse array of options is embedded in a seamless step-by-step process, enabling creators to build a sustainable Web3 business easily.

An enhanced experience for creators and traders

Foton's streamlined experience extends to collectors and traders on the other side of the marketplace. The upcoming Radix Wallet for Babylon will introduce innovative ways to further enhance the user experience on the Foton platform, setting a new standard for NFT marketplaces.

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Who are the founders?

Rares, Co-founder and CTO of Foton, has always been driven by a passion for technology and learning. As a top student in his youth, Rares ambitiously pursued opportunities for higher education, even earning a partial scholarship to MIT. However, financial constraints led him to focus on local opportunities in Brasov, Romania.

In college, Rares's thirst for knowledge and drive to succeed led him to explore various fields, including HTML4, Flash, PHP, and eventually, blockchain and cryptocurrency. He gained valuable experience at a market research startup called Ipsos, where he quickly climbed the ranks to become a manager at just 23 years old. Juggling side projects like an MBA at Open University UK and Forex trading, Rares sharpened his skills and humbled his ego.

After leaving his management position, Rares turned to freelancing as a means to support himself while caring for his ailing father. He continued to refine his web development and programming expertise, eventually opening a company to teach others these valuable skills. During this time, Rares first delved into blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, particularly interested in smart contracts.

Rares's commitment to building innovative solutions eventually led him to co-found Foton, a groundbreaking NFT marketplace on the Radix Network. Alongside his partner Vlad, the pair have focused on creating a seamless platform for creators and developers to deploy and integrate their work into the rapidly evolving world of Web3. Foton aims to address the unmet needs of the NFT community by providing a decentralized, user-friendly marketplace that empowers creators and fosters a new digital economy.

Vlad, Co-Founder and CEO of Foton, had a fascinating journey before founding Foton, which began with a strong background in mathematics and physics. Initially intending to pursue computer science and finance, Vlad discovered his passion for design during his last year of high school. Despite having no formal art background, his curiosity, dedication, and problem-solving skills propelled him to become one of the top students in his class.

After graduating with a focus on graphic design, Vlad continued his education with a Master's program in Kinetic Typography. This led him to attend the Cannes Advertising Festival in 2010, a significant experience that inspired him to explore opportunities outside Romania. Vlad then pursued another Master's program in the Netherlands, where he immersed himself in Dutch design.

During his studies, Vlad and a colleague launched a Design Summer School focused on Dutch Design. This initiative, called Open Set, became a renowned international program and eventually became a foundation. Today, Vlad holds an advisory position within the organization.

In 2014, Vlad founded a startup called FLIO, which created sustainable portable gadgets for work. The company's flagship product, a bamboo laptop stand, was successfully funded via Kickstarter. Although several producers copied the design without a license, the experience taught Vlad valuable lessons about the challenges of small producers and e-commerce sellers.

Drawing from his experiences, Vlad co-founded IDEOMAKER, which eventually led to the development of Foton. Foton focuses on digital assets, their creation, and trading, with plans to expand into physical assets. Vlad's diverse background, innovative thinking, and commitment to problem-solving have shaped Foton into the potentially groundbreaking platform it is planned to be. 

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How did the project get started?

The roots of Foton can be traced back to Ideomaker, an end-to-end supply chain platform. However, the decision to create a separate platform solely for digital assets emerged towards the end of 2021, following the development of an NFT collection called Nerds Republic. During the creation process, Vlad and his team recognized the immense pain points faced by creators and users in the Web3 space. 

The user experience in Web3 applications lagged far behind Web2 counterparts, and the underlying layer 1 DLTs and UI design contributed to these issues. Identifying an opportunity to leapfrog the market, the team decided to address these pain points in the NFT industry, leading to the development of Foton.

Regarding choosing the right technology, Vlad discovered Radix in 2017 during its Tempo days. He was drawn to the vision, determination, and capability of the Radix team to solve the Trilemma and create a scalable, modern, decentralized form of money. The grounded and self-critical community surrounding Radix further solidified the decision to build projects on top of it.

Fast forward to the present, the bet on Radix has proven successful. With the mainnet live, smart contracts usable on betanet, and the full-stack approach simplifying development, the Radix team has demonstrated their dedication and professionalism. 

Building Foton on Radix allows for a faster and cheaper development cycle without the daunting baggage of the crypto industry, such as hacks, skyrocketing network usage costs, and scalability bottlenecks. By leveraging Radix, Foton can focus on providing utility to its users through a new set of tools and an improved experience.

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You can apply to become a Foton creator, and once the marketplace goes live, you can launch your project. For more information on the project, head to the website, follow the project's official Twitter account or join the Foton Telegram channel.

‍To stay in the loop with the Radix Grants Program and be first to hear about updates on the upcoming cohort 2, join the developer program.