From humble beginnings trading camera gear as a college student, Eric Dos Santos‘ business acumen rapidly scaled into a powerhouse marketing agency. His proven ability to create compelling visual content has driven success for iconic brands including Chanel and Belkin.
Eric DosSantos is the CEO and Co-founder of Cats N Cars, a groundbreaking platform revolutionizing the supercar giveaway industry through blockchain technology. His entrepreneurial journey began in college, transforming a camera equipment business into a leading marketing agency servicing renowned brands like Chanel and Belkin. With a deep-rooted passion for technology, Eric entered the cryptocurrency world in 2014, recognizing the need for real-world utility. This insight led to the creation of Cats N Cars alongside co-founder Travis, where they merged blockchain innovation with tangible rewards. Eric’s emphasis on personal connections and a blend of web2 and web3 strategies sets Cats N Cars apart. With a proven track record of overcoming challenges, Eric’s adaptability and vision have positioned Cats N Cars for global expansion, aiming to become the premier supercar giveaway platform worldwide.
Armed with a deep knowledge of blockchain and a desire to make an impact within the blockchain community, he paired up with Travis Frye (Co-founder/CMO/COO) to deploy a real-world application of blockchain where users not only get to enter the giveaway through buying merchandise, they can further “supercharge” their entries through burning their tokens as well.
Similar to Eric, Travis grew up with a highly creative and savvy mind that was always coming up with inventions or business ideas. Eventually, he was VP of marketing for a company that grew from $0 to $30 million in two years. Eric and Travis first crossed paths while working on another project together and found a mutual respect and synergy together. They could’ve never guessed that it would lead to a pioneer project like Cats N Cars.
There is an emphasis on personal connections and in-person interactions for marketing, as Cats N Cars aims to bring together web2 and web3 audiences. Both Eric and Travis’s successful entrepreneurial backgrounds allow them to pivot, adapt and grow quickly in such a fast-moving landscape like blockchain. The vision is to expand Cats N Cars globally, with localized platforms and giveaways, positioning the company as a leader in the supercar giveaway space.
How did you get started as an entrepreneur?
My journey into entrepreneurship began during my college years. While studying engineering, I discovered a passion for photography and quickly realized I could generate significant income by buying and selling camera equipment. This side venture became so lucrative that I was often leaving classes to pursue it, ultimately earning around $120,000 to $150,000 during my college years through these transactions. This experience naturally led me into a career as a photographer. After completing my engineering degree, I decided to move to France, seeking a challenging environment to test my skills. In Paris, I achieved notable success, gaining entry into some of the city’s top galleries and working with prestigious brands such as Chanel and Pierre Cardin. This period was pivotal, not only establishing my career as a photographer but also laying the groundwork for my entrepreneurial path, as managing a photography business requires significant entrepreneurial skills.
How does someone participate in a Cats N Cars giveaway?
Currently, if you’d like to participate in our giveaways, you can simply do so by purchasing merchandise from our website. This includes items like hats, sweatshirts, or t-shirts, with each dollar spent earning you two entries. For example, spending $40 on a hat would earn you 80 entries. What sets us apart, however, is our unique offering: the option to burn our CNC token. By burning around $10 worth of CNC tokens when the giveaway starts, you’ll receive 1,000 entries, which is equivalent to spending $500 on merchandise. This provides a much more cost-effective way to participate in our giveaways. We make it easy for anyone to gain entry for each giveaway for as little as $3 on a digital download. For around $20 worth of CNC tokens, you can easily secure enough “supercharged” entries to participate in all of our giveaways, as the value of our token goes up. This makes our platform incredibly accessible and rewarding for our users.
What kind of gains can potential users see with Cats N Cars?
Making money in crypto is a tricky concept because, similar to the stock market, you don’t actually realize gains until you sell. All of our current investors are in it for the long haul, so none of them have sold anything yet. As a result, no one has technically “made money” in the traditional sense. However, their wallets did reflect an equivalent amount to their initial investments after just one day. Remarkably, within seven days, they saw a 40x return on their investments when we reached a $21 million market cap. This kind of growth showcases the potential of our project and the commitment of our investors – we’re not a fly-by-night token. In fact, we try to implement multiple measures to protect our users.
Have there been challenges along the way? If so, how did you solve it?
Of course, there have been numerous challenges along the way. Initially, Travis and I thought we could get everything up and running within a week or two, as that’s a common timeline for launching crypto tokens. However, given Travis’s extensive experience in building larger companies, we quickly realized that there was much more involved, especially concerning the legalities of running a giveaway. Many other cryptocurrencies have attempted giveaways, but issues like “rugging” their tokens or dubious practices, such as using random online tools to select winners—sometimes leading to accusations of favoritism—have plagued these efforts. To ensure everything is fully regulated, we’re working with a third-party administrator called American Sweepstakes, which guarantees the legality and transparency of our giveaways. This required significant upfront work, including purchasing the car and paying the sweepstakes company. The entire process took four months just to launch, far longer than we initially anticipated. Now that we’re operational, the workload has doubled or tripled, with our team putting in 20-hour days. It’s been much more work than any of us expected, but it’s all part of ensuring the project’s success and integrity.
How did you get your first customer?
Our first “customers,” if you want to call them that, were actually friends and family who participated in our pre-sale. Unlike typical crypto pre-sales that are open to the public and offer better deals to early investors, we took a different approach. We didn’t want to create tokenomics that favored pre-sale investors over others. Instead, we focused on building a strong liquidity pool to market cap ratio. To achieve this, our pre-sale participants came in at a loss, investing because they believed in the project and in me and Travis. This approach is quite new to the crypto world, where often the focus is on immediate gains. Our early supporters invested significant amounts, fully aware that they were starting at a loss, all because they trusted in our vision. This foundational support was crucial in purchasing our first car and establishing a robust liquidity pool. When compared to other tokens on the Solana network with similar market caps, our liquidity pool is significantly larger, thanks to the initial commitment of our pre-sale participants.
What is one marketing strategy (other than referrals) that you’re using that works really well to generate new business?
What has truly been effective for us is engaging with people directly, whether through conversations or in-person meetings, and explaining the project. We’ve seen significant investment and even people dumping their other tokens for CNC because they believe so strongly in what we’re doing. The challenge has been getting people from web2, who initially engage with our ads, to transition into buying our crypto token or participating in the bonus burn. This has proven to be a major hurdle. However, the greatest success across all my ventures, including CNC, has come from personal interactions. It’s about connecting with people and conveying the value and future potential of CNC directly. I’ve found that personal engagement far outweighs the impact of Facebook or Instagram ads. Ultimately, having the right people around you and building personal connections is what truly drives success.
What is the toughest decision you’ve had to make in the last few months?
One of the most daunting moments for me was hitting the button to burn the liquidity. Essentially, this meant taking all the pre-sale funds, my own money, and the investments from people who mean a lot to me, and clicking a button that signified I no longer had ownership of those funds. It was a frightening experience because, if anything went wrong, I was unsure if I had done everything correctly. The weight of knowing that the money involved belonged to my family, friends, and other significant supporters was immense. Once that button was pressed, I lost access to those funds, and it became part of the liquidity pool for everyone involved.
What do you think it is that makes you successful?
What gives me an edge is my tendency to see things differently and not conform to conventional rules. In photography, for instance, I was self-taught and never followed formal training. Instead, I created my own methods, which led me to become one of the top product photographers in the world. This approach of making my own rules and charting my own path extends beyond photography. I firmly believe there isn’t just one right way to do things. Trusting in my own vision and capabilities allows me to approach challenges differently and often more effectively than others.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
The most satisfying moment for me was when we reached a market cap of $9.91 million. Seeing it hit that mark and then continue to rise was incredible. I had anticipated some sell-off at that point, as people often cash out when a milestone is achieved. However, everything went exactly as planned: we used the funds to buy the Porsche, precisely as outlined in our roadmap. The relief I felt when everything went according to plan was immense, especially as the market cap continued to grow and more people continued to buy in. It was a powerful testament to the strength and commitment of our community and remains one of the highlights of this journey for me.
What does the future hold for your business? What are you most excited about?
Our main goal is to bridge the gap between the traditional web2 world and web3. I’m excited to bring everyday people into the world of crypto while also drawing the web3 community back into the real world through our content and events. This approach is quite different from most projects that remain confined to either the web2 and web3 space. Many projects operate solely online, avoiding real-world interactions and events, while making significant profits. To me, this tendency to stay hidden behind screens suggests a lack of transparency or integrity. We believe that engaging with people in person, hosting events, and showcasing our presence in the real world are crucial for building genuine connections and trust.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t believe in regret or wishing for change. I see everything that has happened as part of a necessary journey, with each step unfolding as it was meant to. Every experience has contributed to where I am today, and I don’t think there’s anything I could have told myself that would have altered the course in any meaningful way.
How can people find you and join your community?
We’d love for people who resonate with our project to join us on Telegram, Twitter, or Instagram.