# Project Origins {% hint style="info" %} **Origin:** The Whitelist Project started as a utility NFT created to help projects streamline and secure their mints. {% endhint %} Minimal art, no official project Twitter account, and word-of-mouth-only marketing were the initial approach to emphasize that this was supposed to be a way of adding value to the SOL ecosystem, not making lots of money. As the meta for whitelisting moved towards SPL tokens with enhancements in Candy Machine, the project did not take off to its full potential. ### We have become very comfortable pivoting our project. Instead of being focused on one utility, we have become focused on one idea: supporting builders in the space. Whether you are an investor, an artist, or a developer, we are pushing to support the entire web3 landscape however we can. ### Acquiring projects was the first major pivot. Acquiring the Safari Dition and Yobi Universe projects were the first major project pivots. We took an ambitious step to grow our community and change what The Whitelist Project looks like. ### Then we decided to get even more ambitious. Our most significant project pivot is our goal of building the first decentralized VC of NFT projects and metaverse land. Our treasury fund was started through our founder donating a t00b to the DAO Treasury to start it off, and we ended up minting a 1/1 y00t. We sold it for 1,000 SOL and used the proceeds to build our portfolio. It kind of broke NFT Twitter. {% embed url="" %} ### We always strive for organic community growth. After that, we minted the collection of 3D Tickets to bolster the fund. To help get in new members of the community with the 3D Ticket mint, we gave away \~100 2D Tickets via a scholarship process. Now, we are presenting Roadmap 3.0 to clarify our direction for 2023. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.thewhitelistproject.xyz/a-brief-history/project-origins.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.