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Fortune
Fortune
Anna Tutova

RTFKT cofounder Benoit Pagotto on building brands and why you’re better off playing ‘Tears of the Kingdom’ than going to conferences

RTFKT NIke LOreal NFT
Image from "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom." (Credit: Courtesy Nintendo)

Benoit Pagotto is a cofounder of RTFKT—pronounced “artifact"—a Web3 firm best known for digital sneakers and NFT collaborations with artists like Takashi Murakami. The company’s reputation as a leader in metaverse fashion led to it being acquired in late 2021 by Nike as part of a broader push by the athletic giant to experiment with blockchain.

In a recent interview with Fortune, Pagotto shares how RTFKT, which generated over $185 million in NFT sales in 2022, has navigated the Nike acquisition and the ongoing bear market. He also explains how his passion for gaming has helped him develop innovative brand strategies, and discusses recent collaborations with L’Oreal and others.

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