Co-Founder of Studio NX
Adam Jeffcoat is not waiting for Hollywood to say yes.
Trained in classical Disney-style animation. Battle-tested in TV. Rejected for a decade by the gatekeepers. Then he flipped the model. Built his own IP. Launched it himself. Accidentally caught Amazon’s attention. Turned a failed monetization experiment into a Prime series. Then raised hundreds of thousands through Web3 to fund the next slate.
He’s not chasing permission. He’s building leverage.
Adam, for those who don’t know you, take us on the journey. Who are you and how did Studio NX come to be?
I trained at Sheridan College in Toronto in Classical animation in the late 90s. We used to flip paper on light boxes, film pencil tests, cut film with scissors. It was proper oldschool, the original Disney pipeline.
Then computers came in with tablets. Handdrawn animation became digital. Suddenly you could do more with fewer people.
My co-founder Jim Bryson and I decided to skip the traditional path. Most graduates went to big studios like Dreamworks and Disney. But we were rebels and wanted to do more edgy stuff so we started our own.
Due to a small network, we didn’t have many clients at first. So we used the time to create our own ideas for shows. Jim has these amazing concept sketches full of hilarious characters and i used to imagine the story behind them. We produced storyboards and animatics and learned how to pitch.
We moved to London and landed a gig at Nickelodeon doing promos and interstitials.They greenlit our first series of shorts called The Carrot & Rabbit show. We then landed work at CBBC, Cartoon network & C4. We also worked closely with a 3d studio called Blue Zoo Animation who passed us all their 2D overflow.
After 5 years of service work in advertising, I decided I wanted to get back to what i loved – story. Characters. World-building.
So we started pitching original shows to Cartoon Network, CBBC, Nickelodeon. But kept getting rejection after rejection. We knew our stuff had appeal but the execs seems to only focus on the negatives.
Around 2012 I reconnected with Bobby Chiu, a former Sheridan classmate who’d designed characters for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. He had the same frustration. Amazing concept work but no ownership.
So we said, forget the gatekeepers.
The iPad had just come out. We imagined a comic book that literally came to life on the interactive screen. We launched a Kickstarter and produced a 55 page fully animated comic with professional voice acting and movie quality sound.
It hit number one on the iOS App Store with a massive surge of downloads. We thought we’d struck gold!
But you had 500,000 downloads and almost no one paid. What happened?
Perception of value.
On the App Store, everything was free so no-one wanted to buy anything. Even at only $2.99, people hesitate.
If we’d printed that same project as a graphic novel, we could’ve sold it for $25 easily. Same content. Different perceived value.
So the sales were disappointing.
But then something wild happened. An email landed from Amazon. They’d seen the project. They said it would be perfect for their new pilot program on Prime.
Within weeks, we had a deal.
After ten years of pitching and being told no, the thing that worked was building it ourselves and putting it out there in front of an audience.
That became our blueprint. Make it. Release it. Let the work speak.
You’ve seen the transition from paper to Flash to digital. Do you see similarities with AI and blockchain now?
Absolutely.
When Flash arrived, traditionalists said it would kill craftsmanship. Suddenly you didn’t need dozens of colorists painting cells. You could click “fill.”
It was automation. It reduced labor & artists resisted.
But in my experience running a studio, you either adapt or you get stranded in the past. So we focus on ethical use of technology. Tools that enhance, not replace, storytelling.
Every technology wave causes fear. Then it becomes standard and everyone adopts it.
Let’s talk Web3. You raised serious money through NFTs. Break that down.
In 2022 we noticed that artists were launching large NFT collections and using the money raised to make games, series or even movies. So we created our own collection called Gorecats. 80s inspired pixel-art, B-movie horror themed cats. 1,111 of them.
They were ranked from common to ultra-rare. Some 1of1’s were animated and signed. Scarcity was built in much like Pokemon cards.
Due to our Emmy winning background, the hype was ready for launch and our collection sold out in 45 seconds. Each Gorecat sold for $100. That’s over $100,000 in funding from one drop.
Then a few years later we did another token raise tied directly to video game development for Gorecats. Altogether, $300,000 raised through digital collectibles to develop our IP.
What’s powerful is this: unlike Kickstarter, where backers just receive a product, NFT holders can benefit if the project grows in value. It’s closer to shared upside.
It aligns creators and fans with shared incentives.
For someone who hears “NFT” and raises an eyebrow, explain it simply.
An NFT is proof of ownership recorded on a blockchain.
Think of it like grading a rare Pokémon card. Once it’s graded and registered, its authenticity and scarcity are documented forever.
With NFTs, that certificate is digital. You can’t fake the timestamp. You can’t fake the creator.
Yes, scams happened. Early on there was no identity verification. People raised large amounts and then disappeared with money, leaving the fans with worthless tokens.
But the technology itself isn’t the scam. It’s just a tool. Now every project must be verified before they can raise so it gives the fans more confidence.
How does a creator bring their existing audience into Web3 without losing them in technical friction?
That’s the hardest part.
Right now, onboarding requires setting up a crypto exchange, a browser wallet and understanding some of the blockchain terminology. It’s intimidating to say the least.
But platforms are integrating credit card payments and simplifying the experience as we speak. Eventually people won’t even know they’re interacting with blockchain.
The key is education and trust. Walk your audience through it. Don’t oversell. Build community first.
Also understand: Web3 natives are different. They’re here because they are essentially anti-Hollywood, anti-banking etc. They are called ‘degens’. They are naturally skeptical of big brands trying to cash in. They favor independent creators. That also works in our favor.
Why is Web3 powerful for independent studios?
Its like Kickstarter 2.0.
Zero shipping costs. No manufacturing. Instant global access.
If 1,000 people buy a $100 digital collectible, that’s $100,000 without fulfillment headaches.
And if your IP grows in value, your early supporters win too.
That’s a healthier ecosystem than begging networks to greenlight original IP.
If someone wants to work with Studio NX or explore this path, where should they start?
Visit studionx.com and reach out through the contact page.
I’ve also shared a detailed breakdown of our Web3 journey on my profile on LinkedIn. It covers the wins, the risks, the reality.
It’s not easy. But it’s an empowering step for indie creators to take and there’s a ton of opportunity in blockchain waiting to be discovered..
