Porsche recently shipped its first NFT, to little traction. It’s a 91-year-old company, turning 92 this year, with tons of cash in the bank. If you were being critical of it, you’d probably make the case that the team should’ve known better.

It should have spent more time building ties to the community. It should have paid for web3 expertise. It should have held off the NFT launch until the market heated up again. (In situations like this, there’s never a shortage of “should have”s; it’s practically, “Everything we did, we should have done the opposite.”)

It’s also worth appreciating that the team shipped it. It got its first NFT out there, badly, and it learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and now it’ll improve. It’s gotten its first rep in. It’s gaining momentum, even if just a bit of it.

A botched NFT launch doesn’t mean that Porsche isn’t still Porsche. Yes, some people on the team may experience embarrassment, and it’s still a great company that makes great cars.

Projects launch to embarrassment all the time. It’ll probably happen to you. That’s okay; handle the embarrassment with grace, remember you’re still a person who has done great work (and you’ll be a great person with or without your work!), and learn for the next one.