Our Founder Story | Murray & Nic Scarce
Murray, or Muz as I call him, my husband and co-founder, is a true blue Aussie, born and raised in Blackall, Queensland. As a curious kid, he devoured encyclopaedias ‘for fun’, a habit that now fuels his (extremely useful) detailed research abilities. As a boarder at Toowoomba Grammar School, Muz also excelled as a competitive swimmer and later went on to be accepted into NIDA (Australia’s National Dramatic Arts). After high school he moved into engineering at Boeing Aerospace Defence and then managed major construction projects. His comprehensive experience, topped with an MBA in Data Science and Project Management, make him the perfect leader for WandrLust – he’s a bit of an over achiever, my husband!
As for me, I’m originally from the UK and moved to Australia in 2004. Initially terrified by Australia’s wildlife, I’ve since made peace with all Aussie critters and would go as far to say that I love them all, even cockroaches! My background at Twentieth Century Fox and Watermelon Global Licensing has been essential in shaping user experiences at WandrLust.
Introduction: Our Roots and Evolution
Our startup journey began in 2015 when my mum visited us from the UK. Assuming all animals in Australia were going to cause instant death, mum’s fear of Australian wildlife pushed Muz to the edge one night – “Wouldn’t a Shazam for animals be amazing?” But, with a two-year old and a new born baby, we were way too exhausted to contemplate taking this idea any further.
Early Years: Building Critterpedia
In 2019, as our kids grew and we regained some sleep, we naively invested $20,000 with an app development company. Excited yet very naïve, we asked how long it would take to launch our app. “Three months,” they claimed, and we eagerly—or stupidly—invested our hard earned cash. This was a costly lesson, but we did walk away with a killer, yet expensive, logo.
Refusing to give up, we reached out to Australia’s National Science Agency, the CSIRO. To our absolute surprise, they loved our ‘Shazam for animals’ concept and awarded us a Kickstart match-funded grant!
Despite a 12-month delay in sourcing images ethically, we teamed up with over forty wildlife experts to gather images, kick-starting our AI development. The CSIRO’s feature on their socials catapulted our local project to global fame. Our relatable ‘everyday people’ story, combined with a fascination for Australia’s unique wildlife, proved to be the perfect mix.
Transition and Pivoting: The Birth of WandrLust
The CSIRO’s project timeline was a further 12 months, and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shifting our focus towards family and immediate priorities.
In December 2022, Lisa Andrews (our early stage investor) introduced us to the incredible Ian Anderson – a Web3 innovator and former co-founder at Wisdom Gaming. We collaborated with Wisdom on the Critterpedia AI algorithm but after Ian left Wisdom in November 2023, we continued our partnership with him directly – Ian is now an investor and part of our team.
In March 2023, Muz and I took part in the CSIRO On Prime Program and interviewed hundreds of individuals and businesses. The feedback established that people were looking for more than just animal identification; they loved the full outdoor experience. Outdoor-focussed businesses also highlighted their need for new ways to reach their audiences as their foot traffic was slowing down. We listened and our Critter Scanner became just one feature in a comprehensive Adventure Toolkit (including other features our interviewees said that wanted).
We also noted that the overarching reason for people to reconnect with nature, was to spend time with people again, to reconnect in wholesome, distraction free environments. So leveraging Ian’s Web3 expertise, we shifted our focus to immortalising these moments as permanent digital landmarks, ensuring every adventure remains timeless.
In January 2024, we partnered with Elastos, securing funding to develop our innovative technology on their cutting-edge Layer2 Bitcoin network.
The Problem: A Sedentary Modern Life
Modern lifestyles have led to alarming increases in screen time and associated health costs. Our vision for WandrLust was to counter these trends by encouraging outdoor engagement and real-world connections.
Solution: The WandrLust Adventure Toolkit
Your Digital Adventure Toolkit: WandrLust isn’t just another app. It’s like an intuitive guide for the outdoors. Whether you need to find the perfect hike, or hotel, precisely track your location, visualise terrain, identify wildlife, or coordinate meet-up points, all the answers are at your fingertips with an AI-assisted guide. Allowing you to focus on your local or global adventure, not the search —enjoying each other’s company, free from the distractions and constant notifications.
Memory Minting: Crafting Timeless Digital Landmarks: As you make memories, WandrLust transforms them into digital landmarks on the blockchain. This not only allows your family to revisit and add to these memories but also serves as valuable data for conservation and historical insights.
A Global Community: By sharing your adventures, you join a global network of virtual landmarks. Earn or buy $WANDR to preserve your experiences, endorse others, climb leader-boards, and share in the profits.
B2B Opportunities: Growth in our community enhances B2B prospects, opening doors for immersive digital advertising and direct sales with future partners in tourism, outdoor retail, and adventure experiences.
Exciting Developments from WandrLust: Our MVP is nearing completion, and we’re gearing up for three NFT campaigns to raise awareness and funds. Having self-funded the MVP and one NFT campaign, we’re now welcoming seed investments to enhance our development and launch the $WANDR token in an upcoming Token Generation Event (TGE). These initiatives are vital for advancing our project and expanding our reach.
Our journey is ambitious, backed by a clear roadmap and an extremely strong team:
- Murray Scarce | CEO | Strategy & Finance
- Nic Scarce | Operational Lead | Product
- Ian Anderson | Tech Lead (Investor in WandrLust)
- James “Flu” Griffin | Crypto Development and Marketing Lead
- Lisa Andrews | Financial Lead (Investor in WandrLust)
Interested in joining our adventure? Contact us to explore investment opportunities and be part of shaping the future of outdoor experiences.
We’ll look forward to chatting soon,
Nic Scarce
WandrLust Co-Founder