Layne Lafrance is a Canadian entrepreneur who grew up in London, where she attended school. She then moved back to Canada where she graduated from the University of British Columbia in finance and entrepreneurship. There, she soon developed an interest in technology.
She co-founded Ping, a tech company that encouraged the use of mobile phones to help people interact in real life. Lafrance was product manager at Axiom Zen, where she learned all about blockchain technology. Her next project, Dapper Labs, stemmed from Axiom Zen in 2018, with the mission to bring the benefits of blockchain technology to people through fun and games.
Her role in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry evolved when she designed Flow with Dapper Labs over the last couple of years. The Flow blockchain is a fast, decentralized, developer-friendly network designed to create the next generation of apps and games along with the digital assets that power them.
She was also the co-founder of the popular blockchain game CryptoKitties, which is considered the first popular implementation of nonfungble tokens. Lafrance is currently focusing on making decentralized infrastructure reliable and robust for the Dapper team to launch the next wave of digital experiences.
In 2021, Dapper Labs and Flow expanded significantly into the world of NFTs, as would be expected from the company that invented CryptoKitties. The transition from 2020 into 2021 was sealed by the creation of NBA Top Shot, a blockchain-based platform that allows fans to buy, sell and trade numbered versions of specific, officially-licensed video highlights.
Another milestone was the creation of Flowverse, a platform built to explore the Metaverse through the Flow blockchain. New partnerships and projects have been added regularly to the Flow blockchain, from next-generation crypto wallets to the latest avatar technology company that enables individuals to express a fantasy version of themselves.
Lafrance’s entrepreneurship helped her seal meaningful partnerships along with the NBA, from National Basketball Players Association to Warner Music Group and Ultimate Fighting Championship. She also secured significant investments and funding for Dapper Labs from venture capitals, including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and investors like the founders of Dreamworks, Reddit and Coinbase, to name a few.
As the Metaverse continues to grow in the new year, Lafrance and her team are expected to further expand into the industry and bring new partnerships, NFT projects and airdrops.
Lafrance is helping the company grow with hundreds of new job openings, especially software development. At the beginning of 2022, Dapper Labs became the first NFT company to federally register to lobby the United States government to influence new policies across the industry.
With the pro-sports league finally entering the NFT world, Dapper Labs and Flow are expected to grow the segment, which is already abundant with significant sporting franchises.
Other than the NBA, the new sports partnerships include the National Football League, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the Spanish soccer organization La Liga and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 2022, other leagues may join the virtual world of NFTs and the Metaverse, with Flow and Dapper Labs playing a role in developing the technology.
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