Tiny Troubles — Venture concept, brand system, and 3D world
About
A platform where 3D art, storytelling, and emerging tech came together to fund real-world social impact.
Tiny Troubles started in 2019 in Amsterdam as a family project. At the heart of it was Stefan's art — over 4,000 unique 3D assets, all hand-coded and generatively composed without AI. That body of work gave Tiny Troubles its visual identity and became the foundation everything else was built around.
The idea was simple and stubborn: digital creativity should be worth something beyond a screen. We built a platform that turned original 3D artwork and narrative into a funding mechanism for social causes — before Web3 had a name, before NFTs had a reputation.
It didn't scale the way we hoped. But it proved that a small team with a shared belief can build something real from nothing. Planet Earth is worth causing trouble for.
The constraint
We were building in a space that didn't have language yet. There was no playbook for turning art into impact funding, no template for the legal structure, and no clear audience beyond people who shared the conviction that it should be possible.
The team was tiny and non-traditional — family, not colleagues. Everyone wore multiple hats. The constraint wasn't technical. It was holding a vision together when the market hadn't caught up and every role bled into the next.
Solution
Step 1: Define the venture concept and impact model
Designed how original 3D art and storytelling could generate real funding for social causes — not as a donation layer, but as a core product mechanic built into the platform.
Step 2: Create the world
Stefan built the visual universe — 4,000 unique 3D assets, generatively composed through code, without AI. That body of work gave Tiny Troubles its identity. The narratives around it gave the world meaning and emotional weight. Together, it felt like more than a product — it felt like a place.
Step 3: Design, build, and ship
Brand system, UX, product experience, platform development, legal structuring, finances — everything that comes with turning a conviction into a live product. The team handled it collectively, then learned when to stop.
What shipped
- 4,000+ unique 3D artworks generated through code — no AI, no templates, no shortcuts
- A full visual and narrative world created from scratch
- Venture concept, brand system, and impact funding model designed and shipped
Results
- The lessons from Tiny Troubles shaped eyay's operating principles: think big, start tiny, no handoffs, and build software early. The working relationship that became eyay was forged here
Credits
In memory of Stefan. New day, new trouble.
next project
Jimmy.Your Personal Trainer. Coming soon.