Most pre-teens have their minds on tons of things but building an empire as a digital architect may not be one of them. As previously reported by AfroTech, at age 12, Nyla Hayes created the Long Neckie Collection — a non-fungible token (NFT) collection worth about $3.4 million in digital currency. She is also TIMEPiece’s First Artist-In-Residence and the founder of NFT Children’s Day, an initiative launched to encourage more youth to get involved in tech. For Hayes, her first introduction to tech and the metaverse started with Roblox. Hayes has had a love for art since an early age. She started drawing at the tender age of four and the rest has truly been history. AfroTech sat down with the young artist to discuss her collection, making money doing what she loves, and what the future holds.