The women of Web3 are not only building and creating in this new space of technology, but they are doing so in a highly male-dominated industry with high barriers to entry. A small percentage of Web3 founders and leaders in the space are women, but Blockster’s Women in Web3 Top 10 List highlights the bold women who are leading the way in creating a more diverse and inclusive Web3 each month.
Read below for Blockster’s Women In Web3 Top 10 List for August.
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Swan Sit
Forbes dubbed “Queen of Clubhouse“
From corporate to creator, Swan Sit was the Global Head of Digital Marketing at Nike, Estée Lauder and Revlon. She’s now a creator with an audience of 3.7 million, with Forbes dubbing her “the Queen of Clubhouse.”
She advises on Web3 and NFTs, and has worked with dozens of projects including Adidas x Bored Ape Yacht Club x GMoney x Punks Comic, Gary Vaynerchuk, Paris Hilton, BFF, Boss Beauties, and Cool Cats, as well as multiple platforms. Swan is one of the most sought-after female speakers on NFTs, with NFT Now naming her a Top 100 Community Leader in 2022.
Swan also specializes in helping traditional corporations enter Web3 and helping Web3 projects scale into companies. She is a public Board Director at Edgewell and Novabay, advisor at AF Ventures and the AFAQ SPAC, and Co-Founder and CMO of Ani Energy, an energy drink launched by TikTok stars Josh Richards and Bryce Hall.
When did you first get into Web3?
I first got into Web3 in March 2021.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get into it?
Universal transparency and digital ownership in Web3 inspired me to dive into the space.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
I was the Global head of Digital Marketing at top brands including Nike, Revlon, Estée Lauder, and more.
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
I think the adoption of Web3 will empower women with its potential for wealth creation and how it’s helping build the new economy.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
Be curious! You don’t have to jump in headfirst. Learn and ask questions. The cost of your time is all that’s needed to not miss the next wave of innovation that will change how we work, live, and play.
Connect with Swan Sit
Twitter: @swansit Instagram: @swansit
Shiti Manghani
CMO of STEPN — United Kingdom
Shiti Manghani is the Chief Marketing Officer of STEPN, a health and fitness Web3 lifestyle app where users purchase sneakers in the form of NFTs to track their jog outdoors to earn GST (the game’s utility token Green Satoshi) which can be traded for cash or used to level up in the app.
STEPN incentivizes users to exercise daily and enhance their fitness level using token rewards and community accountability. Described as “Strava meets Pokémon Go,” STEPN hopes to inspire millions to live a healthier lifestyle, all while connecting them to Web3.
When did you first get into Web3?
When I was running my own startup, I became very close to blockchain tech. I was always interested in whatever cutting edge technology was out there. The engineer in me was always interested. Being able to empower users and benefit people is really close to my heart, and it just didn’t resonate with me that the best use of technology was Facebook. I wanted to make tech work for the better. I like the ownership aspect of it, the community, and the networking possibilities.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get into it?
When I was building our AI algorithms for my startup, there was a section of our population that was elderly and they would often write to me personally with their stories of how the technology benefited them. There was a piece of tech that didn’t allow me to share the information as freely as I would’ve loved to knowing fully well they were only going to use it for their purpose. This egged me on to find better technologies which let users have more ownership of their assets and data.
How do you think the adoption of Web3 will help empower women?
A lot of experts believe that the next wave of mass adoption will actually come from women. When you look at what happened with retail, it was women that primarily moved shopping trends to online. When such a technology happens at mass scale, women will tend to benefit in job creation and how the technology benefits them. I believe women will be the driver of this mass scale adoption of blockchain itself.
What advice would you give to other women who want to enter the Web3 space?
Just get into it. Whether it’s having a digital wallet, reading a whitepaper, writing your first piece of code; there are so many avenues that are possible. There are so many resources out there and so much scarcity. The number of engineers in blockchain is so scarce, along with many other parts of the industry. There’s so much more to come. There are no barriers.
Connect with Shiti Manghani
Twitter: @shitirastogi
Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro
Lead Producer, Decentraland Foundation — London, UK
I am a multi disciplinary professional, with experience in XR solutions, immersive experience and web3. I am passionate about education, speaking with communities and brands, sharing knowledge and supporting the new creators economy.
When did you first get into Web3?
In 2018 during my PhD.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
When I read for the first time about the Crypto Anarchy Manifesto.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
I started as a multimedia artists and XR specialist.
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
The Web3 is a space of co creation, exercise of political skills and social engagements, so in my opinion this is the right tool for cultural transformation, giving the power to build the internet back to people. Thus, women have a voice in the decision making, by taking back their space in the digital scene, supporting their community and really showing the path.
For the first time I also feel that the creative vision is above the technical vision, which widen the spectrum of participation in the web3 to artists, designer, storytellers etc, to not only “dress” the digital interfaces, but to develop them from the core.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
Web3 is an enabler of peoples skills, and it is a place for self expression. Give it a chance to approach communities and slowly getting involved, as this is about taking actions and pioneering together. All skills, analog or digital, are welcome and the ecosystem is extremely supportive. Come and join us!
Connect with Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro
Instagram: @ggcasimiro Twitter: @ggcasimiro_ Linkedin: /ggcasimiro
Brittany Kaiser
Co-Founder, Own Your Data Foundation
Brittany Kaiser is an entrepreneur, activist, and globally recognized expert in data protection, technology, and legislative reform. She is the Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower and the main subject of Netflix’s documentary The Great Hack, she is the Co-Founder of Own Your Data Foundation which advocates for citizens reclaiming their data, she is also the Co-Founder of the Digital Asset Trade Association (DATA) where she assists in legislative drafting on laws that protect individuals’ digital rights as well as providing legal definitions for uses of digital assets and blockchain technology, she is the Chair of the Board for Gryphon Digital Mining, one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining companies, and she has helped to raise more than $100 million in cryptocurrency for Ukraine’s war against Russia.
When did you first get into Web3?
I was lucky enough to have my first Bitcoins in 2011. I didn’t go full time into the technology back then but by 2014 I started to see that the European parliament started talking for the first time on a policy level about whether European banks would be able to accept Bitcoin. That’s when I knew this was really going to become real. It was in 2016 when I decided to go full time into crypto.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
I decided to go full time into Web3 because I had spent many years in data science and saw the flaws of legacy technology. I became passionate about moving the entire way that technology is built: to go from extractive to rewarding and empowering. Web3 people are able to own and benefit from all of their data and digital assets: time, attention, and engagement. That and the ability to completely revolutionize people’s lives around the world
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
Women traditionally in technology, government, law, and a lot of industries that I’m intimately involved with are not accurately represented in executive positions, board positions, etc. What I’ve really found since entering the Web3 space is that there is a huge opportunity for women to become executive leaders, board members, or officers of companies.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
I would say to any women who want to become more involved in the industry, put yourself out there, go to conferences, meet people, connect with people on socials and IRL, and really let it be known what you’re passionate about and what you want to do. Most of the men I know in the industry are looking for more women in the companies and to add more women to their boards. Because so many people find it no longer acceptable to have all male companies.
Connect with Brittany Kaiser
Twitter: @ownyourdatanow
Melanie Plaza
CTO of AE Studio — Los Angeles
I’m a CTO at AE Studio, a development, data science and design studio based in Los Angeles. Our focus is on building agency increasing technology so we do a lot of cool stuff with blockchain and BCI. We work with clients and also build our own stuff, so I’m also Lead Runner at Token Runners, our white label NFT marketplace for people to do their own custom branded drops.
When did you first get into Web3?
In 2016, buying some BTC at just under 2k and being worried I’d missed out on getting in early enough. Then I cofounded a decentralized lending and crowdfunding platform that had a token with an $80MM marketcap in 2017 (December 2017…).
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
When I realized that blockchain really does allow for true decentralization, immutability, and trustlessness that you don’t get in the same way with other tech. And the types of things that are possible when a system has these properties. Like any new tech there’s definitely room to improve, and crypto prices rise and fall, but I believe blockchain will be a big part of the future.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
I was a full-stack developer and early employee at several LA based startups.
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
I think web3 gives the opportunity for individuals to take power back from the large centralized entities that dominate web2. I think it is highly empowering to anyone who wants to take advantage of it and is a tremendous opportunity for women or anyone who feels a power imbalance that impacts their ability to thrive in a non web3 ecosystem.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
I think now is the perfect time to get into it – the ecosystem has matured significantly so its not as hard to get started and there has been some validation that certain things are here to stay, but its also incredibly early still and you can have a huge impact on the space overall. People often have a very emotional reaction to web3 instead of evaluating aspects of it rationally.
This combined with the fact that there can be a steep learning curve at first tends to weed out a lot of people. But if you push through all of that and find things in it that you are truly passionate about, you have an amazing opportunity to be a leader in something that will shape the future.
Connect with Melanie Plaza
Twitter: @ImposterSWE Linkedin: /melplaza
Amber Ward
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Invisible North — New York, NY
As co-founder & chief creative officer of Invisible North, Amber has led major consumer initiatives across the globe, overseeing and executing high-level campaigns for brands such as FTX, Coinbase, Klarna, Ledger, Netflix, Amazon, Apple and more.
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Amber arrived in New York City in 2009 working in creative production roles before launching Invisible North in 2013. At Invisible North, she grew a talented team of 70+ strategists, creatives and producers working at the intersection of strategy, culture and design.
When did you first get into Web3?
I first learned about Bitcoin and started dabbling in crypto in 2019. With a bit of success, I recognized this was a small piece of a much bigger and exciting universe – the potential & promise of blockchain technology. What I knew of Web3 values hooked me in and I wanted to know more.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
This year, we were tapped to work with FTX on its NFT partnership with Coachella and I immediately recognized how we could push the traditional creative solutions even further. So much of the work we do is about embracing both nostalgia and futurism, and evoking feelings often rooted in childhood. The advent of digital communities and collectibles/NFTs/tokens offer a perfect playing field by virtue of the creativity, innovation and playfulness that’s native to this space.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
I led Invisible North’s creative agency team focused on identifying cultural trends and thinking about ways to engage people in everyday conversation.
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
As a new frontier, Web3 provides us with the opportunity to establish and stake claim in a space not yet solidified. There’s still opportunity for women to establish themselves as leading forces. I’m particularly interested in women empowerment in Web3. As a female-owned agency, it’s always been a priority of Invisible North’s to bring strong women on board – at all levels – and create space for female leaders, as well as provide mentorship for newcomers.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
The great thing about Web3 is how open and excited people are to talk about. There’s endless passion in the space and eagerness to grow the community – plus, everyone’s still learning. I’d encourage other women to simply start a conversation. There’s always challenges and obstacles but use them to your advantage to grow and learn.
Connect with Amber Ward
Instagram: @amberlward Twitter: @invisiblenorth LinkedIn: /amberlward
Lana Hopkins & Juliana DiSimone
Co-Founder & CEO / Co-Founder & Creative Director, some.place — Los Angeles, CA
We’re friends and the Co-Founders of some·place, a Web3 company that’s pushing the boundaries of how we experience and exist in the digital space. We’re building a social platform that empowers you to make worldwide connections & friendships and grow your community. We’re specifically building for mobile so it’s all in the palm of your hand, allowing you to integrate your digital experience with the physical world.
When did you first get into Web3?
We got into Web3 when we developed the idea for some·place, more than two years ago now. It started at the beginning of the pandemic, when we were struggling to maintain human connection with the limited social tools that were available. We started looking into concepts for what a more human digital experience could look like and we quickly did a deep dive into Web3 technology and communities.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
We realized that there were no social tools that were right for Web3. We loved the community aspect of the space but Discord was not even close to where we wanted to spend our time or energy talking to connections and friends. And there were no 3D spaces that were speaking our language in terms of design aesthetic, everything was dark and neon or purple.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
Lana is a second-time consumer tech founder and CEO with a background in scaling technical user experiences to a wide audience. Juliana comes from a background in design, fashion and brand building, she successfully launched and positioned lifestyle brand tokyobike in the Americas.
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
Web3 can empower women to be less dependent on VC funding and carve their own path, since women receive less than 2% of traditional VC funding. It expands our world beyond our physical location and through like-minded connectivity the opportunities become endless; both from a social and network perspective. That’s why we’re building some·place.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
Our advice is always to experiment. There’s so much to be discovered in the space, there are no wrong answers or questions. Listen to the community that you’ve built, and make it intentional to learn and co-create with them.
Connect with Lana Hopkins & Juliana DiSimone
Lana — Twitter: @LanaHopkins3 Instagram: @lanahopkins_ LinkedIn: /Lana-Hopkins
Juliana — Twitter: @jdsimone_ Instagram: @julianarudell LinkedIn: /Juliana-Rudell-Di-Simone
Nicole Behnam
Founder, Beyond The Interview; Head of Community, Hashflow
I’m the founder of discussion platform Beyond The Interview and Head of Community for Hashflow, the DeFi exchange. I’m also a Web3 & NFT advisor, interviewer and educator.
When did you first get into Web3?
I first got into Web3 in September of 2021.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
When all my friends moved from Clubhouse to Twitter Spaces and spent all their time talking about NFTs.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
Journalism, Digital Media, & PR
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
By giving them the power of ownership, a royalty system baked into smart contracts that ensures they get compensated, and by offering transparency.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
Don’t let anything or anyone discourage you. You do not need to be an expert. There are no experts, this is new terrain.
Connect with Nicole Behnam
Twitter: @nicolebehnam Instagram: @nicolebehnam
Gizem Mishi McDuff
Blueberry Entertainment Inc — Raleigh, North Carolina
I’m a serial entrepreneur with 2 exits. Currently dressing up the metaverse through my company Blueberry Entertainment Inc.
When did you first get into Web3?
The gaming community has been nurturing the concept of Web3 long before the word web3 existed. We have been using whatever technology available to us on open platforms to create content owned and control by its community for the past 10 years.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
As an avid gamer I realized I cared about my digital identity (avatar) and the way she looked almost as much as my real life identity. I am a strong believer in the potential for digital fashion to re-define the traditional fashion ecosystem, offering empowering, sustainable and endlessly creative products.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
Before Blueberry, I was a senior executive at multiple digital media and gaming companies. I led marketing at Peanut Labs (exit in 2010) and Xuqa (exit in 2006). In 2018 I co-founded 1336 Studios, a multiplayer game studio focused on the sports market, where I currently remain as Chair Woman.
Born in Turkey, I have always been a metaverse fanatic and prolific digital artist, with 300k+ followers on platforms like Flickr for my work in digital design.
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
I spent the last decade of my life building a community that empowers women in digital spaces. This is entirely what I want to do — even expanding the community to girls who will grow to be empowered women. The best part is that more and more girls and women want to participate in these virtual spaces — creating a world where they want to be.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
Always make community building your priority. I believe this space is very collaborative and communities are actively driving the market.
Connect with Gizem Mishi McDuff
Twitter: @WearBlueberry Linkedin: /gizem-mishi-mcduff
Regina Turbina
Founder & CEO, Artisant — Doha, Qatar
Digital and physical fashion designer, crypto and web3 fashion native. Digital fashion started as a hobby back in 2019 when I fell in love with designing and trying on some incredible digital garments for myself.
In 2020 this hobby turned into the first digi-fashion marketplace replicant that evolved into a web3 creative hub ARTISANT in 2021. Now, we are a growing community of 12000+ that unites crypto fashion designers, traditional brands and artists. We launched wearable NFT drops with PUMA and Ready Player Me and keep promoting web3 and digital fashion values as much as we can.
When did you first get into Web3?
It was in the end of 2020 – after we launched replicant we never stopped reasserting and collaborating, and blockchain was the magic missing ingredient for digital fashion. Digital fashion NFT gives you the opportunity to really own your digital garment and that was missing on replicant.
What was your ‘ah-ha’ moment that inspired you to get in it?
The blockchain tech that provides lots of benefits both for creators and collectors and beautiful NFT community that shares the vibes of support, unity and inspiration.
What was your background before entering the Web3 space?
I am a professional fashion designer. I started with a niche physical brand, then experimented with digital fashion for myself, founded the first digital fashion marketplace before discovering the magic of web3 space.
How do you think adoption of Web3 will empower women?
Web3 community is very inclusive. So is digital fashion. It is a perfect place to step up, share your ideas, showcase your artwork, be recognized and receive appropriate revenue without depending on conservative web2 centralized platforms and mind-sets. I see a lot of amazing and creative female artists and designers emerge in the web3 space and we support this wave with education, master-classes, free minting contests and our network.
What advice would you give to other women who want to get into it?
Don’t hesitate to step up and reach out. You can rely on NFT community, it is always giving back and supports. Digital fashion and metaverse art has no limits or restrictions. You are free to express yourself in any way you want. It is ultimate space for creation and sharing – so just reach out, show your art and eventually you will feel this magic.
Connect with Regina Turbina
Twitter: @reginaturbina Instagram: @digital.fashion.princess LinkedIn: /regina-turbina
