Nothing in this article constitutes or should be taken as financial advice. It is for illustrative and educational purposes only. Always do your own research.
In a fast-paced world of web3, where one hype cycle is replaced by the next and flipping JPEGs is everyone’s favourite pastime, some projects stand out for merits other than their popularity. But let’s start from the beginning.
Writing this column became a great catalyst for starting conversations about how to get more women interested in NFTs and crypto in general. Web3 is promising to be a more equitable space and there is a growing number of amazing women-led projects that are helping shape the NFT space of the future. Most of them will be responsible for onboarding the fresh cohort of NFT aficionados. And that is not an easy slog – helping someone set up a wallet is only the beginning, followed by weeks or even months of educating and nurturing your community to become active participants in the market.
Also hard, is actually measuring the success – the statistical pickle with the blockchain lies in the fact that the wallets are pseudonymous… So, at any given time, we can’t even tell what proportion of project holders identify as women and non-binary.
What I am hopeful for in this space, however, is a more subtle shift. One where a more equitable mindset slowly becomes a standard across the board, not championed solely by the projects that are built around minority empowerment.
On that note, here are some projects and founders who, in my humble opinion, are thinking in the right direction.
Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Gary Vee) - a successful entrepreneur and media personality who, if not an OG, was one of the earliest to the NFT space. He is often quoted by people as the reason they got interested in the NFT space. Last year, Gary launched Book Games NFT to mark the publishing of his IRL book Twelve and a Half, which explores twelve essential emotional skills integral to life, business and success. The book became an instant best-seller on Amazon and Gary’s leveraging of NFTs to launch the book was marked by many as revolutionary to the future of publishing. What Gary does not often explicitly talk about though is his approach to hiring and supporting women in the space. Last year, VaynerNFT (Vee’s NFT agency where he is chairman) - one of the first NFT agencies in existence, saw Avery Akkineni step up to lead the company. Gary was also an early supporter and holder of World of Women and Women and Weapons, and is intentional about seeking out diverse projects to support and leading by example.
Moonbirds - the much-hyped project boasts not only astronomical floor and top sale prices (one of the birds sold for 350ETH or $1m within a week of launch). Founders Kevin Rose (who as you know I love to the moon and back) and Justin Mezell wanted to create a collection that was diverse in its attributes, so a panel of consultants was formed to ensure fair representation. Besides that, Kevin often and openly speaks about his approach to recruitment for the Proof team, which recently welcomed two kick-ass female community managers to run a tight Discord. A week after the launch, Moonbirds Women community group was formed, led by none other than one of our AB Sisters – Shira Lazar.
Deadfellaz - an Aussie based project created by a husband-and-wife duo (Psych and Betty), with Betty at the helm. Betty, a mum of three, who has built a pre-NFT career as a creative producer, started this project last year when she didn’t feel like the existing NFT projects represented her or a wide enough spectrum of gender. Deadfellaz were recently signed by United Talent Agency and in its announcement UTA said they were excited to support “not only a female-led project, but one that has continually vouched for authentic inclusivity and diversity in web3 since its inception”. If you ever listen to Betty speak on spaces or a podcast, note how she makes a real effort to use inclusive language.
Impact Theory - Tom Bilyeu and his wife and business partner Lisa are co-founders of an NFT project linked to Impact Theory Studios, their digital-first studio, that develops and produces entertaining original content focusing on themes of empowerment and changing lives through growth mindset. Tom is passionate about the positive impact future tech can have on culture and society. Lisa is the creative force behind the hit digital series “Women of Impact,” which showcases females who have overcome incredible hardship to achieve massive success. Her content has been viewed over half a billion times. Pre NFTs, Tom and Lisa were running Quest Nutrition (later sold for $1bn), which beyond producing nutrition bars, aimed to also positively impact lives by employing people with previous felony convictions to give them a second chance. Tom and Lisa believe in the power of storytelling and are aiming to build IP through web3 with the goal of ensuring no one gets to the age of 15 years old without a growth mindset.
While it is too soon to tell if web3 will in fact shape up to be a more diverse and equitable space, compared to its prior iterations, I remain eternally optimistic – if there are enough of us who keep talking about it, perhaps the rest will follow.