A Woman in Web3 and Proud Ukrainian: The Inspiring Story of Daria Volkova

Hi, HackerNoon Fam! My name is Daria Volkova. First, I’m a woman, proud Ukrainian 🇺🇦, and HackerNoon contributor.

Also, I’m the Business Advisor and Brand Marketing & Communications Expert for Web3 products. I’m an Ambassador of Blockchain, AI, and crypto. My journey in this field began in 2017. Many things have happened since that time! And more awaits ahead!

This article is dedicated to the topic of Women in Tech. It's important to talk about women in technology to set an example for other women and inspire them to make career changes and personal growth. So, I want to share my story and hope it will be helpful to the community.

Tell us about yourself!

I am a creator. I have created ideas, projects, and brands all my life. And this article is also created by me to make me closer to you, dear reader.

I started my career in 2013 as an intern creator at the international advertising agency Havas. Then, I learned to develop advertising campaigns, write video scripts and slogans, and manage the video and radio production process.

After Havas, there were three more agencies where I grew to become a leader, expanding my portfolio by working with major international brands such as Shell, Danone, Vodafone, BNP Paribas, and others.

In 2017, after finishing work in advertising, I entered blockchain and crypto because I wanted to meet new career challenges. My friends asked me to help them with product marketing and PR for several blockchain and crypto products.

It was necessary to learn quickly how brand building & PR work in the crypto industry, what mining is, why Bitcoin is so valuable, what tokenomics is, and how to write a whitepaper for blockchain startups. Oh! There were exciting and exhausting times, full of new information!

After that, I started my career in the blockchain field, working on projects on both sides - product companies (CeFi, DeFi, crypto exchange, L2 blockchain protocol) and marketing agencies.

My husband and I ran our product marketing and design agency, Pink Lions, and worked with fintech, blockchain, and educational products.

In 2023, I work with different clients, attend professional events, and develop my educational project on business development and marketing in web3. As part of this project, I run a YouTube channel in English, write articles and conduct lectures.

Also, I help my motherland, Ukraine, to resist Russian aggression with the help of regular donations to charitable funds. At the beginning of the invasion in 2022, I spent several months buying protective equipment for my colleagues who went to the front.

I wouldn't wish anyone to experience this, but it was essential to do and a worthwhile endeavor.

Additionally, I provide informational support and, in every possible way, contribute to increasing the recognition of the brand of Ukraine in Europe and the USA.

By the way, thank you HackerNoon Team, for supporting the initiative #StandWithUkraine by adding blue-yellow colors to your interface 💙💛

What tech are you most excited/passionate about right now and why?

I’m in love with Blockchain. I like the philosophy of it, and I’m sure this technology has already greatly influenced society and will influence it even more in the future.

Blockchain, and products created on its basis, such as DeFi, are changing the way people interact with each other and people with organizations—more freedom of choice and more transparency in processes.

However, blockchain has an ethical dilemma, at least for now. Humanity is not ready for absolute transparency and fixing everything in the blockchain.

For example, a friend and I recently discussed creating a product on the blockchain to collect information about a person or company and build a reputation.

This is a good idea in a business context because it will give consumers more information about the product and its creators. But blockchain reputation leaves no room for error and can play a cruel joke about a personal brand.

Also, I like the idea of the Internet of Things because household appliances or cars can become much more convenient and usable. They can adapt more to our life, and that's cool!

However, there can be a distortion here, too, if these things do not become assistants but shape our life and habits for us.

What tech are you most worried about right now and why?

I'm always a little worried when I see wild hype around technology. People are starting to go crazy and create as much content as possible around this technology without considering its relevance.

In 2017-2018, many businesses did ICO and issued their tokens without thinking about how appropriate it was for their business model and future use of funds. As a result, scammers appeared, which disappeared after the end of crowdfunding.

Likewise, the hype surrounding the NFT in 2021 created a giant bubble where art was mixed with ignorance.

Now, in 2023, I see such excitement around AI tools, specifically Chat GPT. The world is divided into those who are entirely fascinated by technology and those who are afraid of the revolution of machines.

Therefore, I favor treating any technology with a cool head and responsibly.

What are your hobbies and interests outside of tech?

I love detective stories! And the scarier and blacker the plot, the more interesting. That is why Norwegian Jo Nesbø and Frenchmen Jean-Christophe Grangé, and Antonin Varenne are among my favorite writers.

Detectives are probably an opportunity to pump up my ability to build cause-and-effect relationships and distract myself from reality. As a Ukrainian living during the war, I know that reality can be scarier than any plot in a book.

Also, I like to take pictures. I usually photograph architecture or landscapes. I run a photo blog on Unsplash, where I already have more than 50,000,000 views of my photos. Here are some of them:

YouTube is my hobby closely related to the profession. I run a YouTube channel to share my opinion, experience, and best market practices on business development and promoting brands in web3, Blockchain, and crypto. Here is one of my videos:

Why do we see this huge gender gap in the tech industry, and how can we reduce it?

It's no secret that the difference in the ratio of women to men in the tech industry is large. This is because women did not have access to STEM for a long time (until the 20th century).

Women were brought up to become good wives - they had to cook deliciously, look good, and be able to entertain their husbands with songs and music.

A woman doctor or astronomer was considered an outsider and an upstart 😐.

Today, thanks to the Internet, in most countries (except Afghanistan, Iran, and a few other Arab and African countries), women have the same access to knowledge as men.

This makes it much easier to get an education and accelerates the inclusion of women in the economy and competition with men in careers.

Many men do not like it. Because they see women not as a partner but as a competitor. Ambitious women are not liked by some women who want to keep "traditional values" and be housewives.

No one in the world is against men achieving success - it seems natural. But women face all kinds of condemnation or criticism when they declare themselves.

The flip side of ambitious women is perfectionism. Social networks cultivate the image of a successful mother in business who "does everything."

To build a successful career in a company or own a business, be attractive, give birth to several children, cook deliciously, be fun and interesting, and do all this before 30.

This is the ideal image of a modern "successful woman". The fact is that it is practically unreal.

All women who strive for success want to be successful in everything - in careers, relationships, and motherhood, and have time for their hobbies. This causes impostor syndrome and a desire to improve oneself and to be constantly productive.

Women need to overcome impostor syndrome and give themselves a chance to try many things in their careers before starting a family and giving birth.

I'm against forcefully increasing the percentage of women in the tech sector. This devalues the efforts of other women who got into work thanks to their hard and soft skills.

As a woman, I want to be judged on my achievements, not condescended to because of my gender.

Who is your tech idol? Why?

Unfortunately, no such famous names as Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood, or Changpeng Zhao exist among women in web3, Blockchain, and crypto. It’s an industry problem, but we can hardly say that women don’t have access to technology.

The issue is that this industry seems quite risky or

unknown to many women. For example, there are a lot of women in banking and classical finance, as it is a more stable and traditional industry.

However, I highlight the following women’s examples of successful careers in the blockchain/crypto industry.

• Kathleen Breitman (Co-Founder of Tezos)
• Katie Haun (Founder and CEO HaunVentures and board member of Coinbase, ex-general partner at Andreessen Horowitz crypto division)
• Jinglan Wang (Co-Founder & CEO of Optimism)
• Daria Shapovalova (Co-Founder of DressX)
• Aya Miyaguchi (Executive Director at the Ethereum Foundation and an advisor to Kraken)
• Christine Lagarde (Head of the ECB, crypto-friendly EU official)

If we analyze the activities of the most successful women in crypto, most occupy business positions, not technical ones. Many ladies are now involved in business development, marketing and sales, and managing operational activities.

I know some female Solidity developers and cryptographers, and they are still an exception because more men occupy similar positions. This is the situation today, but the percentage of women in tech is increasing yearly, which is a good trend. But not enough.

Here is the article with the statistics on Women in Tech. According to the data, we need 130 years to close the gender gap in tech.

Do you have any advice for aspiring girls who want to join the field?

Two main points to joining the growing web3 industry: niche interest and network development.

You must be interested because there is a lot to learn! And getting to know people and improving your software skills is critically important.

I recommend creating more educational programs where ladies can understand the benefit of the knowledge.

I want women planning to join the blockchain and Web3 industry to know that it is possible to do so at any time and not be afraid to change careers, even during a bear market 🤗