In a one-on-one with SatoshiWomen co-founders Lyndaine Demetilla and Vivien Khoo, they share about their experiences establishing the crypto-literacy community to empower women to achieve financial freedom.
Taking control of your finances through innovative methods has become a pinnacle of achieving financial freedom. Witnessing this foreseen trend, founders and entrepreneurs Lyndaine Demetilla and Vivien Khoo decided to launch their very own vision, SatoshiWomen. Based in Hong Kong the women-driven community enables crypto solutions for those looking to enter into the realm of blockchain, gain visibility, or make financial breakthroughs.
Most recently the Chief of Staff at Fusang, Lyndaine and Vivien, Chairman of Asia Crypto Alliance and a Senior Advisor at StashAway, have years of expertise in the financial industry, digital assets, and FinTech behind them. They later ventured into sharing their knowledge and experiences through SatoshiWomen, providing women with the same access and resources to cryptocurrency.
We sat down with the dynamic duo and dove straight into the blockchain ecosystem, as they shed light on the important work they are doing with their empowering, educational, and inspiring women-led crypto community, SatoshiWomen.
Can you tell us more about your entrepreneurial journey?
Vivien started, “Goldman Sachs, where I spent close to two decades, was where I first got introduced to the concept of female empowerment. Goldman has very structured programmes for developing females, and as a managing director there, I had played a key role in sponsoring many of these programs for females at different levels. I enjoyed meeting and bringing together females from different levels and backgrounds, connecting with them and providing support and mentorship. Fast forward in my career, I joined the crypto derivatives set-up and witnessed an industry primarily male-dominated and realised the need for a more inclusive platform.
”Lyndaine followed, “I myself come from a finance background and have previously supported EmpowerU in educating migrant workers to become more financially independent. I, later on, joined a digital securities exchange, Fusang, and eventually met Vivien in 2020, from where we began our journey together. Thinking back on it, we’ve both always been passionate about connecting with women and helping them improve their lives through better finance and wealth management. We had the access network, expertise and knowledge, in the digital assets space, we then went on to found this community in 2021.”
What inspired you to establish SatoshiWomen together?
Vivien said, “We happened to connect upon our first meeting, and our ideas, background and perception just aligned well with our shared vision to create and empower. Aspiring to build an organic community for our female audience, where they could communicate freely and ask questions on blockchain tech, crypto, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), without being judged. We envisaged a more scalable way for females from different walks of life to be better educated and have access to crypto, and then we worked on it. As many dreams, others talk, yet only a few execute, and we both were the ones to execute.”
Lyndaine added, “Since we were both quite similar yet different at the same time, it worked to our advantage, complementing and filling in the gaps. I consider myself to be a social butterfly and enjoy driving conversations and networking events, while Vivien is rather calm and collected with a more tactical approach to it. In some ways, we balance each other as well as push ourselves to achieve greatness.”
What transpired for you to build a crypto-literacy platform in the midst of a pandemic?
Vivien started, “When I moved into the digital industry and started at the crypto exchange, I noticed significantly low participation among the female demographic, where shareholders, tech founders or traders were mostly men. Lyndaine was also involved in the FinTech pedestal at the time.”
Lyndaine continued “We both deemed it essential to close that knowledge gap as we were primarily familiar with the traditional finance trade, as well as for cryptocurrencies and blockchain openwork.
Around the covid pandemic, plenty of new opportunities emerged, where financing means and modes were undergoing a major transformation, and blockchain, crypto, and NFTs were more widely adopted. We later saw a market for retail participation in crypto, and as the NFT hype became more mainstream, numerous female artists alongside creatives were indulging in it. Additionally, it opened a space to mint music, artworks, luxury fashion, and intriguing interest from women audiences who wished to participate in the trade.
Drawing it all together, having started this crypto community during the pandemic had surprisingly accelerated the need and demand for such an initiative.”
As you were building a community to strengthen crypto-literacy amongst women, what change were you hoping to bring with SatoshiWomen?
Lyndaine added, “To enable access and raise awareness for the initial aspect of the learning and expanding knowledge on crypto, as it is constantly evolving. As facilitators of the community, we ourselves are gaining insights as we move forward. We wish to address the community, to be more inclusive and not be afraid of asking super basic questions, as that most importantly is what will get you started in crypto. And because of your increased awareness, you’re then more capable of making an educated decision in terms of whether or not you want to allocate your financial resources.”
Vivien followed, “Adding on to it, we don’t want women to be left behind and hope to provide the same access as men going forward. Instead of labelling new technologies such as NFTs and Metaverse as complex notions beyond our grasp, we hope to drive interest and involvement in the space. Once women get more access and knowledge on these immersive networks, we’ll be able to make more educated choices to take better control over our finances.”
As women entrepreneurs, what would you say were your greatest challenges in starting a crypto-focused community in a primarily male-dominated field?
Lyndaine expressed, “Being in a male-dominated space one needs to have certain skill sets in order to adapt to that environment. But it also created opportunities and immense support from the community. In fact, when we started off as SatoshiWomen, most of the people who helped us reach connections and expand our networks were male volunteers. Nevertheless, I believe the crypto environment is generally becoming more and more inclusive.”
Vivien added, “I have seen a major transition in the crypto industry where it is becoming more inclusive. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you’re good at what you do or not. Gender does play a role but it is best to be confident in your abilities. Trading and technology skills, which are commonly required for jobs in the field, can be acquired and improved through self-learning.”
Satoshi Nakamoto is used as a pseudonym for the person or group who developed bitcoin. Many may say the person was presumably a man. How did you decide to incorporate that into your title?
It rings to us as catchy as it connects closely with our vision and the message we wish to send to our community. Firstly, nobody truly knew who Satoshi Nakamoto was, it was merely an assumption that it was a man or a group of men. When in fact it could have possibly been a group of women. We fostered the idea into the name to defy the common presumption, and now SatoshiWomen stands out from the crowd and is recognised as a notable female-oriented crypto-community platform.
What are some of the ways you have adopted and facilitated crypto-literacy?
“Starting from the most fundamental stage, we provide access through our strong network connectivity. The next step requires essential monitoring and scaling in order to measure our growth. With the diverse set of knowledge and expertise in our community, we experienced women being passionate about connecting with and assisting one another, which has significantly helped build and create an impact.” said Vivien
Lyndaine elaborated, “We stand by three pillars to educate, inspire and deliver access. On the education part, we currently conduct one-on-one sessions as well as webinars on our platform. Besides, we actively seek ingenuity through connecting and learning from our healthy network of female talents, creatives and curious people.
We had previously collaborated with a few female artists to assist with the launch of their NFT collections, as well as having spoken at the Digital Art Fair Asia 2021 on the “Role of Females in NFT Landscape: Creatives, Investors and Collectors”, and would continue to host more events in the near future.”
NFT Artworks Created by SatoshiWomen Artists
Close the Pit created by Claudia Chanhoi and MIND created by Evgenia
Why is it important for women to participate in the crypto world now more than ever?
Women should definitely understand the mechanisms behind how crypto operates in the blockchain. While actually taking part in crypto-trading is more of a free choice, considering a lot of research, time and capital go in behind the process. It does require one to put aside a bit of capital in order to test the market and participate in the trends from the inside. The secret is to walk in with an open mind and sometimes be willing to take the risk.
Can you briefly explain cryptocurrency and digital assets for newcomers?
We cannot offer any investment advice or recommendations but basically, do extensive research on what options are available and just get involved. There are many resources available publicly.
The most basic way to engage in crypto is through signing up to a crypto provider which has trading facilities with some spare capital. It is very important that you also understand how the crypto is stored and the security of the platform given that it is a key risk in any type of crypto investment. Bitcoin and Ethereum, for example, have the largest market cap and are available through most platforms. It is best to opt for some larger regulated platforms, but of course, you should do your own research before investing in any form of crypto.
What advice would you give to women and entrepreneurs starting to navigate the crypto world?
Vivien mentioned, “Primarily starting in the crypto world, one should set aside a disposable amount that they are willing to risk. Most importantly businesses and newcomers navigating the ecosystem need to study ways to better equip and adopt crypto, blockchain and NFTs in their network models. Other methods include building connections and learning through shared experiences of fellow NFT artists and or crypto traders in our community. Additionally, it works best to test and trial different options to seek.
Lyndaine remarked, “You could simply open an account on crypto exchange platforms to trade or buy fractions of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Most may not know but you do not need huge chunks of money to invest in such platforms. For instance, the money we set aside for our shopping could be used to buy crypto instead. Oftentimes, we don’t need that extra pair of heels, so it is always a good option to generate a yield on your crypto investments. However, make sure you have familiarised and well-researched on your interesting coins as well as terminologies prior to fully committing with such investments.”
Moving forward, what does the future look like for SatoshiWomen?
Lyndaine announced, “We are excited to inform you that SatoshiWomen will be hosting some exciting events lined up for the later months. Some upcoming events include our Metamask 101 and Wine & Spirit NFT 101, the online webinar will be held on zoom, and perhaps some live sessions would be possible. With the restrictions here in Hong Kong beginning to relax, we are looking forward to hosting face-to-face events.
We are also in the midst of venturing into the Metaverse, Web3 and more, incorporating the new digital wave into our community. Also, with an active community of members internationally, we will be targeting further expansion as well, in order to cater to all on a global scale.”
For more information, visit SatoshiWomen’s website satoshiwomen.net.
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