Web3 Innovations and Insights: A Fireside Chat with Women Investors, Founders, and Operators

Sophia immersed herself in the world of cryptocurrencies in 2018 and started her crypto journey with Galaxy Digital, supporting its portfolio of blockchain projects on fundraising, investor relations, and ICO initiatives. During her tenure with Huobi US and Crypto.com, she grew the institutional business through working with crypto hedge funds and trading firm clients in market making and volume trading programs, covering the Americas, EU, and Latam region.Sophia is also an active volunteer Judge and Mentor with Ethereum Foundation, Algorand, Harmony and Solana Labs. She’s a mentor with Yale’s Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking, as well as an active participant in startup communities such as Techstars, 500 Startups, and Plug and Play. She holds a BBA from Simon Fraser University, an MBA from University of British Columbia, and an MAM from Yale School of Management.

Autumn is Head of Community (Americas) for the Algorand Foundation, a global blockchain technology organization empowering growth of the Algorand ecosystem. She loves working at the intersection of technology and social impact, and wants to share the revolution and opportunity happening in blockchain with others. Autumn brings to the Foundation a decade of marketing and communications experience for digital companies, and direct experience growing blockchain technology communities. Previous to Algorand, Autumn led Strategic Partnerships for Make Sense Labs and their flagship product “Sense Chat”, a decentralized messenger on the EOS network. Her first foray into the blockchain industry was leading Marketing & Community for shEOS – the first female-founded blockchain technology company on the EOS network. The dual missions at shEOS were to flawlessly manage a portfolio of global validation nodes, while boosting diversity and female participation in the blockchain industry.

Ortal Tevel is the CEO of Colu and the founder of Urban Change Protocol. Passionate about local currencies and the cities of the future, pioneering local coin solutions that drive economic and social prosperity for urban communities. Ortal has been leading Fintech software products in the last 20 years, and is obsessed with turning ideas into reality and innovative applications.

Rumi is head of venture and growth investing at Digital Currency Group, the most active investor in the blockchain sector, with a mission to accelerate the development of a better financial system through the proliferation of digital assets and blockchain technology. She is also a Partner and Board Member at Outlier Ventures, and previously led the venture arm of the CME Group. A proven entrepreneur herself, Rumi established the Global Markets Institute during her tenure at Goldman Sachs and launched her own data innovation consultancy and economic research firm. Rumi is a Board Member of several non-profit institutions including the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Negaunee Music Institute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the BitGive Foundation, and the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and is also an Advisor or Board Member to several startups and venture funds in emerging technologies. She received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and received her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Kriti is an Associate at Sequoia India, where she works with early-stage companies across web3, consumer-tech, commerce, and SaaS. Prior to joining Sequoia India, Kriti worked at venture capital firms in India and US for over three years. As a part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, she worked with companies such as Cult.fit, Hevo Data, and Healthplix. She was also a founder herself when she founded an agri supply chain business in 2015. Kriti has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.