Women in Blockchain: Alisa Berezutska of Krypton Events
Matthew Lam Nov 29, 2019 11:30
The Next Block Asia held in Bangkok was a huge success in June 2019. Organized by Krypton Events, Next Block 2.0 will be back in Bangkok on Dec. 3, gathering blockchain leaders to discuss affiliate marketing in the age of crypto. We caught up with Alisa Berezutska, CEO of Krypton Events on her blockchain journey and shared with us her personal take on “Women in Blockchain”.
The Next Block Asia held in Bangkok was a huge success in June 2019. Organized by Krypton Events, Next Block 2.0 will be back in Bangkok on Dec. 3, gathering blockchain leaders to discuss affiliate marketing in the age of crypto. We caught up with Alisa Berezutska, CEO of Krypton Events on her blockchain journey and shared with us her personal take on “Women in Blockchain”.
Could you please give us an overview of your background and the inspiration behind Krypton Events?
Krypton Events was started from scratch 2 years ago as a premier blockchain events’ organizer and it has been amazing to see how our flagship event NEXT BLOCK has grown. We started with our first event in Kyiv, as
this is where the team is based, but we now run events around the world: in 2 years we held 6 NEXT BLOCK iterations in 4 countries, including NEXT BLOCK ASIA in Bangkok, which we did twice this year.
In these 2 years we became one of the leading international blockchain conferences in the industry and gathered thousands of technology executives, top-tier investors, promising blockchain ventures and industry best minds.
Prior to Krypton Events I served as a Projects Director of the Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s major English language news source, where among the other responsibilities I led its respectful events in the areas of Business and Politics. It’s already then, I developed an interest in the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, so no surprise I soon decided to go for the challenge of creating an industry event which engages, educates and leaves an impact.
I had an expansive career in media, investments and project management having held senior positions in various international companies as well as in governmental sector while serving as head of the single investments window department in the Kyiv city. These diverse and multidimensional roles gave me a chance to combine various expertise and gain a broad network of contacts which helped me further on my new path in amazing blockchain industry.
I hold an MA in International Economic Affairs and am fluent in English, Ukrainian and Russian.
What sets Krypton Events apart in regard to their service to the crypto and blockchain industry?
I believe Krypton Event’s flagship NEXT BLOCK is an unbelievable project that has had success in a short period of time, most of which was quite turbulent for the industry. I do believe it’s all due to people who are real enthusiasts who also well receive our efforts to deliver the highest quality experience - from high end entertainment and networking venues to top quality food and beverages.
At NEXT BLOCK we aim to offer the best conditions for education and fruitful discussions, raise hot topics and bring the best speakers like Bobby Lee, David Weild IV, Alex Mashinsky, Herbert Sim and others.
We also provide great networking opportunities for generating new business and getting exposure to the targeted audience before, during & after the event.
We understand that we act in what is a very competitive market which means there’s no such thing as perfect and next time around we need to work hard to make it better. We now have developed our own event’s application, introduced advanced and diverse options for our participants to purchase a ticket: from several fiat currencies to online major crypto currencies payments.
It is a truism that blockchain is disrupting many industries. In many cases this disruption has been deeply uncomfortable but yet it is positive. And this is what we want to discuss at our stages and will do our best to showcase the successful blockchain applications, useful tools in leveraging its development and serve the surge in blockchain startups and in fintech.
Could you speak to some of the success of some of your previous events?
We had events in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Israel and Thailand: each and every event has a special place in my heart and it warms it as they all were a success.
Doing an event in a new country is always a challenge and a victory when it went well. For us a European based company delivering our first event in Asia - was a double challenge. Yet we come back to Bangkok for the second time this year which means we got a positive feedback.
As part of the Conferences agenda we also held an ICO battle, an amazing Hackathon in partnership with Paysafe, had 5 FTV afterparties co-organized with the world-famous brand Fashion TV, we were featured at Bloomberg and numerous respectful industry media.
One of the success measures for me is the returning clients and the long-lasting relationships that we have built with many of our speakers, sponsors and participants.
Women in Blockchain
According to reports, only 5% to 7% of all cryptocurrency and blockchain users are women, making the industry a highly male-dominated one. What do you perceive as the reason for this male-dominance?
Experts have different opinion on this: some say it’s due to discrimination reasons, others that male-oriented tech industry women find uninviting etc.
I think partly these statements are true. At the same time I believe a big part of the answer lays in a psychological, often cultural levels and sometimes is even a result to natural behavioral patterns.
Crypto as an investment and area as a whole now is risky. And multiple studies say that men are more willing to take bigger risks. For example, according to one study cited by the Financial Times, there’s a 64% chance that a random man is willing to take more risks than a random woman.
So why does it happen? I felt risky to leave a habitual life & work when launching Krypton Events, however I was lucky to have the support of family and friends, which I find important. Plus I always wanted to try to create smth from scratch, especially in such an interesting area.
The answer to me lays a lot in how girls across the globe are raised. We are often brought up differently than men, we are taught to be good wives or daughters, to be humble but rarely to be brave, take the risk and pursue your dreams. Good thing is that society is changing, more successful women inspire young girls for challenging themselves and slowly but less and less a woman lives up to society's expectations of what her role and decisions should be.
Why is it important to have an equal representation of genders in the blockchain ecosystem?
When it comes to professionalism I don’t believe in gender. For me it doesn’t matter if my partner or colleague is he or she as long as they are good in what they are doing, are team-players and are devoted to their job.
At the same time I understand the need for gender equality in the area. I will put aside the objective explanation laying within realization of human rights for all in this answer and highlight that men and women are equal but not identical. Equal amount of men and women in any area or ecosystem creates better space for diversity in visions and ways of thinking, which is essential to the success of any venture.
There has always been a disparity between men and women in technology roles. What roles exist in the Blockchain field for women without technical coding or engineering knowledge?
What I love about the Blockchain and Crypto industries is the great amount of opportunities that they provide. I believe it’s one of the most welcoming and rewarding industries there are right now.
The industry is rapidly developing in different directions (from startups and companies that use blockchain for enterprise to crypto exchanges) creating a space for creativeness, specialized services and expertise. All of the companies (and even governments) need an extensive list of services and skills: legal, marketing, accounting, project management, HR, sales etc.
Among my friends you will find successful female lawyers, business development managers, PR specialists, affiliates and digital marketers who now specialize on blockchain/crypto industries. And even myself – I don’t do coding, but I built a platform where a company and a person with needed skills can find each other) What I mean to say – whatever it is you like to do and you are good at with a 90% chance your skills and expertise can build you a successful career in the industry.
As a woman, what can be done to bring more women into the blockchain and crypto world?
Educate, inspire and create workplaces!
I am the opposite example of gender inequality situation in the industry. All team members in our team except for developer and one of the graphic designers are women. Some of the team members joined us without previous experience in the industry, but they had a strong set of skills in their expertise. I love my team – women are very much devoted to what we do, attentive to details and I am not sure many men would commit and perform on the same level in our type of business;)
But seriously it’s real examples and success stories, popularization of the industry and possibilities it offers that will show more women that industry is friendly.
Image source: Shutterstock
