Vanina Ivanova is a marketing veteran. With almost a decade of experience in crypto, Ivanova now serves as the Head of Marketing at NEON EVM, a network extension that allows Ethereum developers to easily run compatible dApps on Solana.
During her time in the industry, Ivanova saw how women’s participation in the sector has changed over time and in which areas challenges remain. In this interview, she talks about how the crypto industry needs more women in leadership positions, such as engineering and developer relations.
Vanina Ivanova’s Journey in Crypto
Q. How did you enter the crypto sector, and how did you get to where you are today?
I got into crypto early, and by chance – back in 2016, my team and I were working on a video streaming platform that we wanted to monetize through ads, and traditional advertising networks were terrible.
We identified their biggest issue –the lack of transparency in the advertising supply chain– and decided to build our own ad engine on the blockchain to solve this. We hit the ground running and learned on the go, but we managed to do it.
Q. Did you have a female role model you looked up to as you continued to immerse yourself in the crypto industry?
There are many fierce, incredible women in Web3, and it’s sad that so many of them are not in the spotlight but instead grind behind the scenes. I admire them all, known and unknown.
Women in Crypto: How Has the Industry Changed?
Q. How has women’s involvement in the crypto sector changed over time since you began your career, specifically regarding engagement with crypto services and participation in leadership roles?
In the beginning, there would be the occasional female leader here or there, but generally, the industry was very male-dominated. I still remember a hackathon I attended in San Francisco in 2017, where I was one of about 5 women amongst hundreds of men.
In the early years, the majority of women were either in marketing or operations – and while to an extent that’s still true today, there are a lot more females in engineering or devrel roles.
Q. What barriers do women face in accessing the crypto industry? How do you think this could be mitigated?
One of the biggest issues I see is insufficient representation: we need to see more female leaders in the limelight. There is also a lot of misogyny in the space, and it is often quite open and pointed.
This is why organizations like SheFi are so important, providing education, mentorship , and support to women who want to jumpstart their Web3 careers or just learn about crypto for the sake of their financial independence.
Q. In what ways does the role of marketing matter in attracting women to the crypto space?
Crypto is complex and often confusing. It’s the crypto marketers’ job to simplify it and broadcast the message that Web3 is not rocket science. Women have a natural tendency to second-guess themselves, and this is why it’s important to see more examples that make them think, “Wait, I can do that too!”
The Evolution of Crypto Marketing
Q. How do you empower women’s participation in crypto through your marketing strategies?
I’ve always tried to make crypto understandable, and to showcase the financial freedom opportunities it has to offer. I dare say that I have managed to create a group of amazing women in crypto around me, and we act as each others’ cheerleaders, as well as advocates trying to bring in more women from Web 2.0.
Q. You just started your role as Head of Marketing at Neon EVM. What are you looking forward to achieving in this new role?
Neon EVM is a network extension that allows EVM developers to easily tap into Solana’s liquidity and user base. Right now, Solana is the chain that attracts the most non-crypto people to the crypto space.
Ultimately, I was to see the day when getting onboarded to a dApp is as easy as signing up for TikTok.
The Challenges Remain
Q. The crypto sector is very interconnected, and it often involves traveling to different countries. How do the challenges women face in the crypto sector, and more broadly in finance and technology, vary across different countries you’ve visited?
This is a huge topic , and I don’t think I can answer in a single paragraph. Women around the world often face economic, political, and even cultural challenges.
I like to focus on the issues that are more universal and , therefore , easier to find wider support – like misogyny and discrimination, restricted access to education, pay gaps , or inadequate maternity laws, just to name a few.
If we started solving these, it would be much easier to empower women with the tools they need to solve local challenges.
Q. What advice would you give to women aspiring to leadership positions in the crypto space?
Find your voice, and don’t be afraid to be heard. Always ask the “stupid” questions. You’ll be surprised how often the men don’t have the answers either.
Find or build a strong support group of other women in crypto around you. Fail fearlessly, then get back on your feet and keep going.
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