Employable web3 skillsets-Aneesha Reihana
The Web3 industry is still quite young. Getting a foot through the door at this early stage could set up for a life-changing decision. This episode of Diving Into Crypto podcast hosts Aneesha Reihana, CEO and founder of Honeycomb Web3 where she discusses various employable web3 skillsets. The episode serves as a go-to place for the individuals who are finding their passion in the web3 industry.
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Transcript
EMPLOYABLE WEB3 SKILLSETS - ANEESHA REIHANA
Participants:
JP( Host)
Aneesha Reihana ( Founder of HoneycombWeb3)
JP [:Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we've waited long and up. Let's get this show on the road. Welcome welcome welcome to this episode of Diving into Crypto. This is JP from AdLunam Inc. Bringing to you everything about Web3. Keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, before we begin, that views expressed on this program are meant for education purposes only. That's a pun today because we're going to be talking about employable skills in the Web3 space, as well as some of the education that we all need to do better in the Web3 space. In addition to that, please remember to use those reaction buttons to express your love when you hear those gems drop from our speaker. Today, we have a very special guest, a lady who's doing a lot of work in the space of education across two different countries that I know of. I know that there's more which we are going to find out on the show. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome to the stage Aneesha, the queen bee of HoneycombWeb3. Welcome, Aneesha.
Aneesha Reihana [: Hi, good evening. It's: JP [:Wonderful to have you, Aneesha. I mean, ever since we had the conversation before, I think it was a few months ago, I've been waiting to host you on the show, of course, to share your ideas and a little about all the great work that you've been doing. And also because you are so focused in the Web3 space to develop talent and help people find a career. Now, that being said, and before we begin, Aneesha, I have to ask you, how did you get into Web3? What was that moment in which that switch had flipped for you?
Aneesha Reihana [: tributed ledger technology in: JP [:Right. Wow. That is quite a journey. Aneesha, when you start out from a different industry, finance just has, I would say, a broad overlap at best when it comes to crypto because everything that you traditionally learn is sort of spun on its head. There's so many pivots in the manner in which both these industries work. So this is certainly quite a journey that you've been on. And hats off to you for being with us today and taking that journey. I mean, like you said, you have conservative universities in that location, but they were able to give you a window into that. Do you see more of that happening now?
Aneesha Reihana [: that I got this education in: JP [:Certainly. Wow. And it certainly seems to be the domino seem to be falling in place where that's concerned. So that's good. I have to ask you, when you speak about getting those skills in the Web3 arena, right. Very broadly, what are some of the skills you think that people should have if they want to venture either from another industry into Web3 or transitioning between Web2 and Web3? What do you think some of those broadly those skills should be?
Aneesha Reihana [:Number one skill set that you should have is the mindset to fail. With the willingness to fail comes the depth in learning and then consistency will develop in problem solving. So instead of saying be a problem solver, I say have the guts to fail and tell yourself, tune your mind that it's good to fail so that I keep learning. So if you come in with a mindset that everything has to fall in place from day one, or everything has to be laid out in a platter for you from day one, you're not going to learn anything. So have the expectation or eagerness to walk into a mess and figure out how to put the puzzle together. So that's number one skill set uncertainty and working in uncertainty, don't expect a clear black and white because with this ambiguity comes phenomenal education. Phenomenal education that no book can bring you. So that's the skill set. All Web3 companies that are in digital transformation, want their employees or their team to have the willingness to continuously learn and always do research and try problem solving problem and continuously solve the problems.
JP [:Okay, so if I understood that correctly, the first one is be willing to fail, right? Have no fear about failing? And the second one is of course have that problem solving mindset, right?
Aneesha Reihana [:Yes.
JP [:Okay. So with these two skills I'm curious to also understand because you will have a lot of people right now who would still look at Web3 as an option wanted to get into either Blockchain or the crypto industry as a whole. But for somebody, for example, let's go a little more specific, right? For someone who has say, about ten years of work experience in a particular field and is trying to transition to the Web3 sector, or they've been in the Web2 space and then they're coming into the Web3 sector. So more specifically, what should they do? What are some of the things that a person should look out for if they want to venture into the space?
Aneesha Reihana [: n I was entering the space in: JP [:I absolutely love that you said that about the cheat sheet, right. That's the one thing that most of us don't follow when it comes to having to find a new career or having to look at a new role. Those are some of the key things that are required of you. Right. And it's surprising that so many people, I wouldn't say oblivious, but they've never figured that out. So I'm really glad that you shared that with us today. Thank you for that. Aneesha. That's a classic. That's a total gem.
Aneesha Reihana [:You're welcome. I think it's such an obvious and the most easiest thing, but we never realized that that is the answer or the teaching. For me, that was the approach I always took since young. So it was easy for me to comprehend. And yeah, I'm happy to. That brought a lot of light. so, yeah.
JP [:Okay, so I'm a ten year veteran. I look at a cheat sheet. I see that there is from a different industry. I can find my position here. That seems fairly easy, right? What about if I'm a student, for example, right. I've only just come across Web3. I've probably just recently graduated or I'm still going to graduate. And in some places there's a lot of places where students may not have the exposure to what the Web3 industry is about. So maybe what I'll do is I'll split up this question into two parts. Right? We've spoken about it as a veteran who can find the skill sets, but is there something specific for students that they can do? And I know a lot of them are in the room today for students to do that if they want to break into the Web3 industry, is there something they should be looking at or something they should be doing at this point in their life?
Aneesha Reihana [:There is much more that students can do compared to working professionals in this space. But the basics of it, it's still the same where you understand yourself the best. So identify your core competency, your passion, or your love when you want to learn something new. And blockchain is not easy. You have to stay motivated. So these are the driving factors. Right. You have to do something that you're passionate about. You can be an engineering student, but doing creative work is what excites you and gets you up in the day. Then you want to explore the creative space of blockchain.
JP [:Right.
Aneesha Reihana [:Define your core competency. Number one, and they say birds are like no flock together. So find groups and communities that work together. Number three, start your own online portfolio. It's as easy as that in an open source where either GitHub or notion.com start building a profile of either copy you clone a project or you go and identify some use cases you can resonate with or existing projects that you like. Identify existing projects that you like and be that silent ghost employee and give yourself a title role. And then build your portfolio based on an existing project so that you have a portfolio or you have your own profile based on a real life project. So these are the few ways that you can do so. Number one, identify your core competency. What keeps you really happy. Number two, introduction to Blockchain understanding the Fundamentals. There are a lot of online causes available, free courses available by the reputable protocols at this point of time. Like I mentioned, we are rolling out with Focus on Business Innovation. The third one is set up your own portfolio, online portfolio where you document all your work. If there's no evidence of your work, nobody is going to tap onto your talent. So that's what Web3 is about, right? It's about tamper proof recording. So you've got to record your work and put it out there. You got to be a bit shameless about it and let people comment and get yourselves into groups. Find communities. This is one community. I can see so many people here. And then find a project. Either create your own project or simpler, clone a project or existing project that you like, identify a role and then work on that project and put up that portfolio there. The beautiful thing about the Web3 space is that there's this term called open contributor. You can actually identify yourself with a project and you go to them and say, look, I would like to contribute and this is my work. You probably like it. I know a few people who got full time employments based on their building of their portfolios. So that's a new way of hiring, a new way of talent sourcing for employers as well. It's not about attending an interview and looking at your CV and the talent acquisition officer says, oh yeah, I think you can do it. No, prove yourself. Then you qualify for the role. So you've got to really prove yourself in this space and remote work. Work from home. And I'm very glad that article came up today and it made a very controversial Whirlpool within a few hours. Work from home. Remote work means discipline, integrity, honesty. I cannot emphasize that well enough. In Tamil we say in Tamil we say Vayala nadja sudhada. That means don't make a bada with just your mouth. Do it. Document your work and upload it online and let people comment. Get mentors. Get advisors. How do you get mentors? Or advisors. When you go into a common forum, let people comment. You either follow a mentor on LinkedIn or their social media page, or if they respond to you, get their feedback. I know a lot of Web3 founders who are phenomenal mentors equally, like yourself and Jason, you guys share so much, and I'm sure there are a lot more out there as well. So there's so much as a student that you can do, because when you don't have any liabilities at this age or at this stage of your life let's not talk about age. You can experiment in so many different ways. And don't jump into, oh, I'm going to go into a startup, I'm going to launch my startup. I'm going to raise 1 million. I'm going to raise 2 million. Don't focus on the monetary benefit. Focus on the intrinsic benefit first. Focus on proving yourself, documenting that work, accepting feedback and refining your work and let people find you. When your work is beautiful, people will come to you. You don't have to go to anyone, but you have to be available publicly. Your work has to be available publicly. And yeah, I think there's so much.
JP [:Yeah, I mean, absolutely. Aneesha, I agree with you 100%. Ladies and gentlemen, those of you in the room that agree, please give our speaker a reaction for those wonderful gems. Remember, I can't repeat that in Tamil, but don't make a savory donut just with your mouth. You got to actually make it right. And you got to have that exactly what you were saying, Aneesha. You got to have that Proof of Work. If you've worked in these spaces, if you're developing your role, document it somewhere. So it's more about show, don't tell, right? That's one of the trends you're seeing in the industry. Is that right, Aneesha?
Aneesha Reihana [:Yes. Document your work publicly so that there is a record that it's your work as well. Do not steal work. Do not steal work. Please innovate optimize. Do not steal work.
JP [:And certainly good advice, certainly something and also resonating with what you mentioned before. Have the integrity and have the discipline when it comes to work from home. So that your true contribution only builds you up. Right. It makes you a better person besides. Super. Okay, so I understood now, as a veteran, what I should be doing if I want to get into the Web3 space. I understand now also, as a student, some of the things that I can do if I want to get into this entire industry that I'm seeing so much about. At the same time. The second part of the question that I have to ask you, Aneesha, is that you have the unique advantage of having been across two countries at this point and many more that you may have been at across Asia. Across even Europe for that matter, where you don't see a lot of promotion you don't see a lot of promotion where Web3 is concerned. So in a huge contrast between Singapore and India, let's just take these two locations, right? In Singapore, you're more likely to see advertisements about Web3 companies. It's spoken about on the streets, it's spoken about in various cafes. And on the other end of the spectrum, in India, it's not spoken about as much as it could be. Right. Because there's no direct promotion. There's a lot more regulation by the government. Right. So if somebody were to just get a scratch the surface of what Web3 is about. Right? And since you've spoken to so many students, what are some of the stories you hear about, hey, you know what? This looks interesting, but how do I get more information? How do I find out more about this? What can I do if there's a small case? Because there was one part of the question that I had for you. What do you tell them?
Aneesha Reihana [: e were specializing in DLT in: JP [:No.
Aneesha Reihana [:Yeah. So then technology is just a tool or catalyst you leverage on technology. You don't force technology into people. It's about how do you introduce this to the people without introducing Web3? You trigger or you connect through familiarity. So problem solving always comes with familiarity first. What was that point of familiarity? What are they solving? Did they force the user to change their behavior? Because I noticed that a lot of students, when they come up with projects in Web3 because of the buzzwords, they force that solution into users. Users don't want a solution. Users want normality. Users are loyal to what works. They don't want you to fix what's not broken. So then in the back end, you go and dissect and see what was fixed in the back end, what was different. And then you learn from there. Because in reality, you can't have textbooks for this space at this point of time. It's very much learning through case studies and knowing how to dissect and how design thinking works is also important. So if you Google design thinking, there is a format. If you Google problem solving methods, there's a format. And from there, you can do your case study. It's a little bit tricky, but by the time you do the same process for your 4th or 5th project, you will get the hang of it. You won't even realize you actually got the hang of it because it's so intuitive. And that's what business is about. That's what technology is about.
JP [:I like that. I like how you say that it becomes intuitive because you've practiced it that many times. Right? Because you do it six times, seven times. But the quicker you start with that process, the more you're able to it just becomes a part of you. It becomes a part of the habits that you have. And that as human beings, we don't really want to change.
Aneesha Reihana [:Yes, that's correct. And this is also one of a skill set. This is one of very important skill set that you need if you want to be part of an innovation team or start up in this space.
JP [:Truly. Okay, so, Aneesha, I think we've got a good background and base about where we can start if we are looking to get into Web3. Right. Curious to know, because I know that recently you were in India. You gave a talk at one of the top institutions there, and then you were also plugged into a large number of the student community. That's in Singapore, right? Are there some trends that you see changing where students are concerned if job seekers today? There may be some common threads between both these places, but there may also be some common trends that you see happening with students who are getting into the industry. Could you share some light on that?
Aneesha Reihana [:Let's go with the good stuff first. The commonality is that students are taking learning into their own hands in traditional infrastructure, educational infrastructure, to make a change in the curriculum. It takes time because there's so much of bureaucracy and a lot of change management, correct. So students who identify this need and demand, they go out there to the industrial community and participate. So both here in Singapore and India, there are a lot of student led communities where they come together, brainstorm and figure out how to do peer learning in the space or even projects. As simple as going for meetups, going for panels, identifying mentors and advisors to guide them. They start with a very basic in both sides. What these student communities do is that they start a community and a forum online, we call it a dow. And then they try to have their own governance. So you're learning on the go, you're learning through practice, correct. So they are learning on the go. Both sides, this is very prevalent. Another thing is that both sides, enthusiastic students look for opportunities through hackathons, through internships, beyond the institution. This is phenomenal. They go hunt for internships that is not needed for them through their traditional education portfolio. But they go well beyond and find internships and they make time for it. Both sides. And a lot of them try to form their groups and participate in hackathons. But what I think is lacking is that there's no longevity or long term planning in all these participation. Probably it comes with maturity. So if you're listening up, if you are a community dow, you're a student led club, find a few mentors who can give you a structured framework or guide you on a structured framework as okay, if you go for a meetup, come back with some learning tips or come back with some share your learnings, identify what you have learned. How can we convert some of the learnings into practice? When you go for a hackathon, come back and get feedback from your advisors or your mentors on what's the next step. And have like a calendar of events. And sometimes there's too many events both sides and around the world, too many events. I think this is a post pandemic bombarding events. So choose your events wisely. Get mentors and advisors to advise you on which events to attend. Or if you want, then you want to mock up your own minor small events. They're willing people to come and speak, have a structure in all these. So these are the commonalities and these are some of the shortcomings that can be solved as well for the student communities. But it's very aggressive. When you have the passion, you have the drive, you'll do anything. And the communities that I'm involved with, they just have the amazing passion, drive and energy and. That keeps me going. So even the recent trip, I just came back three days ago, and I was traveling nonstop for 18 days, and I was just so exhausted because the last trip was across five cities in three weeks and just Chennai alone, I had to go to Kuimbadur and then back in Chennai and back to back events. But, you know, the response is phenomenal. These students, they come and they said, okay, this is what we want to do. This is what we are already doing. What's next? How can we improve ourselves? So when you have the willpower, like I said, the advisors and mentors, people come flocking to you to help. And I know advisors and mentors who come go to these communities and help them as well.
JP [:True. And that's something that's unique in the Web3 space that you see that happens an awful lot, where you have what should I call it? Where you have people who are so willing to help out. Right. That is really prevalent in the Web3 space. I haven't come across that as much in other industries, but this one for sure.
Aneesha Reihana [:Yes. That's a beautiful part. That's the beautiful, beautiful part. And that keeps everybody going. Even among the industrial practitioners in Singapore, everybody helps each other. Even if they are competitors, they help each other, they collaborate, work together, and it's the same with students as well. Another thing that I've noticed is that sometimes, probably due to lack of maturity, you want to get things done yourself, you want to achieve a trophy. But with collaboration comes a whole new level of achievement. So don't be afraid to collaborate because the ecosystem is such that you have to collaborate. And when you do things together, there's so much more you can achieve.
JP [:Truly. Absolutely. Aneesha, I've got to ask you, because we again look at a range of activities that people can undertake and things that people can do in this particular space. But it really does boil down to like you're saying, right? Not being afraid and being able to problem solve. I think that also alludes to another skill set that a lot more people should practice, and that's mental agility, right. You having been across industries, being a person that's come in from a different industry into the Web3 space, what is your secret sauce? What are some of the things you think that keep mental agility going?
Aneesha Reihana [:For me, okay, I think there are many parts to this. For me, it was a personal motivation. I have three children, and last year my daughter Googled my name and she was so excited to see my title, my job title, and whatever work I've done. And at that time was just because we were on a full on AMA drive and there were so many pictures of AMA posters, and I was like, oh my gosh, this child just for one project, profit driven project that she got so excited. Imagine if I did work that made a difference, that made a social impact, made an impact for women. And that keeps me going. I do a lot of physical training, endurance training, that helps a lot. I don't go to the gym and have a sweat fest. I do long runs to train my mind for endurance. When you become a product builder, you find yourself walking 12 to 16 hours, not against your nickel or passion, that you want to get this out. When that's the case, you need that endurance training. So taking up a physical sport is very important because the body needs active movement to be able to think. The body needs to be happy, to be able to work happily and to be productive. So that's another secret sauce, family motivation, my children, endurance training. And the third one is it makes me happy. It's my passion. My DNA is such that I'm pretty selfless and I give back a lot. It's about fundamentally what makes you happy. Are you creating impact to the greater society, even if it's for one person or two people. So that keeps me going. So that's the matrix for me.
JP [:Okay, I'm glad that you shared that. And that's certainly personal because when you talk about the motivation being from within, when you speak about the balance, and I like the particular part especially where you are able to use physical endurance as a method of building product and build stamina in that space as well. I can totally see that. Are there any other things that you're doing that you would like to share with us or that you see from somebody inspiring who has great mental agility that you've observed?
Aneesha Reihana [:I know a lot of fellow product builders in the space. What keeps them going is until finally to achieve that formal to being the first in many things. So putting that trophy in front of you and telling yourself, okay, the trophy is there. You've got to run to a trophy and these are your steps. So breaking it down, breaking it down and celebrating every milestone and having cheerleaders, having cheerleaders, some of my founders do that and we did that when we are product building as well. So having that community of cheerleaders keeps your mind happy, knowing that, okay, once I achieve this, that celebration is coming in. So then you'll be motivated to go to the next one. So breaking it down and making it palatable to tune your mind that it's not a long run, but it's short sprints. So that's what some of the product builders do as well. And yeah, in terms of action plan, this is one way to build mental agility in this space. But like you said, it's very much DNA driven the willpower. If you want to make a million bucks, become a millionaire, don't be a founder, don't be an entrepreneur. You need the mindset to make a difference, to create an impact. Steve Jobs amazing poem about the crazy ones. So the crazy ones are the ones that go up and change the world. So it's about changing the world and doing your part to change the world. How can you change the world? I think that's enough. And I've seen so many of my friends who build products that help people who do not have banking access, who help people who do not need to pay 1/3 of their salary for remittance cost, who help people to have a career opportunity to work from home. So making a difference keeps them motivated and keeps them going.
JP [:Wow, okay. That's really digging deep to find your Motivators to help you develop your mental agility. And I think you've also touched on the fact that you can add a dimension of the physical stamina building, which is a great idea to keep that going. Thank you for that aneesha. I appreciate that.
Aneesha Reihana [:Your welcome.
JP [:Super. Okay, that being said, Aneesha, I have to ask you, what is your personal philosophy of life? And for the audience in the room today, what message would you like to share with them?
Aneesha Reihana [:Every problem has a solution. The problem is one solution of ten. Pick the best solution that you think is the right fit at that point of time and with the resources you have, and get going. If it doesn't work, optimize the solution. That's my mantra towards life. Everything has a solution. So chill. And that keeps you happy. When you are happy, you stay motivated to keep going in this space. I always tell this to all my partners, to all my clients. The Web3 space is not about getting it right, it's about being there when shit hits the fan. Everything can go wrong in the Web3 space. So it's about having the mindset of how to solve the problem. That has been my mantra towards life and towards work. And it's amazing way to lead life, being always positive towards challenges.
JP [:Truly, truly, thank you for that. That's an absolute gem. And I'm certain that that's something as a personal philosophy, we can all adapt, all adopt, I'm sorry, in the room today. So thank you for sharing that one, Aneesha. Super. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, for you who are in the room and would like to ask our speaker a question, this is the right time to do it. Simply raise your hand so that our host can give you the ability to ask that question. If not, you can always tweet that to @Cryptoamma_ on Twitter. If not, tweet it to AdLunam Inc. And we will pick up that question for you. So in a minute, we should be able to have more speakers come in. Let's give it some time for people who would like to ask the question live. But at the same time, I also see, wow, okay, so there's already four questions that have come into the room maybe we can start with that. We can get our tech host, can have somebody in as a speaker. So the first question is this is from Enda Sousa saying, Aneesha, you've shared so much about the things that you do in the day. How do you find the time?
Aneesha Reihana [:It just has been a way of life, and I just make sure that so as a professional, as a founder, as a CEO, I'm very structured with my calendar, even for my children. Like, for example, Wednesday afternoons, I do not schedule anything. I spend my time on Wednesday afternoon with my children. So that type of scheduling for work life in terms of personal life and personal life and finding time, I don't really think that much, but I think I make time for physical movement, meeting people, and I really go with the flow. There's no real structure, motivation, happiness, creating social impact keeps me going. That's how I find the time, I guess. And Singapore, it's a fast paced city, and we do a lot of things, so it comes naturally. And being a woman in this space of this authority and role, we always work ten times more harder. So somehow the universe blesses us with stretchable, dynamic time that ordinary people cannot see.
JP [:Amen, amen. I mean, if you can pack so much into your day, you obviously have some super skill. It's a superhuman ability. No doubt, right? No doubt. Okay, our next question thank you for that, Aneesha. Our next question is how do you see more companies adapting to the Web3 space and at the same time creating more jobs? So it's a twofold question. One is about mainstream companies coming into Web3, and by virtue of that, creating more jobs, if there's some light you can shed on that.
Aneesha Reihana [:Yeah, I've shared this with in the events that I spoke last week and happy to share again. First of all, identify your core competency. Identify your core business offering in your company, and then understand the various Web3 business models available. Or consult with a strategist, token strategist, and see how you can implement that into your ecosystem, into your product fit, and then roll that out based on the parameters of whether it's going to be a new product line, a new distribution channel, or basically optimization of your back end. So it's very much business strategy driven. If you're looking at low hanging fruits or you're looking at something that you want to immediately jump on, the bandwagon is that upscale your talents? If you run a technical team, you need to factor in training to upskill them in the Web3 space. So that's how we work with some companies where we identify who is their employers, the demographics of their employees, and then we upskill them to be prepared for the job orders that will come in. So if you are services company, although there's no need for your product offering to be in the Web3 or two to migrate into Web3 space. But you will receive job orders where bigger institutions are going to adopt Web3 and they will require your support, your talent, support from your team. So then your team must be ready to take on the project with your employee pool being Web3 competent. So those are like the low hanging fruits in terms of India, where it's the world's largest offshoring center offshore to go to for IT talents. Those are the low hanging fruits. And there are a lot of protocols that can support this upskilling as well. And if as a business you want to adopt with three, run a pilot, have an internal hackathon because it's your own people that understand the pain points of your product or service offering, and then see how you can and whether Web3 is a suitable technology to solve those problems. Just keep in mind, during the pandemic, Zoom was not created overnight. Uniswap, those protocols were not created overnight. They were already there for three, four years. So building and waiting for the right time is very important. Therefore, now is the time to brainstorm and build and prepare for the next wave or next bull run. So it's good to have the support of industrial expert that works with your company in identifying how you can adopt that three into your business model to address your users.
JP [:That's absolutely fantastic. As a matter of fact, I want to spin off a bit more. So what are you effectively saying Aneesha, is that mainstream businesses should start having their own project groups that will pilot and test using Web3 technology, pilot and test solutions that they can later develop more fully into as a new business angle or a new business vertical. Is that right?
Aneesha Reihana [:Yes, correct. So for Ticket, for example, Starbucks, they did not force NFT into the faces of their users. For the user front, there's no change. It was a technological change that enhances the way they retain loyalty and improve incentivization for loyalty. So it was a back end change. So likewise, implement this change in the back end first. Don't disturb the user, because that adoption will come later. And when it does, you'll be the first person ready for that change. It's like getting your child to eat vegetables. You never just put that broccoli right on the face, right? You make it into a cutlet, you make it into a puree. Then one day, when they are six, seven years, I was like, yeah, the broccoli was always there. By the time the child is already accustomed to the taste. So likewise, just make it a very subtle change, one broccoli at a time.
Aneesha Reihana [: JP [:That's absolutely brilliant. I think it's a great analogy, right? Using that one from home, that's fantastic. Okay, I've got one more question that's come up in terms of since we spoke about employability, right? There's two parts to this question and the first one is, what are some of the best jobs in the Web3 space or the metaverse space that are going to be required? And the second is what is the lowest hanging fruit type of job that breaks me into Web3? I think you covered a bit of that, but let's take it in two parts. The most sought after positions that are going to be there for Web3 in the metaverse.
Aneesha Reihana [:Okay, two very high demand ones are smart contract engineers from the technical side. Smart contract engineers. But you just cannot only focus on smart contract engineering. You have to be a holistic technician where you understand the full architecture and then perform the domain well, that particular stack. Well, a lot of companies now are seeking full stack developers. I mean, it's not possible in terms as one human trying to perfect everything. But as Jack Ma says, you don't have to be perfect in everything. Just have your hand understand the full spectrum of the technical stack and make sure that you fine tune your competency in smart contract coding and then research on which program is in demand. Solidity is the base go to, and the demand will keep increasing. The moment you have that expertise in solidity programming, then you go on to the other preferred ones as well. So that's on the technical track, on the non technical track, there's a huge demand for community builders. Community builders represent storytellers content. Creators who can string a chord and make sense out of the project, can advocate the project. So I didn't just notice. I didn't use the word market because you can't sell directly anymore. You need to tell a story. You need to win the hearts, and you need to make them feel that they need this and why they need it. See, they're going to be a million products out there. The only way you're going to get when you resonate with them with a story and something of familiarity. So you have to really build a community organically, keep them engaged, have skin in the game. So you have to be very creative in community building. A certain level of understanding politics is involved because you need to have that strong ownership sense. So these are the two spectrum, and we are in huge lack of legal counsels and accountants in the crypto space. So I'm so happy I found three lawyers who are focusing in digital assets in India. And I was like, oh my gosh, guys, you guys got to come together and make sure this time next year there's a 100 of you. So the huge demand is there. So as enterprises start putting their portfolio into crypto digital assets, that demand is there to be audited and to be accounted for and also to have check and balances against regulations. So there is a demand for professionals in the legal spectrum and accountancy taxation spectrum to understand digital assets and to be able to apply the standards for that as well. So that's that on the non technical spectrum. Huge demand. Huge demand. So, yeah, that's what it is.
JP [:Wow, that's extremely insightful and thank you for sharing that Aneesha, because I think that does give most of us in the room some directive as to which of my previous skill sets or experiences I can leverage and pivot into the Web3 space. So, yeah, I agree with you 100% on both those counts.
Aneesha Reihana [:Amazing. Thank you.
JP [:Yeah, no, thank you. Okay, I've got one more question that's coming from Ms. Marino. Ms. Marino, she mentions that she's from Argentina. Okay, so she does know a little about you. She says, what are some of the biggest challenges you faced building HoneycombWeb3, and what advice can you share with fellow women builders in the space?
Aneesha Reihana [:Being a woman itself was a big challenge. Being a smart woman was a bigger challenge. I guess the LUNA Crash really impacted us. Although we didn't have direct exposure, our stakeholders exposure, so we were affected really, the challenges. Number one was being a startup without a brand. So what we did is that we partnered with brands, we partnered with stakeholders and associations to be heard louder. Number two is that I chose to amplify the noise I want to hear. Obviously, there's always going to be this group of people who are going to try to put you down and say, oh, she's just a woman. As much as the biasness is going to be there for hundreds of years, it's about how you are going to let your work speak for yourself. You cannot be an empty vessel. We chose not to be an empty vessel and constantly go out there and taught leadership and being present. Being present is what I did. Even when we hit our road. We had challenges. What we did and what kept us going was being present. We did not hide. We did not go into hiding. We didn't go into the shell. We were present and we were openly communicating that we will figure a way out, we will figure a contingency way out. And that's how I tied through. And creativity comes. It even in operations, like when LUNA Crash happened. And then we had to be careful about Opex. So Honeycomb is never funded. We've been bootstrapped all the way, and I intentionally made that as such because I didn't want him to rush into funding. And that also gave me a lot of room and way to think about creative hiring. Because you see, in this space, there's lack of talent. When there's lack of talent available, supply, how are you possibly going to find full time talents? Even if you find full time talents, they do not come with that knowledge and skill set that you're expecting. Then be creative with part time talents, with apprenticeships, but also, whether you're a man or woman, come with that ecosystem. Support to train them on the go. And another thing is that it's not a challenge being a woman. I think being compassionate and having that DNA of being empathetic that can open your eyes to so many things and have a mirror. Have a mirror that constantly questions you on your decisions, because sometimes we become over compassionate and there's a fine line of being used and being compassionate in business. It's about meeting the Opex, about getting the pipeline strong, it's about getting the sale. So, yeah, it's about choosing the noise you want to amplify. I've made the statement during this year's International Women Day. Do not let your gender or your status put you down. The only thing that you should shine and hold your flag up high is your willpower and the proof of your work. Let your work speak for you.
JP [:That's fantastic. I applaud you for saying that. And it's been a truly inspirational journey that you've shared with us today, Aneesha. The challenges you face, the jumps that you've made, the focus, the endurance and the ability that you've had, whether it's come through your running or not, it's been fantastic to hear your story, Aneesha, thank you for sharing that this time with us. And to all the audience in the room as well. Thank you so much for being here.
Aneesha Reihana [:Thank you for having me. Looking forward to meeting you in person. Have an amazing weekend. Thank you, everyone.
JP [:Wish you the same. Wish you the same. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being in the room today. Once again, I will ask you to share your reactions with our speaker today in the house, giving us so many gems that we can take if we are looking to break into the Web3 space. If you haven't been here for the full episode, you can catch it on Spotify when it's going to come out. Very soon we'll be announcing that as well. As well as, don't forget to tune in on Tuesdays with our Twitter space channel The Future of NFT is hosted by Nadja Bester co founder, where we talk about everything in the NFT space as well. So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. This is JP from AdLunam, Inc. Bringing you everything about Web3. Have a great one. Cheers.
