Hello and welcome to ChainChat, what do I call you first of all?

Sierra, or Juujuumama.

OK, I was just wondering if you prefer your online name or your real name. So, as we do on ChainChat, we ask each guest to leave a question for the next guest and the last question was What is it that you care about and how can Blockchain potentially influence that?

Definitely. I care about connection. Human connection. Meaningful connections that are actually beneficial. I think Blockchain, despite the fact that it’s decentralized, and everything is spread out and shared, does increase trust and security which fosters a deeper connection. I’m hoping that Blockchain can bring us closer together.

What’s your interest in Blockchain, is it personal or professional — what do you do?

It’s personal and professional. I started becoming interested around the fall of last year so it’s been almost a year now in Web3. At first, I was just kind of poking around, and then it became a professional interest once we released an NFT collection associated with our existing Web2 business. 

And what is that Web2 business?

Our Web2 business is called GoodJuuJuu, it’s a crystal store that I created in 2018. We’re mostly based online but we do some small pop-ups at markets and such where we’re based here in Virginia.

How do you then transform that into a Web3 business?

So we partnered with someone we’d been working with previously, a digital illustrator by the name of Anni Bernet, she had created some really cute illustrations with different characters that we call the JuuJuu girls and that we put on different merch and marketing materials associated with our brand. Last year in November, she agreed to create some illustrations of crystals, and we used those illustrations to create an NFT collection. We then token-gated our website so that people can connect their wallets to our website and if they're a holder of one of our NFTs, they can unlock special discounts, free crystals, and other holder-exclusive perks. 

How did you learn to do all of those things? As for most people, it’s a steep learning curve, right?

Absolutely. Like many things throughout my life, I taught myself. But I will say that being in the community and being connected with so many thoughtful and helpful people has been a real bonus for my journey so a lot of things were also taught to me by other community members and entrepreneurs I’ve connected with in the space. My husband was actually the person who first pushed me to explore NFTs and Web3, so he’s been helpful as well. 

Great. And what do you think the biggest barrier has been to learning more or doing more?

Unlike a lot of other industries, there are trusted sources of information where you can go and find data and tips. Because this industry and space are so new, I don’t think that there are as many agreed-upon, trusted sources for important information as it relates to security and processes, protecting your information and your wallet and your private keys… So I do think what makes it difficult sometimes is having to sift through all the information that's available online and on Discord servers, and try and figure out what’s accurate and what serves you. 

And what has been your greatest resource?

Leveraging the people around me who have been doing this longer than I have. So despite the fact that in Web3 and NFTs, a year seems like a long time, there are so many people that have been doing this for several years and been involved for a lot longer, so trying to connect with them, those that can teach me based on their own hands-on experience. Connecting with other leaders and founders of NFT collections, and connecting with people with creative DAOs, has been super beneficial.

How does the aspect of diversity come into play in your experience?

Unfortunately, like many new industries, as we’re starting to see these panels and conferences come together, and you start to see thought-leaders come together in person, on stage, or in webinars to discuss important topics and information, we’re just not seeing many women or people of color specifically. As a multiracial woman, I’m always striving to be the change I want to see, I definitely have opportunities that my ancestors did not have so I try to use those opportunities to create more space for other people. I think if I want to see more people who look like me in Web3, I need to actively participate so that those people feel welcome and represented. Diversity and inclusion are super important to me because brilliance comes in every color, culture, and gender, and when we exclude people that are different from us, we end up missing out on a wealth of experience and value.

Can you think of any practical ways that either corporates or project managers or creators can do to take a step in the right direction as far as diversity is concerned?

I think that as someone who lives in America I can only speak with confidence about what’s happening within my own country. These last few years we’ve had a lot of serious situations that have come to light in the public. Trayvon Martin passed away, we had the George Floyd situation, and this has really brought specifically, racial injustice and discrimination to the forefront in a new way. This has resulted in lots of larger businesses forming DEI committees and actually creating processes and cultures that are focused on diversity and inclusion. It’s not something that just works itself out, it’s not something that just magically happens after a few conversations it’s something that needs to be embedded into the company culture and elevated as something that’s important to focus on. So I think we’re starting to see this evolve more. With smaller businesses, there are fewer resources so it might be tougher to put together these processes or committees, but together forming a focus group internally within your organization is a good place to start.

Any projects that you would say to look out for? Any ideas surrounding Web3 where you’re like, That’s gonna work brilliantly.?

I’ll be mindful now of trying not to mention anything specific only because, honestly, the space is moving really fast, and it’s been a really tough time in the market. A lot of projects that were flying high six months ago have collapsed, or the floor price has dropped significantly, or they’ve lost 14 members just due to what’s happening in the crypto market with Ethereum and many other coins losing value. 

That being said, you have to really keep an eye on things in terms of who’s here sticking it out for the long run. What’s most interesting and promising right now are the people who are using the technology to offer education, offer utility, and real-life value to those that are participating in their project or their token. I’ve seen brands releasing token-gated experiences like myself which create value beyond the present moment, and the person who buys the token can sell it if they decide that it no longer serves them. Tokens that offer access to communities are really valuable depending on what the community offers. I’ve seen new communities specifically focused on wellness, health, and fitness start to pop up, and tokens will allow you to either gain access to specific meal routines or stress management techniques which I think is valuable in a time that so many of us throughout this pandemic are struggling with our mental health or feeling lonely. I think having a token that gives you access to a supportive community is super valuable.

Any predictions for the future?

I predict that things are going to change a lot. Like many of us say, we’re early. And I predict we are in the beginning phase still. It might change a lot. I’m hoping that things get easier, I’m hoping the barriers in terms of terminology and technology become lower and it becomes easier for people to create a wallet, buy a cryptocurrency for the first time, and that a project or token they want to purchase using trustworthy information becomes available. We don’t have a Google for Web3 yet, or a Wikipedia where we can go and just pull information about if what we’re buying is a scam or not, so I'm hoping that things will become more accessible and easier to use for the everyday person. 

Great. I don’t know if you have any other insights, news, or wisdom to share… Anything to add?

I guess the only thing I would add is that I originally went to college for political science and public administration, before pivoting to the private sector to work in product development and e-commerce, over time I started working for state government, and initially my dream was to work for the federal government, but I ended up pivoting. I feel like Blockchain technology offers a lot in terms of transparency, security, and traceability of data, it creates so many efficiencies in terms of the ledger that anyone can access, and what comes to mind is that there’s so much bureaucracy and barriers with local and federal government… a trip to the DMV to get a driver's license renewed or get a social security card updated if you just got married — which is a scenario that I’m experiencing now. It’s just that there are these barriers, you have to go in person, spend half a day waiting in line for your number to be called, fill out all these forms, hope that you brought all the right documentation and you don’t have to go back, so I’m hoping that the technology can be used to ease these difficulties and it would be fantastic if my driver’s license was a token that I could just renew online, as opposed to having to jump through all these hoops.

Over here in Spain, that’s a long way off, because although you can do some things online, a lot of the official sites are using Internet Explorer, not even Chrome. But it would be ideal!

Fingers crossed!

Just to wrap it up then, can you think of a question to leave for our next guest?

Yeah. My question would be, How do you keep yourself safe in Web3, what are your go-to resources or practices to keep your digital identity safe, and the tokens or cryptocurrency that you hold?

Let’s see what the next guest comes up with! Thank you very much, Sierra, we will keep in touch on social media and hopefully, we can work together in another way in the near future!

Thank you so much! Have an awesome weekend!