RIP, impostor syndrome.
Dayana Aleksandrova MC-ing the main stage at ETH Bucharest, photo credit: The Phope
The first time I went to a Web3 event I felt like the ultimate outsider. It was 2023 and my boyfriend Jay, like any bullish crypto boi, had dragged me to NFC Lisbon — an NFT-focused event in Portugal.
At the time, Jay worked for BeInCrypto — a crypto media publication, and I waltzed in as his +1/ content creator companion.
Hiding behind an iPhone mounted to a gimble pretending to film, I felt like people could smell the Web2 on me.
“I felt like people could smell the Web2 on me.”
See, I had been a Web2 marketer for just about 9 years at the time and had done really well for myself. I started a freelance content writing business in 2015 and in 2020 switched entirely to sales copywriting.
In the span of a year, I scaled my humble one-woman copywriting gig to 6 figures. I got to write for huge global organizations like Affiliate World (IRL traffic and marketing conference), Instagram-famous business and health coaches, and a media startup with 10+ monthly million readers — Matador Network.
But even though I was proud of my success as a Web2 marketer, I was worried that people in Web3 would judge me for helping data-grabbing Zuck-type bros get even richer.
“Would I ever be welcome to the Web3 space?” I wondered.
Standing right in the middle of the digital art exhibition hall, the worst thing happened. A camera crew approached Jay and I.
“Hey, guys! Can we ask you a few questions for the after-movie?” Cornered between an underwater-themed digital canvas and a Formula 1-themed Metaverse racing station, I had nowhere to hide.
Dayana Aleksandrova at NFC Lisbon 2023, photo by the author
I was truly freaking out because I knew nothing technical. Jay had explained the blockchain basics to me and I had a decent idea of crypto but it was just bare-bones.
I was scared that the crew would ask me about ordinals or runes or whatever the f*ck technology was hot at the time and I’d look dumb.
“Can the earth open up and swallow me whole? Plz, thanks. 🥲”
With my anxiety reaching a fever pitch, I stood there waiting for the question. “What do you think is the future of NFTs?” The cameraman said, extending a mic toward my face.
To give you some context, the year before, the Web3 space had taken a huge hit. NFTs had transformed from a collection of hyped-up pixelated images of monkeys and “mutants” worth millions to… an absolute joke.
After the collapse of Terra Luna, pop culture pretty much crucified NFTs along with crypto. Even popular Instagram photographer Jacob Riglin who had launched an NFT course with his influencer girlfriend Aggie Lal got all quiet about it overnight.
With the camera running, I had to say something — anything. And it was at that moment that I decided to stop giving a damn about being technical. You have to understand that there’s no Web3 degree (yet).
Everyone in the space is pretty much self-taught mostly by reading, experimenting, and building things with others. The ultimate Web3 “insiders” were often developers spending 16-hour days hunched over keyboards making jokes you need an IQ of 140+ to even understand.
F*ck it. I realized that the Web3 space needed more creatives. More women. More brave people who aren’t afraid of looking stupid. So I went off. Because I may not know runes but I knew rants.
”I don’t know runes but I know rants. 💅”
I gave a 30-second passionate speech about the existing system trying to stomp innovation, crush NFTs, and kill progress in its tracks. I finished with a hearty call to action for artists to keep pushing no matter what.
Maybe it was the exhilaration of the pent-up tension finally leaving my body, or maybe it was the double-shot espresso speaking… but once I was done, both the camera crew and my boyfriend were stunned.
“Holy crap, that was amazing!” they unanimously concluded.
And my saucy little take did make it to the after-movie.
And it made me feel like I truly belonged in the space. Because Web3 is inherently a space for outsiders. Truth-seekers. Freedom-fighters. Rebels. Nobody belongs which is why everybody belongs in Web3.
I spent the following 10 months immersing myself into crypto Twitter (now X), I took SheFi’s blockchain fundamentals course, and I co-hosted Spaces with the Ascend Community.
Cracking the code to Web3 success as a newbie
I had cracked the code. And the code was much simpler than Solidity.
The *secret* was to take what you’re already good at and adapt it to the Web3 space. I banked on my speaking skills as I had been creating talking-head videos for years and posting them to Instagram.
I also started writing and got a 2-month paid project with a DeFi project that flew me out to Web Summit to deliver a crypto workshop in front of a packed room (and then they fired me to give that budget to a developer, but that’s a story for another time! Lol).
But best of all… my 30 seconds of camera time had made an impression on the NFC team. So in 2024, they officially invited me to moderate a panel on their ordinals stage (yes, this time I knew what an ordinal was) where I hosted experts from Solana and Ethereum.
And you know what? I felt not even a tremor of anxiety.
Dayana Aleksandrova at NFC Lisbon 2024, photo credit NFC
How to go from an “impostor” to an insider
The blockchain space is made for anyone who wants to jump in and contribute. We’ll welcome you because of your passion and desire to build a better future.
As my friend Chewie says
— “Ask not what Web3 can do for you, ask what you can do for Web3.”
There are resources (and mentors) available to help you learn whatever aspect within Web3 calls you most — from founding projects and fundraising to content and creative… DeFi, DePIN, Degen… it’s all within reach. All you need to do is show up.
Take the skills you already have — whether that’s speaking, writing, scouting the hottest memes, coaching, or drawing, and begin using them to help Web3 projects.
Dayana Aleksandrova at NFC Lisbon 2024 with her Speaker badge, photo by the author
Get on X (still lovingly referred to as “Crypto Twitter,”) tune in to spaces, write a blog, and join a community on Discord. Stay engaged.
I promise you that 99% of people in Web3 have felt impostor syndrome at one point, but have successfully gotten over it. The only way to fail is to quit.
