Roy was introduced to the realm of blockchain technology in 2016 through a friend who informed him about a project that would now be recognized as part of the ReFi space. In the episode, Roy and Sarah delved into the challenges faced by the E-commerce industry. They highlighted how, despite the ability to sell goods directly to consumers, third-party intermediaries still control most of the communication channels, effectively acting as gatekeepers to customers. With their company "Decommerce", they create the infrastructure that allows companies to connect directly with their customers, establish their own community, free from intermediaries, and help brands onboard their consumers to web3. Their ultimate goal is to promote fairness in commerce and empower creators by giving them control over their creations and enabling them to be compensated for the value that they bring.

Ivan Maltsev began investing in crypto currencies in 2016, but back then, he was working as a lawyer and had no understanding of the markets. He decided to study and quit his job. Right now Ivan is a General Partner at 3x Capital and helps other people to understand the markets. Sarah and Ivan had discussed the blockchain community in Ukraine, which is considered one of the strongest in the world. Especially because of the ongoing conflict, the community has grown stronger, and many donations are now made through blockchain. Additionally, Ivan's company provides an educational program on venture capital, making it easier for people to enter the space.

An NFT artist who lived without a smartphone until 2019? That's the story of Rebekka Revel, co-founder of NFT Club Berlin and NFT artist. Rebekka transitioned successfully from being a traditional artist to being a twitch streamer and then into the tech and NFT art space. She explains how she was living a life without a smartphone and internet at home just a few years ago and then discovered the Web3 space, which opened up a whole new world for her. Katharina and Rebekka take a look at the potential of NFT art in different contexts and Rebekka explains what needs to change for broad scale adoption to take place.

Nadine has entered the web3 space in 2021. Her topic of choice within the ecosystem: Regenerative Finance. Following her interests, she co-founded the startup Particula. Nadine and Sarah are recording this episode in real life at the European Blockchain Convention. They talk about Nadine's journey into web3, the importance of early-stage outreach and marketing activities for startups, and their impressions from the conference.

Lena always wanted to become a programmer. With this vision in mind, she became an active member of the web3 ecosystem. Today, she is building an environment to support female programmers as a governor at H.E.R. DAO. Lena gives an overview of the functionality and roles at a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), and shares how she become part of a DAO.  Katharina and Lena discuss the importance of networking, including the topic of hackathons and the opportunities they pose to everyone searching for a great team to work with. As a special, Lena has summarized her advice on how to start a DAO for us: - work out your main goals - work out your main stakeholder - check out DAO Tools like Tally.xyz and CommonGround (you don't need to build out your whole infrastructure but it's good to have a roadmap) - get legal consultation e.g. from https://www.waceo.org - develop a system for governance - either written in a smart contract or no-code tools for DAOs already exist - start building your community

Victoria first became familiar with blockchain in 2016, when a friend introduced her to the technology. She started learning and running down the rabbit hole before investing. The question you can ask yourself is: “Are you in for the technology, the money or the philosophy?” Victoria Gago and Sarah Gottwald discuss the significance of taking calculated risks, including with time, money, and relationships, as these are where opportunities arise. Over time, these opportunities may become numerous. Victoria is and was always the person convincing others to do certain things. Many people around her started investing as well and she used her skill to persuade her co-founder Daniel to start the European Blockchain Convention in 2018. The first year attracted 500 attendees, and now the event is expected to bring in approximately 2500 participants from February 15th to 18th.

Maria always had a passion for investing. Unsurprisingly, then her career started in the financial services industry, where she heard of blockchain technology first. Today, Maria is a blockchain founder, running her startup EkoLance to prepare more people for jobs in the crypto ecosystem. Maria and Katharina talk about the reason why Maria decided to become a content creator, and how she trusts Bitcoin as a store of value without knowing the team. Anyone who wants to know how Maria manages not only being an entrepreneur and a content creator, but also being a mother of a two-year-old, should give this episode a listen.

Julia had the entrepreneurial urge to start her own venture and blockchain popped up again and again. Despite considering co-founding a company in web3, she ultimately decided to found her own company in an area where she has even more expertise: Investor Relations. But she became an angel investor in Web3. For her it is important to have an understanding of the technology, attending events, and building a network in the community. Julia and Sarah talked about the web3 ecosystem allowing for greater ownership and control over one's own content. Anyone interested in being at the cutting edge of technology should make an effort to understand blockchain "It's a matter of priority and focus".

Doing the same repetitive thing every day - exactly what Toni does NOT want.   Before becoming a crypto journalist, Toni Lukic has been a tax consultant. Today, he is editor-in-chief, built a community in Berlin, and is well known in the German web3 space. His days are not filled with repetitive tasks anymore, but rather with new projects, topics, and discussions. Katharina talks with Toni about the role of decentralization, how he fell into the rabbit hole, and how he helps others today as a mentor at the DeFi Talents program.

Getting into web3 without meeting the ecosystem in person? Totally! Alexandra Overgaag initially entered the web3 space completely remotely. Today, she is an active part of the web3 community. Her approach: always looking from a conceptual point of view. With this, she is now an author for Cointelegraph, launched her own newsletter, and founded her own startup. Sarah and Katharina talked with Alexandra about her perception of being a woman in web3, her journey until finally meeting the community in person, the rise of artificial intelligence, and more.

Traveling 22,500km in just 2 weeks?!  This may seem like a daunting task, but for Sunny, it's all about personal growth and challenge. Sunny has a keen interest in understanding blockchain technology as she has a bachelor in computer science. In order to dive deeper into this subject, she decided (only back in 2021) to create her own NFT collection, using the opportunity to learn through hands-on experience.  Hackathons are a great way for her to learn and practice in an intensive way. She finds that the process of going through all the steps of a project is incredibly rewarding, and the motivation to learn is what drives her to participate. According to Sunny, hackathons can't be described - they have to be experienced in order to fully understand their value. She did it four times in 2022.   For her, the best way to learn is to teach, and she believes that taking on responsibility and having to perform is the key to truly understanding a subject.

Gaming, Self-Custody and Crypto Girls - Where do these meet? It's the story of Zoe Faircloth. With Crypto Girls Club Berlin, Zoe builds a space for community, that she herself hopes will not be needed anymore in the future. Why? Because she hopes for crypto to evolve into an equality-based ecosystem. Sounds familiar? Yes, Satoshi Nakamoto built Bitcoin and did not expect to live until the last Bitcoin will be mined. Katharina and Zoe talk about her journey from a history student to a crypto marketer, how not to loose your crypto and what might be relevant topics for 2023.

Why another blockchain podcast?  Many podcasts focus on companies and their products which is important to understand the technology but BLOCKTALES will focus on the people behind. We are convinced that each person who is working in the blockchain space has interesting and very valuable stories to tell and its absolutely worth learning from them. So, let’s get that started. Katharina and Sarah talk about their own personal stories and how they got into the blockchain ecosystem. Why they believe in the technology and wether it matters to be a woman. Get connected! Sarah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahgottwald/ Katharina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharina-zeuch/