SheVerified: Alena Afanaseva, CEO & Founder of BeInCrypto, on Global Expansion and the Future of Crypto Media

Alena Afanaseva is a driver on the earth of cryptocurrency media: because the CEO and founding father of BeInCrypto, she heads a international platform that affords neatly timed files and insights on blockchain and digital currencies. With a background in finance and journalism, she is dedicated to offering valid files and academic assets for every experts and inexperienced persons. Under Afanaseva’s leadership, the platform has became a lunge-to source for up-to-date files and academic allege material in the industry.

To impress BeInCrypto’s sixth anniversary, we sat down with Alena Afanaseva to discuss about the firm’s allege, the biggest challenges going by arrangement of the industry, and the arrangement forward for crypto journalism.

Having a perceive aid staunch by arrangement of the last six years, what’s a standout moment for you because the CEO of BeInCrypto?

A standout moment for me became as soon as when I realized factual how vital we had grown. We began six years ago as a crew of 4, with a startup vibe — hasty decision-making and a flat hierarchy. 365 days after year, we saved expanding, adding more languages and products, with out if fact be told noticing how monumental we had been getting. 

And then there became as soon as one month when we hired 40 folks, and that’s when it hit me — staunch by arrangement of the first year we had no bigger than 30 crew participants in total, and now we are adding the identical amount on a monthly foundation! Truthfully, for the time being we didn’t even possess any HRM machine, so I became as soon as no longer aware that we already had 150 folks working for us from over 60 nations.

What had been one of the most principal toughest challenges you faced in scaling the firm, and how did you model out them?

In 2020, exactly the time I described earlier we if fact be told hit a crisis. Our interior processes — procedures, company tradition, Slack chats, position definitions — had became a mess. What labored when we had been a small crew became as soon as initiating to atomize down when we grew past 100 folks. It created a strategy of bewilderment and even some drama.

That became as soon as the moment I understood it became as soon as the time to conform into a more outdated firm. That’s when we made up our minds to attach an HR division. 

Grade by grade, we outlined roles and tasks, developed procedures that had been flexible ample for our decentralized crew, and plan sure stages for onboarding and offboarding. It became as soon as a turning point, and it came factual in time, serving to us plot a stable, accurate core of crypto lovers earlier than the undergo market hit. 

It became as soon as no longer a truly easy activity — it took us about twelve months and introduced many adjustments to the crew, but that became as soon as also the time of tall insights. We finally noticed clearly the total geography of our presence, the fluctuate of gender, demographics and nationalities. Now, I will proudly affirm that girls folks produce up 39% of our crew, and an excellent fifty three% are in leadership roles. Our youngest crew member is 16, and the oldest is 63.

The crypto industry is identified for its snappy adjustments. How has BeInCrypto stayed ahead, and what inclinations plot you mediate will shape the arrangement forward for crypto journalism?

The most fundamental manner to retain in such an unpredictable ambiance is to be ready for constant alternate. That’s the tradition at BeInCrypto — we take a look at all the pieces, figure out what works, and scale it fleet.

At as soon as, the biggest pattern is AI. It’s already affecting viewers habits, Google’s system, and even how journalists attach allege material. We don’t know exactly how issues will play out next year, but the ambiance will doubtless be entirely diverse. Nothing from the closing 10 years of crypto journalism will preserve the identical, and heaps fresh approaches will became out of date.

After we first began, we had been an English-easiest files outlet, staunch by arrangement of a time when there had been few sources for crypto allege material. We targeted on explaining Web3 inclinations in easy terms, which resonated with a non-technical viewers energetic to be taught referring to the fresh skills.

The subsequent stage became as soon as the choice to magnify into more languages in areas with excessive crypto adoption, adding the first 4 in 2019, and reaching 20 in total on the time of writing! While increasing the gathering of languages, we also began experimenting with diverse kinds of allege material focusing more consideration on educating our readers and offering more files basically based mostly allege material and explanatory articles.

Here’s when our Be taught became as soon as added to the ecosystem of products. We gradually transitioned from an English-easiest files outlet to a multilingual media platform, offering a huge fluctuate of allege material and aiming to make stronger our readers with all the pieces they need.

The market and the viewers is changing. Initiatives are becoming more outdated, and fresh products and suggestions are tested yearly. There’s a vital higher inquire of of for delicate diagnosis and files now — it be principal to be hasty, official, and insightful to stand out.

How plot you be obvious your allege material resonates along with your audiences staunch by arrangement of diverse cultures and areas?

We’re an files-driven firm, so we music our performance day-to-day and preserve connected with our viewers by arrangement of polls, interviews, overview, and social media. Every local crew also has the liberty to flee their very have assessments and produce fresh suggestions, which they half with the the leisure of the firm.

As I mentioned, we now quilt files in 20 languages. While no longer easy, this affords functional insights into regional inclinations. As an instance, what’s in vogue in Latin The US would possibly perchance well no longer be as linked in Europe. Stablecoins are principal in nations love Venezuela, Argentina, and El Salvador, where they attend folks hedge against inflation.

In inequity, Europe tends to focal point more on unstable, riskier assets to grow income in a low-interest-fee ambiance. We also quiz identical variations staunch by arrangement of Asian markets.

As a female leader in a male-dominated industry, what fresh challenges possess you faced, and how possess you grew to became them into alternatives?

The challenges I’ve faced had been every delicate and explain. Early on, there had been cases when my journey became as soon as wondered or I became as soon as underestimated simply thanks to my gender. But as an different of letting that shake my confidence, I outdated it as motivation to push even more difficult and unique my fee.

Thought to be one of the most biggest challenges is the lack of representation. At the same time as you’re one in all the few girls folks in the room, it goes to if fact be told feel setting apart. Then all over again, I’ve learned to search it as a likelihood. Being diverse in this industry lets in you to mediate outside the passe frameworks, predicament the space quo, and produce fresh suggestions to the table.

This has allowed me to lead in a more inclusive, collaborative, and finally innovative manner. I aid the identical within BeInCrypto — what issues most is journey and professionalism, no subject nationality, age, or gender.

With a various and largely a long way away crew, how plot you retain a solid firm tradition and encourage all people motivated?

We build a strategy of effort into constructing our firm tradition, though with such a various crew, there’s repeatedly room to toughen. My key precept is transparency — being open about our vision, targets, and the challenges we face.

Final but no longer least, we provide sure direction of career allege and heaps other alternatives to magnify your discipline of journey starting with industry convention participation, talking alternatives and ending with the interior HR capabilities to make stronger the most talented ones.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned as an entrepreneur in the crypto problem, and how has that formed you?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that all the pieces comes down to the crew. It’s principal to surround yourself with folks which would possibly perchance well perhaps be smarter than you, who inspire you, and who can drive alternate by seeing alternatives pretty than factual dangers.

One other key lesson is taking accountability. I’m accountable for every decision I produce at BeInCrypto and the outcomes of those decisions, and I inquire of of the identical stage of accountability from the leaders within our firm.

As you quiz ahead, what are your predominant targets for BeInCrypto in the approaching years, and how plot you point out to plot them?

We want to encourage expanding into fresh markets, take a look at fresh products, and switch our media platform into a one-stay shop for crypto-linked products and companies. The last purpose in the aid of all of that is to give folks world huge equal rating entry to to fresh applied sciences and the likelihood to plan shut half in constructing a fresh world in accordance with freedom, transparency, and suppleness.

On the technical side, I’m particularly hooked in to BeInMarkets, a product we’re launching now. BeInMarkets will offer in-depth files on cryptocurrencies and trading alternatives, serving to users shape their portfolios and detect diverse trading systems. The principal stage will commence in 2024, but the most sharp inclinations are planned for 2025.

We’re also initiating to finalize our vision for the BeInCrypto cellular app. We’ve had long discussions about it, and I’ve repeatedly been skeptical of factual constructing a files app — most folk exercise Google or social media to quiz for files. News apps notion looks outdated to me. I plot judge that in the design future folks will decrease their allege material consumption to instruments love ChatGPT.

Our app desires to provide one thing fresh, love a personalised assistant that simplifies your crypto traipse in accordance along with your pursuits and programs. We’re restful shaping the vision and gathering feedback from the crew to be obvious it’s functional and up-to-date.

Indirectly, as a dilapidated of the industry, what suggestion plot you possess for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Never stay believing in yourself and your energy. It is contagious.