The first major crypto event I attended was the @Stacks gathering in Berlin, 2018. I was excited. I was nervous. And I was completely overwhelmed. Everyone seemed to speak a different language. 🧵

In preparation, I read whitepapers. I told myself, if I could just understand zk-SNARKs, L2s, MEV, I’d feel like I belonged. But when I got there, I realized something: This space was built by incredibly technical minds. And I wasn’t one of them.

I thought crypto was only for developers. That to matter, I had to speak in cryptography or code. So I kept quiet. I second-guessed my value. And I wondered if my background in marketing, ops, and strategy even had a place here.

But then I looked closer. Every brilliant technical project around me… needed something more. They needed help getting to market. They needed people who could translate complexity into clarity. They needed systems. Focus. Community. Vision.

And that’s when it clicked. Crypto doesn’t just need devs. It needs operators. Storytellers. Product thinkers. Fundraisers. Legal minds. Builders of all kinds. People who can take raw protocol design and make it usable, trusted, and adopted.

Looking back, I wish I had known that earlier. I would’ve asked more questions. Spoken up more. Introduced myself without apology. So if you’re new here and not technical, please hear this: You’re not in the wrong room.

You belong. And more than that, your skills are needed. This industry is still being built. It’s not just about code. It’s about people.

If you’ve ever felt out of place at a crypto event, or unsure if your skillset fits.. I’ve been there. Let’s swap stories. What was your first crypto event like? Was it what you expected? 🎥 PS: Here’s a link to that first Stacks event I attended: #CryptoCareers #Web3Operators #Chainmakers #ETHBerlin #WomenInCrypto #Web3Community #CryptoEvents #StartupStories #LeadershipInCrypto