6 Questions for Leila Ismailova

Leila Ismailova began her nonrecreational vocation astatine the property of 15 arsenic a broadcasting prima successful Belarus, the Russian-neighboring Eastern European state that plays location to 9.3 cardinal citizens. She continued successful the relation for 10 years, she says, earlier reaching what she felt was a “professional ceiling” and opening a travel that led to Web3.

“I remember ​my audacity as a child, conscionable sneaking into the buildings with ​newspapers and magazines — it was called the House of Press,” Ismailova recalls successful an interrogation with Cointelegraph. “I would handwrite my stories and sneak into the gathering — due to the fact that I didn’t person a walk — by making up stories that I was someone’s granddaughter, oregon by conscionable going successful erstwhile idiosyncratic other entered. And I would find the doors that said ‘editor’ oregon ‘editor-in-chief,’ and I would conscionable locomotion successful and springiness them my articles. People smiled, and I’m definite they felt I was naive, but I felt they besides had immoderate respect for maine doing this work.”

Her renegade quality vocation led to tv successful a substance of years. She joined the country’s First National ​Channel astatine the property of 15, wherever she started connected a amusement that covered quality and civilization for younger viewers.

“My first ​audition went horribly,” Ismailova says. “I turned purple. I was reasoning truly fast, but they inactive wanted maine to travel for the 2nd round.”

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Ismailova moved to the United States successful 2016, mounting disconnected what she calls a “season of migration” for her family, including her brother, Bahram, and sister, Esmira. Bahram is simply a serial tech entrepreneur whose inventions see Peech App and Yope, among galore others, portion Esmira is an writer whose published works see On the Shores of Bosphorus. (You won’t find it successful English yet, truthful don’t walk excessively overmuch clip scouring Amazon.)

Leila Ismailova hosting the International Music Festival Slavic Bazaar successful Vitebsk, Belarus, 2014. Source: Screenshot

Ismailova’s and her siblings’ occurrence came contempt hardship. Their begetter died erstwhile they were children (Bahram was conscionable 1), warring for Azerbaijan successful the country’s warfare with Armenia implicit the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“It happened precise abruptly,” Ismailova says. “Of course, nary 1 planned for it, truthful we went precise accelerated from being a well-off household surviving successful the superior of Baku to being a precise frightened family. We were beauteous overmuch connected our ain successful a state that was going done the warfare with Armenia and, connected apical of that, separating from the Soviet Union. It was a precise harsh clip for everybody.”

Ismailova says that acquisition inspired her to motorboat a foundation during her broadcast vocation that offered mentoring for orphans, an enactment she would similar to resume successful the future.

“It seemed similar these girls, adjacent though the authorities provided precise elemental basics for them to commencement life, didn’t person parental guidance,” Ismailova recalls. “It seemed similar a batch of orphan girls were insecure due to the fact that nary 1 told them they were beautiful. Our extremity was to make that guidance and to springiness them a assurance boost. […] For me, it was precise important to do, and I was truthful fortunate that I had a accidental and a spot of influence. Right now, I miss it precise much.”

Today, she’s a Web3 seasoned aft spending 3 years astatine Artisant, a integer manner marque she co-founded — inspired, successful part, by her vocation successful journalism. “As a child, I didn’t person entree to a batch of beauteous dresses,” Ismailova says. “But I ever appreciated the elegant and beauteous portion of fashion, and erstwhile I watched TV, I ever saw TV hosts and reddish carpets. It ever looked stunning.”

Ismailova near Artisant successful July to motorboat a caller section of her vocation arsenic a advisor for digital-savvy manner brands. “I’m benignant of coming backmost to reality,” Ismailova explains. “Artisant was a integer manner brand, but determination was nary carnal product.”

1. You moved from Belarus, wherever you were a TV journalist, to the United States. What’s the communicative down that?

I’m the lone 1 from my household who moved, astatine first. I opened the “season of migration” for my family, arsenic close aft I moved, my sister moved, and past my brother. He didn’t conscionable determination — helium ran distant successful August 2020, close aft the Belarusian statesmanlike election, erstwhile they started hunting radical down. He had to run. His 2 co-founders were arrested.

Leila Ismailova with co-host Denis Kuryan successful 2014. Source: Screenshot

My idiosyncratic communicative is that I was a beauteous palmy TV big backmost home, I started erstwhile I was 15. I wanted to beryllium a TV big due to the fact that I wanted to deterioration beauteous dresses. I was precise happy. It was my imagination job! I started moving early, and I deliberation I was precise bare for success. I got each the nationalist awards I dreamed of astatine a precise young age, hosted each the shows I wanted to, and reached the nonrecreational ceiling backmost home.

2. What got you into crypto?

Well, my archetypal halt successful the United States was California — this was earlier I moved to Miami. I got into postgraduate schoolhouse for a master’s programme astatine USC Annenberg. (To beryllium honest, I’m inactive struggling to link to American society.) I’ve ever been a nerd, and schoolhouse seemed similar a harmless situation to link to people. I started learning astir entrepreneurship during the archetypal question of crypto successful 2017, and past I invested successful my archetypal crypto… and “lost” it. I bought Litecoin astatine $250. But I started moving successful crypto lone successful 2020. 

3. What brought you to Miami?

I felt precise constricted successful Los Angeles with the COVID-19 restrictions, and precise isolated. I couldn’t adjacent locomotion my canine due to the fact that they closed the parks. So, I got into integer fashion. It got maine precise funny astir however thing that didn’t beryllium could marque idiosyncratic consciousness truthful good. That was erstwhile I met my Artisant co-founder, Regina [Turbina], successful 2020. We were talking, and I started helping with small things. In 2021, I joined Artisant full-time.

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Things were flowing, truthful I discontinue my occupation and took a leap of religion — which brought maine to Miami. And since I joined crypto, ne'er person I met truthful galore bright, salient radical with unfastened minds. Everyone has been precise welcoming, adjacent though I knew acold little successful the opening than I cognize now. People were consenting to walk hours connected the telephone with me, sharing knowledge. I deliberation the welcoming situation encouraged maine to stay.

4. How bash you spot integer manner evolving implicit the adjacent 5 years?

Looking astatine the past bull run, I deliberation it was awesome, but it’s over. We person this romanticist conception that we’re each moving to the metaverse, and our avatars volition each request apparel someday. I privation to spot exertion go a instrumentality that makes radical much well-rounded, sustainable — wholesome.

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We person this vicious ellipse successful the Western satellite of buying goods we don’t need. Brands manipulate america into buying things. Consequently, we request to nutrient much goods, and we person this vicious ellipse of overproduction and overconsumption. We person a concern wherever fashion, the astir beauteous concern successful the world, is liable for 10% of c emissions.

We person a immense occupation astatine hand, and I spot integer manner and exertion arsenic a imaginable solution. We’re moving from the conception of gathering integer apparel for the metaverse to looking astatine however integer manner tin beryllium utile close now. Look astatine Dior and their B33 sneaker postulation with NFC chips built into the sole. It’s an astonishing exertion that allows you to nexus them to integer assets. So, this is simply a precise bully mode for brands to lick the occupation of counterfeit products.

5. You precocious near Artisant. Where are you going next?

I’m starting consulting jobs, and I privation to commencement penning more. For now, I privation to absorption connected companies that woody successful integer fashion. Companies that supply integer manner services arsenic an agency. I person a marque that wants maine to consult their team, and they bash an astonishing covering enactment that has augmented world storytelling built into it. I’m benignant of coming backmost to reality. Artisant was a integer manner marque — but determination was nary carnal product.

Seeing Artisant turn — not conscionable successful numbers but successful existent radical who defined Artisant arsenic their assemblage — meant the full satellite to me. But I came to a constituent wherever I gave everything I could to the project. Technology has a immense ngo successful reforming the satellite of fashion, and I privation to contribute. While I americium inactive pondering my adjacent large nonrecreational adventure, I cognize it volition beryllium amusive and volition service humanity.

6. What’s your beingness similar extracurricular of crypto?

I emotion having a balanced life. I person a dog. (That’s a hobby, right?) I play chess. For me, chess is simply a precise important crippled that helps maine a batch successful concern and successful analyzing situations. I besides similar sports. For me, it’s precise important to support moving. Yoga has been portion of my beingness for rather immoderate time. Since I unrecorded successful Miami, I bash things similar paddleboarding and kite surfing. And I instrumentality creation classes. That was 1 of my archetypal dreams, really — to go a dancer.