GRTiQ Podcast: 176 Emmi Aguilar

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Emmi Aguilar (00:14):

I have a lot to say about The Graph community because it is very different to other web3 communities because of the hospitality they give, the proactiveness and the kindness. Oh my God, the kindness is something that I have really to highlight from the whole Graph community.

Nick (01:04):

Welcome to the GRTiQ Podcast. Today I’m speaking with Emmi Aguilar, a member of The Graphtronauts and host of the GrapHER podcast. As you may already know, The Graphtronauts is one of the largest communities of Delegators and Graph-enthusiastic contributors in the entire ecosystem. And with Emmi as their leader, they’ve launched a new podcast spotlighting women in web3. During our conversation, Emmi shares her inspiring story from overcoming some challenges to pursue a technical education, to discovering blockchain technology and coding, and becoming a rising figure in The Graph community. Emmi also provides insights into the web3 community in Bolivia, her homeland discusses the origins of her blockchain enthusiasm, reflects on her experiences hosting the GrapHER Podcast and shares her vision for the future of The Graph. I started the discussion with Emmi by asking about when she first became interested in blockchain.

Emmi Aguilar (02:03):

So I became interested in blockchain during the pandemic. It was 2020, and I needed help to do some home duties because there was a severe economic crisis that affected my parents businesses and jobs as anyone else. And I wanted to learn about cryptocurrencies. I started with Bitcoin, but I found that blockchain was the technology behind it. And it was amazing to see that because I am a very curious person. So I went to my local bookstore to find any book related to blockchain or cryptocurrencies or maybe even algorithms because I thought that that was the first step that I was going to do at first to learn about blockchain. And I really think that from there everything changed. I found a simply book about blockchain that it was by Alex Preukschat. I think it was the pronunciation of his last name. And it was very basic. It did not have anything very technical, but it really opened my mind like no book has ever done before.

Nick (03:12):

Can we go back a little bit and explore what drew your interest to blockchain? You mentioned in your answer there that obviously the pandemic, there was some financial hardship, and I think that’s true for everybody listening to this podcast, but why blockchain? What drew your interest to that?

Emmi Aguilar (03:28):

Yeah. I believe my mission to learn about blockchain was driven by the desire to discover something completely new and to find opportunities to bring it to my country. Like Bolivia is the heart of South America, and here the technology and innovation lag behind more developed countries. So we are doing incredible work with web2. I know for sure that. There are startups and there are companies that are really pursuing this path of technology, but I really want to feel that my duty is to help the community see the benefits of decentralization in data protections like never before. I think that the values that blockchain has is something that my country needs. So I believe that that was the whole purpose of my life entirely. I really wanted to close gaps between technology and my country so I think that blockchain was perfect to do that because decentralization is something that I really pursue, and I think that it’s something that my country would need at some point. So I think that that was my first mission when I started into blockchain. It was like I need to spread the word about what is it, how can we enter to it and what are the benefits of it? So I think that it’s something very basic, but I think that it was something that we need and still be needing at some point.

Nick (04:55):

Well, Emmi, you’re my first guest to join me from Bolivia. I’ve done a lot of Episodes with people all across the world, and so I’m interested in learning more about Bolivia and what’s going on there. So let’s start with is this question about the community there. You talked a little bit about how it’s doing well in web2. Talk to us about the web3 blockchain community in Bolivia right now.

Emmi Aguilar (05:17):

Yeah. The community has grown over the years. In 2020, when I started learning about blockchain, it seemed like there weren’t many people interested beyond those trading stocks and holding a few cryptocurrencies. However, I think the adoption and interest in this technology have amazed me because there are many people who now believe in decentralization and in giving everyone the opportunity to participate is the one that motivates me to stay involved. I’m part of the core team of Ethereum Bolivia, and I think that since I started out our first event that was last year on our hackathon, everything has been on the rise. Not everyone knows what blockchain is yet at its total, but I think we’ve sparked curiosity in the community. And from this point on, everything is much easier because I’m a hundred percent sure that it will impact a lot of people. Right now I think that the community is very interested and it’s very engaged, and we are doing a lot of events and we are doing a lot of workshops working with Ethereum Bolivia and also with The Graph. So I think that the community is rising, and I know for sure that right now we are still on our baby steps, but I’m very hopeful about what the coming years will bring.

Nick (06:42):

And the second question I think I’d want to ask is just can you describe what it would mean for the people of Bolivia if web3, the vision of blockchain and cryptocurrency, if it grew to fruition? What would be the impact if you think about that?

Emmi Aguilar (06:59):

Yeah. I believe that in many aspects we could function much better with blockchain. Like right now, economically, web3 offers different alternatives to traditional finance for both banked and unbanked individuals. So right now in Bolivia, we’re passing through a rough time. We’re experiencing these dollar shortage, which limits credit, debit cards, online purchases. We cannot do exportation because or importation because there are no dollars. And I think that it’s a heavy situation that maybe can lead to something much worse, like Argentina has passed. So I think that adopting blockchain in the near future would be ideal to support businesses, startups, or companies that might be affected by these limitations. But if we’re talking about on the long run, I think that the greater adoption of web3 can impact more than that because we’re talking about tokenization, we’re talking about NFTs. We’re not just focusing on companies, but we can also focus on artists, musicians and so on. So I think that it could be really good because we have amazing talent here. We have good producers, musicians, and I think we should put ourselves out there. And I think that web3 maybe the way to do that. So I think that it would beneficiate not only … I don’t know. Like I was saying, companies, but also individuals who would like to be winning more money towards their work but from Bolivia to the world.

Speaker 1 (08:38):

The GRTiQ Podcast is made possible by a generous grant from The Graph Foundation. The Graph Grants program provide support for protocol infrastructure, tooling, gaps, subgraph, and community building efforts. Learn more at thegraph.foundation. That’s thegraph.foundation.

Nick (09:09):

I want to go back then to your university education. So let’s go back and talk a little bit about why you decided to study, and I believe the translation would be computer systems engineering. You can correct me if I’m wrong. But why did you choose computers and tech to study in university?

Emmi Aguilar (09:56):

Yeah. So my decision to study computer systems engineer … That was a good term. Was a crucial one. I wanted to prove things to myself because I didn’t believe I could achieve. So I initially wanted to study political science or maybe law or something that was related to history because those were the subjects that I enjoyed and I was very good at school. So I think that that was my motivation to not put so much attention to math, physics or chemistry. However, I always had a knack for using computers. I didn’t do anything big. I just played a lot of typing games or I don’t know, arcade games. And I enjoyed using basic computer programs. It was unbelievable that I have my first laptop before I even had dolls. And it was because my dad always had technology in his system I guess. And he was also on the computer and I was very curious about what he was doing and I never saw it as a vocation. I think I would say that I just liked it. I just liked to be on the computer to put settings, to put my taskbar in pink or something very basic.

(11:13):

And I didn’t decide to study engineering until I think my last month of high school. My computer science teacher … Because we passed this computer subject. Offered me the chance to participate in some type of competition about informatics. And he promised me that he would give me a perfect score in the subject, which I really wanted. I was very good at school and I think that I was always searching for excellence. So I did that. I went and I participated in this challenge. I did quite well. Even though it involved just creating flow charts and diagram flows and some algorithms on paper … Very basic. It was no actually programming on the computer. I did very good and this … I don’t know. Enlightened my teacher. So he was saying me, you should study computer systems engineer. You’re so good.

(12:14):

And I didn’t believe it was something for me because as I was saying, I wasn’t good at math, physics or chemistry so it didn’t seem like an option for me. And when I mentioned it to my friends, they supported me. They were the ones that supported me a lot. And there were the other half of my friends that were not so thrilled about the idea. But there was this specific friend who doubted my ability thinking that I couldn’t achieve it because I was never excellence at math. And she made me believe it too. It was something that really put my self-esteem very, very low. At first I wanted to prove her that she was wrong, that I can do anything, that it was not because I was bad at math that I can do like this thing about being an engineer. It was not my dream, but it was something that I think that I could do it.

(13:14):

So I wanted to prove her wrong. And over the years I realized that the only person I needed to prove anything to was myself. So I think that it was the best decision that I’ve ever made. My whole life is around technology and I couldn’t be more proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. It was super hard for me to study computer systems engineer. This is why I’m here in the field because I hadn’t had the path easy. It was very hard for me. There were nights that I was crying because I didn’t understand. There were subjects that I was completely blind because I didn’t understand anything and I also searched for friends that could help me. But my whole class was a bunch of men and there were a lot of girls. But on other years and in my specific year we were six and the whole class was 15 or 17 people. So the men were rejecting me because I was too slow to understand several terms in computer systems engineering and the girls were also my friends, but we were trying to battle into this field.

(14:31):

And I think that right now I can say that perseverance that I had was something that really drew me to the point I am today because I think it was not easy and it’s still not easy for me because I know that I have to do a lot more than the average because I didn’t come from a technical background or math background, but I did it. So I think that when you get to this point where you just … I don’t know. Learn by yourself and you demonstrate yourself that you put the hard work is something that makes me believe that this is the smartest choice I did, even though it caused me a lot of tears and nights that I didn’t sleep.

Nick (15:16):

I appreciate you sharing all that. That’s a remarkable story and it adds more background to all the incredible things you’ve accomplished since that point in your life. I’m curious if during those studies did you come across things related to blockchain and web3 where some seeds were planted during your university years where you thought this is more interesting than maybe web2 stuff?

Emmi Aguilar (15:39):

Actually no. I haven’t been into any class that talked about blockchain. When I graduated from my university, I heard that there was a blockchain class that was optional for students, but when I was starting, I never heard about blockchain. So it was something that I tried and I did, I guess that I have to be self-taught about blockchain. So it is something that it has to change universities because I know that the subjects are not towards new technology, they’re still behind it. So if people want to know about blockchain, they have to find communities. I don’t know the ones that we have in our country, but there’s no other way to know blockchain inside the university.

Nick (16:33):

So let’s go back then to your story and talk about what you did after university. So you persevere, you learn everything despite some of the friction and obstacles that you described there. You graduate, what do you do professionally? How do you get started working in tech?

Emmi Aguilar (16:49):

Yeah. Actually I started working on tech from my first year of university. So I’ve been in the tech world for a lot of amount of time. Working in technology from such an early stage helped me gain a comprehensive understanding of the world. I began at a company that created websites and applications and this experience greatly enhanced my understanding of users and clients in ways I have never grasped before. So then I went into a bank that it was one of the biggest here in Bolivia and I tried to pursue this path of building some FinTech path. And I think it was awesome. But I think that working in tech was something that I needed because I wasn’t sure at university if I wanted to stay on that career. So from being on the first year working made me believe that I was on the correct path because I think it was super exciting. I love to develop applications and I love to do web pages and I do that on my free time, on my spare time because we still need things in web2 in my country right now. But I think that tech is something that I am breathing from my very first year of university.

Nick (18:14):

What did working at a bank … And you spent many years there. But what did that experience teach you or how did it shape your perspective and opinions about DeFi?

Emmi Aguilar (18:26):

So working at one of the largest banks in Bolivia was an important learning experience for me. I know and understand well how banks operate, at least in my country. And seeing how web3 has changed, it’s very interesting. Especially for the unbanked population. I believe that it could greatly benefit them from using web3. So in Bolivia, a high percentage of people still don’t trust banks. And this is something very common. You can ask your grandparents or you can ask other people if they have their money savings on the bank and they will say no because they don’t trust and they’re still not trusting because they know that centralization is something that … They don’t really understand that that’s the term but they think that, okay, we cannot trust because they’re going to control our data and our funds and maybe they can steal us. And this is a popular thought here in my country. So if you’re talking about decentralization and blockchain, maybe we can change this trust into technology in itself and drew them to what DeFi has to offer. So decentralized finance can help bridge this gap of trust and security that we don’t often have here.

(19:45):

And DeFi was my first subject that I learned very good when I was starting my learning path in blockchain. And I think that DeFi has a lot to offer. Not only because it has really good proposals for … I don’t know. Staking and liquidity pools and liquidity staking and so on, but it also makes me think that DeFi is a good option for crossing borders. That it’s something that we lack here in Bolivia. Here the cost to pass money or to pass dollars right now is very high and maybe it’s even impossible because taxes and fees are something that we cannot pay. And you can think that DeFi can be the way to do that, to make more international for Bolivians to access to these finance industry. And I think that’s something very interesting to analyze here in my country. But I think DeFi and web3 is something that my country will need at some point in the long run. But I know for sure that we will have that due to the political issues that we’re leaving right now.

Nick (20:58):

The other experience you had professionally that I want to ask you about before we turn our attention to The Graph, The Graph community and the incredible podcast you’ve launched is this experience you had as a professor of blockchain. So you did some teaching on blockchain and as you were telling your personal story and how you overcame some obstacles and maybe some cynicism from those closest to you, but eventually got that degree and became technical, you went on to teach about blockchain. So what can you tell us about that role and what that experience was like?

Emmi Aguilar (21:32):

It was awesome. I tried to learn blockchain by also teaching blockchain. So I always been in different communities and I started with this community that was El Club de Chicas, Programadoras that in English is the Club of Programming Girls or Programming Girls Club. And it was awesome. This project started in Argentina, so I started my first lessons to girls in Argentina by doing this remotely. I was in Bolivia and I did it by Zoom or Meet. And it was incredible because I think that my passion for education grow when I started to learn with them. It was very cool to see. They were very open to understand new things that maybe weren’t that interesting because I wasn’t doing a lot. It was fundamentals. We didn’t talk about protocols. It was just use cases, basics of cryptography and maybe some things about smart contracts. So this experience about being a teacher made me believe that I could educate everyone because I was very good at it because I tried to explain them with simple terms in order for me to also understand them.

(22:58):

So I replicated this same exact project that I did in Argentina, in Bolivia because we tried to bring the project into this country and it was awesome too. I think that the people were very open to it. I teach girls from 15 to 18 years old and they were girls that in their schools or universities weren’t able to pass a class or a subject related to computer science. So they know anything about technology. So it was very interesting to deconstruct the terms of technology in baby steps into going to higher levels by introducing blockchain. And I think that the experience that I have was very challenging, but made me believe that it was my true passion to educate and to be in the education path because I know how does it feel to be in the rabbit hole and really don’t know where to start.

(23:59):

And I think I did a pretty good job with them. I’m still in touch with a lot of girls from Argentina and from my country also because I’m trying to teach them some things about technology, but also they have questions about blockchain and they are very pending on my Twitter and they are like, oh, I saw this post. What is it about? And I can talk to them. And it’s a very good relationship that we have. Right now I don’t do that anymore because the time that I have is very short because I’m in a lot of projects. But I think that the community that I build with them is a bond that will never break because I know that we have each other. So I think that it was a true experience to me. It was something that was very heartful. I can say that I can die right now and be happy that I did that experience.

Nick (24:52):

Well. We’re going to talk a little bit more about where this commitment to teaching and working with women in web3 comes from. Before we get to that topic though, we’re going to talk about now how you became aware and interested in The Graph and becoming such an important contributor within The Graph community. So take us back in time. Do you remember what the circumstances were when you first became aware of The Graph and what your initial thoughts of the protocol were?

Emmi Aguilar (25:18):

Yes. I heard about The Graph in 2022. I was trying to read documentations on different protocols and I found The Graph. At first I have to be very honest in this podcast, I didn’t understand many aspects of their functions, but it was because I also was very new. So I passed it over. And it wasn’t until last year I had the opportunity to meet many people at this event called Ethereum Argentina where I was volunteering. So I’ve met Lorena Fabris that is the community manager for The Graph in Latin America. And I believe that it was awesome to see her passion. We were talking about random things and she was explaining what does she do for work and she explained that she was working in The Graph and I saw her passion and I was like, oh, I’m very interested in that. And then she asked if I was a developer or what was my background, I told her. And the rest I think is history because I can say that from that moment I was fully committed to The Graph and I really understood the mission. And I think that I only engage to projects, protocols or companies that align values with me. And I think The Graph was one of them and I’m very grateful for that.

Nick (26:44):

Well, for anyone who’s interested in learning more about Lorena, and as you said there another important contributor, OG, I would say within The Graph ecosystem. You can go listen to Episode one 13 of this podcast where I had the opportunity to do a one-on-one interview with Lorena. I want to ask you about first coming into contact as you described there with what The Graph is, how it works, and then merging that with your understanding and background in blockchain. Because you started in blockchain tech, you realized how important it was, you went on to teach about it and really become a student of blockchain. And now you’ve come into contact with The Graph. How did you assimilate or synthesize how important The Graph was with blockchain?

Emmi Aguilar (27:29):

Yes. Totally. I always highlight whenever I go to hackathons or talk to people in my community that The Graph is like Google for blockchain developers. It’s the best example I can ever give to anyone because they understand it very well in a matter of 10 seconds. So I start by explaining them the need to organize data, which is currently spread across different blocks as we know everything is everywhere. So we can pull it into the decentralized applications we want to create through these open APIs called subgraphs. And this allowed us to fetch this information. And when talking to the community about this, the most important point is to emphasize the potential for accessing public data, something that wasn’t possible with web2. And that’s something that really caught my mind because I saw Yaniv Tal’s Episode from GRTiQ, and he talked about this, about that in web2 it was like, why is it so hard to gain data? It should be open for everyone, open source, open data, open everything. And with that value, I really clicked with him because I knew that The Graph was … It’s whole purpose to make public data open.

(28:50):

And I think that that’s the most important thing that I explained to people when I’m talking about The Graph and explaining here, especially in my community. Because I have to explain to them the importance of having everything open and public to anyone that wants to access it, because it should be transparent, it should be decentralized, it should be valuable, these data that we have without anyone controlling it. So I think that that’s the main point where I highlight why The Graph is so important in this ecosystem and they really understand the importance of it. So they are really curious about seeing what The Graph is doing. And they are always with me looking at The Graph very closely because I think at first, or well, I can say my community at least is very interested in what The Graph has to offer.

Nick (29:38):

Well, I was very fortunate, as you mentioned there, to host Yaniv Tal on the GRTiQ Podcast for Episode 100 and similar to you, it was a very impactful podcast for me and other members of the community as Yaniv shared his early vision for The Graph and some of the early stories of what The Graph was as it started and how it has evolved to become what it is today. So you get interested in The Graph, you meet Lorena at ETH Argentina. Let’s talk about then how you got started as a contributor within The Graph community. What did you do?

Emmi Aguilar (30:10):

At first, I applied to be an Graph Advocate. And then I did the onboarding and I just simply do tasks. I was an event evangelist and I was also a content creator, and I really wanted to be a technical teacher also. But I think that went through the months later. But I started with being an Graph Advocate. And I can say that the community is very kind and they open their arms for me and they explain everything in a simple way because I had some gaps trying to understand The Graph at first. So I think that that was my first step into The Graph community to be a Graph Advocate. And I have to be very thankful for that because it opened a lot of doors for me, including being part of The Graph turnout that I think that I will talk about later because of that. But I think that the great experience that I have was starting by being an advocate.

Nick (31:10):

So how did you move then, as you mentioned there, The Graphtronauts community. How did you move from being a Graph Advocate … You worked as a content creator, you worked as an event evangelist to becoming a member of The Graphtronauts community?

Emmi Aguilar (31:23):

Yes. So this is such a cool experience because I talked to Paolo. Paolo is the founder of Graphtronauts of this community for The Graph. And it was awesome because we clicked instantly. He wanted to know me. He wanted to get to know about my experience in Bolivia, what was my mission with The Graph, and what was my experience at that moment with The Graph Advocates. And I always tell my story about trying to close the gap about gender in technology in my country and in the world. And I think that it was immediately … I don’t know. A bond that we made because he was so captivated by my mission. So I think a month later he invited me to be part of the core team of Graphtronauts and start a project that was to empower women in web3. So I had the opportunity to build my personal project with them.

(32:31):

And I have to say that The Graphtronauts community, it’s super, super inspireable and they’re very, very, I can say kind with me. So I’m very thankful for the whole team to open up their hearts and let me get in because they are such cool persons. And I have to say that they are very good with me and they help me with everything without even asking. So if I can say a little bit about what The Graphtronauts community is, it’s an official community of The Graph, and we want to inspire and enable Delegators. So we educate Delegators on their delegation process, portfolio management and Indexer selection. So The Graphtronauts release different projects throughout the time, and we help with helpful information for building a long-term understanding of the web3, but also The Graph. And part of these projects comes GrapHER Club. That is something that I will talk later in this Episode. But I think that it was my … I don’t know. Passion that clicked with Paolo. And I have to say that Paolo is one of the best people that I’ve known so far in my life.

Nick (33:47):

Well, Paolo Diomede was another guest of the podcast, Episode 90 here. So for anybody that wants to learn more about Paolo’s background, you can go listen to Episode 90. And as you said there, he’s become a mentor to so many within The Graph ecosystem. And The Graphtronauts have been around for a very long time, and I remember them in the very early days of The Graph. And that community continues to grow and thrive. And I’ve had many members of The Graphtronauts community on the podcast before. So podcast, again, visit the show notes if you want links to The Graphtronauts community or some of these Episodes that we’ve been discussing here. So Emmi, part of the reason then we wanted to talk today is to tell more people about the GrapHER podcast and the GrapHER Club that you just referenced there. So you are the host of The GraphER Podcast, and I think you’re about 10 Episodes in at this point. What is the backstory for where the idea of launching a podcast devoted to women working in web3 in The Graph community. Where did that come from?

Emmi Aguilar (34:45):

It came from a talk that I have with Paolo. And I was talking about the need of having more girls into web3 and we were discussing things like it was just a casual talk. And then he got into this idea of making a podcast because he wanted to also pursue these … I don’t know. Dream with me to empower and inspire more women into web3. And he thought that I was the best person to do that because I had the passion and I was in The Graph community and I was also part of The Graphtronauts team. So we thought that it was going to be such a challenging project because we know that it’s not that simple to throw out your podcast and gain followers and audience. And maybe we’re thinking that guests were not going to like this at first because we were very new and we hadn’t have a special audience for this. But I think that we talk about two more meetings about if we should do it or not. We aligned with missions, we aligned visions, and I think that everything went very smooth.

(35:59):

So I think that the principal mission of The GrapHER Club and why we are doing this is because we want to show role models to people out there to see that women are doing cool things here and they’re capable of that. It’s not a male industry as we know that web2 maybe is, but we say that in web3 is open to anyone, and we want to really put a statement on that. We want to say, Hey, in web3, everyone is welcome. And if you can see, there are incredible women out there leading protocols, leading projects, and they are CEOs, they are COOs. I’ve talked to many women that are doing amazing stuff. And I think that that was the principal mission of that. Showing that there role models out there that are doing things. And they’re real women, they are real stories and they’re doing crazy things.

Nick (36:56):

I find it interesting to ask content creators … And of course this is a question that’s been asked to me sometimes. But who do you envision that listener to be when you’re recording these interviews on GrapHER podcast? Who do you envision listening and what do you hope they get from it?

Emmi Aguilar (37:10):

At first, I thought it was only women that have to hear our podcast, but as we went through different Episodes, I know that I really want to show the world that it’s open for everyone. So I think that right now the podcast, when I try to talk to the guest and talk to the audience, I think it should be people that are transitioning from web2 to web3, or maybe people that want to onboard into web3, and they want to know what is it about and what are they doing? Because I also ask in every Episode if they think that web2 is equal or the same like a web3? But in web3, everyone says that it’s more open to anyone that you can have a lot of more opportunities that is more informal. So you can be a developer without actually having a CV or resume that says that you’ve studied some technical or engineering career. When I envision this podcast, I thought it was only going to be women, but right now I’m thinking about everyone that’s trying to onboard into web3, no matter their ages, their cultures, their religions, or anything.

Nick (38:32):

As I said earlier, one of the threads of your story is being a woman with a non-technical background, developing those technical skills, becoming a teacher and a mentor to others, and then launching a podcast that shines a light on other women who have overcome and achieved so much in the web3 space. So my question to you would be, where does this drive or interest in you come from to be that voice, to set that example, to shine a light on others? Where does that come from?

Emmi Aguilar (39:07):

I believe that having role models is important to inspire more women in this industry. I can say from my personal experience that I didn’t have any when I started my first years of university. I didn’t have anyone from Bolivia that do that. If maybe there were, it wasn’t so visible to me. So I think that with my experience going into web3, I was creating for women. Where are the women here? And I didn’t see much. So many times we ourselves tend not to give ourselves the value we deserve because we fear of what our others will say of not being able to do it or of feeling intimidated by a tech world surrounded by men. So specifically, I believe that showing real stories of real women is what will help capture this attention of the audience. And this is why we look for such different profiles in these Episodes which show from different regions, countries, cultures, and more.

(40:12):

So anyone can relate to at least one story because like Erica Kang was one of our guests. So she’s from Korea, so maybe I can get the attention and I can captivate the attention of a woman or someone that is trying to pursue their path that is from Korea. So I’m trying to diversify my Episodes and I’m trying to make able to show success stories and tell them that if they can do it in their regions, in their communities, you can also do it too. And I do it as my personal experience also because I think that I really wanted to become a leader because I really needed one at that time. And I cannot say just a role model, but a mentor. It was very hard for me to find a mentor in web3, and I think that that was my goal, to shine light on women into this podcast of the GrapHER Club.

Nick (41:14):

Well, you’ve had some great guests on the podcast already, and I’m sure you have many more coming and the conversations and story have been inspiring, and so I’ll put a link in the show notes for anybody that wants more information, but definitely should check out GrapHER podcast. As I’ve said a couple of times, you’re already about 10 Episodes in. What are some of the most important or interesting insights you’ve gathered thus far in 10 interviews with so many different voices and different backgrounds and stories?

Emmi Aguilar (41:42):

Wow, the passion that each of them has is unmatched. I am so grateful to be reaching our 10 Episodes and to know that I have gained so much from each of these Episodes. It’s incredible to see that I gain a lot by interviewing them. Sometimes I think it’s selfish for me to say that I’m learning more than I think the audience is. So especially because they have all talk about overcoming the fear of failure, of trying and achieving. But beyond that, I love how all the women on this podcast teach me that nothing is too difficult or impossible. It’s just a matter of perseverance and believing in yourself. And it may be cliches like this type of quotes that they are giving, but how right they are? They’re very accurate. And I am inspired by all of their background stories because they are a lot of background stories that did not come from a technical aspect or anything related to web.

(42:54):

There’s this photography background, there is this law and political background. I think that it’s very good to see this resilience into becoming who they want to be and whenever they want to be because they can. They don’t follow a very specific stereotype. They don’t follow a very specific path. They just simply changed their careers into web3 because they feel the need to, they got captivated by it. Every Episode that we have is very special because of that, because they’re such different backgrounds, but they have this same success story of achieving, and I think that that’s the heart of every Episode that we have.

Nick (43:45):

Where can people download and listen to The GraphER podcast?

Emmi Aguilar (43:49):

Yes. So everyone can listen. Our podcast on YouTube. We have a special podcast into this Graphtronauts account that we have. We also put and upload our videos on Twitter. You can follow us on The Graphtronauts_c account. And we are there, we are verified, and we put the Episodes every two Tuesdays. So we have two Episodes per month. And right now we are going to be on our 10th Episode, and I think that it will be a special edition because it’s really important milestone for us. And I will make everyone proud with the special edition that we’re going to make.

Nick (44:36):

Definitely going to check it out. And again, encourage listeners here today to check it out and catch some of the insights, some of the inspiration, the passion that you just described there in the guests and the stories. I want to ask you this question, Emmi, about how web3 might be different from web2 when it comes to inclusion and some of these gender equality topics. Do you have a sense for whether web3 is doing better, the same, worse than other industries?

Emmi Aguilar (45:06):

Yes. I believe that in web3 we’re doing things different. It’s more open to anyone. And I think it’s because you can do things anonymously without being a person like male or female. Just a human. And I think that that’s the special in magical part of web3. You can protect your identity if you want to, and no one will say anything about it. They will support it, they will care about you, they will love you, and you can still have your life outside of web3 and continue with what you are doing. And I think it’s more open to that. But I also think that the inclusion, it’s more visible. I know that salaries are equal to men and women. I know for sure that if they are in a selection process to a job, I know that they’re not going to be lean into men, but just for how well they contributed in the past to other protocols or to projectors or anything.

(46:15):

So I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone because from my personal experience, I know for sure that I have my place in web3 as I feel that I didn’t have in web2. In web2, I believe that they’re still very close. They’re close communities. It’s very hard to enter to some of them, I can say. And it’s the truth and hard fact that I have to say. But in web3, communities are open. Everyone wants to extend a hand for you and help you with anything. They give you advice. They want to be … I don’t know. Part of your onboarding journey. And that’s the special thinking web3. That they don’t matter and they do not care about whether you are a male, female or anything. You can be a cyborg and we won’t care about that. We will only care about your education and your success in this ecosystem. I know it’s not that perfect, but I think that it’s very close to it.

Nick (47:18):

What’s your advice to listeners of this podcast, women who are trying to get started, want to accomplish some of the things you have? Or maybe there’s some male listeners today that have a significant other or life partner, someone in their life that they maybe want to pass this along to. But what would be your advice to somebody who wants to get started in this space?

Emmi Aguilar (47:38):

Well, my first advice will be to stay active. I think that’s the main goal into becoming a contributor in a protocol, to stay active, be very helpful with anyone that wants to know things. And also, I think that my good advice for women is to just try it. Because if we do not do that, we will not see any results. And it may be scary at first, but if we do not try it, we will not get anywhere. And that’s something that my mom used to say all the time to me. If you don’t try, you will not know what will happen. But at least if you fail, you will know that you’ve tried. So that’s something that I think that listeners should have present in their heads, in their minds. Because trying is the least thing you can do. And if you get a no, it’s a no, but at least you tried. And I think that you can try in many doors here in web3, if one door doesn’t open, other ones will do for sure. And I’m a hundred percent sure of that. Everyone has a place here and everyone will have a place on web3.

Nick (48:53):

Do you have a sense for what makes The Graph community different from other communities in the web3 ecosystem?

Emmi Aguilar (49:00):

Yes. Of course. I have a lot to say about The Graph community because it is very different to other web3 communities because of the hospitality they give, the proactiveness and the kindness. Oh my God. The kindness is something that I have really to highlight from the whole graph community. Everyone is replying to your telegram. It doesn’t matter if it’s the CEO or if it’s a contributor and advocate, everyone answers on Discord, on Telegram or maybe in WhatsApp. So I think that I’ve met the most sweet people in the universe in The Graph ecosystem. I really want to highlight people right now in this podcast, if I may.

Nick (49:44):

Please.

Emmi Aguilar (49:46):

Okay. Yeah. I have to say that Paolo is one of my mentors, and I have to say that he’s so kind. Also, Marcus and Kevin, the Dev Rels of Edge & Node. I have to say that my inspirational person, like someone who I want to be is Tegan. And she’s so kind, she’s so helpful and she likes my tweets and I know that she’s supporting me from behind. I am also thankful for Carlson. Carlson made my onboarding very easy and Lorena also. And all my friends in the advocate style. I cannot have a short list of people who I want to thank, but I think that there are a lot. And when you get into this ecosystem, you understand it. You understand that everyone is helpful, everyone is there for you, and everyone is very like attentive to serving your needs. And I think that that’s the thing that differentiates us from the rest. Also, my Graphtronauts community is very open to anything. So I think that it’s because the values that The Graph gives to any community, any group or something, it’s special. So I think that’s something that I have to highlight a lot here.

Nick (51:05):

A lot of names and a lot of people. And that’s a familiar theme on this podcast. A lot of other guests have mentioned how the community was really the catalyst to get them started and contributing within The Graph. I want to ask you this question about what makes you excited then about the future of The Graph. You’ve been talking to a lot of different people. You’ve been working within the ecosystem for a while. As you zoom out and look at the future of The Graph, what makes you most excited?

Emmi Aguilar (51:28):

I think it makes me excited to think that AI is something that we will have as an infrastructure. I am learning about the Semiotic white paper that they released last week. And I think it’s very interested to see that they are building something really cool that will help automatization and of course, the evolution of The Graph into something very powerful. Also, I’m very excited about the Sunrise that it’s actually here. It already happened. And I think that right now we are fully decentralized. We are talking about opening data for everyone, completely new features and fixes. And the developer experience that you have when you read the documentations or build your subgraph is even smoother than it was before. So right now, there are no obstacles for you to build with The Graph, and that’s something that not many protocols can do. It’s very hard for protocols to make documentation light or maybe the developer experience more smooth. So now we can say that these things that will come and that are here with us now will make a very powerful protocol, community and of course, infrastructure.

Nick (52:49):

Well, as you mentioned, there was a white paper released by the team over at Semiotic Labs add the opportunity to speak with Ani Patel about that for a special release. So if you want to dig a little deeper, you can listen to that special release of this podcast. Or I really encourage people just to go read the white paper. It is an exciting vision for the future of The Graph. And you mentioned the Sunrise there. For anybody that doesn’t know, this was an initiative to upgrade all subgraphs from the hosted service to the decentralized network. And as you mentioned, it’s been a success. A lot of traffic moving over from the hosted service to the decentralized network. Two very important initiatives in recent memory of The Graph, and a lot more to come, I’m sure of it.

(53:29):

So Emmi. Now we’ve reached a point in the podcast where I do want to ask you the GRTiQ 10. You’ve mentioned that you’ve listened to the podcast before, so I’m sure you knew these were coming, but these are 10 questions I ask each guest of the podcast every week. And as I always say, I do it because it gives us a chance to get to know you a little bit better. But I hope listeners will learn something new, try something different, or achieve more by virtue of your answers today. So Emmi, are you ready for the GRTiQ 10?

Emmi Aguilar (53:55):

Yes. I’m ready.

Nick (54:07):

What book or article has had the most impact on your life?

Emmi Aguilar (54:12):

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel.

Nick (54:16):

How about this one? Is there a movie or a TV show that you would recommend everybody should watch?

Emmi Aguilar (54:22):

In TV I would say The Office and a movie I would recommend Past Lives.

Nick (54:28):

If you could only listen to one music album for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Emmi Aguilar (54:33):

I want to say a specific song and a specific album. And a specific song I could hear my entire life is Somewhere Only We know by Keane and a music album is I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy, by Teddy Swims.

Nick (54:50):

And how about this one? What’s the best advice someone’s ever given to you?

Emmi Aguilar (54:54):

Whoever angers you, dominates you.

Nick (54:57):

Emmi, what’s one thing you’ve learned in your life that you don’t think most other people have learned or know yet?

Emmi Aguilar (55:05):

Dog training.

Nick (55:07):

And what’s the best life hack you’ve discovered for yourself?

Emmi Aguilar (55:10):

The 70-day hard challenge.

Nick (55:15):

And Emmi, based on your own life experiences and observations what’s the one habit or characteristic that you think best explains how people find success in life?

Emmi Aguilar (55:27):

If you can lose weight and be fit, you can probably can be a millionaire. So I would say stay fit.

Nick (55:36):

And then Emmi. The final three questions of the GRTiQ 10 are complete the sentence type questions. The first one is, the thing that most excites me about the future of web3 is …

Emmi Aguilar (55:48):

It’s potential to revolutionize different aspects of our lives from healthcare, education to DeFi and ultimately making the world a decentralized place for everyone.

Nick (56:03):

And how about this one, if you’re on X, I still call it Twitter, you should be following …

Emmi Aguilar (56:08):

The Graphtronauts_C account.

Nick (56:12):

And the final question, Emmi, how about this? I’m happiest when …

Emmi Aguilar (56:17):

I’m with my loved ones, family, friends, and my dogs.

Nick (56:30):

Well, Emmi, this was a thrill to have you on the GRTiQ Podcast. As I’ve said, I’ve been watching the GrapHER podcast from afar, cheering for your success, and been thrilled with the reception. And as I said, you’ve had some amazing guests, some amazing stories. You’re doing really great work, and I should say super important work. So I’m cheering for your success, and I’m grateful you came and joined the GRTiQ Podcast. If listeners want to stay in touch with you, follow things you’re working on, what’s the best way for them to stay in touch?

Emmi Aguilar (56:58):

They can stay in touch in my Instagram. It’s emmilili.eth. And in Twitter, I’m the same thing, but with an underscore. So emmilili is like with double M, like my name, but Lily. So yeah, they can follow me everywhere. And I always answer DMs in anything they want to know.