GRTiQ Podcast: 89 Christina Mills

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Christina Mills (00:19):

Part of that kind of entrepreneurial spirit that I have of just, “Let’s solve this problem, let’s figure it out.” And once I’ve chosen something as my target, I am just pretty head down and make it happen.

Nick (01:04):

Welcome to the GRTiQ Podcast. Today I’m speaking with Christina Mills, Graph Advocate and member of Graph AdvocatesDAO. Since its launch in February, 2022, The Graph Advocates program has grown to over 200 advocates located all across the world, thereby forming a global network of contributors working to introduce The Graph in web3 to their local community.

(01:27):

Shortly after advocates launched, a handful of advocates formed Graph AdvocatesDAO, whose main mission is to oversee The Graph Advocates and Graph Advocates program and take the lead on awarding community grants within The Graph ecosystem.

(01:41):

Through her activity and relentless participation, Christina has emerged within The Graph Advocates program and AdvocatesDAO as a community leader. And as you’re about to hear, Christina’s journey into web3 is both unique and inspiring.

(01:55):

During our discussion, Christina talks about her experiences as an entrepreneur, her unique entry into web3, which started with a cold email introduction to Tay and Klein and then spending her nights and weekends learning how to code.

(02:08):

And then we talk extensively about Graph Advocates and Graph AdvocatesDAO. I started the conversation by asking Christina about her educational background.

Christina Mills (02:19):

So I knew from a young age that I wanted to have my own business. I just didn’t know what the business would be. Both my parents were self-employed, which she gave me the confidence to take a less traditional route when it came to my career.

(02:31):

So I went to Elon University in North Carolina and I got my bachelor’s degree in business with a marketing concentration. And while I was there, they had an entrepreneurship program launch, but I was a semester too late to do that otherwise I would have.

(02:46):

I graduated during the financial crisis, so it was not the best time to start a career. I knew I had to do something more than just working at a bar or restaurant, so I went to massage therapy school for nine months and I started my second entrepreneurial adventure.

(03:02):

First was being an independent consultant for a skincare company my senior year of college.

Nick (03:08):

So after this early education, your pursuit in business after college, you eventually find yourself in web3 and crypto, which is why we’re talking today. Immediately before you became interested in crypto, what were you doing professionally at that time?

Christina Mills (03:23):

So for the last 10 years I’ve had a photography business with my husband. My husband’s a really talented artist, not just in photography but in art and cooking and all the artistic ways.

(03:37):

And I had this business background and I asked him if he wanted to start a business together. So we started our business and I took care of all the behind the scenes things, the operations and also learned photography, so I did a little bit of everything there.

(03:51):

It was always evolving and we’re always pushing towards the next level. It’s always been quality over quantity for us. We were recently on Vogue, which is a really big goal of ours, and now I’m spending just a few hours a week on a business.

Nick (04:05):

It’s an incredible story, right, from a young person dreaming of running their own business to finding a partner in life and then launching this decade long successful business in wedding photography of all things, which by the way is a GRTiQ first.

(04:19):

I haven’t had a wedding photographer entrepreneur on the podcast yet, but would be curious about what you’ve learned about entrepreneurship over all these years culminating in starting this business with your husband.

Christina Mills (04:32):

I think the biggest thing is there are no shortcuts, a lot of trial and error with that, paying to be on certain lists for things. Relationships are so important, networking, needing people in person or on a call and just letting people see that human element is super important. Also, learning to outsource and delegate and creating a team.

(04:57):

A skill by itself isn’t enough to carry you. You have to have so much more. One of the biggest things that was helpful was coming up with core values and using those core values to help us make decisions.

[NEW_PARAGRAPH]In our business we have experience driven, positive, humble, and kind, reliable and adaptable. Those are our core values and we would use those as a filter for all the decisions that we made and that was really helpful.

Nick (05:25):

You mentioned you were featured in Vogue. What can you share with listeners about what that feature was and if they want to check it out, how to do it?

Christina Mills (05:32):

It was a wedding in Charleston that my husband second shot for another photographer friend of ours, and they can search for it on Vogue, search for Joseph Rogero, R-O-G-E-R-O on Vogue and you’ll see some of his photos there.

Nick (05:49):

Without saying names or anything too specific, do you have any stories about people who have gone maybe over the top on wedding planning and the things that you’ve seen?

Christina Mills (05:58):

Yeah. I mean, there’s just this whole other world of extravagance there and I don’t know if I have any story specifically.

(06:09):

But yeah, just from my own personal experience, our wedding we thought was very nice but there’s always another level. People getting married in Lake Como and all these incredible places around the world, and I think actually the more extravagant it gets, the more private it gets actually. So that’s kind of a little behind the scenes take.

Nick (06:32):

So if you could go back in time and talk to that young girl that had this dream or vision of being an entrepreneur and owning her own business and tell her what makes a successful entrepreneur, I’d be curious to know what you would tell her.

Christina Mills (06:46):

I would say, “Don’t be afraid to fail.” Failure gets this bad reputation because of the way we’re taught in school and get failing grades and we don’t want to be on the losing team.

(06:56):

But I’m a firm believer that failure is the best teacher and then also knowing when to move on, just following your gut and it’s okay to say, “Okay, this isn’t working for me anymore. I’m going to find something else.”

Nick (07:11):

You’ve ventured off the conventional approach to being an entrepreneur. You’ve entered into this web3 ecosystem. I’m curious if you’ve been able to scratch that itch so to speak or that passion, fulfill that passion of wanting to be an entrepreneur in the work you’re doing in web3.

Christina Mills (07:32):

Not yet. I feel like this is just the beginning of my journey. I think I probably really started my journey maybe a year and a half ago I would say, and I still have a ton to learn and I feel like at some point this is going to evolve into something else for me entrepreneurially.

Nick (07:54):

If we forecast out five to 10 years, what do you want to be doing? Have you thought about that? What do you want to be doing 10 years from now in the web3 space?

Christina Mills (08:03):

Maybe working with a protocol or maybe the business side of helping them grow and using some of my entrepreneurial skills to help spread the word about some other new protocol out there.

(08:19):

I’m not sure yet, and I’ve always kept my mind open and just kind of let things flow. I haven’t exactly formulated any goals yet on this. I tell my family sometimes it’s like I’m in my freshman year of web3 University, so I’m still figuring it out. I’m still in school learning as we go.

Nick (08:41):

So Christina, I now want to turn our attention to crypto and web3 and how you became interested in it. And this is super interesting, right?

(08:50):

Because you have an established career, you’re working with a business partner who happens to be your husband, you’ve got a successful wedding photography business, you’re traveling throughout the country and probably throughout the world, and yet you at some point come across crypto, web3 and you decide to get more involved in it.

(09:09):

Take us back in time to when you first became aware and what some of those first impressions were.

Christina Mills (09:14):

So I first became aware of crypto, I think it was somewhere around 2016. I started a Litecoin wallet and I never bought any coins though. I was kind of in this confused mindset says no, and I just didn’t have enough knowledge to make any investment.

(09:32):

And a lot of the hype in the early days was centered around this investment factor and not so much about the utility, so I just didn’t understand why or what it did. And at that point I was pretty new to investing in general and kind of risk averse at that point.

Nick (09:48):

What do you think drew your interest?

Christina Mills (09:50):

I think the investment portion of it drew my interest initially. This was eight years ago, so I don’t even remember exactly where the initial thought came from.

(10:05):

It was so, so long ago, but I kind of saw this as a new form of money maybe, but it was also kind of risky. And at that point I just didn’t have enough information about it.

Nick (10:20):

Like so many others that are listening to this episode, your original interest sparked on the speculative nature of crypto as an investment. That started you on a path. I’d like to know the path then you took to where you are presently.

(10:35):

And as I said in the show introduction, you’re currently a member of Graph Advocates and Graph AdvocatesDAO, and we’re talking today largely because you’ve made a lot of contributions in the DAO, established some leadership presence within The Graph ecosystem.

(10:49):

And so, you’re here today to talk a little bit about your experience with that, but what was the path to where you are today?

Christina Mills (10:56):

I love learning new things. I’m a lifelong learner. I started to have this desire to pursue something new and find a new challenge and I diversify my skillset, maybe find something that wouldn’t require me to travel as much.

(11:10):

I was paying attention to the financial markets because of other investments and then, of course, bought Bitcoin, buying Bitcoin and watching it increase in value. Then it really piqued my interest crypto.

(11:22):

Since I was invested, I started reading more about it and began to understand that it was a lot more… that it was the future of money and transactions and there was this whole movement around the next generation of the internet web3.

(11:36):

So one day I was working on our website and I had been using some HTML and CSS to fix an issue on our homepage, and I was really proud of myself for that. And I was talking to my brother and telling him about it and he said, “Oh, you know how to code? You should run a Chainlink node.”

(11:51):

And this little seed that he planted opened up this whole can of worms for me. And so, I googled what is a Chainlink node and I started watching Patrick’s YouTube videos and it was like this whole new area of my brain was being activated and I loved it.

(12:07):

Pretty shortly after that Covid started and I found myself with lots of time. Events were paused for quite some time and I was on LinkedIn and I found my business professor from college.

(12:20):

I was recording his intro to a 300 level class and he was talking about the syllabus and what books they’re going to be reading. So I found those books and I started listening to them on Audible. I think they were Digital to the Core and Blockchain Revolution.

(12:34):

And so, at this point I’m becoming really curious about smart contracts and Solidity and JavaScript between those things and Patrick’s videos, and I quickly learned that I needed some more foundation.

(12:45):

So I took a free audit course on edX: Intro DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering and completed that course. Patrick at Chainlink was an amazing teacher and I was actually able to start a Chainlink node using Terraform between his instruction and the DevOps course that I took, and I was super proud of myself that day.

(13:07):

I didn’t continue to run it because it takes marketing and you have to get people to use your node and I wasn’t quite ready for that. But one day when I was watching Chainlink YouTube videos, Tegan Kline was presenting on The Graph and I thought to myself, “Oh, finally, here’s another woman that’s in this industry. I want to be her friend, so I’m going to send her an email.”

(13:26):

She just had this kind of, “Make it happen, way about her,” and I just really identified with it.

(13:31):

So weeks later I kept just thinking to myself like, “Oh, I need to email her. I need to email her.”

(13:36):

And so, one day I did it and I think the subject was something like, “Let’s be friends.”

(13:41):

I gave her a little intro, who I was and told her I didn’t have a whole lot of background and she was amazing enough to invite me to do a 15-minute call with her.

(13:51):

So we scheduled that for a few months later and in the meantime I completed the blockchain bootcamp from Dapp University. And so, I was continuing to learn from this developer side.

(14:04):

So I would do the call with Tegan and when we were on the call, she tells me about the Advocates program and that it’s going to be launched soon. And then she was also telling me about this next crypto event that she was going to, was going to be Art Basel in Miami, and that’s really close to where I live in Florida.

(14:19):

So my husband and I went and we showed up to this Coinbase party uninvited and just happened to run into Tegan when she was arriving at the same time. And she got us into the event and we just met a bunch of different people and it was really exciting to just chat with people in the industry and kind of crazy how it all worked out. We have some fun photos from that night, and that was December of 2021.

(14:49):

The following February this year, 2022, I did my first hackathon web3 Con with some really amazing women. It started with a tweet from Cami Ramos asking if there were any women who wanted to join this hackathon. You didn’t have to have coding experience, she just wanted to help some women get involved.

(15:09):

And so, I joined that. It was super eyeopening because it was really all about the journey and just trying, and my team didn’t create some amazing depths or anything, but I learned about DAOhaus and Rat-lid and a few other tools. And we tried and that was all that mattered and it was just really empowering to go through something like that.

(15:31):

And then shortly after that, the AdvocatesDAO launched and I applied immediately and I was fast tracked into the DAO and since then I’ve paused on a lot of the technical learning while I’m using my business skillset.

(15:45):

That helped get the DAO’s programs running smoothly, and I’ve also just recently started leading meetings for the $215 million Graph ecosystem fund, so making sure that the VCs that are participants in that know about the projects that are building on The Graph and that are looking for funding.

Nick (17:33):

There’s a lot to talk about there, and I have a bunch of follow up questions. I want to start with this remarkable backstory of you, again, being on a career path for all intents and purposes, you checked all the boxes and yet something sparked your interest and you start studying nights and weekends, not the easy stuff either.

(17:53):

You’re not reading media articles or blog posts, you’re learning to code. What was that experience like? Was it easier than you thought it would be, more difficult? I’d love to know more about that.

Christina Mills (18:03):

I’ve always had this draw towards mathematics and science and it wasn’t easy and I don’t have it all figured out for sure. I mean, I really wanted to learn some of it knowing that I maybe wasn’t going to become a developer necessarily, but I just wanted to learn the technology so that I could be somewhat educated when I’m speaking about it.

(18:28):

So yeah, it was definitely a challenge, but I’m kind of a problem solver. I like those types of things and I think that’s what drew me to. It is like, “Okay, there is a right answer, there’s a right way to do this, and I just have to figure out what it is.”

(18:42):

And then that trial and error is kind of like a reward to me. If I get it right, then it’s like, “Oh, awesome.”

(18:49):

I had so many of these moments of being like, “Oh, that was amazing. I did it!” And that would push me on to the next level. But it was really hard just going through the bootcamp and really not having any background other than the little bit of HTML and CSS that I had, which was very minimal.

Nick (19:07):

You mentioned Patrick in your answer and your background of how you started to study. Patrick Collins is obviously a popular developer within the crypto space and primarily working on Chainlink but does a whole bunch of things.

(19:20):

What would be your advice to listeners who are contemplating doing the same thing? They want to go all in and they want to start learning some of the technical things. What resources or what lessons did you learn as you did this that might be helpful for them?

Christina Mills (19:34):

There’s so many different platforms out there and different protocols, and one of the things…

(19:40):

There’s so many new resources out there now, Women Build web3 is this other DAO that kind of was created out of that web3 Con. Those women that joined that web3 Con Tweet and they’ve put out a course or learning web3 from nothing, 30 days of web3. So that would be a great place to start.

(20:04):

I think just being inquisitive and searching like YouTube is a wealth of information. TikTok is a wealth of information. Just finding something that connects to you on a values level and then just going for it.

(20:19):

And again, if it’s too much then you can always find something else, but there’s lots of resources out there.

Nick (20:26):

You mentioned also that you connected with Tegan Kline, and I love the fact that she took that call and helped get you into that event.

(20:35):

Your husband went with you and he’s probably watching most of this. He’s probably watching you redirect some of your time and effort into studying, coding, crypto, web3.

(20:45):

What’s he saying at this time? Is he saying, “What are you doing?” Or is he saying, “Hey, let’s go all in. I love this”?

Christina Mills (20:52):

Yeah, I think he’s split on it. He’s super supportive, but at the same time he’s taking on some of the things that I was doing before, and so it’s a challenge, it’s a rebalancing but I think it’s good for us.

(21:08):

Probably makes our relationship a little bit stronger and just changes things, and so he’s been overall very supportive though.

Nick (21:16):

And lastly, you mentioned that you’re leading the calls on that $250 million VC fund for The Graph Ecosystem.

(21:24):

Longtime listeners of the podcast will know that I had Craig Burel on the podcast with Reciprocal Ventures and he talked a lot about this fund at the beginning of that interview.

(21:34):

Talk to us a little bit about exactly what you’re doing there and how you got involved with that.

Christina Mills (21:38):

So I’m really just moderating the call. I came aware that there was a need for something like this to take place, and there’s a few other protocols that are doing something similar.

(21:47):

I’m just there to moderate them and to bring them together and keep track of the different things that we talk about, make sure everybody knows what new projects are going on in the ecosystem.

Nick (21:58):

You also mentioned Cami Ramos. She’s a prior guest of the podcast and web3 Con and Women Building web3. A lot of really great initiatives within the web3 space that focus a lot on getting more women involved.

(22:12):

What’s been your experience as a woman migrating from traditional business into this new expansive universe of web3?

Christina Mills (22:21):

I have felt welcome. At no point did I feel that I didn’t belong at all. Everyone has been super amazing, and especially with my experience of kind of being brought in.

(22:34):

Originally, I hadn’t really seen a lot of women in the videos and the things that I was watching, the things that I was learning from, but they’re here and they’re doing things and there’s a big movement to bring more women into this space. And I have never felt any pushback from anybody because I’m a woman, and I’ve been welcomed to the community just like anyone else.

Nick (23:00):

So Christina, you and I are talking today because we’re going to talk a lot about Graph Advocates and the experience you’ve had in helping and being so foundational to Graph AdvocatesDAO.

(23:11):

And I guess for the sake of the audience who haven’t been able to see kind of behind the curtain of the DAO, you Christina have been a force within the DAO early on making a lot of contributions and again, establishing thought leadership within The Graph community.

(23:26):

As you described your journey into web3, you started off with some speculative investment curiosity, you bought some Bitcoin eventually, then you found your way to Chainlink and watched some videos, and learned to code and some interesting technical skills.

(23:44):

Then eventually you meet The Graph and I’m curious what it was about The Graph that drew your attention because it seems to me as big as crypto is and the different ways you entered into the space that it’s a little serendipitous, but also there must be some rationale as to why you found yourself within The Graph ecosystem.

Christina Mills (24:05):

Absolutely. People are really important to me; genuine, good people who want to do something to make the world a better place. That’s what drew me in.

(24:16):

I listened to a lot of GRTiQ Podcasts in the beginning, the one with Tegan, and it just became really clear that the people here are here for the right reasons, a truly decentralized system and making the world a better place, creating change in the world and empowering people to be the change.

(24:37):

I was originally looking to gather technical information, and then I’ve entered this space with this wide open mindset and no real agenda other than just diversifying my skillset, learning something new. And I’ve just followed my intuition and taken chances and sometimes done things afraid, and I’ve just followed that path.

Nick (24:58):

Well, then in addition to your husband and obviously very supportive of you, which is fantastic, I’m curious what you’re telling family and friends as well. I’m sure they’re looking in as well as you’re on this path. What are you telling them about what you’re up to and what you’re working on?

Christina Mills (25:13):

Well, I have got a pretty tight circle of people and they’ve all been really supportive but also very inquisitive. So talking to them is kind of twofold. It’s like what am I doing in the DAO? What is a DAO and what does The Graph do as a protocol?

(25:30):

So I’m consuming so much information. Sometimes it’s hard to explain these things and these concepts. I’m learning at the same time. So I try to use some of the analogies I’ve heard about explaining The Graph like the one, Kyle Rojas explains it this way, imagining if there were some hardware store and everything is just piled in there. The Graph takes everything, all those products and organizes them onto the shelves, in short.

(25:58):

Tegan also explains it in a way where she says, “The Graph does for blockchain data, what Google does for websites.” And I try to explain that, “All The Graph is doing is taking data, blockchain data and indexing it and organizing it.”

(26:12):

From the DAO perspective, I try to explain that a DAO is an organization just like any other business or nonprofit organization, except there is no one person in charge at the top.

(26:24):

Pretty much everyone’s at the top and it’s very collaborative and typically a global group of individuals with a common interest. I tell them that I’m helping to launch and run this volunteer program and also grants program.

Nick (26:40):

Christina, for the sake of listeners, let’s get real specific on some of these things that you’ve mentioned here and the reasons why we’re talking today. So let’s start just generally with Graph Advocates. What is Graph Advocates and how does it work?

Christina Mills (26:54):

It’s a volunteer program for people who want to support The Graph and spread the word about web3 and The Graph. We have about 190 advocates across the entire world and it’s growing every day and they’re made up of these six different roles.

(27:10):

web3 Welcomers, these are the first spaces that people are seeing and the intention for the web3 Welcomer is to bring new people in either into web3 or into The Graph.

(27:21):

We have content creators that are kind of the marketing, social media, doing podcasts like this one. We have community care advocates who are answering questions in all the different Graph channels. Event evangelists are the ones going to the events, hosting events either in person or online.

(27:39):

We have technical teachers that are teaching people about subgraphs and indexing and all the technical aspects. And then we have text translators who are translating everything from Tweets to super technical writings.

(27:52):

Some people think that you have to be technical to be in the space, but that is really not the case at all. Anyone can apply to be a Graph Advocate, just go to apply.graphadvocates.com.

(28:05):

Also, another great place to start is by joining The Graph AdvocatesDAO Discord server and introduce yourself. Start asking questions and exploring some of the channels there.

Nick (28:14):

I’ll put links to The Graph Advocates Discord in the show notes. So for any listeners that want to learn more or join that Discord, just visit the show notes.

(28:23):

Now let’s turn our attention to Graph AdvocatesDAO. What is The Graph AdvocatesDAO and how does it work?

Christina Mills (28:31):

So the DAO is this group of about 40 members that are tasked with and maintaining and managing these two initiatives, The Graph Advocates program, all of those ambassadors of The Graph and the community grants program where any community member can apply for a grant up to $20,000.

(28:50):

We just did a six-month update presentation, and you can find that on The Graph Advocates YouTube channel that gives listeners a really deep inside look at what we’ve been doing in the DAO.

Nick (29:03):

So for listeners that are confused about the relationship between Graph Advocates and Graph AdvocatesDAO and I know this comes up occasionally, how do you explain the difference or the relationship between the two?

Christina Mills (29:15):

The DAO is really there to support the advocate activities. So if an advocate wants to host an event, the DAO is there to support them, help give them the resources and the funding to make the most impact. So the DAO is really essentially just a support system for the advocates program.

Nick (29:34):

DAOs are super new and there’s a lot of different philosophies and opinions about what DAOs can do, what they should do, and in fact what even constitutes a DAO. I’d be curious, though, from kind of a general level, what that experience or some key learnings have been for you as you’ve gone to work in Graph AdvocatesDAO.

Christina Mills (29:55):

It is a really collaborative environment. It’s really awesome, but at the same time, it’s not easy. There’s this really careful balance between leadership and centralization.

(30:08):

Overall, I think we’re all just humans trying to do something great. Everybody’s there because they want to be there and they want to create something great, but humans are human and we make mistakes and it takes time to learn how to function in this different structure.

(30:24):

A lot of people are coming from this so-called web2 structure, and so there’s a lot of breaking old habits. And I come from small business, so I’m used to just making decisions pretty much sometimes on my own, maybe involving another person, but it’s a totally different way of doing things and I think that’s what’s exciting about it but it’s also a challenge.

Nick (31:22):

There are listeners who probably are contemplating joining at DAO or maybe even starting at DAO.

(31:29):

And again, this is kind of the heyday or apex if you will, of DAO’s getting started and going to work in web3. What’s your advice to them? What are some of the things, if you had to put it into a DAO playbook that you would say, “Hey, if you’re going to do this, keep these things in mind”?

Christina Mills (31:47):

I would say treating it just like any other business. You have to have a mission in mind, what are you trying to accomplish? And putting a plan together and just executing it in a way of, “This is a new business and it’s going to need all the things that a business would need.”

(32:08):

It’s just structured in a different way where everybody’s opinion counts and everybody should be heard.

Nick (32:16):

So Christina, this is a little bit philosophical, and again, these are early days for DAOs, but you’ve had this incredible firsthand experience in Graph AdvocatesDAO.

(32:26):

I’d be curious to get your initial thoughts or opinions on DAOs just generally speaking. Are they better or worse or different than conventional ways of coordinating human activity and work?

Christina Mills (32:39):

I think it generally takes a lot longer to make decisions on things. It’s definitely more challenging there.

(32:46):

I’m used to a small business where I’m consulting with maybe one other person and we just make decisions and then move on. DAOs are a lot different than that. It’s way more methodical.

(32:57):

On one hand, it’s like you have to put a lot more thought into this decision that you’re making, but it’s all about decentralization. And with decentralization that means copying this question to more people and having more input, which can then in turn make better decisions maybe.

Nick (33:16):

Do you use any of your prior experiences as an entrepreneur in the work you’re doing now? And I’d also like to know, is it different, right? Are you using those skills differently than maybe you did in your prior career?

Christina Mills (33:28):

Yes, definitely. My operations kind of background, managing all the platforms and creating process documents, all of that I have done in my business before. And working with a team of individuals is always something that I’ve also done.

(33:46):

We have a lot of different vendors working together at weddings to execute something, so I am used to a team environment. I feel like there’s a lot of similarities in starting a new business when we were starting a DAO and getting the programs up and running. So that was really similar.

(34:03):

And then also working on a schedule that works for me, those are the things that have been most similar. On the other hand, working with people that are in lots of different time zones, it presents a challenge in itself.

(34:19):

This more collaborative way of doing things is very different. Similar to a team, but also like I said, there’s a lot more conversations that are going on about things and making decisions on things. And the decisions are much slower and we’re taking votes on a lot of things.

Nick (34:38):

Christina, what have you learned about The Graph community, whether it’s these advocates or just other members of The Graph community as a result of your experience in Advocates and Graph AdvocatesDAO?

Christina Mills (34:52):

There is just so much going on. Even though we’re in a bear market… I’m on the team that organizes Community Talk each month and every month I learn about something new happening in the community.

(35:04):

We’ve got advocates putting on events and going to events and sharing updates and just helping to grow the community. And we highlight podcasts, which are just a wealth of information. There’s always something new, and being in the DAO helps keep me informed about a lot of that.

Nick (35:23):

Christina, you mentioned Community Talk there. There might be listeners that aren’t familiar with what Community Talk is. What can you share about that?

Christina Mills (35:29):

Community Talk takes place on The Graph Discord server, and it’s the least technical of all the public calls.

(35:36):

So we have Indexer office hours that’s really made for Indexer, and then there’s core dev calls with updates happening there. But Community Talk is kind of this non-technical, all the things that are happening in The Graph ecosystem.

(35:47):

So we give updates and we usually have a few people within the ecosystem to come on for few segments and talk about what it is that they’re doing.

Nick (35:56):

Christina, there’s almost 200 Graph Advocates from all over the world. Have you got a sense at this point, having met some of these advocates and seeing their contributions, what makes a good advocate?

(36:09):

Like if someone’s listening to today and they’re unsure, “Should I be a Graph Advocate or not?” What makes a great Graph Advocate and who should apply?

Christina Mills (36:18):

I think just being excited about web3 and having a little bit of an understanding about what The Graph does and really not being afraid to just go in and explore.

Nick (36:30):

So Christina, all Graph Advocate DAO members are Graph Advocates, but not all Graph Advocates are members of the DAO? What does one need to do to become a DAO member?

Christina Mills (36:42):

Just participating in The Graph Advocates program and showing that you are a Graph Advocate and you’re making contributions and showing interest also in being a DAO member.

(36:55):

The roles are very different, but if you show interest in being a DAO member, then you can let people know that are in the DAO and we can nominate you and vote to bring you into the DAO.

Nick (37:08):

Why would somebody, Christina, just stay an advocate and maybe not become a DAO member? I mean, in other words, why would a Graph Advocate maybe not want to become a DAO member?

[NEW_PARAGRAPH]Is there a different responsibility or is there a different workload involved in that step up to the DAO?

Christina Mills (37:24):

Yes, there’s definitely different responsibilities for being a DAO member. We’re reviewing applications and just kind of some more of this administrative type work.

(37:36):

If you want to just contribute and have your role as an advocate and go to events or do community care, whatever it may be, and that’s the extent of how you want to contribute, then you might not want to become a DAO member.

(37:54):

But if you want to help more, the operations side of executing these programs and helping to go through the different applications for maybe community grants and advocate contributions, all those things, then being a DAO member would be a good fit for you.

Nick (38:12):

Those six roles you just mentioned there, kind of create a seat, I guess, at the table for anybody based on the type of skills that they have, whether they want to be a text translator or whether they want to be a technical teacher.

(38:26):

In your case, what type of Graph Advocate are you? What was the role that appealed to your skills and the way you wanted to contribute?

Christina Mills (38:34):

With my background in events, event evangelist, this was natural for me. Going to events in person and just being part of the community, even in online events, really appealed to me.

(38:48):

I’m also a web3 Welcomer, so I have recently started even a TikTok account and just trying to think of ways to introduce people and bring new people in, and those are the two roles that I found fit with me the most.

Nick (39:02):

Well, Christine, I only have two more questions for you, and then I’m going to ask you the GRTiQ 10.

(39:07):

The first question is, here you are, you’ve migrated into the web3 space, you’ve gotten your hands dirty by becoming a Graph Advocate and then going all the way in on Graph AdvocatesDAO. How has this experience shaped your opinion about the future of web3?

Christina Mills (39:25):

Well, I think in the last few years it’s become pretty evident that the powers that be don’t have our best interests in mind.

(39:36):

And I see web3 as this opportunity to have a say in our future and bring value back to the people that are providing it, helping to find a balance between public and private information, having a say about that.

(39:49):

So much of our personal information is just out there and being used against us for someone else to profit. And I think people are waking up to that reality and seeing web3 as a way forward to fix some of those problems.

(40:01):

I imagine a world where we can just easily find verified public documents. If we want to buy or sell a home, removing some of the gate-keeping that just cost people more money and oftentimes, unnecessarily.

(40:16):

Or maybe a world where we can locate all of our medical records, ending voter fraud would be a huge thing. And I think all these are going to be revolutionized by web3 and blockchain technology.

Nick (40:29):

And the final question, I’m asking for my own curiosity, but I’m sure that I echo the interest of a lot of other Graph Advocates and members of Graph AdvocatesDAO.

(40:39):

And the question is, what drives your personal conviction, your energy to always participate, to contribute? You’ve put so much time and effort in, you’re always willing to pick up tasks and take on certain activities, what’s driving all of that?

Christina Mills (40:58):

When I decide I’m going to do something, I just stick with it. I think that’s part of that entrepreneurial spirit that I have of just like, “Let’s solve this problem, let’s figure it out.” And once I’ve chosen something as my target, I am just pretty head down and make it happen.

Nick (41:19):

I have to ask someone like yourself, who is a mother, who has an existing business, and who’s gone all in on web3 working with Graph Advocates in the DAO: how do you balance and manage your time?

Christina Mills (41:33):

Fortunately, my daughter started kindergarten, so this year I’ve had this whole new expanse of time available to me.

(41:42):

Before that she was home with us, so we kind of take turns taking care of her and who was working and who was taking care of her. And so, now I just have a little bit of extra time than I wasn’t used to having before, and I’ve just taken that time and pretty much dedicated it to the DAO.

Nick (41:59):

Well, Christina, now we’ve reached the point in the podcast where I’m going to ask you the GRTiQ 10.

(42:04):

As all of my listeners know, these are 10 questions I ask each guest of the podcast every week to help listeners learn something new, try something different, or achieve more. So are you ready for the GRTiQ 10?

Christina Mills (42:15):

Not really.

Nick (42:28):

Christina, what book or articles had the greatest impact on your life?

Christina Mills (42:32):

The book: Becoming Supernatural. Our thoughts have so much impact on our future and our physical bodies, and this book was an eye-opener for me.

Nick (42:40):

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

Christina Mills (42:45):

I don’t have one. I’ve been loving all the suggestions from prior guests on GRTiQ though.

Nick (42:52):

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

Christina Mills (42:57):

I’m going to stretch this one a little bit and choose a SiriusXM Channel, The Message. It’s a Christian music channel and it’s always super uplifting.

Nick (43:06):

Christina, what’s the best life advice someone’s ever given to you?

Christina Mills (43:09):

My dad passed away a few years ago, but he always used to say, “If it were easy, everyone would do it.” And whenever I’m struggling, I just remind myself of that.

Nick (43:19):

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

Christina Mills (43:24):

It’s not too late to start; start a new career, start a new habit, start a new hobby. We get stuck in these patterns where we just start to function on autopilot, but we all have that ability to change those patterns and start something new.

Nick (43:38):

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

Christina Mills (43:40):

Guided meditations and frequency sounds on YouTube are amazing. So my brain tends to think about a lot of things all the same time, and those frequency sounds help me to just refocus on whatever it is that I’m working on.

(43:53):

Same thing with meditations. If I need to just unplug for a minute, I do a guided meditation.

Nick (43:59):

Based on your own life experience and observations, what’s one habit or characteristic that you think best explains why or how people find success in life?

Christina Mills (44:09):

Consistency.

Nick (44:10):

And then the final three questions are: complete the sentence type questions. The first one is, the thing that most excites me about web3 is?

Christina Mills (44:18):

The hope of a better way that is trustless, permission-less, and decentralized.

Nick (44:23):

And the second one, complete this sentence. If you’re on Twitter, then you should be following?

Christina Mills (44:29):

Graph Advocates to keep up with all the amazing things advocates are doing. The Client Adventure, taking client. She’s always got a great perspective on the current state of the industry.

(44:39):

And also Women Build web3. There are some rockstar developers coming out of there. They have 30 days of web3 and really great stuff.

Nick (44:48):

And then lastly, complete this sentence. I’m happiest when?

Christina Mills (44:52):

When I am somewhere warm and close to the water with my family. I just started paddle-boarding and there’s just something really special about being in nature with the people I love that fills me with gratitude.

Nick (45:13):

Christina Mills, you’ve been so generous with your time. I appreciate the overview you’ve provided of Graph Advocates and Graph AdvocatesDAO. If people want to follow you, stay in touch with your work and what you’re doing, what’s the best way to stay in touch?

Christina Mills (45:26):

On Twitter… Most other social channels, I am bombayonchain; and on Discord, I’m Christina number 1411.