Bella Irons - WAGMI Person of the Week
Bella Irons - Ph.D. researcher, Web3 Senior Advisor
This week we are excited to profile web3 wonk extraordinaire, Bella Irons, an innovative Executive Consultant with 20+ years of experience developing and executing strategic business lifecycles within each of the emerging levels of technology, including Web1, 2, and Web3. They specialize in the what, where, when, why, and how of the technology space and make it their mission to ensure clients stay ahead of the ever-evolving industry trends.
As a Ph.D. researcher and a previous academic technology consultant, their Academic NFT Conference was founded to help create stable mass adoption of the new blockchain technologies in K-12 and higher education environments.
Q. What was the first coin or NFT you bought?
I bought Bitcoin in 2015 but left my keys on the desktop of my old employer.
Q. If you were given $1k, what coin or NFT would you be buying more of?
I invest in Academic projects, specifically around DeSci, publications, and new education models.
Q. Any new crypto, NFT projects, or artists you are excited about?
I am excited about the innovations happening in the academic and kids areas of Web3!
I work with top advisors, companies, and organizations that build future utilities and social constructs that are seriously next level. For example, I just hosted Roham Gharegozlou - the CEO of Dapper Labs, on our Twitter Space this last weekend and introduced our new "Proof of Creativity" consensus mechanism for my client Let'sMOD. My career has always been about staying ahead of the evolutionary curve, and Web3 is the fastest adoption of innovation I've participated in yet. LFG is my blood type.
Q. Best piece of investing advice someone gave you OR What is a bit of advice you would like to give to others that are just starting?
Web3 is an entirely new model of tech participation in every way... from learning a new financial foundation within crypto to working on the decentralization of community models to the intricacies of new blockchain mechanisms and utilities; my best advice is to take one step at a time and look for credible, informative outlets to educate yourself - like our conference's Web3 Resources page (with a Super Glossary to learn ALL the emerging Web3 terms and definitions!) so you can onboard in a stable, not FOMO, way. It is essential to enjoy this new technology and all the core variations that are so different from what humanity has known before to be confident in your knowledge base. Luckily, Web3 enthusiasts are ready to welcome everyone to our new world, so you won't find a lack of people wanting to help!
Q. Fav influencer that we should follow?
I'm a nerd at heart, and I'm paid for it by my clients, so my reading list or Twitter trolling feed looks like a research project continually. I don't know if that is going to be helpful to most other people but if you are interested in connecting to a specific and intentional community within Web3, start following the Academic NFT Conference participants... and if you are feeling the vibes of our nerdy crew, then, by all means, join OUR tribe! We are always looking for other nerds to retweet our academic jargon too.
Q. Is anything else happening with your project that our community should know about?
YES! The Academic NFT Conference is creating our first POAP this month utilizing Professor Pescatelli's collective intelligence software, the Psi app. There is a collaborative POAP Twitter Space is this upcoming Saturday, June 4th at 2:22 pm PST. Our POAPs will unlock special conference CCO membership! So be creative, in a nerdy way, and become a member of everything being innovated within the academic Web3 space!
