Defying Inequality and Breaking Barriers
Using Your Experiences to Inspire Change and Innovation
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Today, you'll meet a 26-year-old who will inspire you. Daniela Henao Moreno is full of questions - and answers. In the Tip Jar section, her answers really simplify what you need to do to become an entrepreneur in today's world.
Let's get to know what makes her a standout in our community.
THE HAVES VS. THE HAVE NOTS
“Why do some people get to have more than others?”
“Why do I have this beautiful home with my family and… I go out and there’s a homeless person?
Growing up in Colombia, inequality stared Daniela Henao Moreno in the face. The stark reality of the haves vs. the have nots sent her searching for a solution.
INDUSTRY: Cryptocurrency
STARTED BUSINESS: Summer 2021
LATINO/HISPANIC CONNECTION:
Born in Colombia
Parents are Colombian
EDUCATION:
Relay Graduate School of Education - Master's degree in Education
UCLA – Bachelor's degree in International Development
DREAM JOB AS A KID: “I’m not sure exactly if what I wanted to do existed. Well, I feel really connected with animals. And I feel like I just want to help animals live better lives. So I always wanted to do something around… making the world a more compassionate place…”
Daniela with Ninoska, the dog that inspired her deep love for animals
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “I think the goal that I am most proud of is hiring people and giving them salaries that allow them to have a proper and dignified lifestyle.”
Note: Her company is composed of a total of 20 people, at the time of publication.
Daniela Henao Moreno - Co-Founder & COO of Defy Trends
GIVE ME A REASON
Even in school, a Catholic military school, no less, Henao had trouble accepting why she had to do certain things.
She would ask, “Why do I have to do this? This doesn’t make any sense. Give me a reason. Give me a rationale behind this - and then I’ll follow the rules… I just don’t like people telling me what to do without a reason.”
Looking back, she believes these were the seeds that led her down the path of entrepreneurship.
“I actually studied International Development as an undergrad as a result of me seeking answers to understanding the world.”
It eventually led Henao to do a deep dive on blockchain technology – what she believes is critical in helping make a difference in the problem of poverty. (Note: Blockchain is the ledger where the decentralized currency of cryptocurrency has its transactions recorded.)
Cryptocurrency, itself, has been touted as a way to possibly help the unbanked by providing them a way to be included in the financial world (Note: Critics of cryptocurrency, including Warren Buffett, believe it’s too volatile, unregulated and/or is more susceptible to misuse for illicit transactions).
BREAKING UP THE BOYS’ CLUB
Co-Founders of Defy Trends in the spotlight (left to right: Elena Garidis - CFO, Daniela Henao - COO & Imge Su Cetin - CEO)
For the 26-year-old, blockchain led her to co-found Defy Trends, a real-time, data-centric platform to help people research cryptocurrency facts and figures. Her cofounders are Imge Su Cetin and Elena Garidis.
The three young women ventured into an industry dominated by men. According to Crypto Head research, five, that’s right, just five out of 121 crypto businesses are founded by women.
It’s even more remarkable because Henao decided to actually become an entrepreneur, a word that she remembers brought negative connotations to mind in her native Colombia.
“Unfortunately, growing up as a woman in Colombia, entrepreneur, to me, was not an inclusive word. It used to mean a wealthy older man that… was born into … a status or a class that allowed him… to partake in that space.”
THE WOMAN BEHIND-THE-SCENES
But there was a woman who pushed her to venture into entrepreneurship – to break away from the machismo culture – even though that woman didn’t become an entrepreneur herself: her grandmother.
Henao says her grandmother would tell her, “I made the mistake of not working. And this is the mistake that I regret the most. So you’re not going to make the same mistake.”
Grandma passing along good advice: Daniela with her grandma, Flor Alba Bohorquez
Henao would not allow herself to miss out on other opportunities, either.
SEE IT YOURSELF
Daniela at the Great Wall of China
An opportunity to experience first-hand the outsized role that China plays in the world economy led Henao to visit China.
She thought to herself, “This is something that I need to see for my own eyes.”
From there, she landed in Mexico where the fateful friendship with Cetin and Garidis took hold.
“It was like being at the right place at the right time and just kind of allowing life to show what we needed to do.”
MAKING THE CONNECTION
Henao describes Garidis, a former JP Morgan associate, as an “… incredibly bright, dedicated, passionate leader.” The two met a woman Henao describes as “… this super nerdy and super intelligent human being" who intrigued Henao and Garidis with a challenge.
She told them, “Hey, I have an idea. But I just don’t know what to do with it. And so she had created this application for herself for her personal use” to do, of all things, track her crypto coins. “It was an application that would, essentially, forecast market movements for her five top coins.”
The three women worked on transforming Cetin’s app idea into something that they could build and scale.
KEEPING UP
Henao says a particular challenge of working in the crypto space is keeping up with knowledge about crypto.
“There’s always something that we need to learn on top of all of the different systems and all of the different regulations and organization and just regular business strategies.”
BUILDING THE BASE
Building the base and community-building has also been a focus.
“We actually recently launched an ambassador program where we’re educating women around the world and then giving them the tools to start circles within their communities.”
GETTING READY FOR LIFT-OFF
The founders are now at a point where they’ll be launching their beta platform at the end of March.
Henao grew up in Colombia believing, “It’s inevitable. We cannot escape poverty.” But her journey has transformed her into thinking, “We cannot live in the bubble because the bubble has completely burst…”
She’s convinced that being able to provide people with on-demand info about crypto can help solve the question that gnawed at her for so many years: how can she do her part to change reality from inevitable poverty to possibility?
Daniela in her native Colombia (Valle del Cocora)
THE TIP JAR (tips passed out courtesy of Daniela Henao Moreno)
STARTING OUT: “My #1 piece of advice for someone who is starting out and who wants to build a company is to find good co-founders…The reason why is, these are your rocks. And these are the people that are going to lift you up. They’re going to get you out of the funk, and they’re also going to give you that kick in the butt to continue. I would be nothing without my co-founders.”
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “It’s not about perfection. It’s about just getting it done.”
In particular, she recommends using social media.
“I TikTok a lot – and [make] Reels, where, literally, all you need to do is record yourself. And it takes about two minutes to post something online… It’s about just having the discipline and just doing something. And then showing up the day after and doing it again… That’s it… It’s not harder than that.”
(Disclaimer: Henao mentioned Reels in her answer. In the interest of transparency, Reels is an Instagram and Facebook product. Facebook is my partner on this publication, which runs on the Facebook platform, Bulletin).
STARTING OVER: “You’re lucky because you have experience.”
“If you’re starting over, you have something under your belt that most people in the industry may not have.”
Henao advises, “… just practicing your mistakes.”
“The most important thing, in my opinion, is [to] be open-minded.”
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: “Saying yes when I wanted to say no. That’s a really big lesson. And it’s a lesson that I’m still practicing.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: “Let’s say an investor [asks], ‘Can you have this done by tomorrow?’ And you know it’s a no. And you say yes because you want to make them happy. Not only are you going to make yourself look bad, if you can’t deliver, but you’re also going to probably get yourself sick trying to deliver something that’s just not doable.”
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: “One of the biggest pieces of advice and lessons that I’ve taken from my family is the fact that we have to nurture relationships… Creating homes in between people… You’re not going to have a successful business, if you’re not able to connect with the people that you’re serving. And I think that’s such a valuable lesson. And it’s a lesson that I just want to practice for the rest of my life.”
Daniela with her parents
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
Tax Secrets During Tax Time
Have you gotten around to doing your taxes yet – or at least getting your documents together for the CPA? If you haven’t, I get it. Many of us may not be too eager to get it done.
Learning some secrets on how to save in your taxes might help. This webinar will share the top 3 tax secrets, plus info on tax credits and incentives that can make a difference for your company. Here’s more info:
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
Tax Saving Secrets Every Company Needs to Know Today!
Thursday, March 17, 2022
1:00 p.m. EDT – 2:00 p.m. EDT
Virtual Webinar
FREE
https://www.score.org/3-tax-saving-secrets-every-company-needs-know-today
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
Fighting Loneliness at Work
Many articles address loneliness, in general, but what if you feel isolated at work? I haven’t seen many articles on that. It’s a real problem. The Mental Health Alliance is hosting a webinar to discuss just that.
The webinar will focus on the causes for loneliness in the modern workplace. The instructor will also share what can be done to foster inclusivity and a sense of belonging for you and your employees. Mark your calendars for this one. Details and link are below:
Mental Health America
Lessening Loneliness and Boosting Belonging in the Workplace
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
1:00 p.m. EST – 2:00 p.m. EST
Online Webinar
FREE
https://mhanational.org/events/lessening-loneliness-and-boosting-belonging-workplace
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE: One of my goals for this newsletter is to tell you about Latinos involved in new technologies. Whether you believe in, or even understand cryptocurrency, doesn’t matter.
I think there’s a lot we can learn from people who are innovating in this and other sectors (Note: Since I think it's important to be transparent with you, I wanted you to know that I own nearly $200 of Grayscale Ethereum, a fund which provides exposure to Ethereum, the blockchain platform that has its own form of cryptocurrency).
I believe that we can benefit from learning what motivates people to become entrepreneurs and, specifically, to push forward, despite setback after setback.
In Daniela’s case, reversing inequality is her driving force.
It seems like more people are discussing and writing about inequality and how to fight it.
Of course, inequality has been around forever. So has machismo, or cultures that place an exaggerated importance on masculinity.
Profiling people using new technologies to solve age-old problems makes it even more interesting.
I try to make sure I feature people of all ages and Latino backgrounds in my newsletters. Finding people like Daniela who are looking at problems that have been around forever with fresh eyes and new solutions inspires younger generations. It also inspires and can stir new ideas for those of us who are, let’s say, “a little” older.
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you know I’ve written before that women frequently leave male-dominated industries because of the lack of support they receive.
That’s why I will continue to write about their efforts, their struggles and, most of all, their triumphs. We all benefit from inclusivity. The more ideas that are out there to solve the world’s problems, the better.
To get more of an inside look at the issues and questions Daniela and her co-founders’ faced, be sure to read it in Part Two in the next issue of Generation Si!
Co-Founders and Friends (left to right: Elena Garidis, Daniela Henao & Imge Su Cetin)
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