Ashley Wright
Founder of The Wright Success and Fem T3ch
Ashley, when you entered crypto in 2016, did you find a community waiting for you, or did you feel more like you were walking into an empty room with no map and a vocabulary designed to keep newcomers out?
When I got started in crypto in 2016, there wasn’t really a roadmap. I didn’t have a community waiting to welcome me or someone explaining, “Here’s how you get started.” A lot of it was me being curious, researching, experimenting and figuring things out as I went.
And honestly, that experience shaped almost everything I’ve built ever since. The road I had to build for myself became the road I wanted to make easier for others.
I remember how overwhelming the terminology was and how easy it was to feel like everyone else knew something you didn’t. Crypto had a way of making intelligent people feel unintelligent simply because they didn’t know the language yet. I realised that if I felt that way, there were probably thousands of other people feeling exactly the same way.
So when I started building The Crypto Strategy Academy and later specific communities for underrepresented groups, accessibility became really important to me. I never wanted someone to feel like they had to already understand blockchain to belong in the room.
I’ve now taught hundreds of students and built communities reaching thousands of people, and one of the things I’m most proud of is seeing someone come in saying, “I know absolutely nothing about this,” and eventually become an investor, land a role in the industry, launch something of their own, or simply feel confident enough to participate.
Sometimes the thing you wish existed when you started becomes the thing you’re supposed to build.
You’ve mentioned building the road you wish had existed when you first entered crypto, especially for women. Thankfully, the women's presence in Web3 is growing. But what progress has actually been made for women's representation so far?
We’ve absolutely made progress. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I’m seeing more women founding companies, investing, speaking on stages, working in technical roles and sitting in rooms where major decisions are being made.
But visibility and power aren’t necessarily the same thing.
We can have more women attending conferences and appearing on panels while still having a significant gap when you look at who is receiving venture funding, who is writing the cheques, who is sitting at the executive table and who has ownership in the infrastructure being built.
That’s where I think the next phase of progress needs to happen.
I don’t just want to see more women learning about Web3. I want to see more women owning companies, deploying capital, building technology and creating wealth from it.
Representation matters, but ultimately I want representation to translate into economic participation and ownership. A woman being invited into the room is meaningful. A woman having authority over what gets built, funded and owned changes the room.
That’s an important distinction between being represented in the room and actually having confidence. From your experience working with women entering Web3, what are the most common ways women underestimate themselves in this space?
The biggest thing I see is women believing they need to know everything before they’re qualified to participate. I’ll hear, “I’m not technical enough,” “I don’t know enough about crypto yet,” or “Maybe I need another certification first.”
Meanwhile, I’ve watched people with half the experience walk into the exact same room, introduce themselves confidently and figure the rest out later.
One of the things I constantly remind women is that you don’t need permission to participate. Nobody started as an expert in crypto, and the industry itself is still evolving.
You can learn, ask questions, build relationships, apply for the role before you meet 100% of the qualifications and build something before you feel completely ready.
I think we sometimes assume confidence needs to come first, but I’ve learned that a lot of confidence is actually built by taking action. You do the thing, realise you’re capable of doing it, and then your confidence catches up.
You’ve seen how early confidence can shape someone’s willingness to participate. In this regard, when you speak to Gen Alpha, do you start with crypto itself, or with a broader conversation about money, technology and digital ownership?
With young people, I actually spend less time talking about “crypto” and more time talking about how money and technology are changing.
Gen Alpha already understands digital ownership in ways previous generations didn’t because they’ve grown up buying digital items in games, interacting with virtual economies, using digital platforms and now increasingly interacting with AI.
So instead of beginning with complicated blockchain terminology, I’ll ask something like, “What if you could own something online and prove that it belongs to you?” or “What if money could move around the world as easily as sending a text message?”
Suddenly, blockchain doesn’t sound intimidating; it sounds logical to begin with.
At the same time, I think financial literacy has to come before speculation. I don’t want a young person’s introduction to crypto to be, “Which coin should I buy?” I want them to understand money, ownership, risk, saving, investing, technology and entrepreneurship.
If we teach those foundations early, we’re not simply creating the next generation of crypto users. We’re helping create a generation that understands how to participate in the digital economy more intelligently.
If the goal is to help more people to participate in the digital economy, the next question is who actually feels welcome in that space. Crypto can still feel like a private club to newcomers. Does it still resemble one, and how can someone enter it without pretending to be someone they’re not?
Crypto can absolutely still feel like a private club, especially when you walk into a major conference and it seems like everyone already knows everyone. But one thing I’ve learned over the years is that this industry is actually much smaller and more accessible than it looks. Some of my best opportunities have come from simply introducing myself, being genuinely curious about what someone is building and then actually following up.
We meet so many people at conferences that it’s important to make sure each person understands who you are, what you’re building or interested in, and what you’re looking for. That context allows you to have more strategic conversations.
My biggest advice is to stop networking like you’re collecting contacts. Don’t walk into a conference thinking, “How many important people can I meet?” Instead, think, “Who are five people I can build a real relationship with?”
Learn what they’re working on, ask thoughtful questions, find ways to be useful, connect afterwards, and, most importantly, stay in touch when there’s nothing you immediately need from them. And of course, follow up and stay connected. The opportunities are often hiding in the follow-up.
I’ve built relationships with people across multiple countries because we kept showing up in each other’s worlds. LinkedIn is an important part of that, but the platform matters less than consistency. People remember clarity, curiosity and reliability.
Building relationships is very important, but building your personal brand in crypto is also needed. What does it actually take today for someone just entering the space, and for those who've been here a while?
Building a personal brand in 2026 feels completely different because simply talking about crypto consistently isn’t enough anymore. We’re entering an era where AI can generate almost unlimited content, so, ironically, being human and having genuine experience have become more valuable. Your advantage is your perspective, your relationships, your lived experiences and the things you’ve actually done.
At the same time, the industry is moving so quickly that staying relevant requires continuous learning. You have to keep up with the technology, the market and the broader conversations around digital assets, while still finding a way to make your own perspective recognisable.
I’ve had to evolve too. My work today sits much more broadly at the intersection of digital assets, AI, finance, education and entrepreneurship than it did when I first entered the industry. That evolution has been important because the strongest personal brands aren’t built by repeating the same message forever. Instead, they grow as the person behind them grows.
I think the strongest personal brands going forward will belong to people who can teach clearly, build credibility through real work, create genuine relationships and evolve as quickly as technology does. To me, that’s ultimately what a personal brand is… your reputation at scale.
