Paulina Tylus
Global Partnership and Client Solutions Director at Zodia Markets
Paulina, your career didn’t begin in fintech or Web3 straight away, and you started on a path in media, events, and business development. How did this transition happen, and what attracted you to this space in the first place?
It’s true, my career hasn’t followed a straight line, but I’ve always been driven by purpose and curiosity.
What first pulled me here was the idea of decentralisation. Like many people, my initial exposure to digital assets was through Bitcoin. Friends mentioned it to me over the years, and it kept coming back. At some point, I got curious enough to actually look into it.
I started small, playing around with those simple educational tools on Revolut, which is also how I made my first investments. However, this curiosity quickly turned into something deeper.
I was at that stage of my career where I wanted to be part of something that changed the way things work, to have a real impact. As I learned more about digital assets and decentralisation, it clicked for me. For me, this was a chance to rethink financial systems and give people more control over their finances.
That vision was incredibly compelling, and it felt like something worth building in rather than just observing from the outside. So my transition into fintech was very intentional, driven by a growing conviction that this is where I wanted to have impact.
Your path is really inspiring, showing that one can change career direction and succeed here. In your current role at Zodia Markets, you focus on global partnerships and client solutions. How exactly do you manage it, and what are your biggest priorities when building meaningful partnerships?
That’s a great question, because from the outside it can seem quite abstract.
In practice, my role has two main sides. The first is working directly with clients, both new and existing, supporting onboarding and helping them access trading capital in a way that’s efficient and tailored to their needs.
The second is working with partners across the ecosystem, like asset issuers, banks, and on-chain infrastructure providers, to find ways we can create mutual value. This work is generally about connecting the dots between different parts of the market and making things work.
I also travel a lot, because in this industry, meeting people in person still makes a huge difference. And honestly, I’m learning every day from these meetings, as asset structures and trading models are constantly evolving.
This space is fast-moving and dynamic, and this is what probably stands out the most for me. It keeps you sharp, but it also makes building the right partnerships even more important, because things don’t stand still for long.
When you talk about connecting the dots, it sounds like your role requires broad expertise. Given your cross-functional background, which skills from earlier in your career have turned out to be the most valuable in fintech and Web3?
I could say that understanding onboarding and due diligence was really one of the most valuable skills. This one I picked up during my time in biotech and later in a tech due diligence environment, and it really taught me how to play the long game. In my current role, it is critical to be patient, structured, and thoughtful about the information you share, because trust is built step by step.
Another one, I think, is relationship building. You can be as organised and proactive as you want, but at the end of the day, you’re working with people. Without strong relationships, things may slow down, and communication is likely to be less clear. That’s where priorities shift, and momentum gets lost.
My varied background itself also turned out to be a real advantage, since moving between marketing, events, and business development taught me to connect different worlds and translate between teams. In Web3, things are often fragmented and changing every day, so the ability to see the bigger picture is incredibly useful.
The point about bridging between different worlds is especially important for the Web3 space. It also raises a thought about the community itself, since you’re a SheFi Scholar. Could you describe what it gives you personally? How important do you think initiatives like this are to create more confidence and visibility for women?
This project gave me a huge amount of confidence and a sense of security, because suddenly, I found out I wasn’t alone.
In many of my previous roles, I started as the outsider, often in heavily male-dominated environments, figuring things out as I went. SheFi really supported me in the early stage, and it felt like someone holding your hand while you find the right footing.
Alongside the community, the course was useful, and it helped me understand how the industry actually works. But people are the real differentiator. There was such openness to sharing knowledge and experiences, and I could always find someone in the network to connect with, even during my travels.
I believe initiatives like this are very important to create a safe space to learn freely, where there are no “stupid” questions and where women feel supported enough to speak up. In many environments, confidence doesn’t come automatically, and such space helps build it.
Great to hear that women have opportunities to learn and support each other. Continuing that direction, you also launched Just Asking Web3 Talk Show, where you interviewed successful women in the space. Across those conversations, were there any recurring themes or shared experiences? Is there a particular story from the series that stayed with you?
It’s funny because it’s been a while since I released an episode. I love it, and I do miss it, but since joining Zodia, my time has been quite limited.
Looking back at those conversations, I can say that a few themes kept coming up. For many women, Bitcoin was the first touchpoint which sparked initial curiosity. But what really pulled them in was the idea of freedom and financial independence. There was something very intentional and even brave in those decisions.
I think what really touched me the most was that none of these stories was really linear. A lot of the women didn’t come here feeling “ready,“ and they just followed their curiosity, figuring things out as they went. That was quite powerful to see, because it challenges the idea that you need to have everything mapped out before entering this space.
There is also one story that stayed with me, told by Dayana Aleksandrova. She said she was mostly drawn to space by the people, who were open, smart, creative, and welcoming.
I found that really interesting, as this industry can feel quite intimidating or closed from the outside. But once you’re in, it really is the opposite. I had a very similar experience myself, and despite all the noise, it’s one of the most open and driven environments I’ve been part of. A lot of people here are trying to build something bigger, and that energy is really rare.
The idea of going in before feeling fully ready may be inspiring for many women. And here is our final question. Looking ahead five years, how would you like to see the Web3 industry evolve for women? What, in your view, still needs to change to become more inclusive and supportive of female talent?
I’d actually love to see more female founders and more women in leadership roles shaping how the industry evolves.
I also think the industry needs to broaden its expectations of work and success. Right now, there’s still a culture of “always on,” which doesn’t serve everyone. We need to create space for different working styles, allowing people to perform at their best.
For women in particular, that also means acknowledging that we don’t all operate in the same way biologically, and we should work to create an environment where that’s respected. I am not talking about special treatment, but about supporting people more holistically.
More broadly, I’d like to see a shift away from the hustle, never-sleep towards something more balanced. We need to normalise rest, recovery, and self-care because it actually leads to better thinking and, therefore, better decisions.
Ultimately, when you create an environment where people feel supported and can operate at their best, you get better outcomes both for individuals and for the industry as a whole.
