Stephanie Ramezan
Founder and CEO at The Crypto Collective
Stephanie, your career spans traditional finance, capital markets, and now digital assets, where you lead The Crypto Collective. Looking back, what set you on this path and convinced you that crypto was more than just another asset class?
I began my career in traditional finance, derivatives, and capital markets, which gave me a strong foundation in how institutions navigate complex systems on a global scale. Whilst these years were extremely informative and exposed me to a variety of interesting opportunities, I also saw first-hand how slow, fragmented, and inefficient traditional markets can be. That’s why, when I first encountered digital assets, I realised Bitcoin wasn’t just another asset class and the underlying blockchain technology offered a gateway to a new dawn of financial infrastructure.
During my time at Gemini, I bridged both worlds: guiding institutions on their first digital-asset steps and immersing myself in crypto-native businesses. That experience highlighted both the opportunities and the gaps that still hold back adoption and it was this combination of insight and opportunity that inspired my partner and me to create The Crypto Collective.
What a remarkable dual path you’ve had! With that experience, how do you see the challenges and opportunities for women across TradFi and crypto? Do you think one space creates more room for female leaders than the other?
I’ve seen the challenges women face in both traditional finance and crypto. In many ways, the barriers are similar: underrepresentation at senior levels, persistent biases, and the need to work harder to prove credibility.
That said, I do think the digital asset space offers a unique opportunity. The industry is still nascent and constantly evolving, so there isn’t a decades-old hierarchy to erode. The rules are still being written, which creates more room for diverse voices and leadership styles. In crypto, I’ve often found that if you bring expertise and conviction, you can gain a seat at the table more quickly than in TradFi.
Ultimately, I see the biggest opportunity for women in helping to shape the culture and infrastructure of this new financial system. If we can embed diversity and inclusion from the outset, rather than trying to retrofit it later, as has been the case in traditional finance, crypto can be a place where female leaders not only thrive but set the standard for the future of the industry.
Your point about women helping to define the industry from the outset truly stands out. With that in mind, what did you observe when mentoring women founders through the Cherie Blair Foundation’s Women in Business Programme, and what guidance proved most effective?
Through my work with the Cherie Blair Foundation’s Women in Business Programme, one recurring challenge stood out. Despite having strong credentials and impressive businesses or products, many of the women I mentored lacked confidence, particularly when it came to pitching and fundraising. Compared to male entrepreneurs, they were often far harder on themselves, downplaying achievements or overemphasizing shortcomings.
The guidance I found most effective was helping them reframe that narrative. I encouraged them to view fundraising as a dialogue between equals rather than a one-sided plea for capital. Confidence grows when you anchor your pitch in traction, growth, and customer feedback instead of self-judgment.
In the end, it wasn’t about teaching them how to “be more like men,” but about equipping them to trust their own expertise and lead with conviction. Once women recognize that their perspective is both valid and valuable, their ability to attract investment and scale their ventures increases dramatically.
That take on women leading with conviction really resonates. What do you think still needs to be done at an industry level to make fintech and crypto more accessible and supportive for women?
We need to break through the old clichés about women in business and look at the hard numbers. The data shows that companies founded or co-founded by women are both more resilient and profitable. A BCG study found that for every dollar of funding, female-led startups generated 78 cents in revenue, compared to just 31 cents for male-led startups, more than twice the return on investment. Other reports show that women-led companies consistently deliver higher revenue per dollar raised and operate with greater capital efficiency.
For fintech and crypto, the implication is clear. Set box-ticking aside, as what matters here is opportunity. Female-founded businesses have shown they can be a source of alpha, and that’s how investors need to approach them. That means providing clearer pathways to capital, transparent fundraising processes, and amplifying proven founders so they can scale faster.
With the Web3 space being so young, it has a rare chance to set this precedent from the outset, not as a moral checkbox, but as the clearest path to stronger, more profitable business.
It’s clear from the numbers how strongly women-led businesses perform, and how much more visibility those examples deserve. To close, what is one lesson from your own journey that you think could inspire more women to step into leadership roles in finance and crypto?
One lesson from my own journey is that you don’t need to have every answer before stepping into leadership—you just need to take a seat at the table, because if you don’t, someone else will. Trust in yourself, knowing that despite the many challenges that will come your way, you will find a way to navigate them. Too often, women feel they need to have all the answers, rather than taking the chance and accepting that mistakes are inevitable along the way.
Leadership isn’t about knowing everything yourself; it’s about having the right team and network around you. Having a sparring partner who doesn’t always agree but challenges your thinking can be invaluable for making better decisions and growing as a leader.
At its core, leadership is less about perfection and more about perspective, conviction, and the willingness to learn in public. For women in finance and crypto, that means trusting that your voice has value now, not waiting until you feel “perfectly ready.” The opportunities in this industry are too big and too new to sit on the sidelines.
