(Electronic ambient music) >> Announcer: Live from Nassau in the Bahamas, it's The Cube! Covering Polycon 18, brought to you by PolyMath. >> We are live here with The Cube's exclusive coverage at Polycon 18. It's a securitized token conference, but really, it's about cryptography, cryptocurrency, blockchain, token economics. The whole community's here, investors, entrepreneurs, and startups. We have two great guests here from CryptoChicks, Nataliya Hearn and Natalia Ameline. Pioneers in the industry doing something really compelling, the first ever blockchain hackathon coming up in April. It's historic, it's the first. Welcome to the Cube, thanks for joining me. >> Thank you for having us. >> Thank you for having us. >> So I love the t-shirts, CryptoChicks, I want one, a few. Can I buy them on the website? Can I get them made? >> Yeah, you can, absolutely >> I want my daughters to have those immediately, so. People in our community know that the Cube's really been... we love women in tech because there are so many smart women out there and it's awesome to showcase. But beyond that, it's this real technology being innovated. Talk about what you guys are doing. You have a really important mission, had great success, with CryptoChicks. This is like a movement inside this community, but it's also happening all around the world. You guys have big plans. Take a minute to explain the group, how you guys are operating, how it's going, and talk about this big event. >> We started this group because we realized that women are underrepresented in the space, and you don't need to go far; look at what's going on at this conference, right? Even though we are pleased towards the increase in turnaround of women, in events like this, but we still have ways to improve. So we started this group CryptoChicks with the sole mission to increase, improve gender balance, and increase participation of women in the community. And we're doing it in a variety of ways, but largely what we try to do is we try to create an environment where women feels safe to learn. It's small classes. Where women come in, they can ask questions, they can feel at ease, and I think it's very important because not every woman feels comfortable getting up in a big crowd and asking questions. And I think what we do is really helpful for a lot of women this way. >> It's very inspiring. Also you guys as co-founders Nataliya we were talking about you were a professor, and education's a big part of it, but also human nature right? So talk about the dynamic and how you guys approached that because there's different styles, both men and women and we got to kind of get it going together, I mean, you guys have got to get critical mass. Now the good news is, people are talking about it, and it's happening, and... >> Absolutely, I think, kind of knowledge. People hear stuff. You know I had kind of interesting... I was talking to a woman who was in tech but her English wasn't great, and all this kind of stuff. So she called it BigCoin, which I love it. (laughs) Because it is kind of a BigCoin you know? Out of all the coins it's the biggest coin. So stuff like this. If you go to meet ups you would have in a room of a hundred, maybe one or two women. And then they'll go, well what's a wallet? What is all this about? Just even the basic, baby-stepping, through the system. And then I think well we're focusing on only one part of it. The other part of it is that we're creating a really new level of democracy. And that element, I think, that's why we need the education. An education probably, while women is great, but we've got to start a little earlier. The interests should come at least in high school level, where you go well, What is debt? What is value? How do you define currency? Actually all the stuff we're doing at the conference here, in terms of securities. Is it a security? Or is it not a security? How do you define? So all of that starts early on. >> I've been having conversations at many levels about this, at Sundance Film Festival we talk about the role of technology. So it used to be, you know, the Boys Club. That's now changing, which is great, but also there's a trend of multidisciplinary things. You mentioned economics and all these things. So the world now is becoming integrated. So math for instance, there's a lot of math geeks out there, male and female. You don't have to be a coder per say, right? There's certainly more coding opportunities, for women, but it's not just one thing. You can do anything. Fifty percent of the population is women. If this is going to change the world, which it is. Fifty percent of it is going to be impacted too. So they have to have a role in what's going on in the community. So it's natural it should happen, I mean... >> Absolutely. And actually one of the reasons the Hackathon, the reason it's first all women Hackathon in Blockchain, and we actually have two streams. And one stream is for hackers, who are into the nitty-gritty of, sort of, the coding part, and we actually have support for them as well, in terms of learning. And then we also have the business track, where if you have an idea, and you think that Blockchain would be a really good avenue to take that idea, so you could pitch your idea during the Hackathon as well. >> And just to clarify, this is the up and coming Hackathon that you guys are doing. All women. What's the date? Share the details. Share the details. >> So it's going to be actually a conference and Hackathon, we're going to run it parallel. Conference will start on the 6th of April and going through the 8th of April, and the Hackathon will happen at the same time. >> And where is the conference going to be attended? >> So the conference is taking place in Toronto, we're partnering with our venue partner MaRS Discovery District. So it's an absolutely amazing venue in Toronto. And also our partner MaRS has a history of, you know, promoting the women in technology. So it's a good partnership for us. And it's going to be, the Hackathon is going to run about thirty hours and hopefully it's going to be a lot of good connections coming out of it. I think one of the things that we want to accomplish in this Hackathon for women is to make it easy for them to get opportunities. So most importantly we want to connect them with employers. And that's a great venue for that, because when we travel, we have a lot of the times owners of the companies will approach us and say you know, we're really looking to diversify our team. Can you help us? Because women just don't apply. I think that's another way we're trying to really infuse more women into the community. >> Open up channels of opportunity, it's not just having it be like a job interview. >> Exactly. >> So networking, demonstrating skills, style. Are you guys seeing the formula that works with people, with women? Because we see different conversations around this, you know. Take a certain approach, posture this way, be different. Eventually, I interview a lot of women that are saying, I'm going to be hardcore and some say, I just want to wear high heels and I'm a fashion person, that's who I am and why would I want to change that just because I'm a woman? So there's different views on this. Is there any pattern, or formula that you would suggest or observe? >> You know I think we live in a really fortunate part of the globe where we can actually do what we want to do. There aren't too many places like that in the world. And I think that we've got to be really thankful for that, and then it really is, you know, we are empowered to create opportunities. And in this space, it's a really young space. I mean it's really fundamental. Some people say well we've been in it for ten years. Really, most of the people have been in it for, you know, couple years. So don't think, women shouldn't think that well, there's all these guy and they know what they're doing. They also don't know what they're doing, everything's changing. Every wallet and every structure that is being created today is going to be a little different tomorrow, it's a process. >> If you say you're an expert about something here, then you're really a pretender because everyone's always learning. And the real pros are humble about that. So that's one observation. But the other one is, and I want to get your reaction on this because I go to a lot of events. Especially in tech. Where a lot of male-dominated, you know, enterprise here and there. This community's very mission oriented and I don't see any signs of lack of inclusion. So I think the door is open at least my perspective, and certainly we've been covering a lot in the space, Bitcoins in 2010 and crypto and everything else. But being here I see open doors. I can say the other verticals, not so much. Here, it seems open. Do you guys agree with that? What's good about that if you do agree, how do people walk through those doors? And if it's not, what needs to happen? What's your observation? >> I think it depends on the personalities a lot. I find that some personalities, the door is open, and will just walk in. Some personalities are, you know, I want someone to bring me and introduce me, I think it's like this everywhere. I think in this space I mostly see that it's friendly space, pretty happy with it, but I also think there could be some improvements, because quite frankly sometimes the culture is not necessarily that welcoming. For example, you go to the chatrooms on Facebook as an example. A woman makes a comment and after that you'll see lines of guys responding, what are you doing here? And why did you say that? >> Really? >> Yeah it's very common >> It's IRC culture, really. >> Yeah, so it's you know, some women are perfectly fine with it, right? And for me, it's like okay, you know, everybody's entitled to opinions. But some next time would not comment, right? And I don't know, maybe guys have a little bit thicker skin, and they take some ridicule better, I don't know, but I think there's still ways to make the culture a little bit more open and I guess comforted. >> Nataliya, do you agree with that? What's your take on that? >> I think it really starts with upbringing, again, and how we raise our children. I have 3 sons, so I raise them in the way I'd want to be treated, in an environment. I'm an engineer, so I've worked with men all my life, and this is not unusual for me. I've gone to conferences all my life, thousands of people, twenty women. >> Yeah you've got a thick skin, you guys have thick skin. >> And you know, in a way yeah, it takes guts, like you said before, to wear high heels and a skirt and really stand out when you're already standing out. So you've got to put your head up you know? And you walk into that room. >> Be yourself! Right? But don't be afraid. I guess what you're saying is, you could have whatever posture you want to have, just be proud, keep your chin up, as they say. Alright, so let's talk about, you mentioned, you guys are moms. So like, I have four kids too. Two daughters, David Vellante has four as well, the same. These kids that are born now are growing with digital natives, some are kind of pre, post Facebook, pre Instagram, Snapchat, it ranges in the spectrum. Certainly gaming has been a big part of the culture of the youth. So people who are digital natives, and or have come on with the connected social world that is, they are doing things differently. So I wanted to get your thoughts as parents, I get asked the question a lot: should I let him game? Should I let him code? What should I do? What's good? What's bad? There's no data other than kind of anecdotal or vision. I personally believe in gaming as a good future of work scenario, as long as you don't OD on it, and overdose on too much gaming. I think coding is the same. So I think this is going to be the tooling of the future, what do you guys think as parents about the exposure of technology? How do you do it? Is there a diet? Is there a recipe? I mean, what do you guys think? >> I think personally it's great. I think the younger kids get exposed to technology, the more comfortable they feel with it, and the more likely they are to become the next, you know, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates etcetera. And I think our society, whether some people like it or not, it's moving in a direction where we're becoming more and more technology addicted and dependent on it. Technology is everywhere, we don't even realize, that it's there. You know, you wake up in the morning and you look at the internet. You may like it or not, but that's the lifestyle these days. So I think for me, with kids, we need to give them freedom, and we need to observe. Because at the end of the day, I think kids are intuitive, they know what they're interested in, and we need to help them nurture their interests, so that they grow up, and they don't need to go to a job that they hate. Instead they do what they love. And that's how we're becoming a more productive society. >> And the learning online too is an opportunity to go nonlinear. Learn things at the scale you don't have to wait for the next class or semester. Your thoughts on this, Nataliya? >> Absolutely, I think every child has a gift, and I think it's parents responsibility to discover that gift. Instead of shoving your ideas, or things you didn't achieve in life into your children. >> That's called snowplow parent or helicopter parenting. >> So absolutely, and we are a technology-driven society, and you know, I'm an engineer so I'm a techie, so I've introduced my sons to a lot of things, but you know what? They've introduced me, and actually they kept me in this sector. >> I think the observational thing is really important. Freedom with observation. That's not monitoring, and surveillance, or helicoptering. It's really like, let him play, let him explore, let them have a good time. Understand it, but be mindful of what you're observing. And that's key. >> And yeah, too much of anything is not good. You know, you have to balance your sleep patterns, and all this kind of stuff, all of that has to come into a child's life. >> Yeah, intervention is required at some point, you know, when you see that the kid is shaking. (laughing) >> I always say to women in tech who are moms like, man, you have it so easy now, because you know how hard it is to raise children. Being a parent is super hard, and a lot of people look at that, need to understand that's how hard it is. It's really a wonderful thing. So thanks for sharing. Looking forward to following the CryptoChicks and covering the Hackathon, so let us know how it goes. Are there going to be any live feeds, or twitter handles, or hashtag, what's going on? >> There will be, and we'll let you know. Thank you for the opportunity >> Thank you very much >> Thank you very much for sharing, CryptoChicks here on The Cube, I'm John Furrier. Live coverage continuing, day two, of SiliconANGLE Media's Cube exclusive coverage at Polycon 18. We'll be right back. (Electronic music).