{"id":13016,"date":"2023-08-29T21:48:40","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T21:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=13016"},"modified":"2023-08-29T21:48:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T21:48:43","slug":"6-questions-for-leila-ismailova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/?p=13016","title":{"rendered":"6 Questions for Leila Ismailova"},"content":{"rendered":"<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"crypto\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script>\n<p><strong>Leila Ismailova began her professional career at the age of 15 as a broadcasting star in Belarus, the Russian-neighboring Eastern European country that plays home to 9.3 million citizens. She continued in the role for 10 years, she says, before reaching what she felt was a \u201cprofessional ceiling\u201d and beginning a journey that led to Web3.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember\u00a0\u200bmy\u00a0audacity\u00a0as a child, just sneaking into the buildings with\u00a0\u200bnewspapers\u00a0and magazines \u2014 it was called the House of Press,\u201d Ismailova recalls in an interview with Cointelegraph. \u201cI would handwrite my stories and sneak into the building \u2014 because I didn\u2019t have a pass \u2014\u00a0by making up stories that I was someone\u2019s granddaughter, or by just going in when someone else entered. And I would find the doors that said \u2018editor\u2019 or \u2018editor-in-chief,\u2019 and I would just walk in and give them my articles. People smiled, and I\u2019m sure they felt I was naive, but I felt they also had some respect for me doing this work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her renegade news career led to television in a matter of years. She joined the country\u2019s First National \u200bChannel at the age of 15, where she started on a show that covered news and culture for younger viewers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first\u00a0\u200baudition went horribly,\u201d Ismailova says. \u201cI turned purple. I was thinking really fast, but they still wanted me to come for the second round.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Also read:<\/em> <em>How brands are using digital fashion in real life<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ismailova moved to the United States in 2016, setting off what she calls a \u201cseason of migration\u201d for her family, including her brother, Bahram, and sister, Esmira. Bahram is a serial tech entrepreneur whose inventions include Peech App and Yope, among many others, while Esmira\u00a0is an author whose published works include <em>On the Shores of Bosphorus. <\/em>(You won\u2019t find it in English yet, so don\u2019t spend too much time scouring Amazon.)<\/p>\n<p><em>Leila Ismailova hosting the International Music Festival Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk, Belarus, 2014. Source: Screenshot<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ismailova\u2019s and her siblings\u2019 success came despite hardship. Their father died when they were children (Bahram was just 1), fighting for Azerbaijan in the country\u2019s war with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt happened very abruptly,\u201d Ismailova says. \u201cOf course, no one planned for it, so we went very fast from being a well-off family living in the capital of Baku to being a very scared family. We were pretty much on our own in a country that was going through the war with Armenia and, on top of that, separating from the Soviet Union. It was a very harsh time for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ismailova says that experience inspired her to launch a charity during her broadcast career that offered mentoring for orphans, an activity she would like to resume in the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seemed like these girls, even though the government provided very simple basics for them to start life, didn\u2019t have parental guidance,\u201d Ismailova recalls. \u201cIt seemed like a lot of orphan girls were insecure because no one told them they were beautiful. Our goal was to create that guidance and to give them a confidence boost. [\u2026] For me, it was very important to do, and I was so lucky that I had a chance and a bit of influence. Right now, I miss it very much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read also<\/p>\n<p>                            Features<\/p>\n<p>Forced Creativity: Why Bitcoin Thrives in Former Socialist States<\/p>\n<p>                            Features<\/p>\n<p>Building blocks: Gen Y can use tokens to get on the property ladder<\/p>\n<p>Today, she\u2019s a Web3 veteran after spending three years at Artisant, a digital fashion brand she co-founded \u2014 inspired, in part, by her career in journalism. \u201cAs a child, I didn\u2019t have access to a lot of beautiful dresses,\u201d Ismailova says. \u201cBut I always appreciated the elegant and beautiful part of fashion, and when I watched TV, I always saw TV hosts and red carpets. It always looked stunning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ismailova left Artisant in July to launch a new chapter of her career as a consultant for digital-savvy fashion brands. \u201cI\u2019m sort of coming back to reality,\u201d Ismailova explains. \u201cArtisant was a digital fashion brand, but there was no physical product.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-you-moved-from-belarus-where-you-were-a-tv-journalist-to-the-united-states-what-s-the-story-behind-that\"><strong>1. You moved from Belarus, where you were a TV journalist,\u00a0to the United States. What\u2019s the story behind that?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m the only one from my family who moved, at first. I opened the \u201cseason of migration\u201d for my family, as right after I moved, my sister moved, and then my brother. He didn\u2019t just move \u2014 he ran away in August 2020, right after the Belarusian presidential election, when they started hunting people down. He had to run. His two co-founders were arrested.<\/p>\n<p><em>Leila Ismailova with co-host Denis Kuryan in 2014. Source: Screenshot<\/em><\/p>\n<p>My personal story is that I was a pretty successful TV host back home, I started when I was 15. I wanted to be a TV host because I wanted to wear beautiful dresses. I was very happy. It was my dream job! I started working early, and I think I was very hungry for success. I got all the national awards I dreamed of at a very young age, hosted all the shows I wanted to, and reached the professional ceiling back home.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-what-got-you-into-crypto\"><strong>2. What got you into crypto?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Well, my first stop in the United States was California\u00a0\u2014\u00a0this was before I moved to Miami. I got into graduate school for a master\u2019s program at USC Annenberg. (To be honest, I\u2019m still struggling to connect to American society.) I\u2019ve always been a nerd, and school seemed like a safe environment to connect to people. I started learning about entrepreneurship during the first wave of crypto in 2017, and then I invested in my first crypto\u2026 and \u201clost\u201d it. I bought Litecoin at $250. But I started working in crypto only in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-what-brought-you-to-miami\"><strong>3. What brought you to Miami?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I felt very limited in Los Angeles with the COVID-19 restrictions, and very isolated. I couldn\u2019t even walk my dog because they closed the parks. So, I got into digital fashion. It got me very curious about how something that didn\u2019t exist could make someone feel so good. That was when I met my Artisant co-founder, Regina [Turbina], in 2020. We were talking, and I started helping with little things. In 2021, I joined Artisant full-time.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: Blockchain games aren\u2019t really decentralized\u2026 but that\u2019s about to change<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Things were flowing, so I quit my job and took a leap of faith \u2014\u00a0which brought me to Miami. And since I joined crypto, never have I met so many bright, prominent people with open minds. Everyone has been very welcoming, even though I knew far less in the beginning than I know now. People were willing to spend hours on the phone with me, sharing knowledge. I think the welcoming environment encouraged me to stay.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-how-do-you-see-digital-fashion-evolving-over-the-next-five-years\"><strong>4. How do you see digital fashion evolving over the next five years?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Looking at the last bull run, I think it was awesome, but it\u2019s over. We have this romantic notion that we\u2019re all moving to the metaverse, and our avatars will all need clothes someday. I want to see technology become a tool that makes people more well-rounded, sustainable \u2014 wholesome.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related: An eclectic display at the 2nd Metaverse Fashion Week<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>We have this vicious circle in the Western world of buying goods we don\u2019t need. Brands manipulate us into buying things. Consequently, we need to produce more goods, and we have this vicious circle of overproduction and overconsumption. We have a situation where fashion, the most beautiful business in the world, is responsible for 10% of carbon emissions.<\/p>\n<p>We have a huge problem at hand, and I see digital fashion and technology as a possible solution. We\u2019re moving from the notion of building digital clothes for the metaverse to looking at how digital fashion can be useful right now. Look at Dior and their B33 sneaker collection with NFC chips built into the sole. It\u2019s an amazing technology that allows you to link them to digital assets. So, this is a very good way for brands to solve the problem of counterfeit products.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-you-recently-left-artisant-where-are-you-going-next\"><strong>5. You recently left Artisant. Where are you going next?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m starting consulting jobs, and I want to start writing more. For now, I want to focus on companies that deal in digital fashion. Companies that provide digital fashion services as an agency. I have a brand that wants me to consult their team, and they do an amazing clothing line that has augmented reality storytelling built into it. I\u2019m sort of coming back to reality. Artisant was a digital fashion brand \u2014 but there was no physical product.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing Artisant grow \u2014 not just in numbers but in real people who defined Artisant as their community \u2014 meant the whole world to me. But I came to a point where I gave everything I could to the project. Technology has a huge mission in reforming the world of fashion, and I want to contribute. While I am still pondering my next big professional adventure, I know it will be fun and will serve humanity.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-what-s-your-life-like-outside-of-crypto\"><strong>6. What\u2019s your life like outside of crypto?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I love having a balanced life. I have a dog. (That\u2019s a hobby, right?) I play chess. For me, chess is a very important game that helps me a lot in business and in analyzing situations. I also like sports. For me, it\u2019s very important to keep moving. Yoga has been part of my life for quite some time. Since I live in Miami, I do things like paddleboarding and kite surfing. And I take dance classes. That was one of my first dreams, actually \u2014\u00a0to become a dancer.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe<\/p>\n<p>The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a<br \/>\n        week.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"author__name\">Rudy Takala<\/h2>\n<p>Rudy Takala is the opinion editor at Cointelegraph. He formerly worked as an editor or reporter in newsrooms that include Fox News, The Hill and the Washington Examiner. He holds a master\u2019s degree in political communication from American University in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\r\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"totafreearti-20\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\r\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\r\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\r\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"bitcoin\";\r\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\r\namzn_assoc_search_bar = \"false\";\r\namzn_assoc_title = \"\";\r\namzn_assoc_rows =\"1\";\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/6-questions-for-leila-ismailova\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leila Ismailova began her professional career at the age of 15 as a broadcasting star in Belarus, the Russian-neighboring Eastern European country that plays home to 9.3 million citizens. She continued in the role for 10 years, she says, before reaching what she felt was a \u201cprofessional ceiling\u201d and beginning a journey that led to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bitcoin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13018,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13016\/revisions\/13018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoheretostay.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}