As CEO of the NEAR protocol foundation, Marieke Flament is currently one of the most successful

female leaders working in fintech. But it took some convincing for her to give up an established,

super successful corporate career; she was even told she was ‘full on crazy’ for considering it. As she

tells presenter Lloyd Wahed in this episode, she defied her critics to join Circle in 2015 where she

stayed until being inspired by another female CEO to move to banking app Mettle.

The trajectory to the top hasn’t been smooth: admitted into one of France’s Grandes Ecoles to study

computer science, Marieke discovered that she wasn’t good at coding and looked for alternative

career paths. A period of time living in China taught her how to be solution-orientated – a mindset

she describes as key to her success as well as a willingness to show weakness and be prepared to

fail.

As well as discussing her professional journey, Marieke also talks about her reason for joining NEAR

over its competitors, and the ground-breaking opportunities innovations such as Decentralized

Autonomous Organisations are offering the tech sector.1.23 – NEAR foundation’s mandate.

5.15 – What is it that appealed to Marieke about Near as a protocol

8.52 – Demand for good engineers outstripping supply

9’49 – Changing the narrative around Bitcoin

11.05 - Attracting a more diverse workforce

12.54 – The need for more talent – and not just engineers

14.34 – The power of Decentralized Autonomous Organsiations

18.57 – How have NEAR raised capital from some of the biggest VCs around

20.55 – How and when could the NEAR foundation become redundant?

22.57 – Marieke’s background

24.35 – How Marieke got into computer engineering – and learning that she didn’t like to code

26.08 – What China taught Marieke?

27.30 – The importance of a winning mentality

28.42 – Leaving Expedia – and believing Bitcoin was run by drugdealers…

30.28 – Joining Circle – and being called ‘full on crazy’

31.07 – The career decisions you make when you’re 8 years old

32.21 – Leaving circle and being inspired by a female CEO

34.45 – The diversity challenge in fintech

36.41 – Bringing your best self to work – and recognising that everyone has faults

38.11 – The importance of confidence

40.35 – The importance of family time

41.50 – Importance of family time

44.11 – Marieke’s mana….