Dasha Kova and Jamie Schuppert of Niche, the Web3 social media start-up, talk to SiliconRepublic.com about how they became Web3 evangelists.

A few years ago, Dasha Kova became interested in Web3. Like many people who work in tech-adjacent industries, she initially had a casual interest.

The more he found out about Web3, the more he realized its potential, so he decided to take his career in a new direction.

He joined the executive board of Niche, an ad-free, decentralized social media platform consisting of member-owned communities.

The day she spoke to SiliconRepublic.com, Kova told us that she had already had “a unique career” even before she got into Web3.

“I started in fashion and then I was also doing advertising, and then for the last eight years I’ve been doing production. I was a primary producer of commercial content, documentaries, feature films, music videos, and digital media/video.”

At some point during the pandemic, he founded his own company. “I have been traveling the world doing production for a long time, and in my spare time I was starting to research cryptocurrencies.”

“I was very curious about how crypto and Web3 and everything was bringing more women into the space… I was seeing a lot more diversity and a lot more women finding space for themselves and claiming space in this industry, and I was very curious. about that.”

Curiosity led to opportunity

As Kova was reading up on Web3 and discussing it with his network, he gradually discovered that his interest in the nascent technology was more than passing.

I wanted to explore it professionally. His friends were giving him recommendations for things to read and research, which he did along with his daily work.

After a while, one of the co-founders of Niche, then a Web3 social media startup, asked him for content advice. Kova already knew him and quickly became involved in the fledgling business.

She joined Niche’s executive board as head of content, a role in which she is currently very busy. Niche is preparing for its official launch this year, having launched its beta version recently. For a few days, the beta has been open to the public.

Niche is very much a concept of Web3, with its take on social media. The platform is ad-free, decentralized, and targeted at member-owned communities, hence the name “Niche.”

Kova’s colleague at Niche, Jamie Schuppert, head of marketing, joined her to explain some of what the platform hopes to achieve.

Like Kova, Schuppert began her working life in the fashion industry. He quickly discovered that he preferred tech marketing, but not just because the pay and benefits were better.

Prior to working at Niche, Schuppert played a major role in bringing the dating app Bumble to the world. He spearheaded marketing campaigns for him and found out that he liked to market a tech business and a startup, which was Bumble at the time.

One of Niche’s co-founders, Chris Gulczynski, has a link to another popular dating app, being one of the founding members of Tinder.

Now, Schuppert is aiming for similar success with Niche, though, as both she and Kova maintain, it’s not just a platform for influencers in the traditional sense.

No ‘vanity metrics’

Unlike some of the established social media platforms we’re familiar with, Niche will have ‘creators’ instead of ‘influencers’ and won’t have “any vanity metrics”.

It will not be about competition or likes or finding the ‘it girl’ of the moment, they said. There are some creators who are onboarded as part of the platform launch at a very early stage, but their focus is on sharing “authentic content” with engaged communities.

Of the creators they’ve been dealing with leading up to the beta launch, Kova said, “They’re excited because there doesn’t need to be any advertising… There’s no sales. There’s really nothing that’s going to break the conversation or get them out of what they want to talk about.”

“I think people are very happy to have data privacy, to have their own content and not have to advertise.”

Schuppert believes there is going to be a change in content creators’ attitudes towards ads. He said that when he explains the concept of not having to run ads, some creators have a hard time understanding it.

She tries to avoid confusing creators with Web3 buzzwords like ‘blockchain,’ ‘crypto,’ and ‘decentralized,’ preferring to simply explain the benefits of the platform. This is an approach that works, she said.

“It’s interesting because when we remove the technology part, it’s like trying to explain how the Internet works. You don’t need to know how the Internet works, but if you explain what the benefits are, that’s when you start to get interested and people understand what you’re talking about.”

communities

Fortunately, there is a gap in the market for hobbyists, which Niche aims to address. As Kova and Schuppert have pointed out, traditional social media platforms like Instagram are made for individuals, not communities.

According to Kova, the communities aspect is very important to everyone on the team, and they think Web3 works well.

A brief look at the Niche website shows a variety of different communities, from a cluster of bars in Chicago and Star Wars collectors in Yosemite to a CrossFit league in Beijing and a motorcycle team in Berlin.

Although the reputation of the Web3 community in general took a bit of a hit after the massive fallout from FTX, Kova and Schuppert insist that the technology can be used safely and positively.

Kova noted that the newness of Web3 represents a great opportunity for women and minorities to get involved in shaping it, instead of having to conform to pre-existing norms.

“We are seeing it more and more, many women are simply demanding space in this industry. And we see them in the company and we hire very consciously for diversity and for people who identify as women. We currently have almost twice as many women as men in our company, which is huge.”

Advice for those curious about Web3

So what advice do Kova and Schuppert have, as women in leadership roles at Web3, for others looking to break into the industry?

“Try to get as much experience as you can,” Schuppert said, adding, “I don’t think people have learned too much about Web3 at this point in school because it’s so new.”

“I would say do an internship or find experience where you can and maybe dabble in crypto a little bit, but be careful about that.”

Kova agreed with Schuppert, adding that if you’re interested in exploring Web3, you should “bet on yourself.”

“Don’t be afraid to take risks and go after things that excite you. If you’re doing something that excites you and you’re considering making the switch, or what else, maybe start doing it part-time,” she said.

Both women recommend a community for Web3 enthusiasts and students called BFF. And they say that they themselves are constantly learning about new Web3 features within Niche.

Kova said: “I think people shouldn’t be afraid of not knowing because most people don’t know and we’re still learning. And we don’t have all the answers and obviously it’s also possibly due to market volatility…everyone is still learning about the market, still figuring it out.”

10 things you need to know delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Sign up for the Daily summarySilicon Republic’s roundup of essential science and technology news.