Galia Benartzi is using blockchain to rethink our relationship with money. And in doing so she is paving the way for alternative means of collaboration, making us question what’s possible to create an accessible internet of value. As the Cofounder and Head of Business Development for Bancor, a blockchain protocol that allows for conversion between different tokens directly, Benartzi is democratizing access to coins that are difficult to exchange because they are less known (and are thereby illiquid), enabling people to create and utilize them (in communities, for example) as a result. In addition to her work with Bancor, this summer Benartzi held a Global Economic Visioning Summit at Bretton Woods, the historic location where the international monetary management rules between the United States and other allied nations were established during WWII.
Benartzi, who was raised in Silicon Valley by Israeli parents—they moved to Israel when she was in junior high and back to California when she was in high school—studied comparative literature at Dartmouth College and International Relations and economics (with a focus on energy) at SAIS Johns Hopkins. After founding several successful startups (Mytopia, a social gaming studio sold to 888 Holdings, ParticleCode, a mobile gaming and HTML5 development platform sold to Appcelerator), she decided to focus her energy on the opportunity that the cryptocurrency markets could create for humanity. “Every person is born with the ability and opportunity to create value for society. The tools or the tokens or the infrastructure that we use to give this value to others, to receive this value from others, should be an open and accessible infrastructure. It shouldn’t be owned by governments, companies, or specific people,” says Benartzi. “We see the network that lets humans give and get value from each other, whatever that value may be, as a fundamental right of people on this planet.”
Global Economic Visioning convened 150 global thought leaders to pave the way for a new kind of economy, creating a space for dialogue and connection. She realized that the times have changed—the original Bretton Woods Summit excluded key perspectives (including that of women)—and wanted to address technological advancements that have happened since the original gathering. “People don't even really know that the framework that was originally built by America at Bretton Woods is massively responsible for how our world and our economy look today.”
Looking at the photos from the original Bretton Woods, Benartzi recalls that out of 700 delegates, there were zero women. “What could a system that was initially built by only half the world actually look like?” That’s why, when designing the gathering, Benartzi intentionally invited at least 50 percent female speakers and 50 percent female attendees to make the summit more representative. She wanted to address the vast socioeconomic differences that our culture currently presents. “We don't know how decentralization is going to play out, how trust is going to be established,” Benartzi said. “The essence of the event was designing for moments of empathy to understand different viewpoints, rather than fighting between theories, ideas, companies or politicians. Our goal was to take a step back and have deep conversations about how we could actually go about the process of getting to right answers.”
It is this approach that yielded Benartzi the results and inspiration she wanted. “We emerged from Bretton Woods with a renewed sense of purpose and an impassioned vision for designing a more accessible, global financial system that encourages collaboration around value, rather than money,” she said. The closing speaker, Nancy Conrad, wife of late astronaut Pete Conrad—the third man to walk the moon—implored the attendees to aspire to what she calls, moon shots: paradigm-shifting ideas that can help move the world to its next and better place. “At next year’s Global Economic Visioning at Bretton Woods, we will mark the 75th anniversary of the historic monetary agreement with expanded programming and calls to action for global leaders and shapers,” said Benartzi.
She shared the following advice for other female entrepreneurs:
- Surround yourself with people whose skills complement your own. “I have three amazing co-founders at Bancor: Guy, our CEO, is a visionary who dreams up ways we can create game changing technology; Eyal, our Chief Product Officer, is the kindest person you'll meet, and his intuition for developing impactful products is unparalleled; and Yudi, our CTO, has a relentless commitment to bringing our vision to life through software.”
- Hire more women. Gender balance in a company is critical, but it's not something that happens on its own. You have to put in the extra effort to actively seek out diverse candidates and support the women you've already hired—giving them opportunities to shine, providing mentorship and constantly setting an example of how to be a fair leader.
- Lean in to whatever opportunities for growth present themselves. Speak up, ask questions, educate yourself on the nuances of issues through different perspectives. After all, it was Steve Jobs who said, “Remember that everything you see around us was created by people no smarter than you.”
As Bancor continues to innovate, Benartzi and her team are excited for what’s to come. “We've been building Bancor for just over a year and are about to launch some of the boldest products in the space, allowing automated conversion for currencies between different blockchains. We’re here to play a central part in designing the financial architecture of the future, one that is open, affordable and accessible to all.”
