Marieke Flament: "The idea of a blockchain operating system is an industry first, and something that has been much needed"

Always at the forefront of innovation in finance and tech, Marieke was part of the team launching the fastest way to transfer money using Blockchain, and also one of the largest digital currencies (USCD digital dollar stable coin). Now, she's leading the adoption of NEAR's technology, which is pretty amazing. It is underpinned by the simplest and safest proof-of-stake layer 1 blockchain protocol. NEAR is also the world’s first certified climate-neutral blockchain.

Let's talk about her background as a computer engineer, how she forged her values and pushes for evolution in diversity in the industry, but also what are the growing Web3 use cases she currently rates!

Nathalie Gaveau: Please tell us a bit about yourself

Marieke Flament: I was born in France and was brought up there as well as in Italy and the Netherlands. I attended university in France at TelecomParisTech and in China at Shanghai Jiaotong University before starting my career at LVMH in Shanghai and Hong Kong. I then went on to obtain my MBA from London Business School before continuing my career at Boston Consulting Group in Paris and Expedia/Hotels.com in London.?

My first experience in the Web3 space was with Circle back in 2016, where I began to understand the importance of this new range of technologies, but took some time in the traditional finance space as the CEO of Mettle, before being drawn back to web3 as the CEO of NEAR Foundation.??

Outside of work, I’m married to a Spanish Entrepreneur who I met in university, and the mum of a beautiful 4 year old. I am also an avid sports fan, particularly basketball, and will play any chance I get.?

Gaveau: What were the key moments that led you to this path and how did you make your decisions?

Flament: Some people have a clear idea of who or what they wanted to be from the time they are young, but that wasn’t me. I think my first dream as a child was actually to be a house cleaner or a flight attendant. But, as I guess you can see, I ended up taking a very different path.??

As I moved through my high school and university years, I came to understand that I am driven by a sense of purpose. I want to do things that can have a powerful effect on the world around me, and ultimately leave the world a better place than I found it. While there are many ways to achieve this, I realised early on that mine was through the power of technology, which when used well, can have a profound impact on social and economic well being for the world as whole.

This sense of purpose extends into my decision making as well. I don’t see decision making as a singular thing, but rather something made up of a number of interconnected elements including people, culture, mission, values, and potential impact. The tech industry is complicated, the world is complicated, but when you are driven by a sense of purpose, and have clear values and good people by your side, it makes making the right decision much easier.?

Gaveau: What exciting projects/ventures are you currently working on? Especially, please tell us about the NEAR Foundation!

Flament: NEAR just announced a major step in its ongoing evolution, and something that we believe will change the Web3 industry as a whole: NEAR is now a Blockchain Operating System (BOS). The idea of a blockchain operating system is an industry first, and something that has been much needed in what can be a complicated space that often feels inaccessible to people outside the industry.?

We understand how important Web3 is and how needed it is for creating a more fair, open, and equitable digital world. That’s why we were driven to create the BOS. It provides an easy way for both developers and users to become familiar with the space, discover new experiences, and connect with other people to build a broader, more engaged community and make Web3 development more accessible to everyone.?

The BOS will make NEAR the entry point for everyone who wants to participate in a more free and fair digital world, by making the world of Web3 feel more like the world of Web2. And, since we truly want to make a more open digital world available to as many people as possible, we have made the BOS compatible with any blockchain, so that everyone has a chance to build something better together.

Gaveau: What are the hottest areas in Web 3 at the moment??

Flament: Like any new innovation, for a long time the Web3 space was driven by the tech itself, with much of the focus on the usability and scalability of layer 1 blockchains. While there will always be work to do in this area, I think that we have now reached a tipping point where the focus is shifting from the potential of the tech, to the real use cases that can be developed on it.? Ultimately, no matter how amazing any technology may be, it is when it begins to solve real problems and create experiences that people are excited to use that it truly becomes mainstream and takes off.

In the NEAR Ecosystem we have seen a tremendous amount of growth in exciting use cases, particularly in the areas of gaming, entertainment, and sports. Just a few examples include Sweat Economy an innovative project that rewards users for being physically active (counting 120 million users!), SailGP the global sailing league platform that has the goal of becoming the world's most sustainable and purpose-driven global sports and entertainment platform, and PlayEmber a game studio that is working to make web3 easy and rewarding for players, developers and creators.?

Gaveau: How does it contribute to helping others innovate better?

Flament: At its heart, this is the very role of the NEAR Foundation, and part of what makes my job so rewarding: we are constantly working to foster innovation. The NEAR Foundation’s purpose is to serve the ecosystem, help it grow, and become sustainable enough that ultimately the foundation won’t be needed at all.?

A large part of my day is spent talking to founders and projects, helping them fix what’s missing, helping them unlock what is stuck, and ensuring they have what they need to bring their ideas to fruition.?

From my experience the best way to foster truly innovative projects is to go beyond thinking of innovation as a moment of inspiration or the creation of a great idea and instead create a culture of innovation. A culture of innovation is built on a range of factors, but the two that I think are the most important are coaching and diversity. To coach someone is to help them to understand their own path forward, in their own unique way, and how they can best use their own internal and external resources to achieve this. This is different than showing someone the way, it is helping them come to understand and actualize their own way.?

Diversity has become a buzzword across the tech industry, but for me, and for the NEAR foundation it is something fundamental. Diversity runs deep. People of diverse national, cultural, religious, racial, gender, and linguistic backgrounds think differently. In fact according to recent research people of diverse backgrounds don’t simply see the world differently, they actually see different worlds. This kind of deep diversity is essential for understanding one another, but is also essential for giving space for true innovation that goes beyond the boundaries of the world we know.

Gaveau: Do you believe in the concept of role models and what values do you hold closest to heart?

Flament: Yes, Absolutely! I have had a number of role models over the course of my life. I always like to say you can’t be what you can’t see.?

In terms of values, I am fortunate to be in a position where my personal values, and the values of the project I’m working for are closely aligned. It’s the best way to be excited about going to work every day and remaining passionate about what you do!

As I mentioned in my previous answer I am a true believer in the importance of diversity in all of its forms. The more open we are to other people, other forms of life, and other ways of thinking the richer and more textured our own lives and ways of thinking become. Closely tied to this is my belief in the importance of both individuals and companies taking an international and global perspective. We live in a deeply interconnected world, particularly the digital world, and our choices and actions often have implications far beyond our physical and digital borders.?

The values of diversity and taking a global perspective also tie into another of my own and NEAR’s central values, the importance of decentralisation. Keeping money, power, information, and data in the hands of the few runs directly counter to an open, diverse and equitable world in which everyone has the chance to participate. Decentralization can help to rebalance the world and make it more fair today, and for the generations to come. Which brings me to a final value I’d like to mention, long-term thinking. It can be difficult to project a future in a complicated world, but if we don’t try to look beyond tomorrow to understand what the world could look like, and what we could help it to look like, we will never be able to make real meaningful progress.??

Gaveau: From a tech innovation standpoint, what has been your biggest learning to date and who has taught you about it?

Flament: Innovation is definitely an iterative process. It starts with solving a real problem and requires patience, conviction, the willingness to take in diverse perspectives, and long term thinking.?

My first startup experience at Circle taught me a lot about innovation. Back in 2016 if you told someone that you could send and receive money in seconds with only an email address using blockchain, they might have either not understood what blockchain was, or believed it wasn’t possible. But, that’s exactly what we did. From the first app (Circle Pay), to an exchange (Poloniex), to a trading desk, we enabled exactly these kinds of payments and made our mark with a stablecoin USDC, which is now one of the largest stablecoins.?

The mission we had was clear - enable people to send and receive money faster. The question was how do we get there. The process started with a real user problem, we took in a diverse range of perspectives and possible solutions, and moved through numerous iterations, all while remaining committed to the strength of our convictions that it was an important problem to solve and that we were the right team to do it. This experience has stuck with me, and it’s something that I carry forward at NEAR.?

Gaveau: Would you say that you are value or growth-oriented? Risk-taker or conservative?

Flament: I’m strongly value oriented. A world driven by growth at any cost isn’t sustainable - it?creates an unhealthy culture inside companies and in the broader society, white often also causing long term harm to the environment. Of course I believe in growth, but sustainable growth. Growth can be achieved, and I would argue is actually best achieved, when it is pursued when the values of diversity, inclusion, long-term thinking, and sustainability business are in place.?

This isn’t just the right thing to do, it is also what people increasingly expect. Businesses that pursue growth for growth’s sake without concern for the bigger picture, will ultimately find themselves left behind by a market that has grown increasingly frustrated with the excesses of governments and corporations.?

Am I a risk-taker or conservative? Well, I guess it depends who you ask! If you ask my previous employer Natwest (I was CEO of Mettle their neo bank recently JV’d to Warburg Pincus), they would say I’m a risk-taker. When I left Expedia to work for Circle at the end of 2015 people definitely thought I was taking a big risk. But if you ask a web3 degen he/she would probably say I’m?conservative. I think it’s probably somewhere in the middle, but I like to think that I take thoughtful risks that fit with my values.?

Gaveau: What are the rules, if any, that you followed for success?

Flament: This is an easy one. Whatever I do needs to be aligned with my values. When that happens I can pursue the work with drive and passion, bring my full self to work every day, and be proud of what I help put into the world.?

Gaveau: One app/newsfeed that you can never have enough of?

Flament: I juggle between quite a few apps. For work, like so many people now, it’s Slack. I use Twitter to stay on top of all of the crypto news. I enjoy staying on top of broader industry trends and insights by reading blog posts on LinkedIn. And, of course, I’m always exploring and getting to know all of the dApps on NEAR.

Gaveau: We will never hear you saying...

Flament: That’s a tough question! In general I always try to remain as open as possible, so there aren’t too many ideas or perspectives I’m not willing to explore. But, I think one thing you won’t ever hear me say is “it wasn’t me”. I think it’s incredibly important and powerful to take personal responsibility and own what happens. We all have successes, we all have failures, and they are both opportunities to learn and grow as long as we are willing to take responsibility for them.

Gaveau: Which company/product never fails to impress you?

Flament: Airbnb. I’ve been a fan since very early days, and the app keeps getting better and better. I love travelling, and feeling at home when I travel, so it’s always my go to app.?

Gaveau: The best words of advice you have ever heard?

Flament: “Optimism is a force multiplier”. This has actually become one of my mottos in life. The other one I always try to live by is “smiling is free and makes life easier”?

When it comes down to it, each of our journeys on this planet isn’t that long, so we should be sure to fill the time we have with joy, meaningful connections, and an unflappable faith that we can leave the world better than we found it.

Gaveau: Who would you like to see next in the “Leading minds in Innovation” interview?

Flament: Ambre from Kaiko.?

To learn more about Marieke Flament, connect or follow her on?LinkedIn.

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