We are pleased to welcome Neema Naficy as the new COO of Totle!

1. Tell us a little about your background

I have over 13 years of experience in operations, business development, partnerships, and leading overall business strategy while working in e-commerce, professional services, technology, publishing, healthcare, and life sciences. I’ve worked with early-stage startups all the way to Fortune 50 organizations, most recently leading enterprise client engagements with Bluewolf, an IBM company, focused on customer experience by leveraging the Salesforce.com platform. The bulk of my career has been focused on improving customer experience, and I’m excited to be a part of that mission at Totle.

2. How did you first discover crypto?

I first heard about Bitcoin in early 2012 but I didn’t really dive into learning why it was meaningful, and much to my regret I didn’t buy any. I continued to see it come up here and there in subsequent years, and little by little I learned more, eventually getting interested in learning about the underlying blockchain technology and the power of decentralized networks. Late 2015/early 2016 was when I really started to dive in both on the crypto trading side and through educating myself on all the potential use cases of blockchain technology. Ever since then, I’ve been working my way down the rabbit hole and learning more every day, a journey not likely to end anytime soon.

3. What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of crypto trading?

When I began getting involved in crypto trading, one of the biggest challenges was navigating the myriad of exchanges, most of which are not very user-friendly. I’m very comfortable with technology, but the poor user experience on many of these sites, coupled with uncertainty and lack of trust in the process, made it a bit unnerving. After some trial and error, I eventually got the hang of it, without making too many mistakes, but I can imagine many never make it past these barriers. Increased usability will do wonders in allowing crypto enthusiasts like myself to explore more freely and trust the decisions they’re making.

4. Favorite cryptocurrency and why?

I tend to be a fan of platform cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, EOS, Stellar, and NEO, for the ability to build on top of them and create lasting value. I’ve been a long-time believer in the Ethereum platform, with its super smart developer community and the great ERC20 token projects that have been coming out. As of late, I’ve been into OmiseGO for payments, 0x for self-sustaining decentralized token exchange, and although they haven’t tokenized, I’ve been having fun with a decentralized Twitter clone called Peepeth.

5. Where do you see crypto in 5 years?

5 years is a long time in crypto years, so I’ll focus more on where I think we’re headed. We’re still in the early stages of blockchain technology, where infrastructure, protocols, and standards are being developed and tested, and very few consumer-facing platforms and dApps exist. What we’ll begin seeing next as the infrastructure matures, is a proliferation of consumer applications leveraging decentralized blockchain technology. Some of these will be obviously leveraging blockchain, and in some cases, the end-user will not know the difference. This widespread global user adoption and understanding of crypto will result in a strong market for trading, and more stability.

6. What made you choose Totle?

I have always been a big fan of design and great user experience and how to improve usability. From the moment I saw the Totle dashboard, I could tell it was going to make the experience of trading on decentralized exchanges incredibly easy while maintaining trust, a powerful combination. As I got to know the team, it was evident that not only were they incredibly smart and focused, but equally as passionate as I am on usability, making it an easy choice to join the mission.

7. Favorite author and favorite quote?

While it’s hard for me to pick one, I’d have to say Gabriel García Márquez is my favorite. I enjoy reading his tales of real experiences and can easily get lost in the journey. My favorite quote of his is “Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but … life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”

One of my favorite authors on the non-fiction side is Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in particular, his book The Black Swan. I also enjoy Taleb’s view on cryptocurrency, stating that it is an “insurance policy against an Orwellian future”.

8. Random fact about yourself

I used to be a ski instructor when I was in high school. Free season pass, access to the ski school cabin, and a paycheck — it was the dream! Sadly, I don’t ski as much these days, but with my two children just at skiing age, it may be time to show them dad’s sweet skiing moves.