Welcome Jess Houlgrave, New WalletConnect COO
Over the last eight years, I’ve watched as progress in the adoption of blockchain technology has been hamstrung by lackluster user experiences. Whether it’s crypto payments or logging in to view your NFT collection, it’s incredibly hard for developers to build the types of experience that today’s web2 users have come to expect, while also delivering on the autonomy, privacy, and security that are critical to web3.
That’s why I’m so excited to be joining the WalletConnect team as COO, leading Go-to-Market, Strategy, Operations, and People. WalletConnect has been a core driver of web3 adoption to date. We are honored to be trusted by many of the industry’s leading wallets and applications to enable users (including myself!) to connect to apps as they please and with peace of mind. These rails of interoperability help connect us all in the space, laying the groundwork so that the ecosystem as a whole can flourish.
Following the launch of WalletConnect v2.0, we are now doubling down on our focus to create the leading suite of toolkits that developers need to push the envelope of web3 experiences. I’m particularly excited about wallet-based app notifications, which will be critical to creating more seamless interactions between apps and users. Together with next-generation user authentication and security features, we are intent on tackling these crucial pieces of the web3 UX puzzle, which will help us advance in our collective goal: mainstream adoption.
In my previous role as the first Crypto GTM & Strategy Lead at Checkout.com, I worked closely with both web3-native and web3-curious companies to bridge the worlds of fiat and crypto to open up more optionality and better experiences for end customers. These companies defied categorization, spanning marketplaces, luxury, fintech, and more. It demonstrated to me how wide the potential applications of blockchain are. Despite the current crypto market, there is endless opportunity for innovation and I am excited that, in my new role, I’ll continue to work widely across the industry on innovating for end users.
I look forward to collaborating with our valued integration partners to explore how WalletConnect can help you unlock growth and bring your game-changing use cases to life.
To keep up with our announcements, join our Discord and follow us on Twitter. If you are a wallet or an app that is interested in integrating our SDKs, head over to our website and explore our documentation.