My Everything Bio

tip

Welcome! This site is still a work in progress as I'm currently editing. Thanks for being one of the first to visit.

Hi, I'm Sophia.

Over the years, I've tried several mediums to capture 'who I am.' From a design portfolio, to a blog, to open source project repositories, etc. etc. but in each of them, I was writing for a different audience and hiding an aspect of myself. So that's why I'm creating an everything site -- one that encapsulates my goals, my history, projects, writings, learnings, and just everything about me that I want to share with the world.

My North Star

A world where everyone can follow their IKIGAI.

IKIGAI - a Japanese concept that's the center of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what makes money.

I believe every person on this planet has a unique purpose.

I believe if every person on this planet followed their unique purpose, the world would be a better place.

I believe technological progress opens opportunities for this to be a reality.

Who Am I?

I'm a builder.

I love tinkering with cutting edge tech and building things. I'm mostly fascinated with the intersection of blockchain technology and human flourishing. I believe that permissionless technologies (aka blockchains) are the key to unlocking a fairer, freer, and more open digital world. A world where everything we interact with online isn't created by a handful of tech companies, but rather created by us all.

I'm a product designer.

The core of every good product is solving a problem for a real human. In college, I studied computer science, to teach me the tools to build things, and product design, to teach me the framework for understanding why we're even building the thing in the first place.

I like to post sketchnotes of product ideas (mostly onchain product ideas) online. My goal is to showcase the possibilities of what building on an open internet enables, and to inspire at least one person to start tinkering with this technology.

I'm an entrepreneur.

A few of the things I founded:

• Flamingle, a professional video networking app aquired by StartupTree. Recognizing that most job opportunities come from the hidden job market (aka from your network instead of job postings) we set out to create a way for students to easily network with professionals via short form video chats.

• Friends & Family Founders, a non-profit to support students at Stanford to build. The idea is simple - encourage students to work on building something non-school related. In return, builders get access to microgrants, industry connections, demo days, and more.

• DewItLabs, a web3 product design consulting agency. I worked with several blockchain companies and DAOs to support onchain funding mechanisms. I prototyped novel ways of allocating capital in a more transparent, trustless, and democratic way.

I'm a developer advocate.

I support a global community of developers building on Celo. Celo is a blockchain focused on mobile, stablecoins, and users in growing markets. My role at Celo lets me work with builders around the world to make real world blockchain adoption a reality.

I'm a content creator.

I create sketchnotes that showcase how cutting edge tech can be used to solve humanities biggest problems. Typically, I share about onchain product ideas that I would love to see in the world. My hope is that this content can inspire people to shape the future of technology in a positive direction.

I'm a community gatherer.

Maybe its the fact that I grew up in a Mexican-Chinese household, but I was taught that bringing people together is the biggest gift a person can do. On a professional level, I like to organize meetups for builders in SF and NYC. One a personal level, I like to make my home a thirdspace for my close family and friends.

I'm a culture lover.

From living nomadically around the globe to visiting countless countries through crypto conferences, there's nothing I love more than traveling and being immerssed in new cultures. Culture teaches us about our collective humanity. It's the key to remembering why we're here.