We had the opportunity to interview Janelle Chalouhi and Natalie Dumond co-founders of Venusverse, whose aim is “Empowering female NFT artists with the Venusverse platform”.

Janelle Chalouhi & Natalie Dumond

Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and Venusverse?

A. We are two passionate women who started to learn more about Web 3, cryptocurrencies and NFT’s who saw the possibilities within this new ecosystem and wanted to share what we were learning with other women. So we created Venusverse.

Venusverse is the first Canadian female-founded, female-focused educational program, incubator and NFT collection. Our goal is to close the gender gap by removing the barriers to entry for women in NFTs, cryptocurrency and Web3. Venusverse was launched in January 2022.

Our mission is to build a community where women are empowered with the knowledge to advance successfully in the next-generation wealth economy.

Q. How did the idea for Venusverse come about?

A. We both were exploring and learning independently about cryptocurrency, NFTs and Web3 and through divine timing we had set up a time to reconnect over a digital coffee, as we had not seen each other since before the pandemic started.

On the call we discovered our newfound interest and it was great to meet another woman who was interested in this space. Weeks later, we found ourselves on a call again, and we began discussing how we can help encourage other women to enter into this space with more understanding and confidence, and before we knew it Venusverse was born.

Q. Who is the Venusverse platform for?

A. Venusverse is for women who are interested in learning, creating and investing in Web3. They have heard about this new digital ecosystem and they are curious about how they can get involved.

Q. What are some of the unique opportunities that Venusverse provides to artists?

A. Venusverse is set up to help artists navigate the world of web 3 and NFTs and help take out the guess work of how to share their work with the digital world. Through our online training program and resources, we will be helping artists and creators add their unique gifts to web 3.

Q. What kind of traction have you had since you first launched?

A. It’s been really inspiring. Lots of women have signed up for the training program since we’ve launched and the spots keep filling up fast, with new training dates launching soon. We’ve also had a lot of partnerships starting to form as more corporations are starting to see the opportunities within this new space.

Q. Aside from being aimed at female artists, are there any technological or other unique features that differentiate Venusverse from other platforms in the space?

A. We are helping not just artists enter this space, but any women who are curious about Web 3, cryptocurrencies and NFTs and are just entering the space. The possibilities are endless and we are just at the beginning of discovering opportunities.

What makes us unique is our ability to train others quickly and get them up to speed with needed tools for the new digital age so they can create, invest and build. We are also focused on educating our community so they are up to date with all the latest in web 3.

Q. Did you hit any roadblocks that almost caused you to throw in the towel?

A. Not yet. However, we are just at the start of this chapter.  This is fairly new territory for Canada and although we believe Canada can lead in this space, we still have some work to do together in order to get us there.

Q. Are you looking for additional funding? If so, what are you looking for in a potential investor, and how can interested readers get in touch/learn more? 

A. We are always looking for ways to remove the barriers to entry for women, so if organizations are interested in having us deliver intact sessions to their female team members, we can certainly have that discussion.  The other option is for organizations to potentially pay for Learning and Development opportunities for their team to take our sessions.  Our mission is to help close the 90% gap of women in the Crypto/NFT and Web3 space but we can’t do it alone, we will need the help to do so. 

We also have our Venusverse NFT Genesis collection which we will be launching soon. There will be utility behind the NFTs where  holders will have access to a community of thought leaderships, Ask Me Anything Sessions, Fireside Chats and much more, so stay tuned for our drop date.

Q. Is there any advice you'd give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

A. Just start. If you have something to share with others, help others do it. Jump and figure out how to build your wings on the way down. You will figure it out as you go. And when you meet a challenge or have a ‘failure’ find the lesson and keep moving forward.

Q. Is there anything else you want to share about Venusverse with our audience?

A. Check out our website to learn more about the mission, the team behind Venusverse, our upcoming training dates and our amazing Venusverse NFT Genesis collection that grants you access to our community!