The global health crises may have put the world on halt but not the growth of Web3. Sheila Lirio Marcelo, one of the purveyors of digital technology, embarks on a journey to the uncharted world of the metaverse
The last couple of years have opened the eyes of many to the alternate world of the metaverse. It has gone from an arena known only to tech innovators and gamers to becoming very much part of the vernacular, a world accessible to us all. But, questions remain. What else is out there? What else will be possible? And why should those of us outside of the gaming, developing, and trading industries care?
Filipino American techpreneur Sheila Lirio Marcelo, co-founder and CEO of Proof of Learn, is keen to dig deeper into Web3 and provide some of those answers. After watching a documentary featuring Lola Vergie, a grandmother in her sixties from Cabanatuan who regularly plays the play-to-earn NFT game Axie Infinity, Marcelo realised that being in her fifties was not a barrier to exploring Web3. “I thought if we can improve the experience, maybe more people can take advantage of this,” says Marcelo. “Plus, my line of expertise is the mass consumer market, and I am very passionate about women being in this male-dominated industry. I like pioneering in these ventures primarily because I could help other women get into things.”
Marcelo was born to a landed family, but her own path has been less traditional. Marcelo graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts with a degree in economics and earned MBA and JD degrees with honours from Harvard University. Her opportunities to make a name for herself were born of hurdles in her personal life: she gave birth to her first child, Ryan, during her undergraduate degree while at the same time struggling to find care for her father, who had suffered a heart attack. Her second child, Adam, was born while she was finishing her postgraduate studies and teaching on the side. These difficulties prompted her in 2007 to establish Care.com, the leading online marketplace connecting babysitters, nannies, caregivers, and dog walkers with families seeking these services.
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During her 14 years at the helm of the platform, Marcelo was listed as one of the top 40 entrepreneurs by the Boston Business Journal (2009) and one of the ten most influential women entrepreneurs by Fortune Magazine (2009). She also received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2010 and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011, among many other accolades. She is the second Filipino alum of Harvard Business School to receive its alumni award in 2014 for her work as founder, chairwoman, and CEO of Care.com; and later that year, she was given one of the highest honours for Filipinos: the Pamana ng Pilipino, the Filipino Heritage Award, by the late President Benigno Aquino III.
In 2020, Marcelo decided to slow down. She sold her company, made travel plans, and prepared to spend more time with her husband Ron and their two sons, Ryan and Adam.
But fate had other plans: she stumbled across the Lola Vergie programme and realised her next life phase involved learning more about Web3 and in turn, helping others better understand.
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