[100 Emerging Women Leaders] Nume Crypto founders Madhumitha and Niveda Harishankar on starting up

“Neither of us was in this space before. I was working as a software engineer for a few years after my undergrad, and Niveda was working for design and product at Amazon,” says Madhumita Harishankar, CO-founder Nume Crypto. 

Adding further she says, “But during my PhD research, I was introduced to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. I realised that there’s so much scope here for financial inclusivity. The tech overcomes many geographic and government regulations, and reduces shortcomings across the world in different regions.” 

This inspired them to start their crypto venture. Niveda left Amazon and returned to India, and teamed up with Madhumitha, who came up with the idea to start Nume Crypto based on the research for her PhD.

“When Madhumita and I were young, we used to talk about whether we would ever want to do a startup, but we were determined that it should come from an idea rather than a startup just for the sake of doing a startup,” Niveda adds. 

At the crux of Nume Crypto’s offering is the aim to make cryptocurrency transactions more economical. The platform is building an application to bring crypto to the masses. The protocol is centered around reducing the processing costs.

One of the challenges the crypto industry faces is the growing number of people working in it. The space is rapidly growing as more consumers are taking an interest in understanding cryptocurrencies, leading to a rise in demand. “Just keeping up with the projects and tech in crypto, and the latest protocols to reduce the costs is really challenging,” Madhumitha reveals.

With the kind of advisors and investor interest we’ve had, I’ve honestly not felt like a ‘woman leader’. I’ve felt like a leader. Everyone’s really open to having conversations about the startup,” Niveda addresses, “And in India, the crypto space is at its infancy level, and that way everyone’s really interested in what we’re doing.”

“I’ve spent several years in tech, and in some situations in large companies, it is quite common to encounter unconscious bias,” Madhumitha states. “But what I’m finding now as one of the co-founders at Nume Crypto is that there has never been any instance of bias,” she further states. 

For women entrepreneurs and those looking at STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields as an opportunity, Niveda feels that taking small steps out of their comfort zone is important. Madhumitha finds that developing thicker skin over time and finding people who encourage women in their work is key. 

One of the challenges is the number of people working in the crypto industry. The space is rapidly growing as more consumers are taking an interest in understanding it, so the demand has risen. “Just keeping up with the projects and tech in crypto, and the latest protocols to reduce the costs is really challenging,” Madhumita reveals.

“The kind of advisors and investor interest we’ve had, I’ve honestly not felt like a ‘woman’ leader. I’ve felt like a leader. Everyone’s really open to having conversations about the startup,” Niveda addresses, adding, “In India, the crypto space is at its infancy level, and that way everyone’s really interested in what we’re doing.”