Authority Magazine conversation with He Yi: Discussing Binance and the development of professional women from the perspective of female founders

Interview, written by: Authority Magazine

Compiled by: Frank, Foresight News

Authority Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about your "background story"? What led you to this unique career path?

He Yi: Seeing the opportunity to provide more financial access and freedom to others through cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, I co-founded Binance with others in 2017. Currently, I serve as the co-founder and head of Binance Labs (Binance's incubator and venture capital division), leading business, investment, marketing, and brand strategy.

Over the past six years, I have worked in many different fields and held multiple roles, leading business departments that span marketing, customer service, mergers and acquisitions, and investments. Now, as the company continues to mature, I can bring all my experience and expertise into a more "mentoring" role. Throughout this process, my ultimate goal has remained consistent: to ensure and maintain the long-term success of the company for the benefit of our users.

Without users, we would not exist; users are at the core of everything we do.

Before co-founding Binance, I served as the Vice President of Yixia Technology, a mobile video technology company that developed popular mobile applications like Miaopai, Xiaokaxiu, and Yizhibo. I was responsible for leading brand strategy and marketing operations and was a crucial part of the company's financing strategy that pushed its valuation over $3 billion.

From 2014 to 2015, I was also a co-founder of another cryptocurrency exchange (Foresight News notes that He Yi was a co-founder of OKCoin). Before entering the blockchain space, I was a news anchor at a television station, and earlier, I worked as a teacher and assistant psychotherapist.

I come from humble beginnings, growing up in a small province in China where economic opportunities were scarce, and higher education was even rarer. Most people in my hometown dropped out of school to work in factories before the age of 16. I questioned the nature of money at that time, read many books, but found no answers. It wasn't until 2013 that I first encountered Bitcoin and saw a path that could genuinely address global economic barriers.

This ultimately led me to decide to become a co-founder of Binance in 2017, with the ambition to change the future of finance. As a co-founder of Binance, I led the business strategy, helping Binance become the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange within six months of its launch and transforming Binance from an early-stage platform limited to cryptocurrency trading into a global blockchain ecosystem, establishing a user-centric unique model.

Throughout my career in the crypto industry, I have been passionate about increasing transparency and accountability, and through all my efforts as a leader in this field, I aim to enhance the economic freedom of the industry. Based on my own growth background, I have developed a fervent belief in creating better wealth distribution and increasing monetary freedom through cryptocurrency/blockchain as a fundamental means.

The belief I have always adhered to is to do valuable things.

Authority Magazine: Can you share the most interesting story that has happened to you since you started leading Binance?

He Yi: In September 2017, during my first month at Binance, China implemented a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges. At that time, the founding team of Binance, including myself, was stationed in Shanghai from July to September 2017 during the company's early development phase.

This policy change forced us to exit the Chinese market and shift to the global market, which also meant I had to leave my cultural and linguistic comfort zone and learn English, as well as different cultures and business practices around the world. Despite the industry's setbacks, we decided to persevere and fully commit to cryptocurrency. Even when faced with significant challenges, my belief in the immense potential of cryptocurrency remained unwavering.

Authority Magazine: Can you share the most interesting mistake you made when you first started your business? What lessons did you learn from it?

He Yi: This is not a mistake but a practice that can sometimes be controversial. We were one of the first companies in the industry to help users recover lost or incorrectly sent cryptocurrencies to wrong addresses/blockchain networks. We put in more effort for users than other companies at the time, yet some industry insiders felt we were intervening too much.

As most cryptocurrency traders and industry insiders know, recovering funds sent to the wrong address and retrieving funds from scams or rug pulls is very difficult. Many rug pulls are associated with DeFi projects and are traded on DEXs, where governance decisions are coordinated by the community and require approval from their network validators.

Binance is a centralized exchange and cannot control funds in a decentralized ecosystem, but we support the community as much as possible by blacklisting the attackers' addresses (which requires approval from network validators) and assisting law enforcement in investigating and identifying wrongdoers. For this, we have invested significant time and resources in our internal security and investigation teams. User safety is our top priority; we are committed to protecting them and the ecosystem.

Most of the time, we receive thanks and positive feedback from users. However, in some cases, users expect quick resolutions and may blame us for not providing timely or sufficient help. Looking back, these are all interesting reflections and learning opportunities that tell us that doing the right thing can sometimes backfire. But we always learn from all criticisms, persist in doing the right thing, even if it means additional challenges, and always uphold our user-centric core values.

Authority Magazine: No one achieves success without help along the way. Is there someone you are particularly grateful to for helping you achieve what you have today? Can you share a story about that?

He Yi: CZ, the founder and CEO of Binance.

Binance has grown rapidly and has become a leading cryptocurrency platform in a short time. During this rapid development, I sometimes pushed too aggressively, and CZ would give me direct and constructive feedback. He helped me stay grounded and always ensured that my team and I were doing the right things, which helped me grow and reflect quickly and gradually become more mature.

Authority Magazine: According to a report by EY, currently, only about 20% of funded companies have female founders, which reflects significant historical progress but also indicates that more work needs to be done to empower women to start companies. In your view and experience, what are the main factors currently hindering women from founding companies?

He Yi: In many industries, you will find a small proportion of women in leadership positions. The root cause is that societal expectations limit women's personal and professional development; people are often influenced by their environment and shaped by social norms and values.

Many women do not speak up or pursue leadership positions because their families, schools, or friends do not encourage them to do so. I suggest that women should take a more proactive approach and seize opportunities. If they don't try, they will never know what they can achieve. In the tech industry or other emerging fields, women can be bolder and take more risks. Through education and opportunities, women should continuously challenge themselves and know that they can become successful leaders. I encourage women to bravely embrace challenges.

There are indeed obstacles that hinder women's progress, and overcoming these obstacles requires tremendous effort. The good news is that we are seeing more and more female leaders playing significant roles in the crypto industry.

As for Binance, we have an internal culture and various efforts to support female leadership and employees, including external tech women programs (education and scholarships) to encourage more women to embrace and participate in the cryptocurrency and innovation industries.

Authority Magazine: Can you help clarify some things that individuals, society, or governments can do to help overcome these barriers?

He Yi: For individuals:

1. You should cultivate your personal abilities and skills and maintain lifelong learning; this is how you compete and succeed.
2. Be confident and opinionated in character, and have a strong mindset. Even under the pressures of life, work, and being a woman in society, keep moving forward and trying. Do not be ashamed of your ambitions; be true to yourself, and do not let others belittle your abilities, especially yourself, as your own thoughts can become a battlefield.
3. Do not overly focus on your identity as a woman; concentrate on your output and completing tasks.

For society, we need to encourage gender diversity in the workplace by promoting equal access to educational resources, such as creating inclusive learning environments, providing mentorship and networking opportunities for women, and challenging gender stereotypes in everyday work. Emerging innovative industries like the crypto industry often provide more opportunities, and I encourage more women to join boldly.

At Binance, we recognize the value of bridging the gender gap and have been actively working to narrow it. Currently, over 35% of our senior leadership is female, including executives and managers. Our organization provides a very supportive environment for the success of female executives and employees, including promotion opportunities after maternity leave, as long as they have strong capabilities and outputs and can successfully lead a team. Many women at Binance have experienced this and have been promoted.

Authority Magazine: As a female founder, can you share a few reasons why there should be more women founders?

He Yi: True equality can only be achieved when there are enough female founders in the world that discussions like "why should more women become founders" no longer exist. From an ideological perspective, breaking the glass ceiling for women means real equal opportunities.

There is no actual difference in skills and abilities between women and men. Regardless of gender, everyone has unique talents. Women should not be constrained by society, environment, and history; their talents should be encouraged rather than suppressed. More female founders can inspire more women to bravely pursue their dreams. In this process, we will see a more diverse and vibrant entrepreneurial environment, emerging with more innovative ideas that drive global progress.

Moreover, women make up half of the world's population, and having diverse teams and leadership allows us to have a comprehensive perspective rather than being limited to a single demographic group. The world is more globalized than ever, and diverse perspectives are crucial for success.

Authority Magazine: What "myths" about entrepreneurs would you like to dispel? Can you explain what you mean?

He Yi: A positive "myth": Seeing the success and achievements of founders, while the reality behind the scenes is that we work hard every day, tirelessly, to continue developing our strengths and achieve "rapid" growth.

A taboo "myth": Successful women or founders leverage their appearance to gain more opportunities, or that this is the result of their achievements, which is a form of discrimination. Personally, I do not care about people's criticisms, whether they are myths or misunderstandings; I do not live for others and have a clear understanding of who I am. Successful founders and leaders constantly break the myths, misunderstandings, and stereotypes they face every day.

Authority Magazine: Is everyone suited to be a founder? In your view, what specific traits increase the likelihood of someone becoming a successful founder, and what kind of person might be better suited to seek "regular jobs" as employees?

He Yi: Founder traits ------ Successful founders are lifelong learners. They are ambitious, have principles, and are highly execution-oriented. They understand that their background does not matter; what matters is their skills and abilities to make effective decisions, especially in uncertain situations. When faced with the unknown, they know that persistence is more important than giving up. Entrepreneurship is filled with uncertainty and requires making the right decisions under challenging conditions with limited information. They understand the importance of principles and the significance of rapid iteration and execution.

Job types: Most young professionals start their careers with "regular jobs." They should begin their careers by working hard to gain a comprehensive understanding of the world. This will enable them to gain experience in different fields and better understand themselves and the nature of work. In this way, they will learn how to handle pressure and develop qualities such as foresight and strong execution.

Binance has a culture of encouraging internal entrepreneurship, allowing people to challenge themselves and start their own projects in a relatively low-pressure environment. We are willing to hire employees with entrepreneurial experience because they are more likely to understand themselves and their capabilities better.

Authority Magazine: What are your "5 things I wish someone had told me before I started my business"? Why (please share a story or example for each)?

He Yi: There is only one. Do not dwell on regrets; accept negative or positive outcomes with grace, as this is part of life and will provide valuable experiences regardless.

I prefer to align with stakeholders, maintain transparency, and accept all potential outcomes after making decisions. While some may seek more knowledge or advice before starting a project, I believe that failure and difficulties are essential for personal growth; we cannot fully understand them unless we experience them ourselves.

Authority Magazine: How do you leverage your success to make the world a better place?

He Yi: When I co-founded Binance, we helped reshape the crypto industry to be more user-centric. For example, we significantly reduced trading fees to benefit more users, and we were among the first to build a leading customer service system during the early stages of the industry's development to help users resolve issues in a timely manner. Essentially, the focus of the crypto industry is to improve efficiency today, which aligns with our mission to promote monetary freedom and our unique user-centric culture.

Additionally, I helped create Binance Labs, our venture capital and incubation division, to give back to the industry by supporting and investing in strong projects and startups with long-term growth potential, thereby expanding adoption. We invest in cryptocurrency and Web3 projects, managing over $9 billion in total assets, covering over 250 portfolios from 25 countries across 6 continents, and have incubated 50 projects.

We help many young entrepreneurs and startups build and grow their businesses, which is the driving force behind Binance Labs and Binance.

During my time in Binance's leadership, I have also committed to and worked hard to give back to the community, including leading the creation of our charitable division, Binance Charity Foundation. Binance Charity Foundation is the first blockchain-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting transparent philanthropy. To date, we have donated over $30 million through a series of global sustainable development efforts, including charitable work and donations, to help alleviate poverty and economic inequality and increase education and opportunities for women.

We have initiated several charitable campaigns, such as the "Children's Lunch Program," "Web3 Scholarship," and the "Pink Care Project" (a social impact initiative aimed at addressing period poverty), among others.

Authority Magazine: You are a highly influential person. If you could initiate a movement that would bring the greatest benefit to most people, what would it be?

He Yi: Many years ago, someone asked me what kind of person I wanted to be. I said I wanted to be someone who could change the world.

So far, I have made some small efforts aimed at bringing positive change to the world, but it is not enough, and I will continue to do more along this path.

Cryptocurrency makes money more efficient, and I want to help more people (including regulators and key stakeholders) see the true value behind it and how it can help improve the lives of society as a whole.

The mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency will bring tremendous benefits to most people and is an effective way to drive financial inclusion and improve lives for greater well-being. I believe that within 10 years, cryptocurrency will become a standard part of daily life, just like mobile phones or electronic payments; it will transmit value in the global value chain just as the internet transmits information. We and the entire industry are just getting started, and we hope to further promote monetary freedom and fairness through cryptocurrency, thereby improving the lives of more people.

Authority Magazine: Is there someone you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?

He Yi: Overall, I would love to have dinner with successful people from various fields and learn from them, especially industry pioneers. For example, Elon Musk, who embodies first principles and constantly pushes boundaries; Jeff Bezos, who emphasizes long-term thinking; Sheryl Sandberg, who has empowered many women in the workplace.

Additionally, I admire Lady Gaga and Angelina Jolie, who remain true to themselves, ambitious, and independent despite facing criticism.