Tim Lea, CEO, Walking Between Worlds

Following a 20 year career in Corporate Finance, I went down the professional rabbit hole of the blockchain back in 2015. Because the technology was so complex and needed clarity, I finished writing a book on the blockchain in plain English, which resulted in me being asked to speak at numerous international conferences, and I have never looked back.

Having supported both entrepreneurial projects and enterprise projects in the blockchain space. My natural path has taken me toward the current project where we can support and empower Indigenous artists globally.

What is your favourite social media platform, and why?

Twitter. We are deeply immersed in the NFT space. While the space is exploding, it is new, but its roots are in the cryptocurrency markets.

“If you can define your own why (both individually and corporately), you can share that vision with others to drive a common cause and goal that motivates everyone to go in the same direction.”

Tim Lea

Tim Lea, LinkedIn, Twitter, WBW Twitter and Website

The early adopters in the NFT space, and the early buyers, are those that truly understand the technology. This is where most of our buyers lie for our project, which will ultimately determine the project's success.

Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.

As CEO of Walking Between Worlds, my role is to ensure our entire team and community are all heading in the same direction based on our mission of empowering Indigenous artists globally to capitalise on NFTs.

This means as a team and as a community, we have to get the best outcomes by bringing the oldest living culture on the planet to the latest bleeding-edge technology whilst maintaining cultural integrity.

At times this task feels like juggling a live chainsaw, a bowling ball and an apple - all whilst standing on a lump of jelly! But would I be anywhere else, heck no, the underlying mission is too important to shy away from.

What do you like about your career or area of focus?

The ability to make a real difference, especially to disenfranchised communities, by bringing together a very high-quality team with best-in-class skills driven to create a foundation of equality of opportunity in a market that is exploding. Ultimately it gives us all the opportunity to do well by doing good.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

Don't worry about something you can't control.

What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?

Doing well by doing good and bringing out the best in people.

What are you proud of in your life so far?

Besides Walking Between Worlds, it was writing, directing and co-exec producing an award-winning independent feature film that coordinated 112 people in total, all on the smell of an oily rag!

What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?

Usually networking in person - but with the pandemic now through Twitter Spaces - people can hear and get a sense of a person from their interaction with others. So, you can follow others, and others can easily follow you.

What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?

The core is empathy - seeing and feeling what motivates and challenges others.

What do you wish you had known when you started out?

When I started out in business, I wished I had appreciated how important it is to reach out to others to ask how you can help them irrespective of what you can "get out of them."

Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?

Simon Sinek - the power of why - your own why and the why's of others. Digging deeper into Sinek's ideas has re-shaped how I have seen business. Businesses are made up of people all with their own why's.

If you can define your own why (both individually and corporately), you can share that vision with others to drive a common cause and goal that motivates everyone to go in the same direction.

Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?

I enjoy playing chess - mainly in the park here in Sydney - where I meet people and play chess in the open air with people from all sorts of backgrounds - including homeless people. As a result, I have healthy discussions about life in general rather than the usual conversations that plague most developed nations - those that define your social status.

Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?

Both - businesses wise, it created some challenges in terms of major corporates failing to commit to contracts but positively as people are now embracing coming together across the globe using digital technology.

Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?

I am regularly mentoring others in the community - more recently in twitter spaces where I can provide the benefit of my own experience in the blockchain space to those that are new to the NFT space.

Regarding my personal mentoring, I am on a journey of personal discovery relating to the Indigenous culture here in Australia, which has survived for 50,000 years. Vanessa, our founding Indigenous chair for our Walking Between Worlds project, has opened my eyes to the power & beauty of Indigenous culture and how much it can teach us all.

What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?

Do your research - the NFT space is amazing, but before you buy or sell a piece, do at least 30-50 hours of research - the space is very powerful but is full of dangerous pitfalls.

What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?

Business is tough, and the emotional roller coaster is immense, and this is something people do not appreciate. It's very easy to see "the glitz and glamour" of tech startups without wanting to spend the time and effort to make things happen. When the going gets tough, the tough get going - but too many just don't want to see things through.

Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?

Ask for forgiveness, not permission! Unless you are in finance or fintech, of course where regulation can bite you in inappropriate places.

What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?

Apple and Dyson.

How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?

Success is always a journey, not a destination. Financially business has cold objectives where financial success is just a marker for the game. Establish goals, but not just financial, whether spending more time with family/friends or learning a new hobby away from your work life to ensure you have a balanced life - it's much easier to say than to do, of course, but it is worth it.