Elaine Ramirez
Chief of Staff, Growth, Communications & Business Operations Consultant at SODAX
Leading growth and business operations at SODAX while optimizing AI workflows and growth operations at Iron Key Capital.
Intro
I'm Elaine Ramirez, currently serving as Chief of Staff and Growth Consultant at SODAX, with a foot in the venture world at Iron Key Capital. My career arc is a bit of a bridge: I spent years as a journalist for Forbes and Bloomberg in South Korea before moving into the 'engine room' of media and tech, leading audience development at CoinDesk and operationalizing growth for major portfolios. I’m passionate about the 'glue' that holds companies together—the systems, trust, and frameworks that turn a vision into reality. Whether it's navigating the 'boring but important' infrastructure of Web3 or leveraging AI to make workflows actually work, I focus on building sustainable growth. I love connecting with founders and teams who need to bridge the gap between high-level strategy and daily execution, especially in the decentralized media and fintech spaces.
Networking
What I can offer
- ›Operational transformation and roadmap alignment
- ›Bridging the gap between editorial and commercial goals
- ›Fractional operations and GTM strategy for small tech/media teams
What I'm looking for
- ›Founders and small teams in media/tech
- ›Web3 professionals seeking strategic operations support
- ›expanding my professional network
- ›exploring mutual opportunities in Web3, Fintech, and Media
Best fit for
Focus
Current interests
Core competencies
Background
Career
Transitioned from a decade in international journalism and media leadership (Forbes, Bloomberg, CoinDesk) into strategic operations, venture capital, and Chief of Staff roles within the Web3 and Fintech ecosystems.
Education
Executive MBA with Honors from Quantic School of Business and Technology (2025); MS in Journalism from Northwestern University Medill School (2019); BA in Journalism from New York University (2008).
Achievements
- ›Co-led DESK token launch reaching 300K+ users and 42M+ claims
- ›Scaled CoinDesk audience operations to 3M+ monthly social engagements
- ›Operationalized monetization for 40M+ pageview media portfolio at Find.co
- ›Deployed $1M+ annually as part of the Iron Key venture ecosystem
Opinions
- Growth stalls not from lack of talent, but from a lack of systems and trust.
- Soft skills are 'hard skills'—emotional intelligence is critical for change management.
- Crypto is a functional tool for financial survival in emerging markets, not just speculation.
- Journalism needs new funding models like on-chain assets to protect the 'protectors of knowledge'.
Personality
Communication style
Professional, empathetic, and highly articulate; balances high-level strategy with human-centric storytelling.
Formality — 7/10
Vocabulary