Fellows stories: Dr Cristina Llamas-Rey

I had a brilliant time, starting, building and managing my business. It was very, very enjoyable. There were hard times, like anything in life. There were also good times, and all in all I was very happy. Equally, when I sold, I did think about it carefully. I thought about it for two years, until I felt it was the right time for me. I wanted to move on to something else – I didn’t know what it was at the time! – but I knew I wanted to move on. Having a business is quite intense. It was an intense 10 years. I knew I wanted to have some time off…

This was around the time of the COVID outbreak. So, we were locked down for pretty much the first year after I sold. I was forced to have time off and that was really what I needed before moving on to anything else.

I wasn’t ready to retire when I sold the business. I was only 49 and by the time I completely exited, I was only 50. So, my thinking initially was: what do I do now?

The obvious thing to do for someone who sold a business and who has been leading the A-Team, and wants to continue working, is to think about mentoring and coaching other entrepreneurs. I trained as an executive coach nearly 20 years ago, so initially that was one of my obvious options.

However, as time went by, there was also another side of me which was thinking: what about something completely new, completely different?  Bitcoin and cryptocurrency were a new area to me. I was very interested in it, and I had made some small investments, but I was very new to the market. I quickly became fascinated and started immersing myself, meeting new people, and really getting into the community.

How did I educate myself? It’s just immersing yourself, you know, there are conferences so you can immerse yourself in the community. You can go to a conference, but it’s a very DIY kind of education, just because it’s so new.

I suppose it’s like the internet was back in 1999. If you wanted to learn about the internet, you simply had to use it. There wasn’t a course or formal qualification – it became about experience!

Today, I describe myself as a Bitcoin advocate, someone who knows the tool, who understands the tool, knows how to use it, and thinks it’s a better tool than other ones out there.

At the moment, I have two focuses. I advise and consult on how to invest in Bitcoin – digital gold, as it is sometimes called – for companies or corporations. Currently, I’m focused on small-to-medium sized companies. That’s the day job.

But I am also the co-founder of a non-profit association called Women of Bitcoin, www.womenofbitcoin.org. Our mission statement is that we want to create a future where women are financially literate and independent.  So, what we do here is provide education and a community and, at heart, really a bit of fun for women getting together and learning about crypto. The Bitcoin industry is very male dominated – maybe 90% of the community are men in my experience – so women are well behind when it comes to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. We’re addressing that. Our events and meetups are suitable for any level of knowledge, and we aim to create an inclusive environment where every person is welcome and can benefit from the opportunities Bitcoin offers.

We’re building a global online, multi-lingual ecosystem, with communities in the UK, across mainland Europe, North America and Latin America.

In a way, this community is similar to what you’re trying to do with the Diamonds network for women business leaders, and your Fellows network for former clients. It’s really getting together, learning something that is useful. Meeting people who are interesting, who can be of help, or that you can help, and having a little bit of fun. I think that’s important too, having a little break from the intensity of everyday business!

I’m passionate about making complex things accessible. On my new website, which is currently in development, I’m going to have a little section – a five-minute read – all about what Bitcoin is and what it does, in simple terms. I think we are all coming to the conclusion that people don’t want technicalities. They don’t want to know how an iPhone actually works. They just want to know how to use it!

When it comes to the sale of my business, I have no regrets. Not once did I think, oh, I should have done that differently. The business has continued to do well, and I am very happy that someone else has continued to build the business and its brand.

Selling the business did take time. But that’s what was required to do a good job. We really had great preparation, with yourselves. Great advice. Amazing support. We went through everything so methodically and strategically.  It was really 10 out of 10.  You know it was hard really to fault it.

I’ve said this before… you weren’t the cheapest! There were more affordable competitors, let’s put it that way. But we thought despite that, it was worth every penny because we could see that you know exactly how to do that sort of job.  There’s value in good advice, and you were great value, for sure.