At RootstockCollective, our team is what drives the mission forward. In this edition of Team Spotlight, we sat down with Tamara Lerner, our Director of Ops, Admin and Finance based in The Hague, Netherlands, to talk about her role, her path into web3, and what keeps her inspired along the way.
What does a typical day look like for you at RootstockCollective?
My days are a mix of keeping financial processes running smoothly through admin conversations with the team, building out internal data infrastructure, treasury liquidity checks, conversations with new and existing builders, and, of course, exchanges with the DAO’s delegates. I try to batch the reactive stuff in the morning and protect some afternoon time for deeper thinking.
What do you appreciate most about RootstockCollective’s culture?
We’re nine people, fully remote, spread across time zones, and yet the surface area we own is remarkable! Everyone operates with a high degree of autonomy and trust, and the async culture genuinely works – not in a “we’re trying to make remote work” way, but in a way that’s become second nature. There’s very little hand-holding and very little ego, which makes collaboration feel clean even across distance. I think that’s rare, and I don’t take it for granted.
How did your journey in web3 begin?
I think it was 10 years ago when I was studying Chinese with some high school friends. A fellow colleague asked me: “Have you heard about this Bitcoin thing?” Back in the day, I was doing a small study in the stock exchange, and he felt comfortable talking about this with me, but I had no idea what that was. He mentioned to me that he was going to buy one for a couple hundred dollars – mind you, it was around 400 USD back in the day – and, of course, I replied that it was a scam. Little did I know!
What aspect of web3 do you think is most underrated or misunderstood?
That it can actually change people’s lives – it changed mine. Everyone assumes it’s all speculation, and yes, that exists, but there are real tools here that give people access to things they never had before. Think about Argentina: chronic inflation, a banking system that’s failed people over and over. Web3 isn’t abstract there; it’s practical. And what I find genuinely exciting is that anyone can build on it. No permission needed, no gatekeepers. That openness is kind of radical if you stop and think about it.
What resources or habits keep you sharp and inspired in your role?
Staying focused is probably the habit I invest in most – in a role like mine, it’s easy to get pulled in a lot of directions. I exercise and go for long walks for mental clarity either in the morning or right after work. I read a lot around leadership and psychology; Harvard Business Review is a regular for me, and anything that sits at that intersection of how people think and how organisations work. I’m not really a podcast person, and I’ve learned to stay off X – too much noise for too little signal. YouTube is where I actually find good long-form stuff; Diary of a CEO in particular, because the conversations feel genuine rather than performative.
What do you see as the biggest opportunity ahead for RootstockCollective or the web3 ecosystem?
A lot of people in web3 are tired of governance, and honestly, I understand why. In many DAOs, governance has become too noisy, too technical, or too performative. The future is not more votes for the sake of votes. It is better ways to identify what actually matters: serious builders, real outcomes, long-term alignment, and communities that can make better decisions without getting lost in bureaucracy.
Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing?
Usually oil painting, walking my dog through the forest with my partner, or spending time with friends over a good bottle of wine, dining and jazz.