Vera Natural — Ecosystem Strategy, Founder Support & Program Design for Web3, Impact, and the Founders Building What Comes Next · since 2013
Now accepting Q3 2026 engagements. 2 spots open. Book a fit call →
Ecosystem Strategy Studio · est. 2013

I design the programs, incubators, and ecosystems that grow with intention.

Consensys, Protocol Labs, DoinGud — and 100+ founders between. I've designed and led the incubators, communities, and systems that raised $11M+, built a 20K-member ecosystem from zero, and sold out a Deepak Chopra NFT drop in 3 days.
Melissa Ruiz-Vera portrait
On stage at EY Strategic Growth Forum
Speaking at EY 2015
Harvard DRCLAS Colombian Conference
Protocol Labs Founders Forge Demo Day Dubai
Protocol Labs Demo Day Dubai
Protocol Labs Dubai residency
Protocol Labs Buenos Aires fireside
Investor wine and cheese night Buenos Aires
Founders Forge cohort in the Dubai desert
Consensys Fellowship Demo Day
Consensys Fellowship
Consensys Fellowship Demo Day stage Brooklyn
Founder's Week mentorship session
Tachyon event at ETHDenver
DoinGud community
DoinGud IRL gathering
Comic-Con Special Edition first NFT panel
DevCon Osaka
BuidlBoston keynote
BEN youth hackathon Forbes feature
ETHDenver 2020
CryptoChicks × RBC
PepperHamilton Boston
Foundation for Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria relief
Coffee farms in Antioquia
Bitcoin Center New York
Melissa Ruiz-Vera · Ecosystem Strategy Studio
Clients & Collaborations
Consensys Protocol Labs Deepak Chopra DoinGud BEN Blockchain Education Network Rayo Capital Foundation for Puerto Rico Consensys Protocol Labs Deepak Chopra DoinGud BENBlockchain Education Network Rayo Capital Foundation for Puerto Rico
$11M+
Raised by portfolio
·
100+
Founders through programs
·
97%
Founder satisfaction
·
20+
Stages worldwide
·
20K+
Community built from zero
·
3days
To sell out Chopra NFT drop
·
$150K+
Grants deployed
·
84
Global university clubs
·
13yr
Operating since 2013
·
$11M+
Raised by portfolio
·
100+
Founders through programs
·
97%
Founder satisfaction
·
20+
Stages worldwide
·
20K+
Community built from zero
·
3days
To sell out Chopra NFT drop
·
$150K+
Grants deployed
·
84
Global university clubs
·
13yr
Operating since 2013
·

Thirteen years of doing this. Quietly.

I started Vera Natural in 2013 with one conviction: what's worth building grows naturally. What began as eco-skincare turned into ecosystem strategy — but the operating principle never changed.

Since then I've designed and led Web3 incubators at Consensys and Protocol Labs, served as founding team at DoinGud and Director of Ecosystem, spent six years on the leadership team at Blockchain Education Network, and led GTM strategy on Seva.Love's side of Deepak Chopra's TIMEPieces drop.

I've spoken at the UN, EY Strategic Growth Forum, Harvard, DevCon, and ETHDenver — and I'm now accepting select engagements for Q3 2026.

Selected work.

Protocol Labs Founders Forge Demo Day Dubai 2025 — audience Protocol Labs Founders Forge Demo Day Dubai with screens Protocol Labs Founders Forge Dubai coworking session Protocol Labs Founders Forge Dubai — Mel at Frontier poster Protocol Labs Founders Forge presentation in conference room Protocol Labs Founders Forge Buenos Aires residency fireside Protocol Labs Founders Forge evening gathering Protocol Labs Founders Forge pitch practice session Protocol Labs Founders Forge community call FEATURED · 2025 Buenos Aires · Dubai
Protocol Labs
Founders Forge Pre-Accelerator — inaugural cohort, designed end-to-end.
Curriculum, gauntlets, KPI tracking, 100+ office hours. Buenos Aires residency. Dubai Build Week. Firesides featuring Juan Benet and Kevin Owocki.
100+
Office hours
60+
Mentor sessions
90.9%
Rated support most helpful
Read full case study →
2023—24 NYC · Remote
Consensys
Fellowship Program — flagship Web3 incubator, designed and led.
Curriculum, selection, gamification, and a network of 80+ mentors, VCs, and industry leaders. Personally coached 15+ builders from ideation to launch.
$11M+
Raised by portfolio
91%
Successful launches
97%
Engagement
Read full case study →
2024 Remote · LATAM
Web3 Familia × Rayo Capital
Operations optimized — a 5× increase in deals.
Optimized operations for Web3 Familia and Rayo Capital: replaced inefficient systems with 7 integrated SOPs in Notion — CRM, partnerships, and task management — improving coordination and accelerating execution across grants and business operations, enabling a 5× increase in deals.
Increase in deals
7
Integrated SOPs
3
Ops systems unified
Read full case study →
TIMEPieces × Deepak Chopra — The Seven Collection banner Deepak Chopra — The Seven Collection promotional poster The Seven Collection artist reveal — Amber Vittoria The Seven Collection — Amber Vittoria artist bio spread FEATURED · 2023 nft.time.com
Seva.Love × TIMEPieces × Deepak Chopra
The Seven Collection — leading Seva.Love's Web3 GTM for the 25th anniversary of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
Mel engaged as Seva.Love's marketing, partnerships & ecosystem strategist — with the TIMEPieces drop as the top priority, 14 days to the mint window. Aligned Seva.Love, TIMEPieces and Artifex on a shared GTM, worked with the TIME team on drop strategy, mint architecture and artist reveals, and activated the community with daily Twitter Spaces, live Deepak meditations, and artist-led media.
2,400
NFTs minted
73
Artists · 6 continents
3 days
To sell-out
Read full case study →
DoinGud community members in front of the DoinGud mural DoinGud community gathering IRL DoinGud community brunch meetup DoinGud IRL event with sun installation DoinGud community party DoinGud IRL meetups across country hubs DoinGud virtual community call DoinGud global community call — full grid 2021—23 NYC · Global
DoinGud
Founding Team → Director of Ecosystem & Comms. 0 → 20K community. Manifesto: 17K → 5K.
Two years, three roles. Built the community from zero across six country hubs, ran 200+ events per year (50+ IRL + 150+ virtual), deployed $150K+ in community-leader grants at 97% success, and led the Manifesto rollout to a ~29% signature-to-member conversion.
20K+
Community grown
17K→5K
Manifesto conversion
200+
Events per year
Read full case study →
BEN Apprent.io youth hackathon — Forbes 'Generation Blockchain' feature BEN team at a major Web3 event Mel Vera — Executive Vice President, Blockchain Education Network, Blockchain Futurist Conference 2019 BuidlBoston 2019 prize ceremony 2017—23 · 6 years Global
Blockchain Education Network
Advisor / VP / CFO — doubled the global ecosystem.
4-tier partnership model securing 15+ strategic partners. Self-sustaining grant program enabling hundreds of developers to launch.
84
Global clubs
10×
Brand awareness
$100K
Grants secured
Read full case study →
2020 Medellín · Colombia
Legacy Group
Growth strategy & blockchain traceability for a PE firm's coffee operations.
Directed marketing growth strategy, ecological processes, and blockchain-based supply-chain traceability for Legacy Group's coffee farms in Zones of High Conflict — operations behind Green Coffee Company, now Colombia's largest coffee producer. Lifted yield 7% and built trust across 5 departments.
+7%
Coffee yield
4
Farms in conflict zones
5
Departments engaged
Read full case study →
Currently building

Veraniwa — trust infrastructure for the startup ecosystem.

庭 · the garden
"The most valuable part of the program was office hours with Mel."
91% of founders surveyed, Consensys Fellowship · Protocol Labs Founders Forge
"Her ability to adapt and take on diverse responsibilities in a fast-paced environment was remarkable. Mel's strategic thinking and creative ideas were instrumental in propelling our organization forward."
Andrew Kline, Co-Founder · DoinGud
Growing something that matters?

Let's talk about what you're building.

I currently take on 2–3 new engagements per quarter. The fit conversation is 30 minutes, no pitch deck required.

Book a fit call
2 spots open this quarter