Our Italian host shook his head. "You Americans. Always working"

Jon and I sheepishly tucked our phones away. He was right. Here we were, vacationing in a rustic farmhouse in the middle of the Tuscan countryside. Whatever romantic image comes to mind, that was it: Lush rolling hills dotted with terracotta roofs. Vineyards stretched across the horizon. Sunsets so beautiful they may as well be singing. And we were on our phones.

I know it's a cliché. The American go-getters who can't stop. But we're both business owners, and if we're not on top of it, it feels like everything will fall apart.

We had organized this trip smack dab in the middle of one of the busiest times of the season. SheFi Season 15 around the corner, DevConnect Buenos Aires only a month away. But we'd planned this trip nearly a year ago, in dreary February, a month after I gave birth to Summer, to make up for the last trip we took together, the year before, when I was 11 weeks pregnant and so sick that all I remember were the egg salad sandwiches I survived on from the convenience store.

Is there ever a good time to take a break? Anyone who hustles, whether for their own business, for a job, or even for grades, knows it's always hard to justify stepping away.

As we were packing, I convinced myself that this would be a "working vacation." Time away from New York so I could think bigger about SheFi's future. I'd planned to tick off the following items from my to-do list: finish the 7 business books I’d been reading, update our sales deck, map out a content strategy, and articulate a clear plan for SheFi’s future.

As if.

Each day, whenever I had a spare moment, I tried to send emails, hop on calls, keep things moving. But I simply couldn't. I couldn't focus, I couldn't think strategically. I couldn't do the deep, creative work I'd promised myself.

But I couldn't totally relax either.

I'd respond to emails while touring a vineyard, text with my team while at a museum, and step out of a restaurant to take calls.

I wasn’t focusing on my work, but I wasn’t sinking into my vacation either. My divided attention was the worst of both worlds. I felt exhausted. Frustrated. I got snippy with Jon.

Then, one afternoon, we sat in the backyard of the farmhouse we were staying at in Tuscany, watching Summer while she played on a sheet we’d placed on the grass.

Something miraculous happened.

She rolled over for the first time.

We cheered, celebrated Summer, and smiled at each other.

Of course Summer rolling over is a completely natural part of her development. The true miracle was that something in me shifted.

I realized that I will never see this moment again. I’ll never have the opportunity to see Summer do her thing for the first time for the first time.

The preciousness of the moment caught me off guard. I asked myself, “Did I really fly to Italy to squeeze in a bit more work? Or did I come here to be present for moments like this?”

That evening, Jon and I took a walk through those rolling Tuscan hills surrounding the farmhouse. The vineyards around us were full from harvest, their leaves just beginning to turn gold and amber. The air had that particular stillness of late autumn. The land was preparing to rest. We meandered off the path, having one of those expansive conversations that only happens when you give yourself space.

"What is the purpose of vacation?" we asked each other. "Are we doing vacation? Are we working? Are we doing neither?"

I thought about the land around us. The vineyards had just given everything during harvest season. Now they needed to rest to regenerate. And when it comes to wine, time to rest is what separates a good wine from a great one.

Rest isn't laziness. It's how things grow, how they develop, and how they evolve.

The Italians have a phrase: dolce far niente. It means the sweetness of doing nothing, to enjoy stillness without guilt.

I cancelled my last couple days of meetings. We stayed where we were. We watched Summer. We wandered. We rested.

I'm not sure I've fully mastered dolce far niente yet. But I'm learning that giving myself permission to rest isn't indulgent, it's necessary for dreaming up whatever comes next.

The land needs rest and we do too.

SheFi Summit Buenos Aires Sponsors Are Here! 💫

The SheFi Summit Buenos Aires is almost here and we couldn’t have done it without our incredible sponsors.

A huge thank you to Octant, Binance, Ava Labs, Celo, and Stacks for powering this milestone moment at Devconnect. Your support helps us continue creating spaces where women lead, learn, and build the future of Web3 together.

This summit is a celebration of community, innovation, and collaboration — and we’re so grateful to have you shaping it with us.

Secure your ticket now!

Your SheFi Summit VIP Experience ✨

Want to join an intimate hour with Maggie and Summer before the Summit begins? Our VIP experience includes one-on-one time, a photo, SheFi-chipped nails, and guaranteed merch.

If you can’t purchase a VIP ticket, you can earn it — bring five friends who register to attend SheFi Summit, and you’ll unlock your VIP access.

Join the referral group to get started and connect with others doing the same.

SheFi is in Octant Epoch 9 💫

SheFi has been selected for Octant Epoch 9: Ethereum Stories, and voting is now open.

If you already have GLM locked in Octant, you can vote to direct ETH funding toward SheFi and other projects shaping the future of Ethereum.

Here’s how to vote for SheFi:

1. Go to octant.app

2. Connect your wallet

3. Click “Distribute” or “Allocate”

4. Select SheFi or go directly to our project page → Vote for SheFi

5. Submit your vote

Your vote helps fund Ethereum education and storytelling that empowers women around the world.

👉️ Vote now for SheFi 👈

Ethereum is not just code. It is people, and their stories deserve to be told.

AMA Alert! 🚨

Join @maggielove_, Founder of SheFi, and @jessepollak, Head of Base, for a live Twitter Space this Friday at 1:30 PM EST / 10:30 AM PST.

They’ll dive into what’s next for onchain ecosystems, education, and how women are shaping the future of Web3.

Set a reminder 🔔

You won’t want to miss it!

The SheFi Community Stays Winning! 🥳

A huge thanks to Monad for including SheFi in yesterday’s MON airdrop!

If you’re part of the SheFi community, you might already be eligible to claim, just for being here. Head to claim.monad.xyz to check your eligibility and claim your tokens. And make sure to check your SheFi email; if you’ve submitted a wallet address with us in the past, we've let you know you may already be on the whitelist!

If you are eligible for MON, please make sure to post on X tagging @shefiorg and @monad to thank the Monad team. 💜

SheFi’s Crypto News Roundup 🏇 

The latest stories for you. 🫶 

• Bitcoin & Ethereum Spot ETFs Log $340M Inflows in One Day. Spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum rebounded with $340 million in combined daily net inflows following prior outflows.

• OpenAI Partners With Broadcom to Build Custom AI Chips. OpenAI struck a deal with Broadcom to co-develop its own AI accelerators, aiming to deploy 10 gigawatts of custom hardware by 2029.

• Oracle Taps AMD for 50,000 GPUs to Power AI Cloud Services. Oracle and AMD agreed to supply 50,000 Instinct MI450 GPUs starting in 2026 to support AI scaling in Oracle’s cloud infrastructure.

• Coinbase invests in Indian exchange CoinDCX at $2.45B valuation. Coinbase led a funding round valuing CoinDCX at $2.45 billion, reinforcing international expansion and support for India’s crypto ecosystem.

• UK regulator proposes allowing investment fund tokenisation via blockchain. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority outlined plans to enable tokenised investment funds for faster trading, lower costs, and improved access using public blockchains.

Follow our socials for more updates!

SheFi Community Wins

• Abieyuwa has been selected by Refraction as an Onchain Summer artist on Base!

👉️ Share your wins so we can celebrate them 👈️

SheFi & Crypto Events 🌎

Going to ETHCC, Token2049 or Devcon? Join our Global Events Telegram Chat: https://t.me/shefisummit

SheFi events:

• 10/16 Barcelona: The Art of Web3: RSVP here

• 10/17 Virtual: Investment Cluster Yield Farming Roundtable: Details on SheFi Hub

• 10/20 London: Own the Cycle: RSVP here

• 10/23 San Francisco: SheFi Fall Meetup: RSVP here

• 10/24 Berlin: From "gm" to I’m Hired. Career Confidence Workshop with SheFi Berlin: RSVP here

• 11/4 Florida: SheFi Miami Presents: Blockchain Futurist Pre-Event Experience: RSVP here

• 11/16 Buenos Aires: SheFi Summit Buenos Aires: RSVP here

Other events:

• 10/15 Dubai: Bitcoin 2140: RSVP here

• 10/15-16 NYC: The Aptos Experience 2025: RSVP here

• 10/17 Barcelona: Base Batches Barcelona: RSVP here

• 10/18 Vancouver: Folk Tech x DWeb Vancouver Collabathon: RSVP here

• 10/18 Barcelona: NULUNA: Blockchain x Culture: RSVP here

• 10/21 Berlin: Base Batches Hack Meetup Berlin: RSVP here

• 10/25 Oregon: Talk Crypto PDX -KICKOFF PARTY-: RSVP here

• 11/1 Argentina: The Oz city | Edge City Patagonia | Devconnect: RSVP here

• 11/6 Florida: AFTHER HOURS by Fem T3ch & CreateHER Fest: RSVP here

• 11/15 Buenos Aires: Web3 Marketing Hackathon: RSVP here

• 11/19 Buenos Aires: Funding the Commons: Buenos Aires 2025: RSVP here

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