“The rifle. Air rifle 10m, inside, and 5.6-millimetre calibre on 50m, outside.” While preparing for my interview with marketing veteran Anita Erker, I must say, this sentence was an immediate hit. (pun intended) I knew right away I had to ask her about the professional shooting sport she pursued…
Turns out, that is merely a cherry on the career cake for Anita, with a years-long career spanning various roles across startups, blockchain protocols, international organizations, government institutions, and NGOs. Currently a Chief Growth Officer at NAKA, a Slovenian global card payment system that transforms stablecoins into programmable and universally accepted payments, Anita is driving the company’s marketing efforts and overall growth.
I had opportunity to talk to her before this week’s Money Motion in Zagreb, Croatia. The conference anyone involved with the (future of) finance surely isn’t missing. As Anita says, “Money Motion is the perfect place to discuss the two paths of global finance”, which she will talk about in more detail on the panel The New Map of Global Payments: Infrastructure, Fragmentation, and Financial Power, on March 12th.
“On one side (of the panel), you have traditional finance leaders like Visa and Swift adapting to new tech; on the other, you have NAKA and Oradian, which were born in the blockchain era. Our panel will explore how these two worlds are converging to solve the real-world problem of moving money across borders.”
But first things first. How did someone working at the Cabinet of the Minister of Education, Science, and Technological Development in Serbia end up in Web3?
From Ministry to Web3
In 2017, Anita transitioned from the mentioned Cabinet in Serbia to a World Bank project focused on Jobs and Competitiveness. At the time, she was at a career high, well-positioned and overseeing multimillion-dollar initiatives, she explains.
“A key part of my tenure involved mapping the national innovation ecosystem through extensive desk research and qualitative focus groups. It was during this deep dive into emerging technologies that I encountered blockchain. Engaging with the country’s early pioneers was a turning point; I was immediately captivated by the tech’s potential.”
After a decade of shaping communications in the Web2 world for global giants like Government, Coca-Cola, EY, UNICEF, and more, she decided to pivot and step into the future of not only finance but the very fabric of digital trust and ownership. “There was a specific energy, a mix of “Wild West” ambition and academic rigor – blockchain enthusiasts didn’t just build apps, they were rewriting the rules of trust. And I wanted in.”
Of course, she notes, there was a moment of uncertainty, but she didn’t have second thoughts: “It was uncertainty that drove my due diligence. Instead of pulling back, I used that energy to explore the depths of the early Web3 ecosystem. Through that, I became certain that blockchain wasn’t just a trend, but a fundamental shift in how the world operates.”
The ultimate differentiator between a goal and a missed shot
Perhaps the most surprising influence on Anita’s career isn’t a business book, but a rifle. Anita turned out to be a marketing expert who treats brand integrity as a hard science, and I believe some of that precision and commitment comes from her background in sports. So, I did bring up her 10+ years in the professional shooting sport, wondering about her reflection of how it framed her mindset:
“… I learned that even the simplest movement requires obsessive perfection, yet striving for “too perfect” can often cost you the decisive moment to act.”
“This taught me to balance technical precision with the agility needed to seize professional opportunities before the window closes. I approach every task with a competitive drive for excellence while recognizing that timing is the ultimate differentiator between a goal and a missed shot. Ultimately, my athletic background instilled the discipline to refine the details without ever losing sight of the clock.”
Most important Web3 marketing lessons
That marksman discipline served Anita quite well in the chaotic world of decentralized finance. Having navigated the early days of the Web3 boom and the subsequent crypto winters, Anita’s perspective on growth is remarkably sober. She highlights two major lessons that shaped her tenure at companies such as Ideaology, Superhero, æternity blockchain, RZLT, and xMoney.
First, she warns that market hype is the enemy of strategic decision-making. In an era where Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) often drives investment decisions, Anita argues that a marketing leader’s greatest value is their ability to stay grounded. “High-velocity marketing often creates noise that can distract you from the core utility and long-term goals of your infrastructure. True growth is built diligently, on stable data and trust, rather than chasing the temporary spikes in attention.”
Secondly, she views partnerships as a matter of brand statement and integrity. In Web3, the “guilt by association” rule is brutal. “Partnering up purely for the sake of marketing exposure is a high-risk strategy that can dilute your brand’s core value. In the high-stakes world of finance and Web3, your brand’s integrity is your most valuable asset; it should never be traded for a temporary gain.”
“Many leaders mistakenly believe that trust is a byproduct of growth”
In an industry often accused of being all sizzle and no meat, Anita’s approach is rooted in what she calls the 4 pillars of trust: Humanity, Transparency, Capability, and Consistent Quality.* She views trust not as a marketing byproduct, but as the ultimate currency of the digital age. She even points out that, “the biggest mistake brands make in Web3 and fintech is failing to put enough effort into building trust as the foundation of their strategy.”
“Many leaders mistakenly believe that trust is a byproduct of growth, but in reality, meaningful engagement will only follow once trust has been established. In an industry where people’s livelihoods and assets are at stake, you cannot afford to treat credibility as an afterthought. By prioritizing transparency and reliability from day one, you create the safe environment necessary for true adoption and long-term loyalty to flourish.”
It is not too surprising that Anita is also a big proponent of community-owned marketing. She sees it as a natural extension of decentralized technology in the Web3 industry, with users becoming stakeholders in a Web3 brand. “Going against that nature would be counterproductive for marketing and production efforts.”
“You must move beyond just broadcasting what you’re doing and prioritize conversation. In practice, this looks like co-creating value where the community’s feedback and wishes directly shape the product roadmap and marketing efforts. Ultimately, when a brand is built with the people rather than just for them, the community becomes the most powerful and authentic growth engine you could ever imagine.”
“There is no external marketing without internal marketing.”
This philosophy of community-driven growth isn’t just external. This standard Anita applies to the teams she leads as well. She is a firm believer that there is no external marketing without internal marketing. In her view, if your own developers or customer success teams don’t “live” the brand values, the market will eventually sniff out the inconsistency.
“If your own team doesn’t live the brand values or understand the product and the roadmap, you can’t expect the world to have a clear picture of what you are doing,” she explains. This is particularly vital in the trust-first environments of financial business.
“When the whole team is aligned, ‘ethical marketing’ happens naturally because your messaging is rooted in the truth of what you are actually building.”
Navigating regulation and AI in Web3
In the EU, where the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) framework has set a new global benchmark, regulatory matters are pervasive. So, for many other Web3 companies, as is the case for NAKA, which operates as a bridge between the regulated EMV standards (the chip-and-pin world we all know) and the borderless world of stablecoins, regulation is a communication challenge as much as a legal hurdle.
Anita notes that the hardest part of her job isn’t navigating the rules themselves, but translating those complexities to the end-users. “Especially when working with B2B partners, and our product has to change (like adding a new ID check or changing a feature), it can feel like we’re just making things difficult.”
“I focus on showing our partners that we aren’t just adding friction without reason, but adapting to regulation the best we can. My job is to help them understand that by following these rules their service stays compliant with the law, and that’s crucial in an industry with so much risk.”
To close our talk, I asked Anita what she is excited about or worried about as she looks toward 2026. Her answer moved beyond human-to-human finance into the blooming world of Agentic Commerce.
“In 2026, we are no longer just building tools for humans, we are building financial rails for AI agents as well,” she notes. As autonomous agents begin to handle procurement, payments, and digital negotiations, the infrastructure companies building today will inevitably have to support a world driven by autonomous code.
“Seeing how the framework designed for humans will adapt to the world driven by autonomous code is as exciting as it is consequential for the future of global compliance. It’s uncharted territory.”
If you want to learn more about how to navigate that territory, Money Motion has plenty of great talks, panels and networking moments to offer. See you in Zagreb!
