A common theme we see across DAOs is that only those with tokens have the right to contribute to the DAO. This creates a limited talent pool. DAOs can’t reach their true potential with a constant core team or members dictating the pace.
DAOs are meant to create a paradigm shift in the workforce, enabling a more capital-efficient pathway to reach its goal. You don’t need everyone to be a constant contributor to DAO or even a token member of a DAO to contribute. You want the most qualified individual or team to service your DAO. Regardless of their affiliation with the DAO or not, DAOs need to open their doors to service providers/consultants who can further them in their mission.
Protocols are not an organization. Organizations service protocols.
DAO communication generally occurs in their humble abode, good ole Discord, usually exclusive to token holders via guild or collab. Depending on the aim of your DAO, you may want an exclusive group of people for NFT collectors or investors. For DeFi DAOs, a limited pool of participants will not serve their best interests.
DeFi Protocols such as Uniswap, Aave, or Compound require specialists to maintain and improve their protocols' technicalities and manage their finances. In becoming a DeFi powerhouse, these DAOs accumulate a large treasury, going up into the billions. With no specialized talent to handle them, these treasuries won’t be capital efficient. They can lead to the downfall of these protocols if they aren’t prepared for the current market conditions we face.
You won’t be able to find all that specialized talent within your DAO. Open your door. For those protocols that require treasury help, they can look to services such as Karpatkey, who currently service ENS, Balancer, and Gnosis, among others. For those protocols who want designers, look towards Vector DAO. For those protocols who want support in decentralization, look at StableLab.
But how do we facilitate these conversations?
A token-gated organization enables those interested or have skin in the game to be surrounded by like-minded individuals, but under discord, there are limits in place. On one side, a token-gated discord enables you to form a collective of people who share a goal. On the other hand, discord limits the DAO to a set of people, where you will need to look outside of your discord to find relevant professionals.
This introduces numerous obstacles that only deter people from contributing to a DAO.
Take Bob the Third (Bob for short), for example.
If he wants to contribute to Aave, he can apply for a grant via Aave Grants DAO or participate in the forums. Fortunately, some DAOs have a seamless process to get involved.
In another scenario, if Bob wants to contribute to Developer_DAO, he will need to purchase the relevant NFT or CODE token to enter Discord. After a rigorous onboarding of sifting through channels left and right in the trenches, Bob might figure out a way to provide his services to Developer_DAO.
Not only is this inefficient, but time-consuming. To offer my services, I need to spend capital. To connect with members of the DAO, I need to spend capital. Regardless of whether Bob has worked in another DAO, he might not have enough proof to show his experience.
Discord wasn’t built for DAOs; evidently, it does not promote collaboration across different entities.
For a DAO to reach its true potential, organizations need to be able to collaborate seamlessly with one another. Without this space, DeFi DAOs will continue to struggle to initiate spaces where they can communicate with relevant external services that can support them on their journey to decentralization without compromising quality.
It has already become common practice to spin up SubDAOs or service providers empowered to enact a specific service on behalf of a DAO; Risk analysis, treasury management, or other services. Instead of passing every decision through governance, these empowered groups can avoid governance and streamline decisions within a group. This makes the process more efficient, but another obstacle shows up at some point.
These service providers are constrained within DAO that they are formed. As I previously mentioned, they need to accumulate the relevant token to enter a discord, become a trusted member of the DAO or have a history of experience before going for a paid position. It is difficult for a service provider to translate their services to another DAO since there is no attribution of their work for a DAO. Taking a verified collection of your work from DAO to DAO helps you get hired.
The lack of open space between organizations, service providers, and individuals prevents DAOs from reaching their true potential. A space that can seamlessly be spun up to facilitate conversation between DAOs and service providers/individuals to tackle specific problems is the next step in combating coordination in this online world of DAO work.
Imagine a space where DAOs can initiate areas with relevant contributors, internal and external, to tackle a task. Once completed, the room can be closed, and each contributor can be compensated and attested for their contributions. Each individual carries their history of attestations and work as they move from one DAO to another, only providing their services to a DAO when needed.
Not only is this more capital efficient for a DAO, but it enables a seamless transition for contributors to work with various organizations.
A space for fluid conversation. A space for temporary work. A space for connection. **
My recent conversation with Nelson about Avenue inspires this blog.**