[Discussion] Push DAO Development and Growth SubDAO

[SixtyKeys]

Authors: @Kene_StableLab and @SixtyKeys
Reviewers: Puncar

Simple Summary

The purpose of the Push DAO is to facilitate the gradual decentralization of the Push Protocol, promote ecosystem growth, and shape the future of Push Protocol by leveraging a decentralized network of contributors.

To facilitate these goals, this proposal looks to implement a SubDAO that helps the DAO to design and implement frameworks that improve the DAO’s internal processes, while preparing the DAO to actively contribute to the distribution of Push Protocol products.

Motivation

This proposal seeks to establish a group responsible for organizing and incentivizing the ideation and execution of DAO growth experiments. Drive Push adoption and culture and set the groundwork for the next chapter of the continued evolution of Push Protocol.

There is a lot of improvement that can be made on Push DAO’s internal frameworks which will enable the DAO to onboard more high-quality ambassadors, delegates, and contributors. To start the work to improve the DAO’s internal frameworks, this proposal serves as a first step towards formalizing a number of the DAO processes.

Additionally, the Push DAO’s products could benefit from additional business development efforts, this is where we see an opportunity for the DAO to come in, to power ecosystem native distribution through integration with several different protocols and DAOs across the web3 ecosystem.

Specification

This proposal requests the DAO to approve the setting up of a DAO Development and Growth SubDAO. The SubDAO will be responsible for managing and growing the following verticals:

DAO Development

As the DAO grows, the DAO needs to develop frameworks that will help the DAO’s stakeholders to meaningfully engage and contribute to the DAO and improve access to growth efforts. To also effectively manage the DAO, we need frameworks and processes that will help the DAO in its day-to-day operations.

These frameworks need to be designed on a case-by-case basis, considering the peculiarities of the DAO, here are a few examples of frameworks that we intend to design and implement in the Push DAO.

Governance

• Establish North Star Metrics and Core KPIs for the DAO.
• Building the Push DAO Strategic Frameworks (Culture, Vision, Mission & Values).
• Push Governance Process v2.
• Recognized Delegate Framework
• Define what is a Push SubDAO, and how they operate within the DAO.
• Push DAO Incentivization Program (Contributor onboarding and transparent reward distribution framework).
• Increase engagement in Governance.

Community

• Community engagement: Foster an active and engaged community of developers and contributors.
• New Joiners: Managing onboarding for new joiners to provide context, knowledge sharing, and a sense of community for new contributors and developers.
• Push Culture: Build a strong culture for Push community members through the promotion of foundational principles that steer the Push DAO.

Push Growth

Ensuring that Push DAO has a clear strategy for facilitating the distribution of the DAO’s products is an essential component of scaling Push Protocol. This facet of the SubDAO is focused on getting as many DAO’s and protocols to use Push Protocol which will tie back to generating traction and revenue for the DAO.

Push DAO Growth will focus on partnerships and Business Development efforts that target DAOs looking to engage with their user base or token holders.

The growth team will gather product feedback from the community to provide input to the development team for further improvements and the product roadmap.

Business Development

• Push DAO Ambassador Program (BD Focused): By leveraging the highly talented individuals in the Ambassador program as a decentralized workforce, these ambassadors will be tasked with utilizing DAO Governance in other DAOs to find a use case for Push Protocol and get it integrated into the protocol.
• Growing Adoption: Focus on expanding the user base and adoption of Push protocol. Partnerships, marketing efforts, and user incentives can drive more people to use the protocol.
• Product improvements: Fostering a strong and inclusive culture around Push, leading to attracting and retaining the best developers and contributors, and encouraging the development of new and creative solutions to key areas in Push protocol and Push DAO.
• Token Distribution: Facilitate the listing of the $PUSH token on popular centralized and decentralized exchanges. Increased accessibility often leads to higher trading volumes and potential price appreciation.

Tokenomics and Treasury Management

• Revenue Generation: Using the Push DAO treasury to generate income for the DAO.
• Increase Utility of $PUSH: Enhance the utility of the token within the ecosystem. For instance, offer staking, yield farming, or exclusive access to certain features/products within the platform.
• Treasury Diversification: This would involve ensuring that the Push DAO Treasury is sufficiently diversified to retain value in the DAOs assets, while delivering yield.
• Token Burns or Buybacks: Implement mechanisms that reduce the token supply, such as regular token burns or buyback programs. This can create scarcity, potentially increasing demand and price.

Accountability and Reporting

The SubDAO once established will be responsible for regular and continued reporting to the community. Initially, this will be done through:

• An open weekly ceremony to update the community on what initiatives the SubDAO is working on. With more meetings in the future to track the progress of and coordinate the different verticals.
• Detailed monthly reports that will provide an in-depth update of the work that has been done by the working group (KPIs, budget usage, etc), as well as the work that is still ongoing. The purpose of these reports would be to give the DAO transparency into the operations of the SubDAO.

DDG SubDAO Working Group

The Push DAO Development and Growth SubDAO initiative is being led by the following community members:

@Kene_StableLab
Kenechukwu Eze is a Governance Analyst at StableLab, a leading provider of professional delegation, governance framework design, and product development services for DAOs. With a background in Law from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Kenechukwu brings a unique blend of legal knowledge and expertise in decentralized finance (DeFi) to his role.

Kenechukwu specializes in designing and managing Governance Frameworks and Operations for DAOs. He has a proven track record in facilitating integrations and joint ventures between DeFi protocols, leveraging his skills as an experienced Business Development and Partnership Associate.

Throughout his career journey, Kenechukwu has made significant contributions to the DeFi space. Starting as a Content Writer at Rabbithole, he quickly immersed himself in the world of crypto and went on to contribute to the Rabbithole Meta-Governance Pod. He further showcased his talents as a Content Writer and Meta-Governance Representative for Compound Finance at Index Coop. Later, as an Operator at Wildfire DAO, Kenechukwu played an instrumental role in various projects, including Element Finance DAO.

Kenechukwu’s contributions extend beyond his roles within organizations. He has authored and advised on governance proposals for prominent DAOs like Aave, 1inch, Hop, and Paladin DAO, collectively worth over $3 million. Additionally, he facilitated the integration of the Saddle Finance Gauge Market into the Hidden Hand Bribe Marketplace, demonstrating his ability to drive impactful collaborations.

Puncar
Puncar is a dedicated advocate for DAOs with a track record of impactful contributions across various prominent projects. With a passion for crafting effective governance structures and incentive models, Puncar has played a pivotal role in shaping the decentralized landscape.

Puncar’s journey began in the crypto space in 2017, where he initially worked with EY, collaborating with global blockchain teams. His ability to navigate the complexities of multi-stakeholder management across different countries has uniquely positioned him to understand and contribute to DAO ecosystems.

As a co-founder of Bankless Consulting, Puncar bootstrapped a web3 advisory firm and successfully guided over 20 projects into the world of DAOs. His work has included designing decentralized LinkedIn platforms and building solar data marketplaces, demonstrating his knack for innovative design and execution.

Notably, Puncar is co-authoring ‘How To DAO,’ a forthcoming book aimed at bridging the gap between mainstream audiences and decentralized organizations. Penguin Random House is set to publish this comprehensive guide, drawing from Puncar’s extensive experiences and insights.

Puncar has actively contributed to various DAOs. At IndexCoop, he managed strategic DeFi partnerships, specializing in governance design and incentive mechanisms. His extensive involvement in MakerDAO enhanced his expertise in DAO governance and protocol safety. At Gitcoin, he managed the technical infrastructure to empower DAO contributors and reinforced his commitment to community growth.

With a passion for community growth, governance, and innovative design, Puncar continues to be at the forefront of shaping the future of decentralized autonomous organizations.

[fabiancripto]

I really love what they want to do, mostly for getting the word out about what PUSH is and how to get more people to know about it and use it.

I would love to be able to help and be part of the subDAO team, since I have knowledge behind working and collaborating in BanklessDAO for more than 2 years and a half, I was in the Spanish node of BanklessDAO that later became a subDAO, now Bankless Nation, we know it is not easy the work of the subDAO, but with knowledge behind we could save much of the way.

If they want to achieve the growth of PUSH they need to have people from different cultures, areas, languages and so on, in order to achieve this globalization of people to make PUSH known as fast and “easy” as possible, here could enter the ambassadors that PUSH has, as they are people from different parts of the world and could help spread the word already being all in place, very bullish on this, we will see what happens.

[christiandike]

@SixtyKeys

Push DAO Growth will focus on partnerships and Business Development efforts that target DAOs looking to engage with their user base or token holders.

how do we ensure that these functions and activities of the DDG SubDAO does not in any way conflict with those of the BD SubDAO (which is also currently under incubation)? we might want to take this into consideration in order to avoid redundancies and possible conflicts between the roles of different subDAOs within the Push DAO. i suggest a clear demarcation of functions should be made between both subDAOs because the BD SubDAO can later evolve into something much more than what is being contemplated at the moment

[MrJaf]

@christiandike

how do we ensure that these functions and activities of the DDG SubDAO does not in any way conflict with those of the BD SubDAO

This, in my opinion, stands out as the most interesting point for discussion. While the concept of DDG intrigues me, it is essential to consider whether consolidating numerous functions under one entity is a practical approach.

Our development approach over the past year has followed a cyclical path driven by education, followed by experimentation, and active community participation. Personally, I favor the notion of commencing with smaller units during the learning and experimentation phase. After a few iterations, we can discern what makes sense and what does not.

The Push Ambassadors Program serves as a prime example of adopting a bottom-to-top approach. Ambassadors in Latam initiated the process, and after a couple of iterations, we recognized the opportune moment to establish another group in India, followed by Africa. Each of these groups had the autonomy to define their operations.
The Push Team served as a guiding force, setting the pace for support and offering insights on what worked and what didn’t across the three teams. This progression is expected to culminate in the official formation of the Globalization SubDAO, with a focus on global efforts.

See this Push DAO hats structure for reference:

I’m enjoying this conversation and think we should keep the momentum going. However, from my perspective, there’s a bit of a conflict with the BD SubDAO, as pointed out by @christiandike . With the Grants Program set to kick off soon (assuming all goes well) and the establishment of a distinct public ceremony for PGPv3, we can begin delving into this discussion in our weekly meetings.

[MrJaf]

Furthermore, there is another significant aspect that needs discussion and may be better to address before embarking on yet another initiative: the establishment of a framework for delegates. As highlighted during our Gov Call, a critical retrospective on our delegates and their framework is necessary. We need to analyze what changes will position us more fairly and maturely in terms of governance.

@CryptoReuMD initiated this thread months ago, and I have consistently emphasized that we are in an excellent moment to launch a Delegates Launchpad Program. This initiative will assist us in identifying valuable contributors to the DAO and growing with them. The goal is not only to encourage more individuals to become delegates but also to foster increased delegation. This, in turn, will create a positive impact on the project.

[SixtyKeys]

@fabiancripto

I would love to be able to help and be part of the subDAO team, since I have knowledge behind working and collaborating in BanklessDAO

Hey @fabiancripto , you are more than welcome to join, we want Push DAO to be a household name like Bankless, and we will need your support in making this happen

[fabiancripto]

My messages are always open to initiatives like these, count on me to follow this great process and help as much as I can, so you know, you can write me whenever you want

[SixtyKeys]

@christiandike

how do we ensure that these functions and activities of the DDG SubDAO does not in any way conflict with those of the BD SubDAO (which is also currently under incubation)?

Hey @christiandike we have been working on this proposal from before the Business Development SubDAO was brought up for discussion in the forum.

This SubDAO however seeks to engage in different business development activities than those outlined in the BD SubDAO proposal, just that one of the verticals we plan to develop falls under the category of Business Development.

Ultimately the plan is to have all the different SubDAOs working together to achieve a uniform goal. Part of the focus of this SubDAO is to create alignment on the strategic framework of the DAO to ensure the growth of Push DAO and Push Protocol with a focus on long-term sustainability.

Also rather than remove the BD component completely, we can take inspiration from Arbritrum DAO, which has multiple grant programs with different areas of focus.

[SixtyKeys]

@MrJaf

The Push Ambassadors Program serves as a prime example of adopting a bottom-to-top approach. Ambassadors in Latam initiated the process, and after a couple of iterations, we recognized the opportune moment to establish another group in India, followed by Africa. Each of these groups had the autonomy to define their operations.
The Push Team served as a guiding force, setting the pace for support and offering insights on what worked and what didn’t across the three teams. This progression is expected to culminate in the official formation of the Globalization SubDAO, with a focus on global efforts.

Very interesting perspective here, and I’m glad you brought it up. One of the goals of the DDG SubDAO is to perform the role that the Push Team has done of serving as a guiding force for the DAO and to empower the community to contribute to the growth of the DAO through the verticals outlined in the proposal. The intention is not to have these functions reside under the DDG SubDAO indefinitely but rather to provide an easy and clear pathway for the community to contribute to areas that might interest them and eventually allow these different verticals to operate independently while remaining aligned with the other SubDAOs under the DAO.

@MrJaf

See this Push DAO hats structure for reference:

Are you teasing a Hats Protocol integration for Push DAO here @MrJaf . But I love this structure, and the DDG SubDAO would be responsible for ensuring the DAO is structured correctly while allowing the individual SubDAOs to focus on their specific areas of focus, while also serving an accountability role for the grater DAO.

@MrJaf

However, from my perspective, there’s a bit of a conflict with the BD SubDAO, as pointed out by @christiandike . With the Grants Program set to kick off soon (assuming all goes well) and the establishment of a distinct public ceremony for PGPv3, we can begin delving into this discussion in our weekly meetings.

Definitely enjoying the conversation here too, and we still have some ways to go to finalize this proposal. As for the conflict with the BD SubDAO, we could always expand the scope of the BD SubDAO with some of the functions mentioned in this proposal.

[MrJaf]

@SixtyKeys

Very interesting perspective here, and I’m glad you brought it up. One of the goals of the DDG SubDAO is to perform the role that the Push Team has done of serving as a guiding force for the DAO and to empower the community to contribute to the growth of the DAO through the verticals outlined in the proposal. The intention is not to have these functions reside under the DDG SubDAO indefinitely but rather to provide an easy and clear pathway for the community to contribute to areas that might interest them and eventually allow these different verticals to operate independently while remaining aligned with the other SubDAOs under the DAO.

Given that we won’t be discussing PGPv3 much this week (aside from a reminder to vote), it would be beneficial to have @Kene_StableLab join us to provide a high-level explanation of what DDG is and what it is not.
With ongoing activities in PGPv3, BizDev, and Ambassadors (Global), and the anticipation of their approval and commencement, will be very interesting to learn more where DDG fits in.