Grant Proposal: daoOS, the Open Source DAO Platform Secured by Bitcoin

[falkonprods]

Background What problems do you aim to solve? How does it serve the mission of a user owned internet?

Bitcoin was the first Decentralized Autonomous Organization, or DAO. DAOs empower groups of people to organize in a decentralized fashion to prioritize tasks and execute on projects. daoOS is an open source tool that can empower DAOs to organize, vote on priorities, and execute through a single interface. The key problem with decentralized organizations is that it can be challenging organizing around central principals and determining how and what to fund. The result can be unnecessary bureaucracy and often there ends up being some kind of centralized board or leaders who end up making all of the decisions and others can have issues getting their priorities funded.

In a world where apps like Uber and Airbnb are decentralized, it won't be done through a centralized startup - it will be done through a group of drivers or homeowners who want to get it done. And that's where daoOS can provide the platform and process.

Our aim is to create daoOS as an open source tool that anyone can then use to create their own DAO. Empowering users to organize and fund projects in a decentralized fashioned will be at the heart of a user owned internet.

Project Overview What solution are you providing? Who will it serve?

This app should empower the following for any DAO:

• Allowing members to sign up, be approved by the existing organization
• Members will be able to post ideas, and these ideas can be fleshed out, budgets and milestones can be set
• Members can then commit STX to projects they want to contribute to, when the full budget is met, they can begin working towards the milestones
• When a milestone is met, the project owner can post it and have STX released on approval of a majority of anyone who staked STX to that project. This continues until the project has reached completion.

As we advance, we can refine these tools based on the needs of DAOs, and add elements like member subscriptions, the ability to de-couple contributions and voting power, the ability to stack the reserve STX, and whatever else is needed. The primary purpose at this stage will be to simple create an MVP, recruit new DAOs to use i t, and find product-market fit.

Scope What are the components or technical specs of the project? What will the final deliverable look like? How will you measure success?

Success will be measured by a few factors:

1. As an open source project, forks, stars, watches and downloads will give visibility into interest in the project.
2. We will aim to recruit pilot projects and ask that they opt in to share analytics and usage data with us.
3. Insofar as possible, tracking projects that use this app and their efficacy, as well as satisfaction.
4. We will build a landing page to gauge interest in a hosted SaaS version and run a simple ad campaign to test messaging.
5. If there is a need, we will offer a hosted SaaS of this tool, in which case we will be better able to track usage and set KPIs to that effect.

Budget and Milestones What grant amount are you seeking? How long will the project take in hours? If more than 20, please break down the project into milestones, with a clear output (e.g., low-fi mockup, MVP with two features) and include the estimated work hours for each milestone.

Total Grant Request: $62.5k in three milestones.

M0: Research Phase. In this phase, we will develop a test case to validate the UX and general functionality of the DAO. We will do a pared down interface, develop the core smart contract(s) that will manage the organization. We will design and develop a basic UI to support these features. Specifically, this first phase will include the following features:

• Registration of new users
• Authentication of users into the DAO
• Add new projects and milestones
• Stake STX on projects
• Release STX on milestone completion

This proof of concept will be done around Freehold, using Patrick Stanley as a reviewer.

M0, Task 1 (1-2 weeks, ~30-40 hrs): Design UI, technical architecture M0, Task 2 (2-3 weeks, ~30-60 hrs): DAO structure: registration and authentication M0, Task 3 (2-3 weeks ~40-60 hrs): Projects: add, stake, release

Within this timeframe, the intention will be to iterate on it with Freehold (once it becomes useful, and certainly allow Patrick to approve designs), to ensure that it can/will be useful. We will start out on the testnet, but ideally will find a project we can use this for in Task 3 and move to mainnet. I made the budget greater than $5k as I anticipate we will be more in the top range of hours given we are adapting to a real use case, and I also want to ensure we have the ability to bring in talent to stay on time if others get busy. (I am a tech consultant, so am always cognizant of cost and time overruns...want to make sure and avoid that.)

Requested budget: $7,500

M1: This next phase will be polishing the message, finishing design and repurposing the repo (the current project was built for another project and had slightly different specs. We will prep everything we need for a successful MVP of a hosted DAO platform. It is anticipated this will take 6-8 weeks, with the following key tasks:

• M1, Task 1 (2 weeks): Landing page to articulate the project and value proposition and gauge need for a hosted version.
• M1, Task 2 (2 weeks): Prototyping of Platform MVP in Figma or similar tool.
• M1, Task 3 (1 week): Technical plan articulating what development will be needed to adapt including smart contracts, UX and API.

Requested budget: $5k

M2: MVP Build and launch will entail putting together the initial platform per requirements and understanding gained in first phase of the users. This part of the project will take 8-12 weeks if we have identified the right team. Specifically, we will do the following (many can be done asynchronously):

• M2, Task 1 (6 weeks): Build out smart contracts to support membership, voting, and release of funds for project milestones
• M2, Task 2 (2 weeks): Build out API for any data storage needed that won't be handled by smart contracts
• M2, Task 3 (6 weeks): Build out PWA client UX
• M2, Task 4 (3 weeks): Do user research with DAOs to determine the optimal product features at launch.
• M2, Task 1 (4 weeks): If the needed is determined, also build out hosted version and signup

Requested budget: $50k

I am open to funding for M1 in first round, and submitting separate approval, upon completion of M1 for M2.

Team Who is building this? What relevant experience do you bring to this project? Are there skills sets you are missing that you are seeking from the community? Please share links to previous work.

This project is based on a project I ran a few years ago called DAOist - https://github.com/falkonprods/DAOist - we will utilize this codebase as a starting point and build on it, and adapt to the Stacks framework.

My background: I have been developing product since founding my first web agency in 1997. My origins are as a developer and CTO, but today I run the strategy and product strategy practice at a digital transformation agency that has clients that include Audi, Pfizer, AARP and many other companies. I have been interested in blockchain since I built the first wine commerce site to accept bitcoin in 2013, and authored the course on LinkedIn Learning for building dapps and smart contracts in Ethereum. https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewfalkman/

I can do most of this myself in the beginning, but may look out to community members and acquaintances to assist with design polish and development assistance.

As we move into Phase II, I hope to have one or two others to support me in this venture, and hope to utilize the open source nature of this project to get others to contribute and proselytize.

Risks What dependencies or obstacles do you anticipate? What contingency plans do you have in place?

In the onset, there is always a concern being a solo venture that I could get busy. My plan for that is to recruit help if necessary through my connections at freehold (where I am a member), as well as my contacts in the industry.

As we move forward into Phase II, it will be imperative to have others to help drive this forward successfully.

Another possible risk is that this misses the mark for what DAOs need, or that people don't quite understand what a DAO is. If the former, I hope to perform some additional user research to generate ideas. If the latter, launching an education campaign about DAOs and the importance of them with bounties in Phase II.

Community and Supporting Materials Do you have previous projects, code commits, or experiences that are relevant to this application? What community feedback or input have you received? How do you plan to share your plan to the community over time and as the final deliverable?

I included the link to DAOist, which will be foundational. We learned a lot then - primarily that in this stage, many non-technical, non-crypto people who would benefit from DAOs don't understand them. Ideally I will use my contacts at freehold to help share the project on social media, as well as sharing articles about DAOs and daoOS. I hope to also utilize my 4k+ social media followers to promote it and articles about it, and will share this in Stacks and Freehold Discord groups. Hopefully, we can promote the open source nature of it after Phase I to recruit people interested in contributing.

Along the way, I intend on actively recruiting DAOs or organizations that might be interested in using daoOS to manage their projects and funding, get them in early, support them in successful implementations, and hope to hold them up as examples.

Screenshot from DAOist:

[RaffiSapire]

Hey @falkonprods, Marvin, who just joined the grants committee and is especially interested in DAOs, and I would love to get on a call and talk more about your proposal. Could you please email me and we'll set up time? raffi@stacks.org

[friedger]

Yes, to more daos!

@falkonprods I did some dao contracts based on the molochdao (https://github.com/friedger/clarity-dao). It lacks a UI, I was thinking to use pokemol.

[RaffiSapire]

Hi there, I wanted to make sure I haven't missed an email @falkonprods . Looking forward.

[falkonprods]

Blerg didn't get notifications on this...sorry but thanks! Email sent @RaffiSapire

[RaffiSapire]

Hi @falkonprods thanks for taking time to speak with us today! We spoke with Marvin today during our meeting and he shared back the convo. Excited to get this funded. What we'd like to do is approve this this grant around "M0" for $7,500 with the following milestones: M0, Task 1 (1-2 weeks, ~30-40 hrs): Design UI, technical architecture $2,500 M0, Task 2 (2-3 weeks, ~30-60 hrs): DAO structure: registration and authentication $2,500 M0, Task 3 (2-3 weeks ~40-60 hrs): Projects: add, stake, release $2,500 We're open to funding the following milestones in a follow on grant, but want to start here and see how it goes.

Please email me at raffi@stacks.org and we'll get you set up on bill.com. THank you!

[falkonprods]

😆🚀

[Zk2u]

this is looking awesome. i can imagine in the future we might have government entities as DAOs on Stacks. for example, state government would be decentralised and run by the state's members. looking good guys 💪💪

[Zk2u]

hey! just to update people on this, daoOS is now a Syvita project which will be worked on by @syvita here. @falkonprods and I had a very brief discussion the other day which ended with this. reasons for merging:

• daoOS needs developers and so does Syvita. merging together will be easier for joint recruitment
• other projects with different teams can branch across to other major projects, with the aim of intertwining teams and projects into one another
• daoOS can more easily receive additional funding from the Guild
• Syvita has goals of becoming a DAO, so it's a win-win for us to take on daoOS.

[falkonprods]

M10 Task 1 Has been completed. Submitting for approval.

• Workflows: https://miro.com/welcomeonboard/EgAzzSZ0GZrB8SilD9fgdq4pqzLOP7Ewpkz1cnxLerLGy6z89u7LbkB6gJAiQtXG
• User Stories (requirements) in Story Map: https://miro.com/welcomeonboard/7dcDg2yOnUOfdsseAG1NaKUl4Njf8UAO1FGmfnRlkpuhlwRRspEEd9dxDOPXtNHv
• Mobile Design Prototype: https://www.figma.com/proto/qgJqserxx5gP4vWiCj9PCX/LAB3?page-id=33%3A2497&node-id=33%3A3345&viewport=1104%2C633%2C0.2571127414703369&scaling=min-zoom
• Desktop Design will reuse mobile, but have this look/feel:
• Technical Architecture:

We have begun building, looking forward to continuing...

[stx-grant-bot[bot]]

M1 has been funded! When you are finished with this milestone, please comment on this issue with !m1_complete

[falkonprods]

Milestone one complete, see my comment above

!m1_complete

[falkonprods]

Milestone one complete, see my comment above

!m1_complete

[stx-grant-bot[bot]]

The agreement has not signed yet

[falkonprods]

Milestone one complete, see my comment above (3rd time's a charm) !m1_complete

[stx-grant-bot[bot]]

Your project only has 1 milestone.

[ImTheCodeFarmer]

@RaffiSapire I'm only seeing 1 milestone for this one. Is it okay for me to add the others?

[RaffiSapire]

@falkonprods can you try typing !m1_complete again?

[stx-grant-bot[bot]]

Sorry. Only author can changes status to Complete.

[falkonprods]

Milestone one complete, see my comment above (4th time's a charm) !m1_complete

[stx-grant-bot[bot]]

Your project only has 3 milestones.

[falkonprods]

!m1_complete

[stx-grant-bot[bot]]

Thank you for completing M1. The grant committee will review and confirm completion or send feedback within a week

[Zk2u]

oh bots...

[stx-grant-bot[bot]]

M2 has been funded! When you are finished with this milestone, please comment on this issue with !m2_complete

[RaffiSapire]

Hi @falkonprods how are you? Wanted to check in and hear the latest. Anything we can support you on?

[falkonprods]

Hi @RaffiSapire - we are plugging along more slowly than I had hoped...but still plugging along.

[falkonprods]

@RaffiSapire we are currently working on the 2nd milestone. For the 3rd milestone, we are looking at pivoting. Instead of building out a mechanism for posting projects and releasing funds via milestones we are looking at building a governance/voting mechanism.

As I have spoken with DAOs over the last couple of months, I have learned their most pressing need is to achieve consensus on critical governance issues, which means, simply put, that they need to have a mechanism for voting. My hope would be to provide the ability for any DAO member to post a proposal, including a detailed explanation of the proposal, potential responses (could be yes/no or could be a set of options), and an end time for voting. From here, members would be able to vote on chain and the results of the vote would be stored in the Stacks blockchain for future records.

So it's a simple pivot - there are still proposals, but instead of staking capital and releasing on milestones, members vote on proposals on chain

So daoOS MVP release would then contain the following:

• auth with daoOS wallet
• create a profile (we are discussing NFT-based profiles, possibly even creating a SIP to standardize)
• view list of members and profiles
• add/remove members (through voting consensus)
• add new proposal
• vote on proposals
• view list of current and past proposals

I could see this even be adopted by Stacks governance, as well as any other DAO that simple needs to obtain consensus on group decisions - whether it requires spending coin or not.

Any thoughts on this? Any concerns? Thanks!

[jennymith]

Hey @falkonprods, thank you for the thoughtful update here. Where are you on the voting mechanism and how will this pivot impact your originally proposed milestones?

I see that you have a call with the Stacks Gov Lab today, which will be a great venue for sharing your work on DAOs so far. Perhaps afterward, we can consider a call with the broader community?

[will-corcoran]

Hello and thank you for participating in the Stacks Foundation Grants Program!

We are in the process of migrating from GitHub to the new Grants Dashboard. In order to complete your grant, you will need to submit any remaining Progress Review and/or Final Review requests through the Dashboard in order to receive your remaining payments.

• If you have questions about the Grants Dashboard in general please email ambassadors@stacks.org.
• If you have questions regarding payments and/or contracts please email payments@stacks.org.

Lastly, please note we are marking this grant 'closed' on GitHub for organizational purposes, but it is still 'open' on the Grants Dashboard.

Thanks and we hope to continue to support your efforts with additional grants!

Best, Will