Address: 0x56E0aB2eCE2Ef378f59D8Da7e76677cfCf8Bd481
ENS: rickjohanson.eth
Link to Tally Profile: Rick Johanson's Delegate Profile
Other stuff:
LinkedIn: Rick Johanson - Sock | LinkedIn
Telegram: rickjohanson
Twitter: johansonrick
Medium: rick
What area are you most interested in contributing to? choose up to two tags:
- Gaming development on Arbitrum
- Public Goods Funding
- Close Third - DeFi development on Arbitrum
Please share your stance on overall goals for the DAO:
As a prospective delegate, one of my primary goal is to expand the community and introduce Arbitrum to new and relevant audiences. This is accomplished through thoughtful execution of initiatives that foster long-term growth and development within the ecosystem as a whole… Including how the Arbitrum brand is positioned. Arbitrum’s strength in the defi sector with minimal branding and marketing efforts provide an opportunity to operationalize more cohesive initiatives to not only enhance our visibility and telegraph trust but to solidify Arbitrum’s position as a leader in other categories such as gaming.
Sample Voting Issue 1:
As a delegate, I would oppose the Uniswap proposal. I recognize the potential of bounties in enabling growth, but it’s important to maintain diversity within the DAO’s governance. In its current form, the proposal undermines the core principles of decentralized governance. I do believe this can be achieved with proper oversight and transparency, but in this case, Flipside on the oversight committee while maintaining control of the allocation could be problematic. I would suggest creating a new oversight framework or propose Flipsite be removed from the committee entirely.
Sample Voting Issue 2:
This is a very sensitive and complicated issue. I believe in prioritizing user trust, and by doing so, there needs to be a clear and transparent method of finding a solution when exploits occur. In this case I would opt for a full refund unless the DAO is financially incapable. Each scenario will require a bespoke approach to earning user-trust, which means conducting thorough post-mortems after any security breach. These post-mortems should involve a comprehensive analysis and what measures can be implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future. Transparency is key and sharing the findings with the community demonstrates accountability and a commitment to improving the ecosystem for the future.
Side note but I also believe that it’s important for delegates to abstain when an issue is too technically complex or they lack the expertise to thoughtfully participate. This ensures that decisions are informed by the most qualified delegates and reduces the risk of rushed or uninformed opinions that may impact the integrity of our processes.
Languages I speak: English
My experience:
Over the last six months I’ve been a contributing author to the Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP) and a core member of the GCP Working Group (incredible group of folks) which we recently brought the proposal to a successful Tally vote.
Most recently, I was the Co-Founder and CEO of Sock, a self-custodial finance app that launched on Arbitrum in 2023 which is available in over 70 regions around the world (check out this case study about our brand if you are curious).
I have over a decade of experience working with leading technology and entertainment companies as an early stage employee to exit. Before co-founding Sock, I spent 4+ years at Google spearheading UX operations and design strategy initiatives, including driving several external partnerships, corporate development, and championing product accessibility programs. I’ve also worked at companies such as Lucasfilm, Lucasarts, Zynga, and NerdWallet. Across leadership roles in program management, talent acquisition, even as the senior producer reporting directly to Zynga’s Chief Creative Officer, Tim LeTourneau.
I’m an established investor and advisor for early-stage tech companies focused in Web3, fintech, gaming and AI. I am deeply believe in social impact and serve as a board member of Creativity Explored, an organization that supports artists with developmental disabilities and is actively involved with initiatives that advance UX education at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).