[Election & Application Thread] Arbitrum D.A.O. (Domain Allocator Offerings) Grant Program

Applications for DAO programs
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The following reflects the views of the Lampros DAO governance team, composed of Chain_L (@Blueweb), @Euphoria, and Hirangi Pandya (@Nyx), based on our combined research, analysis, and ideation.

We want to start by expressing our heartfelt gratitude to all the candidates who applied for these roles. Each of you brings unique skills and perspectives, making this decision challenging. We carefully reviewed all the applications and listened to the pitches from every candidate. Based on our evaluation, we have cast our votes as follows:

  1. New Protocol and Ideas:

    • We have voted Abstain, as we are also a candidate for this domain.

  2. Education, Community Growth, and Events:

    • We have voted for @SEEDGov as the Domain Allocator for Education. SEEDGov has extensive experience managing this domain and a proven track record. Having been a grantee in this domain in the past, we have witnessed firsthand how smoothly SEEDGov handled operations and maintained transparent communication.

  3. Dev Tooling on One and Stylus:

    • We have voted for @Juandi as the Domain Allocator for Dev Tooling. Juandi has successfully managed this domain for the past two seasons. His deep experience and expertise make him the best fit to continue leading this domain. While we acknowledge some issues that arose in the previous season as mentioned in @Entropy’s report, we trust they won’t be repeated. With the operational improvements outlined by @JoJo in the proposed changes for Tally, including enhanced due diligence for applicants, we believe the process will be much stronger this term.

  4. Gaming:

    • We have voted for @Flook as the Domain Allocator for Gaming. Flook has managed this domain for the last two seasons and has significant experience in the gaming sector. His strong track record of delivering results makes him the best candidate to continue for a third term. We are confident he will deliver similar success in this upcoming term.

We deeply appreciate all the candidate’s efforts and look forward to seeing the contributions of the elected Domain Allocators this term.

1 Like
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DAOplomats would be voting for candidates who we believe are most DAO-aligned and have a strong vision of how they would be tackling their respective domains. That said, our votes will be in this order:

New Protocol and Ideas – Saurabh 75%, Gabriel 25%

Saurabh extensive experience from participation in Questbook’s DDA program as a grants manager would play a major part in this role among other things. We also voted for Gabriel as we are supportive of how they envision supporting DeFi projects.

Education, Community Growth, and Events – SEEDGov

This was a no-brainer. To us, SEED has shown much more alignment than any other group in this category, and with a strong plan on how they are looking to go about this role, we are in favor.

Dev Tooling on One and Stylus – Juandi

This was another easy one. We believe Juandi has handled this role well in DDA’s past iterations and has strong expertise so we are happy to support him once again.

Gaming – Flook

Gaming is somewhat a slippery slope considering we already have a body dedicated to leading this. However, we are confident Flook would still bring value here as they have deep experience and alignment within the community.

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gm, after reviewing all candidates here’s my allocation rationale for season 3.
I prioritized proven execution + continuity where teams have shown strong results. The DAO benefits from stability in these critical domains while we scale our builder ecosystem.

Education

  • seedgov (100%): Clear choice based on proven unbiased allocations and comprehensive community initiatives. Their approach to education and community growth has been consistently effective.

Dev Tooling [EDIT]

  • andreiv (60%): deep technical expertise + strong vision for Stylus + clear passion for DAOs
  • juandi (40%): solid performance in past seasons, but recent controversy with 1 funded project + relatively lighter technical background versus other candidates led to reduced allocation

New protocols
Was more undecided so decided to split among 3 candidates.

  • saurabh (40%), castle (60%), todayindefi (10%): All have demonstrated strong track records and can bring a valuable perspective.

Gaming Domain

  • flook (100%): Demonstrated excellent performance in previous seasons. Their deep gaming industry expertise + established processes are crucial for maintaining momentum in our gaming initiatives.

Thanks

2 Likes
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After consideration, the @SEEDgov delegation has decided to distribute their votes in the following way:

New Protocol and Ideas: 75% to Saurabh & Shogun - 25% to Castle Labs - NDW & Chilla

Gaming: 100% to Nikki Tran & Adam (Flook)

Dev Tooling on One and Stylus: 100% to Andreiv

Education, Community Growth, and Events: ABSTAINING here for COI reasons

Rationale

New Protocol and Ideas: Among the candidates, we were most impressed by Saurabh - Shogun and Castle Labs - NDW & Chilla. The former demonstrated solid experience leading grant programs in GMX and Questbook, making integrations within the Arbitrum ecosystem, and conducting data analysis and metrics for tools and support. As for the latter, their extensive experience in incentive design, evaluation of protocol applications in LTIPP/STIP, and research and advisory within Arbitrum’s ecosystem made them an attractive option as well.

Gaming: For the Gaming Domain, both candidates were really solid:

Nikki Tran & Adam (Flook): Nikki possesses experience in content creation, managing Web3 campaigns, and audience growth across multiple platforms, making her a perfect fit considering the restructuring and scope change in this domain. Adam, as Co-founder of Merlyn Labs, has deep knowledge of Web3 gaming and has managed the Gaming Domain in Arbitrum for 14 months. Together, they appear to be an ideal match for the domain’s needs.

Carlos Gonzalez & Alejandro Ochoa: Carlos has technical experience in blockchain gaming, L3 appchain development, and hackathons. Alejandro, a leader in the Gaming and Blockchain sector at Afirme, has expertise in strategic investments and prominent projects in LATAM, as well as connections with major Web2 publishers

Here, we faced a difficult decision, but several factors favored Nikki and Adam:

  • With the change in the domain’s scope due to the GCP, Nikki’s profile, with experience in content creation within the gaming sector, can be of great help when it comes to user acquisition.
  • Conversely, while Alejandro’s connections with major Web2 publishers are valuable, his expertise would be better leveraged within the GCP as example.
  • Adam’s previous experience in the domain is a strong differentiator. We have firsthand knowledge of how the domain operates and he did a great job.

Dev Tooling on One and Stylus: In this particular domain, @andreiv’s presentation was very convincing. While it was also a difficult decision because we know Juandi from Seasons 1 and 2, we believe that Andreiv’s experience as a dev in events related to Stylus makes him a great fit for the position, potentially the candidate who can best understand initiatives like Stylus Sprint.
It’s not a minor detail since having context and understanding of the applications funded in that program makes it more feasible to establish synergies by prioritizing projects complementary to those developed in the Sprint.

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Thanks to everyone who applied to the D.A.O program, it was a tough decision because all the candidates had strong backgrounds. Here are our votes:

Education - @SEEDGov 100%
SEEDGov stood out for their strong track record and impactful community work. Their experience in events and building communities aligns perfectly with what’s needed for this domain.

Dev Tooling - @Juandi 100%
Juandi’s solid technical skills and proven experience managing this domain in previous seasons made him the best fit. While there were some challenges last term, the improvements planned for this one are promising. His focus on developer tools is key to growing the talent in our community.

New Protocols - @Saurabh 100%
Saurabh and Shogun impressed with their extensive experience in grants, incentives, and ecosystem growth. Saurabh’s leadership at Questbook and GMX, along with Shogun’s data-driven expertise, makes them a strong team to support builders and drive progress in this domain.

Gaming - @Flook 100%
With two seasons of experience managing this domain, Flook has shown he can deliver results. His deep knowledge of the gaming industry and established processes ensure momentum is maintained, and impactful initiatives continue to thrive.

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I want to thank all candidates for the time invested and for the great presentations in the calls. A My votes are:

New Protocols - Saurabh & Shogun
I liked the idea of a joint proposal. Saurabh has previous experience in grants programs, and Shogun experience with data analysis will be valuable when reviewing applications.

Education - SEEDGov
They are making an amazing job and I didn’t see benefits enough to justify a change.

Gaming - Flook 100
Another case where we are getting more than one responsible for the domain, which increases the perceived value of the candidacy. Great initiative!

Dev Tooling - Juandi
Juandi’experience running the previous seasons, with a good result, made me choosing him.

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On behalf of Gains Network (gTrade):

Thank you to all the applicants who have shown their interest to each of their respective domains. Gains Network would like to provide context on its vote. Feel free to reach out for more details.

New Protocols and Ideas
Vote — Saurabh
Gains Network believes Saurabh has demonstrated expertise in grants design and execution in former programs. Combined with his alignment to the broader interests of both GMX and gTrade — 2 key players in the DeFi vertical on Arbitrum — makes him, together with Shogun, the optimal choice for Gains Network’s vote. It is believed their role should enhance the effectiveness of resource allocation and contribute to the sustainable growth of the Arbitrum ecosystem. Gains Network believes this vote reflects alignment with both gTrade’s goals and the best interests of the DAO.

Education, Community Growth, and Events
Vote — Seedgov
As mentioned in the STIP Addendum early 2024, Gains Network considers it important for the Arbitrum DAO to spend budget on marketing, education and growth more broadly. Gains Network believes that SEEDGov shows a balanced focus on transparency, structured processes, and multi-regional growth. It is believed that SEEDGov supports both DeFi goals and the Arbitrum ecosystem’s broader mission of education and adoption.

Dev Tooling on One and Stylus
Vote — Juandi
Gains Network believes Juandi’s combination of domain expertise, strategic focus, and alignment with Arbitrum’s goals makes him the ideal choice. Gains Network believes that Juandi will ensure a results-driven approach to advancing developer experience and accelerating ecosystem innovation.

Gaming
Vote — Flook
Noting that Gains Network is less experienced within this domain, it believes Flook’s experience and strategic focus position them as the best candidate to drive growth in the Gaming domain. By voting for Flook, Gains Network hopes to support a results-oriented approach to scale Arbitrum’s gaming ecosystem, bridging Web2 and Web3 communities; a key focus that applies to gTrade’s goals for 2025 as well.

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We vote for the candidates as below. We prioritize their relevant experience and Arbitrum specific knowledge for our selections.

New Protocols and Ideas

Saurabh (+ Shogun) 33%, Euphoria 33%, CastleCapital 33%

It was very challenging to choose the candidates as all of them have compelling applications. We chose @Saurabh as they have the most relevant experience as a grants program manager and Shogun’s help would be a big bonus. We chose @Euphoria and @CastleCapital as they are extensively experienced in Arbitrum programs and equipped with strong analytical skills.

Education, Community Growth, and Events

SEEDGov 100%

@SEEDGov has been a critical service provider, delegate and active contributor to the DAO space in general. Their extensive experience in the educational space, passion in growing the LATAM community and contributions to the Arbitrum ecosystem are second to none.

Dev Tooling on One and Stylus

Juandi 80%, andreiv 20%

We value @Juandi’s past experience as a domain allocator for the Developer Tooling domain, which is quite relevant to this role. However, we acknowledge the experience and expertises that @andreiv can deliver and split some portion of our VP into him.

Gaming

Flook 100%

Both of the candidates are very much qualified, but we value Nikki’s diverse experience including Web2 creator space and marketing skill and Adam’s experience as a gaming studio founder more for this particular role and vote for @Flook.

4 Likes
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Hey everyone, sharing my votes for the Questbook’s Season 3 Domain Allocator Election:

  • New Protocols and Ideas - Gabriel: Based on all the applications, I believe Gabriel has a strong vision with focus on breakthrough ideas like RWA, DePIN and user friendly DeFi applications.

  • Dev Tooling on One and Stylus - Juandi: I think Juandi had great experience as a Domain Allocator for Developer Tools at Arbitrum DAO before. Plus, his application shows he really understands the tools developers need.

  • Education, Community Growth, and Events - SEEDGov: They’ve proven their expertise in governance, education, and community growth with transparent and professional approach, not just in Arbitrum DAO, but across other protocols too.

  • Gaming - 50% Flook, 50% Erezedor: I’m supporting both Flook and Erezedor with a 50% 50% split. Flook brings great insights into sustainable economic models, while Erezedor offers strong technical expertise in blockchain and gaming. Both are good :slight_smile:

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Sharing here our votes for the Domain Allocator Election:

  • New Protocols and Ideas - TodayInDeFi: We voted for this good research team who has been putting out dedicated content and is on the front lines of DeFi to have a great perspective on what is working and not. (disclosure: we are subscribers).
  • Dev Tooling on One and Stylus - Juandi: His prior experience is a plus and we think there is a admirable track record of good allocation and positive feedback from other members of the community.
  • Education, Community Growth, and Events - SEEDGov: They’ve been good to work with in delegate programs and meetings and quick to respond to relevant community concerns. We think they will make a good choice here.
  • Gaming - 1 for Flook, 1 for Erezedor: We didn’t have much of an opinion between these two and think they can both do good work.
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[EDIT] We’re voting FOR the following allocations:

New Protocols & Ideas: Saurabh 100%
Track record at Questbook and GMX demonstrates deep understanding of protocol growth. Partnership with Shogun adds quantitative rigor.

Education & Community: SEEDGov 100%
Proven results across multiple DAOs and consistent engagement in governance discussions.

Dev Tooling: Andreiv 100%
After a private discussion with an active delegate focused on transparency and meritocracy in Arbitrum DAO, we have updated our selection for the Dev Tooling allocator role. Based on credible evidence, we determined that the other applications do not currently meet the required qualifications. Andreiv should lead this role.

Gaming: Flook 100%
Two seasons of domain management show operational efficiency. Gaming studio background helps evaluate project viability.

Would the PM consider monthly cross-domain sync calls to identify collaboration opportunities? Often, new protocols are building their own toolings to meet specific needs.

2 Likes
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After a careful revision and hearing all the “pitches,” I decided to vote as follows:

New Protocols & Ideas: Abstain
I’m running for this domain, so my reason to abstain is clear.

Education & Community: SEEDGov
They did a superb job last season and have a very well-prepared team to guide this domain. Even though the people who led the domain last season are no longer in SEEDGov, I believe the internal experience is valuable.

Dev Tooling: Juandi
Juandi has proven to be a great allocator, and even though he made the biggest mistake last season, he is passionate and will be much more diligent. I support continuity and believe rotation should only occur when there is a much clearer, better candidate.

Gaming: Flook and Erezedor
I think Flook did a great job and will continue to do so if elected. As mentioned before, continuity is something projects need to succeed, but I will also split the vote with Erezedor because I was impressed by his experience and team.

1 Like
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New Protocols & Ideas: 50:50 Saurabh & Castle Capital

While I don’t believe a conflict of interest exists, in the interest of oversharing, given that Saurabh is a contributor at GMX who i work with on a regular basis and members of Castle Capital are active in GMX governance i’m declaring these ‘relationships’. To be clear there is no economic interest or obvious overlap with the nature of these rolls with GMX.

My vote was guided by the strong work i’ve seen both do within GMX and across intiatives at the Arbitrum DAO. Regret having them running against each other, but such is life.

Education & Community: SEEDGov
Dev Tooling: Juandi
Gaming: Flook

Believe they all did good work and there is a value to us building institutional strength and memory by having well performing candidates continue in mandates. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have change, it just isn’t needed for the sake of change.

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Hello, we want to thank @JoJo and for all those involved in this organization, the experience was extremely enriching for us, we learned a lot, we enjoyed the activities, the talk here, the comments in the discussion and we learned more about how these processes are executed.

We are happy that here the DAO and the community won another battle in the web3, as well as the new projects coming to the Arb ecosystem analyzed by the chosen DAs.

We wish the DAs who will take up the position a lot of success in their journey in assuming this enormous and delightful responsibility.

Thank you so much for the opportunity and to everyone who listened to us and also the ones that decided to support us, it means a lot.

@ariutokintumi (German Abal) & @0xVato (Arturo Castañon)

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The below response reflects the views of L2BEAT’s governance team, composed of @krst and @Sinkas, and it’s based on the combined research, fact-checking and ideation of the two.

After reviewing all the applications for each respective domain, and after attending the two “pitching” sessions to hear the nominees out -in which all 15 candidates participated- we’ve decided that we’ll be voting for the following people:

Gaming Domain

  • Nikki Tran & Flook
    • Flook has been in charge of that domain for approximately the past 14 months without any problems. The addition of Nikki brings a new layer that will improve operations in this domain, probably leading to even better performance.

Dev Tooling on Nova Domain

  • Andreiv

    • After carefully reviewing the applications, we decided to vote for Andreiv because we believe his technical profile and his experience with DAO tooling make him an excellent candidate to ensure top-quality technical projects in this role.

      In our minds, Juandi was also a very strong candidate and someone whose work we deeply respect. We were aware of Entropy’s report on his domain and the unfortunate event with one of the grantees, and we reached out to Juandi to discuss it directly with him and get his perspective. Ultimately, we decided that the best way forward is to not vote for him at this time due to his bandwidth constraints, as he is also managing his startup, and we would like him to be able to focus on that first. At the same time, we want someone able to focus more on the grants program as the domain allocator.

New Protocol Ideas Domain

  • Saurabh & Shogun (50%)
    • We voted for Saurabh & Shogun because this team has extensive experience managing grant programs. Saurabh was a member of the LTIPP council, representing GMX, and has a business development and governance operations background. Additionally, he was the original proposer of the domain allocator program and is very familiar with the entire program. On the other hand, Shogun has expertise in metrics and data analytics, which can significantly improve the operations of the domain allocator program.
  • Uhthred (50%)
    • Uhthred’s application was compelling, and based on his background and involvement with Arbitrum DAO over the past few months, we believe he might be a valuable addition to the domain allocator program.

Education, Community Growth, and Events Domain

  • SEEDGov
    • SEEDGov has proven the quality of their work in the different initiatives they have been involved in. Their operational and communication skills and track record give us the confidence that they will maintain a good performance.
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Below is the summary of our recent votes and rationale for the Domain Allocator Offerings Grant Program.

Gaming Domain:
Supporting Flook based on the demonstrated expertise and relevant background in the gaming sector.

Dev Tooling Domain:
Supporting Juandi despite a previous grant oversight. We believe this was an isolated misjudgment, and the overall strong performance record warrants continued support.

New Protocol Ideas Domain:
We voted for ourselves in line with the Code of Conduct. Our team (separate from that voted in for ARDC) offers extensive expertise to manage the grant in this domain for Arbitrum.

Education, Community Growth and Events Domain:
Supporting SEEDGov, they have a proven track record and have been consistent in their contributions in this domain for Arbitrum.

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Sharing my Rationale for the vote now that results have been revealed

Gaming Domain:

Flook & Niki - I had the opportunity to meet Flook during the LTIPP, and his experience in gaming is precisely what is needed to manage this domain. Additionally, they bring prior success as domain allocators, complemented by a new focus and goal of attracting Web2 creators to the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Education, Community Growth, and Events:

SEEDGov - They have done an excellent job managing this domain, prioritizing not only the technical quality of approved content but also geographic diversity. Therefore, I believe they should continue in this role.

New Protocol Ideas:

50% Saurabh
50% CastleCapital

I had the pleasure of working with both during the LTIPP, and I feel confident stating that they are more than qualified to evaluate funding proposals for new ideas in the DAO.

Dev. Tooling:

Andreiv - I appreciate the idea of having a builder who has gone through the process of receiving a grant from the domain allocator and is actively building an application on Arbitrum take charge of this domain. His technical background is a must-have for the role, and he meets this requirement. I also liked his proposed vision regarding the relationship between user and developer experience in development.

3 Likes
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Here are my votes for the Domain Allocator Election:

New Protocols and Ideas – Gabriel:
Throughout my time as a delegate, I have noticed Gabriel’s strong dedication. Besides being part of a shared group of friends, I am well aware that his academic background and his track record in decentralized finance speak good about his capabilities.

Development Tools on One and Stylus – JuanDi:
JuanDi’s dedication as the manager of this domain over the past few months has given me enough confidence to offer him my full support.

Education, Community Growth, and Events – SEEDGov:
Gianluca has always been committed to community development. Managing the DIP is no small task, and whenever I’ve had questions, his response time has been almost immediate. This gives me the confidence to support him continuing in this role.

Gaming – Erezedor:
Erezedor has an extensive background as a developer and is highly skilled with several platforms.

1 Like
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Making these decisions was complicated, as the proposals were valuable. However, based on my analysis, I distributed my points according to my expectations and hopes:

New Protocols and Ideas:.

@Saurabh (37.5%): the extensive experience in grants program management and applicant support is crucial to our initiatives. His background and focus match what I consider essential for success in this area.

Due to his experience in TradFi and Bitcoin in addition to his ability to bring fresh and innovative ideas, @Gabriel got him (37.5%.). I was convinced that his involvement will attract new exciting projects.

@Euphoria Although it received (25%) of my points, I want to acknowledge the proposal for its interest and potential for improvement. Your idea has the potential to evolve and contribute significantly in the future.

Education, Community Growth and Events:.

I allocated 90% of my points to @Seedgov because of their outstanding track record in education and community growth. Their commitment and contributions have been instrumental in the development of our community, and I am confident they will continue to drive valuable initiatives that benefit all.

I value the focus on Latin America, so I allocated 10% of my points to @FruteroClub as part of my support.

Dev Tooling on One and Stylus:

I awarded 100% of my points to @Juandi, who has shown successful management of this domain over the past seasons. His experience and in-depth knowledge make him the best choice to continue leading this area. His dedication and ability to manage this domain have been evident, and I believe his continuity will bring significant benefits for development.

Gaming:

I decided to give 100% of my points @Flook, who has demonstrated a wealth of experience and solid knowledge in the gaming sector. In addition, @Flook’s outstanding performance in previous seasons and his established processes are essential to maintain momentum in our gaming initiatives.

Congratulations to everyone for their proposals and for the effort and dedication they have shown in this process. Each idea submitted reflects a deep commitment to our development and growth. It is inspiring to see the level of creativity and passion that everyone has contributed and will continue to contribute :smiley:

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We would like to document the rationale behind LobbyFi’s votes on this proposals retrospectively, for documentation reasons:

New Protocols and Ideas: LobbyFi has voted 100% for Gabriel since the instant buy option has been exercised.

Education, Community Growth, and Events: LobbyFi has voted 100% for SEEDgov since the instant buy option has been exercised.

Gaming: LobbyFi has voted 100% for Flook since the instant buy option has been exercised.

Although (unfortunately) there has been a signing error due to an inconsistent shutter library usage for the 3 above mentioned proposals, that we now fixed and reimbursed the payments (and also managed to hot-fix for one of the election proposals).

Dev Tooling on One and Stylus: LobbyFi has voted 100% for andreiv since the instant buy option has been exercised.

1 Like