- Name of Applicant : Popescu Razvan aka ZER8
- Email Address: synprm@gmail.com
- Telegram Handle (if applicable): zer8_future
- LinkedIn Profile (if applicable): Razvan Matei Popescu - Grant Program Manager @ArbitrumDAO - Arbitrum DAO | LinkedIn
- Current Occupation/s (if applicable): Independent delegate, Researching grant programs, running the Arbitrum_DAO account, Gitcoin Council Member
- Country of Residence & Time Zone: Romania, UTC +3
- Contact information for any additional references who can attest to your qualifications and character (optional): Thrive Team, Gitcoin, 1Hive, Arbitrum delegates, etc
- Preferred Role within the Supervisory Council (choose one):
- Communications
Background & Skills
Provide a brief overview of your experience within DAOs and governance. Highlight any relevant leadership or organizational roles within Arbitrum, or other DAOs. Include how your experience has prepared you for the responsibilities of the Supervisory Council. (400 words max)
I am a telecomm engineer that joined web3 in 2017 and since 2020 I’ve been full time contributing to Ethereum DAOs. Today I am actively contributing to 1Hive, Gitcoin DAO and Arbitrum DAO. Through this experience, I have gained extensive insights into the functioning of DAOs, the patterns they follow, the behaviors of their members and more importantly the areas they need constant nurturing and attention.
Started contributing to Arbitrum DAO via Thrive-ThankARB-PL in mid 2023, managed as well as marketed the first Arbitrum on Gitcoin, Arbitrum Citizens Round and Arbitrum Matching Fest grant programs which brought thousands of new users and onboarded organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Glo Dollar, Giveth and dozens other to Arbitrum for the first time. I’ve also organized the first Arbitrum DAO event at ETH Bucharest for free, bringing Arbitrum DAO to Romania, exposing it to a totally new audience, talent pool and possible area of expansion.
Explain how your skills align with the responsibilities of the Supervisory Council. Focus on your ability to oversee strategic priorities, manage resources, and handle communication or operations. (400 words max)
Marketing Quadratic Funding Rounds in new ecosystems is not an easy task, via the ‘hands-on’ marketing campaigns I’ve had to run for the Arbitrum on Gitcoin programs I’ve learned how to effectively communicate with different segments of stakeholders, grantees, donors, founders and people in the Arbitrum ecosystem as well as coordinating with the Arbitrum Foundation, Arbitrum ecosystem accounts, Arbitrum stakeholders and Arbitrum service providers for marketing support. All these initiatives required careful planning, prioritization and effective communication of the vision and nurturing of desired behaviors from the people involved.
Due to the dynamic and meritocratic DAO environment I’ve been involved in a diverse set of marketing/communications activities, such as:
-organizing marketing campaigns and grown high context social media accounts: Arbitrum DAO, 1Hive, etc
-onboarded users and organizations to web3 governance platforms, grant programs, protocols, etc
-communicating with different stakeholders effectively for different purposes
-coordinated multiple marketing outlets at the same time
Motivation & Strategic Vision
What motivates you to join the Supervisory Council, and what do you hope to achieve during your term? Explain why you are interested in a specific role (Communications or Operations) and how it aligns with your experience and skills. (300 words max)
I am motivated to join the ARDC and Supervisory Council for the same reason I started contributing to Arbitrum DAO and DAOs in general. I want to do my part in helping DAOs see succeed! My goal is to help Arbitrum DAO communicate better as well as broadening the reach of the ARDC communications to new audiences that might be impacted by its findings.
Created and executed the marketing plan for numerous Arbitrum DAO grant programs with the support of the Arbitrum Foundation as well as outlets from the Arbitrum ecosystem. During this time I’ve also lead the Social Media Fellowship- a group that has the goal of coordinating between Arbitrum DAO marketing accounts and promoting more native DAO efforts and underrepresented projects from the ecosystem.
What strategic priorities would you focus on during your term to ensure the ARDC meets its goals? How do you plan to contribute to aligning the ARDC’s activities with the broader objectives of the ArbitrumDAO? (500 words max)
As a communicator my goal in the ARDC is to clearly and concisely articulate the most relevant information to the most relevant stakeholders it affects/involved while maintaining transparency. In this case my mission is to effectively communicate the insights, research, reporting and activities of the ARDC to the Arbitrum DAO, Foundation, OL and ecosystem in a both clear and timely manner based on the recommendation and prioritization of the fellow ARDC members and the groups priorities.
Role-Specific Responsibilities [Only Applicable to Communications]
Describe your approach to maintaining transparent communication channels with key stakeholders, including OffChain Labs, the Arbitrum Foundation, and the DAO. How will you ensure that updates on ARDC activities are accessible and meaningful to the DAO? Provide examples of past communication or stakeholder engagement efforts. (400 words max)
There are multiple approaches that can guarantee transparent communication. Generally, a well administered telegram group, coupled with weekly/bi-weekly calls, X threads amplified by relevant Arbitrum accounts, forum posts and a ad-hoc amount of manual outreach cover the whole spectrum. It is up to the council to decide which communication style we will adopt and I am eager to help deliver on it.
Some Arbitrum related marketing accomplishments:
- Binance gave the Arbitrum on Gitcoin programs a shout out
- Arbitrum on Gitcoin announcement has huge organic engagement
- Arbitrum RetroCitizens Round -crazy organic engagement
How would you design and implement a communication strategy to enhance the visibility of ARDC’s work? Describe how you would manage press releases, social media, and community calls to ensure clear and consistent messaging. Anything you would improve on current strategies? (400 words max)
To enhance the visibility of ARDC’s work, I would:
-
Coordinate with the fellow ARDC members to decide what the priorities are at the moment, the cadence, the gaps in the previous ARDC iteration, what worked and how we can do better this time
-
Identifying and engaging relevant stakeholders from the Arbitrum ecosystem that are interested in promoting or educating the ecosystem about what we do.
-
Strategically crafting targeted press releases for major announcements and sharing them via Arbitrum outlets, leveraging multiple Arbitrum ecosystem accounts + partners that might want to help at the same time to ensure broad and targeted distribution.
-
Hosting X spaces and fun events with the community, EX: A chill QUIZ session for the DAO around previous ARDC accomplishments and present priorities -with small prizes.
If required, hosting biweekly community calls, 1on1s and AMAs for transparent updates, with summaries shared on forums and threads on social platform. Incorporating more interactive elements like live video recaps, feedback surveys, and fun engaging visual content might also help increase transparency as well as deepen audience engagement with the ARDC’s initiatives.
Prioritisation & Time Allocation
You will also need to evaluate and prioritize deliverables while assessing whether the time quoted by working members for specific tasks is reasonable. How will you determine which deliverables should be prioritized based on DAO needs, and how will you assess whether the time allocated for these tasks is appropriate? (400 words max)
**Prioritization is crucial, especially in a highly dynamic DAO environment, I will prioritize communicating tasks/topics directly proportional to their importance/impact in Arbitrum DAO based on the collective decisions of the ARDC and Supervisory Council. If there are any communication gaps, as a contributor and delegate I feel obliged to handle those as well.
I would recommend using web3 tooling to assess the time quoted by working members collectively - ex: Coordinape.
Summary of Qualifications
In summary, highlight your key qualifications and explain why you are a strong fit for the Supervisory Council. Emphasise the skills and experiences that make you well-suited for either the Communications or Operations role, and how you will contribute to the ARDC’s success. (400 words max)
I believe my experience in web3, DAOs, grant programs, marketing/communication coupled with the initiatives I’ve been managing for Arbitrum DAO give me unique insights and a deep understanding of the requirements, expectations of the role and the communication background to back it. My track record in web3 is one of constant delivery coupled with practical and adaptive approaches over traditional and sometimes redundant practices. In the past couple of months I’ve been coordinating pro-bono with other like minded individuals to help promote Arbitrum DAO efforts within the ecosystem- this involved coordinating with all the Arbitrum ecosystem marketing outlets, service providers, stakeholders and delegates.