Entropy Advisors: Exclusively Working with the Arbitrum DAO, Y2-Y3

[jameskbh]

I want to start by saying that I believe Entropy is a net positive for Arbitrum DAO and is doing amazing work. Period.

And to say that this is a renewal negotiation, so it is expectable that, while understanding the deep level of the partnership (and that the draft for this proposal was circulated around to gather earlier feedback/support), 2 different entities, with their best interest in mind, will work to get what is the best value for it.

I have a particular view of the proposed AAE setup, and that will drive my comment. You can check the full text here, but for the sake of clarity, I will paste a section down below.

@jameskbh

In my view, this resembles a company/entity with a well-defined R&D department, comms & marketing, Data & Finance, an Investment arm (focused on gaming), and an admin structure to be built (OpCo). And I see two issues here:

• The way we have it now is like those departments are outsourced , in a way that there is no direct relationship between ARB tokenholders (or delegates) decisions and the AAEs. The AAEs will have the autonomy even to refuse to work on a proposal approved by the DAO (more about it below). The envisioned structure proposes that the AAEs drives/gates the evolution/development of the DAO (and Arbitrum itself) while the OpCo acts as a bridge between the DAO and the AAEs. I could delve into more details, but outsourcing would reflect the gist of it.

Arbitrum DAO, as an entity, outsources certain functions to external partners. There is nothing wrong with that, as we should rely on the best expertise available. But, IMO, the DAO should wear these lenses when evaluating the current proposal.

@Entropy

Budget

In addition to our base pay, and in an effort to achieve long-term alignment with the Arbitrum ecosystem, we propose a 15M ARB allocation to Entropy Advisors that will be locked in a vesting contract with a 1-year cliff and 3-year vest. Our goal is to ensure the entire Entropy Advisors team has a large incentive to see Arbitrum win, and to ensure we remain committed to Arbitrum significantly into the future.

While on this first pass, I don’t have much to say about the proposed work scope and the base pay related to that, but I believe the extra 15m ARB allocation deserves clear milestones to make sense, and/or should have a similar structure of the first proposal (a separeted Snapshot vote). IMO, it is expected that, as a “contractor” working for a single client, the team’s commitment to deliver the items defined above and the incentive for this sole client to be successful, are part of the base pay (that already has a bonus for the exclusivity/market we are inserted).

While I acknowledge the points raised by @JoJo, it is a common practice to tie extra pay to deliverables not associated with the “regular commitment/tasks”.