LTI Pilot Program Position Application Thread

Puncar · January 12, 2024, 9:30am

Name: Puncar

Position I am applying for: Council Member

Twitter: @puncar_refi

Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.):

Co-founder of How To DAO and Bankless Consulting, where I am working with several web3 projects to help them with strategy, growth, and operations.

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

As an experienced professional in the Web3 space, my journey began in 2017 at EY, leading to the founding of Bankless Consulting in 2021 and How To DAO in 2023. My extensive background in guiding numerous projects, from nascent ideas to successful business models and products, uniquely positions me to contribute significantly to the Arbitrum ecosystem as a Council member.

Qualifications

Expertise in Web3 Consultation and Project Development

My experience in consulting enables me to provide constructive feedback to incentive program applicants, enhancing their proposals and aligning them with future-oriented value propositions. This will aid their growth and bolster the overall value contribution to the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Co-Founder of How2DAO and Industry Knowledge

As a co-founder of How2DAO, an initiative focused on Web3 education through conferences and publishing materials, including a book on the Web3 ecosystem, I am at the forefront of understanding industry trends and needs.
This role grants me the insight to identify high-value applications for the ecosystem, encouraging their prioritization and advancement. Conversely, I can also recognize projects or incentive programs with limited future potential, offering constructive feedback for reworking or advising against their support.

Network of Web3 Experts and Comprehensive Evaluation Skills

My daily interactions with various Web3 experts through my professional engagements ensure I am well-equipped with the necessary knowledge to evaluate various proposals.
This network allows me to consult on specific aspects of proposals, ensuring a well-rounded and informed evaluation process. My ability to comment on proposals across diverse topics further adds to my value as a council member.

My comprehensive experience in the Web3 sector, combined with my role in educating and shaping the future of this space, positions me as an ideal candidate for the Arbitrum Council. My ability to provide insightful feedback, evaluate the potential of the incentive program and the project itself, and leverage my network of experts will significantly support the growth and success of the Arbitrum ecosystem.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

A robust incentive application for the Arbitrum ecosystem should encompass two primary elements: alignment with ecosystem goals and innovation. Balancing these elements is key to fostering a dynamic and progressive ecosystem.

Alignment with Ecosystem Goals

Value Alignment and Creation: Applications should clearly understand the Arbitrum ecosystem’s needs and objectives. They should be akin to responses to a Request for Proposal (RFP), explicitly addressing identified needs and opportunities within the ecosystem.
Resource Utilization and Ecosystem Integration: Proposals should detail how they plan to integrate with and enhance the existing ecosystem, utilizing the incentive program efficiently and effectively.

Encouragement of Innovation

Market Trends and Novel Ideas: While aligning with internal goals is crucial, there should also be an avenue for innovative ideas that may not yet be on Arbitrum’s radar. These ideas could stem from external market trends or unique approaches that have yet to be explored.
Balanced Budget Allocation: While a significant portion of funding should support applications aligned with Arbitrum’s goals, a dedicated portion should also be allocated for these innovative projects, fostering long-term sustainability and advancement of the ecosystem.

Effective Application

Clarity and Conciseness: Applications must be straightforward, outlining the project scope, objectives, and execution plan.
Budget and Milestones: A clear budget breakdown for the incentive program and milestone timeline and KPIs are essential for evaluating the project’s progress.
Long-Term Commitment: Incentive programs should exhibit a long-term commitment to the ecosystem, possibly including provisions for follow-up incentives upon achieving certain milestones.

I believe a well-designed incentive program for the Arbitrum ecosystem can be categorized into two types: it is closely aligned with the ecosystem’s current needs and objectives. It meets clear KPIs or introduces novel ideas that drive the ecosystem’s growth. In either case, ensuring clarity, meticulous planning, and a dedication to creating long-term value is crucial.

What are your goals for this program?

Understanding the concerns of ArbitrumDAO delegates and the community about the efficient utilization of funds, my goals for this program are to establish a more effective, sustainable, and value-driven approach to incentive programs.

Addressing Community Concerns

Fiscal Responsibility: Address the concern regarding rapid fund expenditure without clear returns, ensuring that the spending of funds directly contributes to the ecosystem’s growth.
Short-term Metrics: Implement short-term metrics to assess the immediate impact of incentive programs, facilitating quicker adjustments and improvements.

Focus on Sustainable Value Creation

Long-term Value Orientation: Guide protocols in designing incentive programs focusing on long-term value creation rather than short-term metric upticks.
Streamlining Processes: Simplify application processes, reducing bureaucratic hurdles to encourage more focus on executing effective incentive programs.

Fostering Collaborative Improvement and Learning from Historical Data

Dialogue and Design Focus: Emphasize a collaborative approach in designing incentive programs, moving away from onerous application procedures to meaningful dialogues about program design.
Incorporating Lessons Learned: Use insights gathered from Arbitrum and the broader Web3 ecosystem to refine and enhance the design of future incentive programs.
Knowledge Sharing: Establish a repository or platform for sharing lessons learned from various incentive programs, facilitating knowledge transfer and continuous improvement among participants.

My overarching goal is to steer the incentive program towards a more sustainable, effective, and community-aligned path. This involves learning from past experiences and fostering a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing. The aim is to enhance the long-term value of the Arbitrum ecosystem, ensuring that every initiative undertaken is a step forward in reinforcing its position in the Web3 space.

amanwithwings · January 12, 2024, 10:33am

Background

Name: Metagov

Position I am applying for: Council Member

TG: @amanwithwings

Twitter: https://twitter.com/metagov_project

Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.): We’ve worked with the Ethereum Foundation, Uniswap, Gitcoin, Arbitrum Foundation, Optimism Collective, and many other organizations to build web3 infrastructure. We’ve also worked with many traditional funders like the Ford Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, One Project, the NSF, EU, and UKRI.

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

Metagov is a nonprofit interdisciplinary research collective. We build standards and infrastructure for digital self-governance. Our community includes 850+ researchers and 90 member organizations. Our standards have been adopted by thousands of DAOs, many DAO frameworks and web3 projects. We advocate for the well-being and innovation of the entire ecosystem. We

have high context on the Arbitrum ecosystem. We’ve interacted with a large number of projects on Arbitrum in relation to EIP-4824 (for which DAOstar, one of our initiatives, was funded by the Arbitrum Foundation), giving us a good idea of the ecosystem roadmap and priorities.
have high context when it comes to grant management. We piloted the Grants Management standard with Gitcoin, Optimism and others; released a (well-referenced) 86 page State of Web3 Grants Report diving deep into 11 of the largest web3 grants programs; run grant programs and various fellowships; and recently launched the Grants Innovation Lab with to improve the state of web3 grant ecosystem.
have high context and first-hand exposure to the inefficiencies in grant lifecycles. Being a 100% grant-run organization supported by the Ethereum Foundation, Optimism Collective, Arbitrum Foundation, ENS DAO, Gnosis, European Union’s NGI Initiative, and many others, this is ironically the case.
have high context on things that are not receiving enough funds/attention but are needed. As a collection of builders, we are well versed with the troubles that web3 foundations, DAOs, tooling providers and protocols face during bear markets and on a day-to-day basis.
have high context on a large spectrum of web3 products. We’ve produced a variety of web3 products, interoperability standards, research and public goods.

We would like to take all these learnings and help create a resilient grant program for Arbitrum DAO.

This initiative will be led by Joshua Tan (co-founder of Metagov, mathematician and computer scientist at Oxford), Eugene Levanthal (ED at Metagov, Grants Lead at the PBS Foundation, Research Lead at Plurality Institute) and Amandeep (Governance and Growth lead, previous at DeepDAO and IIT Delhi).

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

Sustainability, not short term frenzy: a good incentive program has mechanisms to fund sustainable impact and genuine innovation. It stays away from short-term KPI upticks as much as it can, as we have learned from the experience of countless other DeXs, bridges and DeFi protocols that these pathways aren’t sustainable.

Reward innovation and novelty: The 2 larger grants available in the Arbitrum ecosystem (the incentive program and the Arbitrum Foundation grant) are both growth grants. While prioritizing pure protocol advancement and research might be out of the scope of this program, we can still support novel applications that pushes the envelope on the Arbitrum Nitro Stack.

As less grant farming as possible: An incentive game where the same set of addresses farm different DeFi protocols for rewards doesn’t establish anyone’s goals. Nor does an incentive game which funds the same experiments different times over without any results.

What are your goals for this program?

At this point, there is no need to reiterate the inefficiencies with the short term incentive program that concluded recently. Without clear guidance on what needs to be developed for the growth of Arbitrum, we will inevitably be led to issues over time. Hence, our primary goal for this program is to address these inefficiencies and ensure the long-term success of the incentive program.

Developing a universal rubric: while no grant program is a one-size fits all solution, we believe solid advancements can be made over the previous model as well as other grant programs whose insights we have. DAOstar’s strong academic, research-oriented background that has converted well into grants research and infrastructure development will be advantageous as well as contribute to diversity of perspective within the Council. It is important to come up with a rubric that rewards novelty, innovation and sustainability

Improving transparency of the program: We are committed to ensuring transparency of fund usage among grant recipients beyond defining a code of conduct. The LTIP is not a free-lunch (but we do want everyone to eat). Using grantee reporting and accountability protocols extend beyond milestone tracking to understanding the real impact of the program.

Ensuring long term alignment: While this is easier said than done, we will make active efforts towards ensuring the long term alignment of grantees as well as users onboarded through initiatives powered by LTIP with the Arbitrum ecosystem.

WintermuteGovernance · January 12, 2024, 11:08am

Background

Name: Wintermute
Position I am applying for: Council
TG: @callenvde
Twitter: @wintermute_t @cvant_
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.): Wintermute has relationships and investments across major DAOs and Protocols. We are a delegate across Uniswap, Optimism, Arbitrum, Compound, Aave, and dYdX. We have an extensive investment list in which all COIs will be explicit to fellow council members.

Note: If elected as a Council member, Wintermute plans to forego any compensation and requests that the foregone compensation be retained by the Arbitrum DAO or put towards the LTIP budget.

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

Since 2018, Wintermute has been an active member and contributor to the DeFi ecosystem through our trading, investing, and governance arms. We are a large delegate across major DAOs including Arbitrum with the sole purpose of leveraging our knowledge and infrastructure to advance the decentralized economy.

We have direct experience and knowledge with growing a protocol, incentive programs, and grants councils:

dYdX Grants Committee member & Multi-sig signer since Dec 15, 2021, to current date. Where we are responsible for aiding in the screening and approval of grants for the dYdX ecosystem that has been instrumental to its growth and transition to V4.
Trustee of the dYdX Operations subDAO - Nov 2022 to Dec 2023. Responsibilities included setting up the payment infrastructure, hiring contractors, legal restructuring, and launch of Genesis for the dYdX Chain.
A Step Towards a More Equitable Liquidity Provider Reward Structure - A proposal focused towards addressing the calculation of incentives towards liquidity providers on dYdX to provide a more equitable outcome.
V4 Vanguard - A myriad of proposals targeting incentives, token utility, and protocol parameters on dYdX to improve utility, emission cost, and alignment.

Furthermore, as with many other delegates we participated in STIP Round 1 assessing all grant applications and providing rationale for our selections based on core characteristics that we believed were most beneficial to Arbitrum.

STIP Twitter Thread

STIP Notion Document

Previous STIP Core Selection Characteristics:

STIP Goal Alignment - Grant applications should be conducive with the goals of the STIP.
Innovative Grant Disbursement - Innovative incentive designs are a plus as they will provide new data and insights.
Justifiable Grant Size - Grant size must be reasonable given the short timeframe and should have a clear overview of how tokens will be distributed.
Potential Long-lasting Benefits - The incentive design has the potential to bring long-lasting benefits.

During this process, we worked with a lot of grant applicants providing feedback on their applications which largerly focused on grant size and grant distribution.

Ultimately, we believe we bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Council with clear alignment to the Arbitrum ecosystem. We would be honoured to be selected as a Council member and provide delegates with a set of strong grant applications that will continue to grow the Arbitrum ecosystem.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

Regardless of the rubric it’s assessed against, a good incentive application should exhibit:

Clear and concise rationale behind their grant size, why they require the grant, and how they think their grant will benefit the Arbitrum ecosystem over the medium to long term.
A brief explanation and backstory of their protocol/dApp, including relevant features, functionality, and target audience with accompanying data.
A thoughtful and well-laid-out distribution plan that clearly describes where and how the grant will be used over the 12-week timeline (KPIs are a plus!). This will allow users to have a clear understanding of how they could benefit from the program. It will also allow Council members to assess if there is any misuse of funds.
Alignment with both the goals of the LTIP and Section 6 of the Arbitrum Constitution (sustainable, user-focused, neutral and open, inclusive).
Co-marketing initiatives (weekly or bi-weekly) via social channels providing highlights, relevant data points, and explanations of current and future incentives.

In conjunction these features require applicants to have a solid understanding of why they require the grant and how they plan to use the grant to achieve their desired goal; a goal that is beneficial to the Arbitrum ecosystem and that can be easily understood by the community, council members, and advisors.

What are your goals for this program?

The authors and contributors of this proposal have already done a fantastic job at tackling some of the pitfalls of the STIP. Therefore, our primary goals of this program as a Council member are two fold:

Ensure that ARB delegates and voters receive a list of grant applications that are high quality, high impact, and have the best shot at generating long term benefits to the Arbitrum ecosystem.
Establish a solid operational foundation of heuristics, resources, and data that can be leveraged far beyond the pilot program for both future grant applicants and contributors.

Thank you!

danielo · January 12, 2024, 3:11pm

Background

Name: Daniel Ospina (on behalf of RnDAO)
Position I am applying for: Council
TG: Telegram: Contact @mrjackalop
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Daniel_Ospina
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.): RnDAO

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?
I’m an organisation designer and governance nerd, having designed socio-technical-economic systems for the last decade.

I’ve been in Web3 since 2017. For the last two years, I’ve been an instigator at RnDAO (R&D DAO), through which we have completed research work and built tools for Aaave, Near, Celo, Optimism, Cosmos’s Atom Hub, Pocket, etc etc. Previously I was Head of Governance at Aragon, a visiting lecturer at Oxford University on topics of System Design and Innovation Management (for the Executive Master in Major Programme Management for executives managing $100m+ budgets), have been a resident in experimental psychology (focus on cognitive and perception psychology and dived deep into motivating theories) and was also a Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of London University (some dabblings on Ethics), and I have also founded 2 companies and led the turnaround of a family enterprise. This background allows me to marry theory and practice on the success factors for incentives and a deep understanding of Web3.

I have also held a series of positions overseeing fund allocation in web3, including the design and first season in the Executive Council at Aragon (2021), Supervisory Council in Singularity Net (now), and at RnDAO as an instigator. As well as having been on the applicant side of the table across 30+ grant programmes.

Additionally, the combined experience of the RnDAO team spans a deep understanding mechanism design, complex systems engineering, behavioral economics, and psychology; the building of multiple ventures across Web1, 2, and 3; and deploying over $125m of funding for innovation through public and private institutions.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

A good application includes:

Proof of traction without incentives (Product-market fit and using incentives to scale) or a clear strategy for how the incentives will help find PMF
Market landscape analysis /USP and pro-social behavior: how does growing this protocol add value to the ecosystem
Rationale for the incentive mechanism selected: how will this incentive create sustainable growth and not just a short-lived spike (e.g. destroying intrinsic motivation, short-termism, etc.)
Unit economics analysis: projected output for input (analogous to a financial model and key metrics)
Gameability analysis: how will sybil resistance and other attack vectors be managed
Team capability and track record
Detailed budget allocation planned and timeline
Succinct: distilling to the essential shows the case has been thought through and refined through multiple cycles, showing strategy skills.

What are your goals for this program?

We want to bring a deeper understanding of the nuances of applying incentives (misused, incentives are often counterproductive) and the systemic consequences for the ecosystem (focus on strategic initiatives and building foundations over short-term spikes that then crash).

Additionally, we are excited to get more involved in the Arbitrum ecosystem and bring our research to support the great work happening here so it may realize its full potential.

Matt_StableLab · January 12, 2024, 4:02pm

Pilot Program Pitching Sessions

Thanks to all who have applied!

We will be hosting a call on Tuesday, January 16th at 16:00 UTC to allow all applicants the chance to pitch themselves to delegates.

All applicants will have 4 minutes to state their case for why they should be elected. The call will be recorded and posted to the forum.

Applicants can sign up for a speaking slot here

The link to the call can be found here

@GFXlabs @JoJo @Immutablelawyer @Bob-Rossi @Curia @therollupco @MaxWave @SeriousPeople @CastleCapital @pingus

Matt_StableLab · January 12, 2024, 4:03pm

@padzank @Tane @Boardroom @SeriousIan @404DAO @thechaingamer.eth @SEEDGov @JoshS @Puncar @amanwithwings

Please see the Pilot Program Pitching Sessions post right above this. (I was only able to tag 10 users per post)

Matt_StableLab · January 12, 2024, 4:04pm

@WintermuteGovernance @danielo

Please see the Pilot Program Pitching Sessions post right above this. (I was only able to tag 10 users per post)

karelvuong · January 12, 2024, 4:23pm

LTIP Pilot: Karel Vuong’s Council Application

Background

Name: Karel Vuong
Position I am applying for: Council
TG: @karel0x
Twitter: @karelvuong
Affiliations / Expertise:
- Co-Founder of Treasure DAO, the leading decentralized game publisher on Arbitrum building the next gaming and entertainment powerhouse built and owned by all. Treasure’s ecosystem is connected by the $MAGIC token and features games like The Beacon, Mighty Action Heroes, Realm, Knights of the Ether, Kaiju Cards, Zeeverse, Tales of Elleria, and many others.
- Arbitrum DAO delegate via Treasure
- Angel investor in Delegate, Helika, Satsuma (acq. by Alchemy), and AcadArena
- Prior stints in TradFi venture capital and asset management (6+ years, 3 funds launched, $14B in AUM), startup studio and venture creation (2 exits, 1 IPO), and wearer of many hats at multi-stage startups (product, operations, strategy, engineering, BD, marketing, talent, etc.)

Why you?

Why would you be the best candidate for this position?

Long standing history with Arbitrum - Both Treasure and I have been building with Arbitrum since its early days (October 2021)! We’ve had the pleasure of growing up together with the Arbitrum. Building together, innovating together, going after developers / game studios / protocols / partners together, and, now, building our shared, decentralized future together. With Treasure currently serving as Arbitrum’s largest delegate (thanks to all who have delegated to us), we are strongly aligned with the ecosystem.
Representing a much needed voice within Arbitrum across gaming, culture, and entertainment - While it’s already apparent today that Arbitrum is the clear winner in decentralized finance across ecosystems, I want to ensure that we can win in all other areas and this includes gaming, culture, and entertainment (NFTs and art). These are under-indexed areas both within the Arbitrum ecosystem (we are hoping to make a big difference here as Treasure) and also across the DAO’s current delegate pool which is representative of the make-up of the Arbitrum network. A council should be diverse and adequately represent the DAO (both current and the future we want to see). If gaming and culture are key priorities for Arbitrum, the council should not be absent this perspective.
Track record of being in the builder’s seat - While Treasure is my first concerted entrepreneurial endeavour in web3, this is an experience I’ve had time and time again in web2 across both early-stage and late stage organizations. A number of the organizations I have been a part of founding and growing from the ground up were able to be brought through to successful exits (2 through M&A and 1 through IPO) and this journey has helped shape my journey as a builder. With Treasure, we had a truly bottom-up inception as a fair distribution project with a free mint. This is all relevant as I can deeply empathize with the lean and scrappy builders with big dreams and ambitions on Arbitrum. This operating perspective is necessary to round out a council.
Venture background - Beyond my operating experience, I’ve also been in the venture seat as well both at a fintech-focused fund ($2.5B in AUM) and as an angel investor. This pairs well with oversight / participation in grants programs as the experience in conducting diligence and evaluation process with a lens towards partnering or supporting successful, enduring organizations is fully transferrable to this program.
Experience with grant / incentive programs - My experience with grants / incentive programs is two-fold: (1) via Arbitrum DAO; and (2) via Treasure DAO. Within Arbitrum, this experience comes from Treasure DAO’s participation in the evaluation and voting of 100+ STIP Round 1 applicants, me personally serving on the STIP Multisig, and also weighing in on the early LTIPP designs as it was drafted by its authors. Within Treasure DAO, we’ve had our own fair share of grants and partnerships that we’ve structured across our game studios and through our Community Grants Program as well.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

Is clear and concise, but comprehensive
Is Arbitrum-aligned and supports the ecosystem’s broader goals
Built upon innovative technology or products with established or strong signals of adoption / traction (or an awesome plan to make it happen)
Has structured milestones and measurable KPIs with a solid plan to achieve them
Has incentive design that is impactful with a long-term mindset (ie. is Sybil resistant, minimizes grant farming, also looks beyond the short-term)
Can prove trust (via team and viability of their product, has tech that has been audited and is secure)

What are your goals for this program?

Ensure quality protocols and builders working to grow Arbitrum have a clear path to incentives
Help establish a long-term and sustainable incentive program
- Specifically, further test the thesis of a category/cluster-based system of grant programs and sub-councils (ie. gaming, DeFi, RWAs, culture, etc.) that would all roll back up to the broader DAO
- Also expand the definition of incentives to be able to support protocol development and runway (after all - without the app layer that can bring on a new user base, there would be no ecosystem and demand for blockspace)
Support meritocracy, not politics

jooooo5as · January 12, 2024, 5:07pm

Background

Name: Milan | Jonas
Position we are jointly applying for: Application Advisor
TG: @Milan_IgniteDAO | @ jooooo5as
Twitter: @proofofmilan | @ jooooo5as
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.): Ignite DAO | Gyroscope

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

We believe the main role as an Application Advisor is to facilitate clear and effective communication. We see three main dimensions here:

communication of operational aspects, e.g., explanations of the grant scope, process, and criteria
communication of strategic goals, e.g., demonstrations how a project could better align goals and strategies with the Arbitrum ecosystem.
communication of performance against the stated goals

We further believe it is important to understand and operate within the boundaries of a grant seeker. As we, Milan and Jonas, both have experience using, building, and researching DeFi applications we can bring in this perspective and help projects steelman their grant proposals.

A few points on our individual experience and qualifications:

Milan started working in crypto at Zilliqa in 2017. He soon became Zilliqa’s Head of Marketing and Partnerships and played a key role in executing strategic plans and building valuable partnerships for the organization (e.g. with big esports teams like Ninja in Pyjamas or Mad Lions). Milan also worked with a lot of ecosystem partners to help them on how to work on applications for the Zilliqa blockchain.
Milan also has hands-on experience as an entrepreneur, having self-funded and bootstrapped Ignite DAO, a wallet for Zilliqa with >11m USD in TVL.

Jonas has diverse experience in the crypto industry, primarily in Applied Research and Analyst roles. His expertise includes data analysis (Python & SQL) and effectively communicating findings. He also contributes as an operator in a DeFi project.
Jonas authored the most-frequently-cited stablecoin paper while working at the European Central Bank, conducted internal and external research projects while working at Binance, and is currently a full-time contributor to a DeFi project, Gyroscope.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

We can reuse the earlier stated three dimensions to structure how a good application can look like.

Operational: ideally, the grant seeker is ready to start the incentive campaign.

Readiness: are all necessary contracts deployed? Are there external dependencies that could impact the success of the grant usage?
Alignment: is there an outline of a broader marketing strategy with established partnerships or a core link to a newly launched product feature?
Planning for the Future: does the team demonstrate a commitment to conducting thorough testing of technical infrastructure and addressing potential scalability, security, or user adoption challenges in the future, leveraging the grant effectively?

Strategic: ideally, the grant seeker can use the grant funding to build out a sustainable edge (that persists even after the grant funds have been used).

Vision: does the team intend to utilize additional funds to establish a sustainable competitive edge? Ideally, via a focus on strategies like bootstrapping dominance in a niche, scaling up initially proven product-market fit, and maintaining a long-term orientation.
Ecosystem Contribution: do the project’s goals align with the overarching objectives of the Arbitrum ecosystem? Is there a description how the project contributes to the ecosystem’s growth, while emphasizing unique features that differentiate it from competitors or including use-cases that are prohibitively expensive on Ethereum mainnet.

Communicational: ideally, the grant seeker commits to transparent, comprehensive, and honest reporting.

Transparent reporting: will the team commit to standardized reports on a defined cadence (e.g. monthly, quarterly, or after reaching milestones)? The format of the standardized reports must support enough flexibility, while keeping the required effort for the grant seeker minimal & should be strongly linked to the scoring rubric.
Comprehensive reporting: is the team willing to provide comprehensive reports covering both successes and challenges faced during the incentive campaign?
Adaptability and Proactive Problem-Solving: does the team demonstrate a willingness and ability to discuss and adjust their strategy openly if initial objectives are not being met?

In summary, a strong incentive application for Arbitrum should highlight operational readiness, with an emphasis on immediate launch capability and readiness for unforeseen challenges. Strategically, it must showcase a clear vision for leveraging the grant to gain a sustainable edge, aligning closely with Arbitrum’s ecosystem goals and distinguishing itself from competitors. Communicationally, the application needs to commit to transparent, comprehensive reporting and adaptability, ensuring an open dialogue about progress and any necessary strategic shifts. This approach ensures a thorough, competitive, and well-aligned application for consideration.

What are your goals for this program?

This long-term oriented program has the opportunity to move towards and define a set of best-practices on how to distribute community grants. This sounds fun and we’d like to contribute to this.

Concretely, we see three different sub-goals here:

Creating a grading rubric that is fundamentally data-driven, but measures the ‘right’ things. Metrics that are beneficial to the broader Arbitrum ecosystem even when gamed, metrics that include a long-term orientation, and metrics that are easy to measure.
Creating a way to effectively communicate the grading rubric in an intuitive, yet exhaustive manner. This will be difficult, but can preempt many problems.
Creating healthy feedback cycles. Various kinds of feedback cycles that range from providing concrete feedback to grant seekers on how to improve their application, to an iterative development of the grading rubric, to tracking the grant seeker performance against goals.

But beyond just providing incentives, the program should also offer real advisory support. Teams may encounter challenges during the implementation phase, and offering guidance can help them navigate these hurdles successfully.

Additionally, this grant program may very well be the project’s first major touchpoint with Arbitrum, making a positive impression crucial. This reinforces the need for open communication, constructive feedback, and specific, objective criteria even or particularly when communicating a negative funding decision.

also adding a tl;dr:

What you see is what you get. Instead of applying on behalf of a team member, we will be the ones engaged in this. This would be the first DAO engagement for us, so we would be dedicated to this and have no conflicts of interest w/ other DAO functions. Similarly, we have sth to prove and will make sure to deliver.
We’ve proven our capabilities in past roles. Milan was the Marketing Lead at Ziliqa and has expertise in marketing and grant programs. As a founder of a Zilliqa Wallet he also understands the candidate perspective and roadblocks. Jonas held past roles at the ECB and Binance and is currently working as a DeFi operator.
Concretely, we think we have skills this program needs. we think we can bring a lot of operational excellence, structure, and context awareness to this program. We also have skills in data science and marketing.
Some of the key points we believe are important.
- Process: The grant process starts long before the grant seeker applies and ends long after grant funding is distributed. We want to take a holistic look and focus on infographics & similar tooling to clarify the program scope and process.
- Substance: We think it is crucial to check whether any funds will be used to establish a sustainable competitive edge or will simply temporarily boost the activity. To give examples, we think it would make sense to select for projects that focus on strategies like bootstrapping dominance in a niche or scaling up initially proven product-market fit. Ultimately this depends on the scoring rubric. What we want to do is to concretely help projects to perform well within the scope of LTIPP.

1sla.eth · January 12, 2024, 9:57pm

Background

Name: 1sla.eth
Position I am applying for: Council Member
TG: @ftwisla
Twitter: @0xisla
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.):

Association President / Co-founder / Founding Member of @FTWDAO

Fellow backed by the RNDAO Arbitrum CoLab Fellowship to research community-led grants and investment governance, and coordination mechanisms for grants / venture DAOs.

Joined @Safe as Grants Lead in 2023 and established the grants program.

Council member at @DAOSuisse

Founding Member at DAOVOZ

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

Ikigai: I have been thinking about designing better (more founder and ROI-friendly) capital allocation systems (particularly focused on venture finance) for almost 10 years. Very recently joined the RnDAO Arbitrum CoLab Fellowship researching investment curation, community-powered decision-making and reputation in investment DAOs via the RnDAO fellowship, so that anyone, anywhere can easily build an investment track-record on-chain.

Our research and solution ideas were also recently supported by the Swiss Blockchain Federation Innovation Booster grant, and aim to result in applications that enable syndicates, grants and in particular DAOs to effectively leverage their community in capital allocation decisions.

Mindful capital allocation is my co-called ‘zone of genius’ or ‘ikigai’

Qualifications: My academic background started with a degree in economics covering topics such a game theory and environmental economics, and led to a deep interest in innovation’s role in long-term job creation, which I followed up on by studying towards an M.Sc. in Strategy & Innovation. A large part of the work during the M.Sc. looked at strategies for community-led / open-source innovation, and incentives behind them, and I plan to eventually write my thesis on decentralised capital allocation.

Formally qualified for this role, which spans strategy, governance, finance, and innovation

Experience: In 2015, I started my career and venture capital, but quickly realised there were many issues with our current models for venture finance and decision-making. Since then, I have largely dedicated my career to designing better, more effective forms of capital allocation. 10 years’ experience in the venture ecosystem, three years of which in web3.

In 2021, I co-founded FTW DAO, and since established a genuinely diverse community of investors, builders and thinkers who believe in bringing more transparency, diversity and meritocracy to global capital allocation.

In 2023, I joined Safe as Grants Lead in 2023 and have worked closely with the team in the Gnosis ecosystem building up the grants program from 0 to 1

The experience and insight required for the thoughtful design of grants and incentives

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

A strong and long-term viable use case for their application
Demonstrable alignment with the values and vision of Arbitrum
Clear, measurable and realistic goals for adding value to Arbitrum ecosystem
Concrete and convincing plans for go-to-market and growth leveraging the incentives
Well articulated plans for their own financial and operational sustainability
A diverse set of skills and backgrounds in the team: these teams tend to perform better
Credibility, track-record and commitment to the space they are building in

What are your goals for this program?

1. Observe

Collect and document observations from the past STIP phase and from the upcoming pilot phase

2. Interpet

Translate observations into actionable insights for STIP grantee scoring

3. Act

Improve scoring rubrics and grants processes
Ensure open, transparent and on-going dialogue on learnings with the Arbitrum ecosystem

GabGag · January 12, 2024, 10:12pm

Name: Gabriele
Position I am applying for: Advisor
TG: @GabGagg
Twitter: @GabGag13, @apeversity
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.):

Founder of MindTips, a company that develops AI software for HR;
Founder of Apeversity, the first Learn2Earn platform on Solana. We are opening a dialogue with the Solana Foundation to create an experiment in decentralized education and strategic support for new projects on the Solana network.

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?
Thanks to my studies in economics, strategy and business management and my first work experiences related to the digital marketing area, I have developed transversal skills that give me the opportunity to evaluate a project from 360 degrees.

“Easier said than done”. Evaluating something from the outside makes sense if you have the skills to understand what is happening from the inside.

The fact that I undertook entrepreneurial projects starting from an idea, a small team and a few metrics gave me the opportunity to understand dynamics that theory did not foresee. Theory tends to simplify and rationalize something that is often complex and often doesn’t follow rational paths.
In the last 5 years I have had to dialogue with investors, clients, professionals, accelerators, advisors. I learned complex dynamics that were once typical only of web2 and which with web3 have undergone radical transformations.

Technology rapidly changes internal and external processes that often travel faster than the world we live in. Understanding how to use new technology to move the old world towards the vision we are building is fundamental. I’ve seen many more companies and projects fail due to a premature “go to market” rather than a late one.

My great experience in both worlds can be precious.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

To answer this question it’s important to look at the application from both sides. From my experience (on both sides), I believe compromise is the key.

First of all I would like to focus on those who will judge. Often people tend to appreciate what is more easily understandable and for this reason the projects selected are those that best reflect the judges. In a highly innovative environment it’s essential to give space to innovation, keeping an open mind and reducing barriers. Parameters that are too narrow tend to discourage or consider wrong what has potential.

On the other hand (the project that apply), it’s important to be aware that presenting your idea in a program means making compromises. When you enter a program you must know that there are times to respect, parameters to meet, objectives to achieve. You must know that the world is complex and that your idea will be contaminated.
A dangerous aspect is in fact the perception of unconditional love for one’s project. People who are not willing to mediate are not suitable for a similar path.

With this premise, here are some elements that both parties must consider when creating the parameters and filling out the application:

Market need: there are beautiful ideas that no one is willing to pay for.
Timing and goals: it’s true that "life is what happens while we’re busy making other plans”, but good planning is the key, also and above all to face what we have not considered.
Broad vision: in two years in Solana environment I had the impression that many projects felt like an island. Products and processes were intended to remain within the Solana environment, without interactions with the outside. The projects that have survived the test of time are those that looked beyond. I believe that giving a service to people and then bringing them into the ecosystem is much more functional and convenient than carrying out the opposite process.

What are your goals for this program?
For the same reason that ecosystems should attract new people, skills and investments, in the same way, I believe that people should move out of their comfort zone to face different challenges.
My way of operating in life has always been to look beyond. After two years spent understanding the complexities of the Solana ecosystem, I aim to broaden my horizons to take my experience elsewhere and improve my knowledge.
This step was the same one that led me to abandon my job as an employee to do an entrepreneurial project and which made me broaden my interest from web2 to web3.

coinflip · January 12, 2024, 10:44pm

Background

Name: GMX Grants Committee

Position applying for: Council Member

TG: Telegram: Contact @GmxGrantsDAO

Twitter: @GMX_IO

Applciation Point of Contact: @coinflipcanada (telegram and twitter)

Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.):

The GMX Grants Committee is a group of contributors and community members aligned with GMX on of the leading protocols on Arbitrum

Why

Why would we be the best candidate for this position?

No clue if we are the best candidate but we definitely are a candidate that can add a unique perspective and knowledge base not otherwise available to the DAO.

The GMX grants committee was formed to steward the funds entrusted to the GMX Community under STIP and to oversee GMX’s other grants related efforts including the up to 2 million ARB ecosystem incentive program. Formation of Grants Committee - GMX

They have been prudent stewards of this capital driving incentives towards liquidity and traders to help grow GMX V2 to over $300 million in TVL and daily volume. These benchmarks make GMX V2 one of the most successful bootstraps and a key driver of Arbitrum growth. Additionally through the ecosystem incentive program GMX has been been able to significantly extend the scope of STIP and help strengthen the process of on boarding protocols to our joint ecosystem with 21 protocol proposals approved and over 1.6 million ARB committed towards them.

Please see this 22 part thread highlighting all the protocols funded by these efforts

https://twitter.com/GMX_IO/status/1745830821519360283

If you prefer diving deeper you can also see the bi-weekly updates from all grant receipients on our governance forum, a streamlined process similar to that followed for STIP recipients helping these protocols also gain exposure to the requirements of working within a DAO grants environment (for builders can attest to hard that process is)

Being a grant recipient, having a member as a leading delegate that evaluated all STIP proposals and running our own program, collectively gives us insights into how to run a successful program.

In running our own ecosystem prgoram we experienced the challenge of evaluating ~100 proposals and reducing it down to a fraction that were the most impactful for the ecosystem, and could fit within both the time and use limitations in place. More importantly we also provided all those not receiving grants with feedback that would better prepare them for their future growth plans including non-financial efforts for them within the ecosystem (technical support, introductions, advise on engaging in other grant opportunities). We are hopeful that many of them will apply to LTIPP if it passes.

Okay but why should we put you on the ARBITRUM Grants Council?

Because we can extend this knowledge more generally to support Arbitrum an ecosystem that we are deeply aligned with and because specifically our insights into protocols building on GMX provides visibility on the uniquiness of the indivdual offerings, their ability to achieve product market fit, and evaluate how effective their proposed incentives programs can be having allready objectively assessed many such proposals. In our space within Arbitrum DeFi we see, connect and hear more about what is happening.

Why apply as a committee or group?

The work being potentially sought for LTIPP appears more intense than would allow a single contributor from a protocol to dedicate towards this effort without potentially abandoning core responsibilities. If needed once the scope of involvement is more clear a single point of contact (SPOC) can be designated and continue to be supported by the wider GMX Grants Committee with the knoweldge and insights collectively avaialble.

Isn’t this going to be a conflict of Interest?

We don’t know, but we do worry about these issues. The fact that the DAO is electing the council members, that all votes of the council are transparent and that the DAO itself will finally decide and vote on each individual grant application is a great start. With this arrangement we can participate in the council and any conflicts perceived or actual being effectively disclosed and considered when the DAO votes on individual proposals.

While we feel that protocols simply building on top of GMX or integrating with GMX does not constitute a conflict of interest we do respect that some may view it otherwise, and if you do we recommend not voting for us and we respect that opinion.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

To create a successful incentive application, several factors need to be considered. First, the project should align with the goals and values of the LTIP program. The application should clearly outline how funds will be distributed.

Secondly, the proposer ideally has a track track record that gives confidence that they can execute on what they are proposing or especially in the case of younger protocols they have clear milestones for unlocking funds so that we can take bets on these new protocols but not do so in a manner that simply ‘hopes’ they will perform. Funding requests should be based on milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs). It is important to allocate incentives in a way that clearly aligns with the the grant program’s own goals.

Lastly, the project proposal should be clear and comprehensive, including a detailed budget and timeline.

What are your goals for this program?

Our goals for this program are to support innovative projects on Arbitrum that contribute to the growth and development of the Arbitrum ecosystem. We aim to ensure the efficient and effective allocation of funds, prioritizing projects with the potential to have a significant impact on the Arbitrum ecosystem.If elected to the council, our goal would be to establish a transparent and inclusive grants program that encourages participation from a diverse range of developers and teams. This includes creating a fair rubric evaluation for all projects so that the community and delegates understand why certain projects are accepted or not supported by the council. Transparency and accountability are crucial for the success of the grant program.

We believe it is important to provide regular reporting and updates on the progress of funded projects. This ensures that the community is well-informed about the impact of the grantees. This approach has been successful for us with the GMX grants program.

In addition, we strongly encourage open communication channels between the council, grantees, community, and delegates. This allows for feedback and input from all stakeholders involved.

Disclaimer

This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any form of legal commitment or agreement between GMX, Arbitrum DAO, or any other parties. The allocation and distribution of ARB tokens are subject to the approval and discretion of the Arbitrum DAO delegates. GMX or any other parties makes no warranties or representations regarding the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the information presented, and will not be liable for any losses, damages, or adverse consequences that may arise in relation to this proposal. All parties are advised to conduct their own due diligence and seek independent legal advice before making any decisions or commitments based on this proposal.

GMX DAO is supported by Labs as voted on in Snapshot which administers the GMX Grants Committee.

Kchen · January 12, 2024, 11:53pm

LTI Pilot Program Council Member Application!
Name: Keith Chen
Position I am applying for: Council Member
TG: @kcsnz
Twitter: @kc_snz
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.): SNZ

At my core, I am an ecosystem builder. I thrive on creating and nurturing vibrant, cross-continental communities. My passion lies in forging global collaborations that shape innovative ecosystems. I am dedicated to connecting the right people, resources, and ideas, fostering sustainable growth within complex and dynamic environments. Arbitrum represents such an ecosystem – it’s vigilant, diverse, and ripe with potential. My experience in cultivating similar ecosystems positions me uniquely to contribute meaningfully to Arbitrum’s growth and evolution.

As a crypto researcher, my journey is driven by an insatiable curiosity and a deep-seated commitment to exploring the intricate world of cryptocurrencies. Over the past decade, this journey has taken me to the emerging frontiers of the crypto space, constantly seeking to unlock and understand its true potential. Arbitrum, with its innovative and developer-friendly environment, represents the kind of territory where the most ambitious and creative crypto dreams can be realized. My background in crypto research equips me with the insights and foresight necessary to identify and nurture these groundbreaking ideas within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

My professional path has been shaped by my role as a seasoned crypto investor at SNZ Capital, a firm that operates both as a crypto-native incubator and an early-stage venture capital firm. I am proud to be an investor, holder, and builder within the Arbitrum ecosystem. My professional journey aligns seamlessly with Arbitrum’s vision, and I am excited about the opportunity to leverage this alignment for the benefit of the entire ecosystem. You can learn more about my work and contributions at SNZ here.

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

Introduction: Why I am the Ideal Candidate

• In-depth Knowledge of L2 Solutions, Focused on Arbitrum: As a crypto researcher, I possess a comprehensive understanding of Layer 2 technologies, with a specialized focus on Arbitrum. This expertise equips me to make informed, strategic decisions tailored to Arbitrum’s unique technological and community landscape.

• Extensive Connections within the Arbitrum Ecosystem: My network spans labs, foundations, projects, and communities within the Arbitrum ecosystem. These deep-rooted connections enable me to effectively bridge various stakeholders, fostering collaboration and informed decision-making.

• Supported by a Robust Asian Community: My role is further bolstered by strong support from a wide network in Asia including developers, communities, and investors. This backing is not just a testament to my involvement in the region but also provides a rich source of diverse perspectives and insights. Being connected to this vibrant community enhances my ability to bring a broader, more inclusive viewpoint to the council, ensuring that decisions and strategies are well-rounded and considerate of various stakeholder needs.

Contribution to Community Engagement

My background is firmly anchored in the Ethereum ecosystem, endowing me with a profound grasp of its foundational principles and technologies. My active involvement has led me to spearhead numerous influential local community events and serve as a key contributor in several pivotal initiatives. These endeavors highlight my dedication to nurturing dynamic community interactions and fostering collaborative environments.

Experience and Expertise for a Council Member
My experience and expertise as a council member are deeply rooted in my extensive background in designing evaluation rubrics for hackathon projects and serving as a judge in numerous hackathons and demo day sessions. In my professional capacity, I am routinely involved in screening and assessing potential investment projects. This wealth of experience has honed my skills in critically evaluating projects, making me well-equipped to effectively grade and assess projects for funding within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Strategic Vision and Management Skills
My conviction is that decentralized finance (DeFi) is not just an add-on but a cornerstone of any thriving crypto ecosystem. In my advisory role to ecosystem managers and community builders, I consistently emphasize the prioritization of DeFi. This focus is based on a clear observation: numerous ecosystems, in their growth phases, have had to circle back to establish a robust DeFi foundation. The current prosperity of Arbitrum can be largely attributed to the flourishing of its DeFi sector, which in turn creates a solid base for other crypto assets and applications to thrive within the ecosystem.

In managing community activities and contributing to various DAO organizations, my approach is characterized by a balanced, decisive, and rule-based style. This management philosophy ensures that while we are agile and responsive to the dynamic nature of the crypto world, we also maintain a structured and principled approach to decision-making. This balance is crucial in navigating the complexities of community dynamics and ecosystem development, ensuring that our strategic vision for DeFi integration is effectively and sustainably realized.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

A good incentive application, in my perspective, should embody several key characteristics:

Alignment with the Core Benefits of the Arbitrum Ecosystem: The application must demonstrate a clear understanding of the Arbitrum ecosystem’s unique features and advantages. It should propose initiatives or projects that leverage these core benefits, contributing to the ecosystem’s growth and sustainability.

A Detailed Incentive Plan with Strong Reasoning: The application should present a well-thought-out plan, detailing how the incentives will be used. This plan must be backed by solid reasoning, showing a deep understanding of the project’s goals and how they align with the broader objectives of the Arbitrum community.

Measurable Impacts with Retrospective Analysis: It is crucial that the application sets forth clear, measurable goals and benchmarks. This approach not only allows for the assessment of the project’s impact in real time but also facilitates a retrospective analysis to understand the efficacy of the incentives. Such analysis is vital for learning and improving future funding decisions.

Feasibility and Sustainability: The proposed project or initiative should be feasible, with a realistic scope and timeline. The application must demonstrate how the project will sustain itself post-incentive, ensuring long-term value to the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Community Engagement and Collaboration: The application should outline strategies for community engagement and collaboration. A strong proposal will recognize the importance of involving the community and fostering collaborative efforts within the ecosystem.

Transparency and Accountability: Finally, a good application should commit to transparency and accountability in its operations and use of funds. This commitment is key to building trust within the community and ensuring responsible management of the allocated resources.

In summary, a good incentive application is not only well-planned and aligned with the Arbitrum ecosystem’s values but also demonstrates feasibility, sustainability, and a commitment to community engagement and transparent governance. My goal as a council member would be to identify and support such applications, driving meaningful growth and innovation within the Arbitrum community.

What are your goals for this program?

Elevating the Ecosystem to the Next Level: In this long-term incentive program, my primary aim is to identify and nurture projects that resonate with the long-term objectives of the Arbitrum ecosystem. I am dedicated to helping these promising projects secure the resources and support they need to thrive. This initiative is about fostering sustainable growth and ensuring that investments are channeled into ventures that will significantly contribute to the ecosystem’s future.

Enhancing Transparency and Balance: Addressing community concerns regarding the short-term incentive program, my second goal is to implement a more transparent and balanced approach to funding. Recognizing that strict rules previously led to a skewed distribution of funds, I advocate for a more inclusive evaluation process. This means giving due consideration to smaller, early-stage projects that, while currently modest, hold potential for long-term value. It’s crucial to support these projects, ensuring a fair opportunity for growth and contribution within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Embracing Diversity and Promoting Innovation: My third goal is to champion diversity and innovation within the ecosystem. This involves encouraging a wide range of projects, from various backgrounds and with different perspectives, to participate in the ecosystem. By fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, we can spur creative solutions and innovative approaches that push the boundaries of what’s possible in the blockchain space. Embracing diversity is key to reinforcing Arbitrum’s position as a leading player in the Layer 2 space.

ferengi · January 12, 2024, 11:58pm

Application for Council Position on Arbitrum

Background

Name: Ferengi
Desired Position: Council Member
Telegram: @Ferengi69
Twitter: @0xBossmang

Professional Affiliations

Advisory Roles: VOLTA Club (formerly Wonderland), Savvy DeFi, enqAI
Board Member: TrueFi

Why Am I the Ideal Candidate?

My extensive experience in DeFi, highlighted by my tenure as treasury manager at Wonderland and advisory roles in various innovative projects, positions me uniquely for the Council role within the Arbitrum ecosystem. Here’s why:

Deep Dive into Tokenomics: At Wonderland, I rigorously evaluated diverse tokenomics and incentive models on a weekly basis, gaining a well-rounded perspective critical for assessing the varied projects in the Arbitrum space.
Management of Significant Capital: I effectively managed a $120 million portfolio, followed by handling a high-risk degen portfolio of $10 million, instilling in me a profound respect and understanding of capital management.
On-Chain Expertise: My full-time engagement in the crypto world, particularly in the Arbitrum ecosystem, endows me with firsthand knowledge of funding and growing projects on this platform.
Comprehensive DeFi Experience: My journey spans various roles, from advisory positions to strategic planning, providing me with a broad and deep understanding of the DeFi landscape.

Vision for Effective Incentive Applications

An exemplary incentive application, in my view, should:

Extend Beyond Immediate Grants: Utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) to foster long-term ecosystem growth and user engagement, aligning with Arbitrum’s vision for sustained capital migration.
Efficient and Streamlined: Ensure the application is straightforward and cost-effective, garnering the attention and support of delegates and DAO participants.
Balance Flexibility and Commitment: Maintain a delicate balance between flexible incentive mechanics and unwavering commitment to the overarching goals beneficial for the Arbitrum ecosystem.

My Goals for the Council Position

Equitable Evaluation: Provide unbiased and comprehensive feedback on all applications, ensuring a fair assessment process.
Maximizing Value for Arbitrum DAO: Treat DAO funds with utmost responsibility, akin to personal assets, striving for maximum value generation.
Personal and Ecosystem Development: Deepen my involvement in Arbitrum, contributing my expertise to enhance the DAO, and advocating for sustainable innovation within the ecosystem. My commitment as an ‘Arbitrum maxi’ is exemplified by my recommendation for Savvy to migrate to Arbitrum.
Fiscal Responsibility: Leverage my experience in managing substantial portfolios to ensure cost-effective decision-making, upholding a strong sense of fiduciary duty towards DAO stakeholders.

tskweres · January 13, 2024, 12:11am

Background:

Name: Travis Skweres
Position I am applying for: Advisor
TG (Telegram) handle: tsquared03
Twitter handle: TravDoesDeFi
Affiliations Co-Founder of Vela Exchange

Why You:

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

I’m a self-taught architect / software engineer that’s been involved in the crypto space since 2012. Having been in this industry for such a long time, I’ve seen quite a bit - including bull and bear markets come and go, and have observed what it takes to become a lasting, impacting project in the ecosystem. Some of my notable stories and accomplishments from over the years include:

Buying my first Bitcoin on Mt. Gox for sub-$100
Losing some of said Bitcoin on Mt. Gox after not taking it off ( I still get the settlement letters via email )
Starting one of of the first Crypto <> Fiat exchanges in the US, which was acquired a few years later
Testifying during Silk Road to help put away bad guys
Seeing Vitalik speak in 2014 on why I should buy into the Ethereum, and passing
Punching myself in the face ever since
Built an early crypto tracker which achieved hundreds of thousands of downloads & customers, and was acquired in 2019
Went and worked for BCG for several years, learning how to not just be a hacker / builder but be a professional
Anon contributor & builder for some of the first bridges and swap DEXes to launch in DeFi, I’ve deployed dapps on just about every EVM
Started what would become Vela Exchange, building and working with the best team in DeFi today to launch and operate one of the top perp DEXes in the world

All of this to say… I’m a thrice startup founder with two exits, and my current company Vela Exchange is one of the leading perpetual DEXes on Arbitrum with over $7B in volume since our public beta. This extensive background (I believe) will give me the ability to objectively and fairly evaluate potential projects and bring a unique and insightful perspective from the the technical and product side on whether I think they’ll be a valuable addition to the Arbitrum ecosystem. I have served as a startup advisor and board member for many companies, but this will be my first post as an advisor for the DAO, I look forward to working with you all in the mission of furthering the adoption of Arbitrum & DeFi.

Incentive Application:

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

When evaluating potential projects, teams, and applications - I will be asking myself the following questions:

Is this dapp a good idea, original, innovative? Not just a fork of code from another ecosystem, but is it truly going to move the needle in terms of bringing something new and different to the ecosystem?
Has the team shown that they are able to execute, ship code, and produce an MVP? As a builder I’m biased towards projects that have a product, can show a demo or MVP, or already have traction and users vs those with just a whitepaper
Does the dapp and / or application align with Arbitrum chains goals? Will it potentially bring exposure and new users to the Arbitrum ecosystem, and drive TVL & transactions?
Is the grant ask reasonable? Do I believe with the amount allocated and the guardrails put in place around deliverables - that the team can successfully ship the product and make an impact? Do they need more? Should they have asked for less?
Regardless of grant, does the team have a long term mission / vision that is inspiring, will withstand the crypto winters, and do I think that they’ve got a shot at becoming a lasting project in DeFi?

Goals for this Program:

What are your goals for this program?

My primary goal for this program is to help attract prolific projects and builders to the Arbitrum ecosystem. When the Arbitrum ecosystem grows and thrives, we all grow and thrive in my view. Through this program if we can increase the brand value and awareness of Arbitrum, and increase TVL, transactions and other key metrics, we’ve won. Ultimately the success of the program should be measured not just by quantity but by the quality of projects it brings to the platform.
Crypto is a marathon, not a sprint. My second goal is to participate and take learnings, successes, and shortcomings from this program and apply it to future proposals and programs in the ecosystem.
My third goal is a selfish one - I want to improve and grow as an active participant in the DAO. Being a heads-down style of builder, I’m guilty of often writing and shipping code, but not necessarily coming up to see what else is going on in the ecosystem, what other great projects are in the pipeline etc. I believe I have valuable experience and advice that I can bring to projects & applicants, which will also allow me to keep an eye out for future partnerships or products that fit well with what we’re building at Vela.

Pioneer · January 13, 2024, 12:23am

I support Travis in this application as an advisor. He is a person with a demonstrated history of success in the industry as a professional (and as a true degen that didn’t buy ETH from Vitalik face to face). I have had the pleasure of meeting Travis in person and can say with certainty that he is as he represents and that he is a person of experience and integrity. Having him on as an advisor would be a boon to the Arbitrum community as a whole, and I believe that he would balance out some of the other applicants in a positive way.

It is of the utmost importance that we supplement this program with professionalism, diversity, experience, and outright good humans- and I believe that Travis fits this task extremely well. His leadership and expertise in the industry would be a massive benefit in so many ways and I hope that he can be selected for position.

SmolPhil · January 13, 2024, 12:32am

Name: Smol Phil (Philip)
Position I am applying for: Council
TG: @smolphil
Twitter: @shrozart
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.): I am a member of TreasureDAO’s ARC (Arbitrum Representative Council). Regarding investments, I have a long list of angel and market investments, of which Treasure assets comprise a large share.

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

I have been very involved in Treasure governance, and have become more involved in Arbitrum governance especially since becoming a member of TreasureDAO’s ARC.

I have angel invested in various web3 projects, and have regular chats with team members to catch up on developments and exchange thoughts. This has given me experience in recognizing the challenges that web3 projects face from its inception, which can be implemented in determining the viability and feasibility of incentive applications and their effects.

I have an academic degree in Psychology with a focus on Behavior Change. My education equipped me with insights into human behavior, cognition and emotions that are invaluable in developing technology that is user-centric, ethical, and aligns with the needs and expectations of the community at large. Furthermore, knowledge on effective strategies that drive behavior are key in approving incentive applications that are more likely to achieve desired outcomes and create positive community impact.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

Public funding that breeds creativity and inclusivity is what welcomes participants with different interests to Arbitrum, and will breed culture that makes people want to stick around. To attain this, incentive and rubric design should not merely focus on directly funding the end user as a way to reduce the cost of protocol usage, but instead incentivize well-proven or innovative designs that attract users because of the underlying changes that the incentives facilitate.

Creative, inclusive and cooperative alignment
Incentivizing creativity is important for mainly two reasons:

Giving projects the freedom to think of innovative incentive designs that will attract users on the merits of the design itself. Furthermore, this experimentation will help projects iterate and improve not just on incentive structures but also on ways to improve the project itself, which is important in the rapidly evolving sector that is crypto.
Arbitrum itself has always been a strong proponent of decentralization, bottom-up iteration and giving power to its users by giving them the keys to governance ($ARB). Therefore, having the DAO as a public fund to help the Arbitrum ecosystem innovate is inherently aligned with the Arbitrum ethos, and something we should intensify over time.

From a user perspective, creative incentive designs can be targeted towards diverse motivational needs. Every individual is different, especially if you compare cohorts of users from different projects. Creativity in design can help cater in capturing the attention of a specific userbase, making them more engaged and excited. By aligning incentives with intrinsic drivers, projects can foster sustained intrinsic motivation and commitment that persists beyond the initial incentivization period.

Crafting creative incentive designs will also help projects/protocols that are active in the same sector to be less head-on in terms of incentivization, to avoid incentivization breeding a zero-sum game and a race to the bottom culture, and instead be more cooperative in thinking of sustainable designs that could work synergistically.

For the above reasons an incentive application should:

Clearly articulate the creative aspect of its incentive design, how its design impacts the project itself and why the project believes that this design targets the (intrinsic) motivational needs and wants of its users.
Explain how the incentive design impacts other projects and their accompanying user bases within the Arbitrum ecosystem, i.e. what is the social return on investment. If there are any potential negative side effects (farming, vampire attacks, sybil attacks or other harmful practices) of the incentive structure, the project should explain what is being done to mitigate these practices.

Clarity and transparency

A good application should be transparent and clear in what goals and objectives it wants to achieve, justify why the chosen incentive structure is the most effective structure to achieve these goals and objectives and how these goals and objectives can be achieved successfully.
The project should detail where the funds are going and to what end they are being used.

Sustainability and accountability

The application should detail how the chosen incentive structure is beneficial for the long-term growth of the project itself and the Arbitrum network.
Explain if and how the incentive structure accelerates the process of user acquisition and retention.
There should be clear and objective measurements (KPIs) set out in the proposal, with possible contingencies on goals/objectives reached.

Biography
The proposal should detail a description of the project, relevant metrics used to date, project establishment date, date deployed on Arbitrum and why it has chosen for Arbitrum as its base of operations.

What are your goals for this program?

Helping projects get the funding they need to thrive financially and culturally.
Bringing public funding to the next level and having Arbitrum be a place where financial gains flow back to the DAO, the project and its users; thus minimizing the need for VCs in the long run.
Foster a cooperative culture by incentivizing proposals that create and share open source tooling, and promote interoperability and synergy between projects.
Using the data on past and present incentive structures to build towards a future with multiple verticals having their own public fund and council.
Setting up a rubric that is specific enough to make a proper judgement on the quality of an incentive application, yet be broad enough in scope to be able to judge projects from all verticals as equitably as possible.

realdumbird · January 13, 2024, 1:07am

Background

Name: dumbird

Position I am applying for: Council Member

TG: @realdumbird

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realdumbird

Affiliations: I’m a growth contributor at MUX Protocol and represent MUX delegates in Arbitrum DAO governance

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

Good understanding of Web3 growth strategies
- I have hands-on experience working with web3 builders on Arbitrum and designing growth strategies for user adoption, liquidity bootstrapping, community building and organic volume & revenue growth without relying heavily on incentives; meanwhile, based on research, getting involved in designing various incentivization programs and performance tracking, I have a relatively good understanding the effectiveness of various approaches.
- I aim to apply what I have learned from the above experiences to ensure the grant program can boost Arbitrum projects effectively while ensuring sustainable spending and growth for both protocols and the ecosystem.
Long-term alignment with the Aribtrum ecosystem since day 1
- As an ecosystem builder, heavy user, DAO delegate representative, and community holder, I have been an Aribturm supporter since day 1. I will combine the perspectives from various roles to help ensure the grant program’s effectiveness and sustainability.
  - Builder perspective: Apply appropriate incentivization strategies and reasonable grant size to help boost protocol growth.
  - User perspective: Identify protocols and strategies that offer good usability, solutions that address web3 user pain points, and innovative approaches that can help to onboard more users to the ecosystem and increase exposure.
  - Delegate perspective: Apply the collective framework and learnings from this and previous programs to help shape a reasonable incentive structure and aim to make Arbitrum a welcoming and innovative ecosystem for builders and users in various sectors.
  - Holder perspective: Ensure the program spending strategies are sustainable and won’t act negatively toward the treasury or attract mercenary capital to exploit the programs.
Strong interest in a wide variety of sectors
- Although my contributor experiences have been mainly in DeFi, I have a strong interest and have been a user in various sectors, including NFT, Gaming, DePIN, Memes, and more.
- My hope for the LITP program is to support builders from various sectors to ensure the ecosystem can be the go-to place for users with diverse interests.
Web3 native & good understanding of on-chain users
- Based on my experiences of being a heavy on-chain user and helping a web3 protocol to go from 0 to 1 and have relatively good organic performance in its sector, I have a good understanding of on-chain user behaviors and the profile of “real” users. I aim to apply what I have learned to help protocols identify the right strategies to achieve needed results.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

The application needs to have clear KPIs and milestones to define program success and a strategic long-term plan for retaining the users and TVL after the program wraps up.
The applications should indicate long-term alignment with the Aribtrum ecosystem and their commitment to continuous contribution.
Appropriate grant size based on the protocol’s current stage, track record, protocol stats, feature offerings, and proposed incentivization structure.
The proposed incentivization program should actively avoid promoting wash-trading or artificial incentives farming strategies that hardly contribute long-term value to the ecosystem.

What are your goals for this program?

Sustainably boost ecosystem metrics, including TVL, user adoption, volume, and sequencer fees.
- Help speed up adoption for protocols with innovative offerings, good usability & features, and further onboard and retain users for the Arbitrum ecosystem long-term.
- Avoid mercenary capital, wash-trading, sybil-attack type of engagement farming, and artificially boosted performance that will drop dramatically after the incentives program ends.
Continuously increase the exposure of the ecosystem and make it a welcoming and innovative space for both builders and users.
Apply what we have learned from previous programs and help to improve future grant programs, frameworks, and DAO governance processes.

karpatkey · January 13, 2024, 1:36am

Background

Name: karpatkey
Position I am applying for: Council
TG: @coltron1 @jameskbh
Twitter: karpatkey
Affiliations (Currently I am working with, invested in, etc.): We manage treasuries or serve on treasury committees for protocols such as Balancer, GnosisDAO, and Ethereum Name Service, and we hold multiple crypto assets in our own treasury. Our treasury data is open and freely available on our treasury reports.

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

Council members must provide unbiased and knowledgeable oversight to this program. As an asset manager, karpatkey has served multiple DAOs and protocols in positions requiring high trust, discretion, and responsible decision-making. At the most fundamental level, our service provides knowledgeable and impartial oversight that enables protocols to execute DeFi strategies safely.

Although we have a well-established and rich history in DeFi, our governance team brings an additional breadth of knowledge to the protocol grants space. Coupled with our DeFi knowledge, we possess a unique perspective that would be valuable in reviewing applications and devising this program’s rubric.

The karpatkey representatives fully dedicated to our council seat are @coltron.eth and @jameskbh . These karpatkey members have cross-protocol experience both reviewing and authoring proposals and grant submissions. While @jameskbh has extensive expertise in the Balancer and Aura ecosystem as a reviewer and applicant for grants and incentives, @coltron.eth has directly served as an ENS DAO steward, facilitating and reviewing numerous grant streams over the past two years for a major protocol.

Further, a council seat doubles down on our commitment to being hands-on delegates. Our representatives have already attended weekly governance calls and in-person DAO meetups, and we are eager to increase karpatkey’s involvement in a way that provides value to Arbitrum.

We are not large delegates with outsized influence in the Arbitrum DAO, and we approach this position objectively and seriously.

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

We will favour applications that are well-rounded and close the loop on the grants or incentives cycle. One primary issue we see across many different ecosystems related to grant submissions is a tendency to over-promise at the submission phase and provide far too little follow-through towards the end of the grant life cycle.

For incentive applications that we would favour, we want the Arbitrum community to clearly understand how the application’s promised impact will be achieved and how they will address anticipated challenges. Although each application will have unique benchmarks and goals, we would like to see the minimum criteria from applicants:

Clearly defined outcomes - How does this competitively impact the Arbitrum Protocol?
KPIs - Which significant data will be used to evaluate success? Is there truly quantifiable data absent of fluff metrics?
Open reporting - How will the applicant provide dashboards or consistent reporting?
Risk Management - How will the applicant mitigate any capital, reputational, or gaming risks from their strategy or strategies?

As noted in the next section, a clearly established rubric will be crucial in guiding submissions to fulfil the desired outcomes from this program.

What are your goals for this program?

The pilot phase is critical to determine if this program will continue successfully. Because of this, our goals for this program in this phase are foundational so that additional iterations have a basis to achieve more refined goals. Ultimately, we want to see a quantifiable impact on the Arbitrum protocol that can become sustainable over the long term.

A high-level list of our goals for the pilot phase is below:

Design towards repeatability and sustainability. We want to see straightforward rubrics and processes that lend to repeatability.
Improve on lessons learned from STIP. There is already a case study in the form of the STIP lessons learned; we want the Arbitrum grants landscape to be robust and a product of cumulative improvements.
Promotes measurable and transparent outcomes. With the significant value being dispensed by this pilot program, it is paramount that there is end-to-end transparency from the submission phase to the program retrospective.

Additionally, we must mention the crucial importance of the rubric to promote receiving “good” incentive applications. The rubric allows the council to establish a predictable filter so that the applications received are focused on delivering to attract new users and liquidity to Arbitrum with metrics that are meaningful to the LTIPP council and DAO.

For any questions about this application, please contact us via this @karpatkey forum account or our representatives (coltron / jameskbh) individually on Telegram.

flexflexflex · January 13, 2024, 11:36am

I’m all for having Travis on board as an advisor. He’s got a solid track record in crypto – the guy even had a chance to grab ETH straight from Vitalik but passed it up! I’ve worked with Travis, and he’s the real deal: knowledgeable, straightforward, and a genuinely good guy. Bringing him into the Arbitrum squad would be a huge win.

Honestly, it’s super important to get people who are not just skilled but also down-to-earth and relatable. Travis ticks all these boxes. Hoping we can snag him for this spot!

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LTI Pilot Program Position Application Thread

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

What are your goals for this program?

Background

Why You

Background

Why You

Pilot Program Pitching Sessions

LTIP Pilot: Karel Vuong’s Council Application

Background

Why you?

Background

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

What are your goals for this program?

also adding a tl;dr:

Background

Why You

Why

Why You

Application for Council Position on Arbitrum

Background

Professional Affiliations

Why Am I the Ideal Candidate?

Vision for Effective Incentive Applications

My Goals for the Council Position

Background

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

What are your goals for this program?

Background

Why You

Why would You be the best candidate for this position?

What do you think a good incentive application looks like?

What are your goals for this program?

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