Cabin Labs

⚙️ DAO Proposals
1

1. TL;DR

With the end of the First Fellowship’s proposal, a new proposal is required for Cabin to continue operations. This proposal will support small bets that help us become default alive and achieve Cabin’s vision of building a network of modern villages. The proposal includes three objectives:

  1. Run Experiments
  2. Refine Vision & Strategy
  3. Keep the Lights On

2. Team

  • Sponsor: @jon
  • Steward: @jon
  • Members: additional contributors as needed

3. Goals

Objective 1. Run Experiments

Validate demand and test product offerings that help Cabin build towards a network of villages. An initial list of ready-to-go experiments & a backlog can be found here: Cabin Labs - proposed bets. The first four bets are:

  • :globe_with_meridians: Software for Network States
  • :technologist: Deep Work Club
  • :sunny: Solarpunk Sandbox
  • :plate_with_cutlery: Supper Clubs

Each bet listed here will be incubated by Cabin Labs for up to 3 months, at which point it will be spun out into its own proposal if it is on track to continue and reach its goal. We will start with small experiments to validate or invalidate each of these three paths, and double down on paths that result in sustainable revenue.

Cabin Labs will incubate experiments focused on the set of paths outlined in Fall 23 Product Directions:

The overall goal of Cabin Labs is to help promote high quality metrics-driven experiments for the DAO by helping new proposals get ready to operate independently as quickly as possible. As bets are completed, new bets will be pulled up from the backlog.

Objective 2. Refine Vision & Strategy

  • Talk to community members and product users
  • Write strategic memos to help define product direction and roadmap
  • Write proposals as needed and source contributors for them

Objective 3. Keep the Lights On

  • Maintain infrastructure
    • Pay the bills & keep services running (app, CRM, email, blog, forum, etc)
    • Complete necessary database migration to keep app running (by Feb 2024)
    • Take care of DAO’s legal and tax needs (legal structures, tax filings, etc)
  • Manage digital footprint
    • Manage community gathering spaces (discord and discourse)
    • Manage social media (twitter & instagram)
    • Manage content (newsletter, blog, website)
  • Develop partnerships
    • Serve as the point person for inbound partnership requests
    • Source opportunities for new partnerships
  • Support proposals
    • Provide feedback on all proposals submitted in Proposals
    • Coordinate execution of multi-sig for all approved proposals
    • Provide support and feedback for all approved proposals
    • Help hold approved proposals accountable to outcomes

4. Proposed Budget

1 year of funding for this work stream:

  • $396,000 USDC
  • 12,600 ₡ABIN

This represents a >3x reduction in cash vs. the First Fellowship for the past year. At $99k per season for the next 4 seasons, this proposal provides the DAO with a baseline 7.6 year run rate of supported operations and experiments.

Here’s a breakdown of the intended use of funds, which includes a reduced contributor payment for @jon, a reduced contributor budget for experiment incubation, app support, and our digital / community footprint, a budget for community engagement incentives, and a budget for software, expenses, and operating costs to keep the lights on:

image
image795×378 18.4 KB

5. Timeline and Deliverables

Timeline: 1 year, at which point the proposal can be reviewed and renewed as needed

Deliverables: Cabin continues to exist and finds a path to becoming default alive

3 Likes
2

I’m new here, but looks good. Really appreciate how thorough this is.

2 Likes
3

thank you! appreciate the feedback : )

4

thanks for sharing jon. cabin’s community and brand are at the heart of everything, totally support the focus there

1 Like
5

How does governance work right now? Is there a vote or a date to ratify?

1 Like
6

Yes, there will be a vote.

After this forum post has been live for at least 5 days, I can submit it to Snapshot (proposal & voting details are in How to Draft a Proposal):

1 Like
7

thanks for the feedback! I appreciate you and SCV’s support and engagement in building internet native communities

8

Aside from Supper Clubs, I’m curious what some of the content is that will fuel this growth?

1 Like
9

Looks pretty good overall. I notice that there’s no budget for Supper Club. I think we had discussed $15/per person in compensation to the host, though i know that number isn’t finalized. Is the final USDC for Supper Club already baked into this or are you waiting for final decisions on Supper Club from other members of the team?

1 Like
10

good call out, I’ve adjusted the proposal to de-emphasize social growth because I don’t think it’s the highest priority and we aren’t going to have sufficient content to support it

11

The proposal is still being updated, see latest version above which includes supper club and other budget adjustments

12

Based on feedback, I’ve updated the proposal significantly to bring core experiments from the product roadmap in scope for this proposal, re-order the priority and focus of the objectives, and more clearly capture software/expenses and community incentive budgets.

13

@jon This looks great. I am curious about other contributor payments. It feels like a high number if we are encouraging contributors to develop their own proposals. Can you give some examples of contributions and share reasoning for the $20,000 per month?

2 Likes
14

I increased it by 33% based on feedback from several advisors who wanted to see my base proposal include a more active and direct role in incubating experiments. The goal would be to start small experiments within the 3 product directions we’ve laid out, and then spin these out into their own proposals:

15

I am tracking. I am curious to better understand what kind of experiments will be ran. I am pro experimentation and feel that we should encourage individual proposals for them instead of including them here.

2 Likes
16

I’m also curious what the “contributor payments” will be used for. It makes sense for Jon to have a budget to fund more experiments. And I also agree with Chalice. Shouldn’t new experiments get funding from new proposals/fellowships?

Given that you (Jon) are central to Cabin, I think this could also be achieved by your taking responsibility to foster and advocate for promising project proposals so that they receive funding through the DAO mechanism. I think this would require some more leniency with a solid short term plan for revenue-creation though. Often this is not feasible for new experiments and has not been done recently in Cabin.

If it’s included in this proposal I want to know much more about what the intention is here: what’s the size of experiments? Part-time contractors? One experiment at a time or 5 small ones at a time? Lots of unknowns for a year of funding. And the scope is hard to grasp here with these three huge objectives.

Jon can you give some examples of potential projects that would be under this umbrella? Some ideas you have for using these funds?

What if this proposal was just to fund “staying alive” and Jon’s salary, and then included in Jon’s job description is the responsibility to foster more experiments that align with the 3 goals, with about that much budget? Then there is more transparency for the DAO and also more flexibility.

2 Likes
17

Also, cool name and exciting changes for the DAO. Feels appropriate for the shedding and dying of fall. Celebrating the composting of old structures into something new :ear_of_rice:

3 Likes
18

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I’ve updated the proposal significantly:

  1. I’ve added another document outlining the initial experiments Cabin Labs would incubate, as well as an initial backlog of future looking experiments: Cabin Labs - proposed bets. I’ve also incorporated the first round of bets directly int the language of this proposal above.
  2. I’ve clarified the intention for Cabin Labs to incubate new proposals for up to 3 months, with the explicit goal of spinning these out to the DAO as their own proposals as soon as they are ready. The goal here is to help the DAO produce some high quality example proposals, while also making sure anyone can continue to apply to the DAO with any proposal.
  3. I’ve added another layer of detail to the budget breakdown in this proposal by Objective, highlighting the split between incubation, infra and app support, and digital footprint/content. I’ve also slightly reduced the $CABIN budget.

Overall, the intention is to provide enough flexibility to help the DAO succeed while keeping burn much lower than it was. Let me know if there’s any more feedback on this updated version.

2 Likes
19

Looks like a moment of evolution is upon us. I submitted a proposal to support under 1. Refine Vision & Strategy.

I got a message saying the post is hidden until it can be reviewed by a staff member. I’ll keep an eye out for it to show up on the forum. Would love to help get to work on Jon’s plan. :blue_heart:

1 Like
20

Hey Jovian, thanks for reaching out. The post was blocked because you’re new and it was flagged as potential spam, but I unblocked it.

1 Like